Awkward living room layout with corner fireplace

A living room can be a great place to relax, watch TV and hang out with friends. But if you have an awkward layout with a corner fireplace and you aren’t sure how to set up your furniture, it may be a source of stress for you. Let me share some ideas on how you can ideally set up your awkward living room with a corner fireplace.

A corner fireplace can be a great cozy feature in your home especially if you never had one before and always dreamed of one. But if you have a large great room and in one corner is a fireplace, you may wonder how you can make it feel less awkward. here are some tips to consider when arranging furniture around an awkward living room.

I talk about this topic during this week’s Creative Home podcast episode #246. You can listen to it here or read below.

1. You may want to push all the furniture to the walls

Pushing furniture to the walls doesn’t help in any way. You are going to have to bring the sofa closer and out into the middle of the floor. If the floor is carpeted, you can move the sofa so that it is across from the fireplace. If the floor is wood or tile, you can bring in a rug to help anchor the sofa and create a nice area by the fireplace. Don’t be afraid to bring things in closer and in the middle of the floor. In fact, it makes the room feel bigger when you do this and more intimate. And if you are worried about reaching outlets to your lamps, you can run an extension cord under the couch or under the rug to reach the wall outlet.

If you see by the picture below, everything is up against the wall. This was actually a Youtube video where you can see what suggestions were made to move the furniture away from the wall.

2. Windows next to the corner fireplace

If there are windows to the left or right of the fireplace, you may not want to block them. You can certainly put a sofa in front of the windows, but find a sofa that has a low back so you can see over it. You can also place an armchair in front of the windows as part of the seating arrangement. Notice how the rug in the left picture below is so large that it gathers all the furniture pieces into a conversation area. Rug size is very important because a small one will make the area feel smaller.

3. Use the corner fireplace as a focal point

Using the fireplace as the focal point, think of it as a corner of your square. You can simply place an armchair and create a reading nook with a floor lamp by the fireplace. You can also place the sofa at the same angle as the fireplace across from it and then set an armchair on one side of the sofa and another on the other side. It makes a balanced setup in front of the fireplace.

4. Just because the fireplace is at an angle doesn’t mean the furniture has to be at an angle

Arrange the sofa so that it is parallel to a wall, not the fireplace. You can then add an armchair or two on each side of the fireplace. If there are too many large pieces by the fireplace such as a bookcase or TV stand, consider moving them around. Too many things will make the space look and feel cramped. The left picture below only had a loveseat but a full couch would easily fit in the space.

You can also use a sectional in the space if you have a long rectangular room. While part of the sectional does cover the windows, notice how the back is low so you can still see out the windows. During the holidays you can still add a narrow tree to make the space cozy and during non-holiday seasons, it can be replaced with a tall planter.

I hope this gives you some ideas and inspiration if you have a corner fireplace. Take a look at Pinterest to get ideas on the best layouts for a living room or google images to see similar setups. If you are still stuck, feel free to contact me for a decorating consult.