Living room fireplaces are gorgeous as they pull your guests’ attention to the fire, making them feel cozy and right at home. Whether wood-burning or gas, a fireplace is a welcome addition in any room. It’s an inviting place to entertain guests or kick back, relax, and watch TV with the family, but, depending on the placement of the fireplace, it can be difficult to place your furniture around it. There are definitely more considerations on how to decorate a living room with a fireplace in the middle, so with a little preparation, your living room can be the stunning gathering space you’ve always dreamed of.
Here are a few living room arrangements that keep your living room looking elegant and spacious, regardless of where the fireplace is located.
How do you arrange a room with a fireplace in the middle?
If you have a fireplace centered on the main living room wall, use it as the focal point of the room and place large furniture around it in a half-circle shape. For instance, if you have a sectional, place it so that anyone sitting on the sectional will be able to see the fireplace. If you have extra space, place a wingback chair on one side of the fireplace to create a warm ready nook. If your fireplace isn’t working, you can still keep it as a part of the room’s design. Instead of pulling attention to the fire (or lack thereof), add a bench directly in front of the hearth. Feel free to decorate the bench with throw blankets, pillows, flowers, and pictures, or simply use it for extra seating.
Where do you put a TV in a living room with a fireplace?
If the fireplace is in the middle of the room, you can forego mantle decor and instead anchor a wall-mounted TV above it. It’s a great location, especially if you entertain guests for football Sundays or gather the family for movie night regularly. If your fireplace is a corner unit and not the focal point, you can still place the TV on the main living room wall, either mounted or in a TV cabinet, and arrange the couches around that. In that case, the fireplace may not be the focal point, but it can still provide warmth and coziness on cold winter nights.
If you want a TV and don’t wish for it to become a central feature, consider placing it on the side of a cabinet. The TV will be off-center but still available when you want to watch it. To help it blend in, we recommend painting the entire back wall a dark blue or slate gray so the screen doesn’t immediately draw the eye. You can also keep it in a cabinet with doors if you prefer to hide it away when not in use.
How do you arrange furniture around a non-working fireplace?
A non-functional fireplace doesn’t have to be an unusable one. Keep all your furniture facing this feature, but fill the center of the fireplace with candles, plants, or stacks of old books that make for an attention-grabbing design. No fire needed! If you would rather not make your hearth a focal point at all, use it as a backdrop to a sofa or side chair. Spin around the layout of the room so the furniture faces outward toward the rest of the space. Use the fireplace as a nice backdrop and adorn the wall even further with gorgeous artwork.
What if my fireplace is in the corner?
If you have a corner fireplace, first decide if you want it to be the focal point. If not, you can always center the furniture toward the main wall and minimize the decor around it so guests don’t focus too much on that corner. You can also angle your furniture toward the fireplace, placing a couch parallel to it and arranging chairs on either side. Then, you can put a TV or piece of artwork over the fireplace and flank the sides with plants, bookshelves, or wall sconces for extra lighting.
Before purchasing furniture or even rearranging what you already have, take the time to plan out your remodeled space. Measure out all the pieces and even sketch your desired layout to determine what works best before you start any heavy lifting. For inspiration, take a look on Instagram, Pinterest, and Etsy to find some new, unique designs that will make your living room pop. Whether you have a grand fireplace that’s an anchor of the room or a smaller, cozy piece in the corner, you can still arrange your furniture to make sure all guests and members of the house feel warm, entertained, and happy to be home.
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