Decorating Help for New Apartment

[Marijna Black]

Hi Mr. Kate and friends!  I am downsizing and moving into an apartment – my first ever.  The problem is that the living room is oddly long but narrow, there is a window and a sliding glass door, and under the window they just put in an air conditioner that goes through the wall.  I am planning on buying all new furniture anyway as mine are all old outdated hand-me-downs, but I have no idea how to create a layout for the furniture that would look good in such an odd room.  Ideally, I’d love to possibly get a sectional couch (with a chaise lounge at one end if there is room), two side chairs, a side table or coffee table and hopefully to hide some of the uglier parts of the room.     Oh and did I mention baseboard heaters?  I honestly didn’t know those were still around.  So a couple changes since this picture was taken; the vent thing near the ceiling by the sliding doors is gone, new wall air conditioner is right under the window, and the tv wall mount is on the right wall.

Anyone have any ideas to help me out?  I would really, really appreciate it – thank you!!

[Mr. Kate]

Hey Marijna!

Thanks for posting! Congrats on the new place and lots of space! While a room this long and open might seem intimidating now, it’s really exciting to have lots of area to play around in while designing!

It sounds like you already have a direction with your sectional and chaise plan, and I would recommend thinking about all of the furniture you’re going to end up putting in this room. A living room isn’t just seating, but usually also entertainment and some decorative storage like bookshelves. If you’re having a TV in your room, plan the layout of the furniture so that you have a logical viewing area. Likewise, if you are putting up bookshelves or any other large structures like those, you’ll know to make create a nice reading area in front of that, or maybe to leave the shelves alone! Another general rule is to put the longest piece of furniture (which in your case will probably be the sectional), along the longest wall.

Otherwise, I recommend getting a rug or two to tie the space in together, and to use smaller accents like wall art and floor lamps to fill in some of the bigger spaces.

Hope this helps! Good luck decorating!

XOXO,

Mr. Kate & Team

[Author]

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