One side too short, another too long, furnishing a long living room is a real challenge. But before sinking into an ambient pessimism or even refusing a rental for this reason, read the following instead. With these 9 ideas, you can furnish your space with style and elegance and create a nice little comfortable cocoon, even if your living room is very long.
Stay minimalist
The narrower your living room, the more strongly the maxim “less is more” applies. Really think about the furniture you need, and objects that are ultimately only there for decoration and are in no way utilitarian. Do you really need that extra chair? Wouldn’t your library be better displayed in another room of your home?
Place the widest pieces of furniture on the longest side
If you place furniture such as a long sideboard or a multi-seater sofa against the shortest wall in the room, it may even lengthen your living room. Place this type of furniture, for example a long shelf, against one of the two longer sides. They are thus in the direction of the room and allow a more fluid circulation. To keep everything from looking too long, opt for small round, square or oval pieces of furniture and accessories. An asymmetrically cut rug can also visually shorten your room.
Hang or lean your furniture on the wall
Not all of your furniture needs to be on the floor. Some can be suspended. Rather than having a full-length bookcase that would occupy the space of an entire wall, you can choose a single shelf, the entire length of a wall. So your wall mount allows you more movement in the lower part of the room. Many smart layout solutions exist to save floor space. It’s up to you to imagine too!
Divide the space into several distinct zones
Do you want to create a reading corner or an office area? For this, visually separate your long narrow space into smaller and more harmonious units. Help yourself with different colors, especially in terms of wall paintings but also carpets for example. You can simply divide the room so that there is a sitting area on one side and a dining area on the other.
bring light
It often appears that long living rooms have only one opening on one side. Which leaves the opposite side in the dark. Your solution: lamps! This also applies if you are dividing your space. A light source will be required for each space.
Do not accentuate the long side
Rectangular pieces of furniture placed parallel to each other can look oppressive in a long, narrow living room. They put even more emphasis on this impression of length. Use contrasting shapes for small furniture and accessories: a round, square or oval coffee table or an asymmetrical rug. In other words, create geometric variations
Create niches or integrate your furniture into the wall
If your room already offers niches, take the opportunity to place your favorite decorative items. Otherwise see if it is possible to create one. Also see how to integrate certain furniture, such as a large flat screen television. Include as many things as possible when possible. The built-in wall niche is used as a functional but also aesthetic means. At the same time, it allows you to optimize, store and decorate your interior! A niche allows you to store accessories or books in order to save storage space. Its additional benefit is to highlight your decorative objects such as a sculpture, a pretty vase, a painting. It becomes a real decorative showcase. You can even create a large niche to accommodate a bench or turn into a desk, creating a practical and comfortable area.
Play with color effects
With a log and narrow living room, choose light colors that will give you a feeling of space.
Repaint your narrower walls so that they reduce this long side of your living room. If you dare stripes on these walls, they can allow you to restore the balance of your room and give the illusion of longer walls. In any case, if you paint the short wall at the back of the room in a dark color, it will visually bring it back towards you, reducing the feeling of a long room.
Install mirrors
One way to add width to a narrow space is to use mirrors. Hang them on the long sides, they will visually disrupt this effect of length. Thus, they will optimize your space.