Family room furniture arrangement

Today’s decorating dilemma…

We have finished the walls and floors, now looking for a furniture arrangement.

We are purchasing all new furniture. We need a recliner. We are buying a 52′ Bravia tv. I didn’t want to put it over the fireplace, but we would have to put the couch in front of the windows if we put it on the wall.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, Mary

Kate suggests…

The most logical and appealing solution to your problem may be to mount the television above the fireplace so that the two focal points of the room become one, and you can achieve the traditional inglenook furniture arrangement that allows for cozy conversation around the fire.

However, there are a number of concerns with mounting your plasma television above a working fireplace, such as the potential for heat or smoke damage. If you don’t intend to use your fireplace and television simultaneously often, then this should be of little concern to you, but if you do, then you should take care to make sure that the wall above your fireplace doesn’t get too hot from the chimney or fire below, or else it may cause damage to, or shorten the life of, your plasma television.

Another thing to take into consideration is whether you plan to simply watch regular broadcasts on your television, or if you plan to hook up a home theater system. If the latter is the case, then you may benefit from placing your television on the wall opposite the windows so all the accompanying electronics can be neatly enclosed in an entertainment center.

I would mount the television on the wall opposite the windows. You will want to find a nice window treatment to help with the glare on the screen. Since your windows are exceptionally tall, I would suggest a remote-controlled honeycomb shade, or similar screen, on the top and some nice long, flowing drapes for the bottom half.

Per your drawing, I would keep a nice rug near the fireplace to specify the seating area, and protect that gorgeous wood floor. Next, you can choose from two different furniture arrangements.

For the first, place your sofa parallel to the fireplace, and two chairs in front of the windows, at a conversational angle, and purchase a nicely scaled square coffee table to tie the three together.

The second option, if you feel the first constricts traffic flow too much, would be to place the sofa parallel to your television, allowing for room to walk between the sofa and the windows, then placing the two chairs, at your discretion, either on each side of the fireplace, or slightly angled toward each other near the entrance of the room.

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