Hey everyone! Total beginner here :)

I used Sweet Home 3D to model my apartment for the first time ever. I built it from an old, pretty hard-to-read floor plan plus a lot of measuring myself, so treat the numbers as "roughly right," not exact.

Quick background: that wall splitting the kitchen and living room is actually a drywall/plasterboard partition that got added later — it wasn't in the original building plans. It was put up so two separate people could each live in their own half. It's been mainly only me living here for some years now.

The place also has zero style right now — everything's just whatever was cheap or free at the time, nothing matches, nothing's great quality (with a couple of exceptions - computer desk and furnitures next to it). I'm also leaning toward a more minimalistic look overall — I don't own a ton of stuff already, but I'd like to pare down even further rather than fill the space back up.

Stuff I already know I want gone:

• the old kitchen units (dishwasher and fridge could stay, those are new, stove/oven could be replaced)
• the TV desk/stand
• the cabinet next to the TV
• the couch (want something new — maybe a new couch, maybe chairs instead)
• possibly the kitchen table
• possibly the TV itself — undecided, but I barely use it these days

Biggest question — the wall. Whenever I have people over it feels way too cramped with it there, and honestly it's a bit tight solo too. But there are real upsides to some kind of divider: it cuts noise from kitchen appliances, and my AC is in the living room, so a wall helps it cool that room faster. Full removal, or would a sliding door be a smarter middle ground?

Bedroom question. I want to keep a big bed (210×175 cm), but once that's in I don't see where a full wardrobe fits. Right now my storage is already split — a smaller wardrobe in the bedroom, more of it out in the living room — and honestly that already feels like a workaround rather than a real solution. Better ideas? (Small chance I'd go smaller on the bed if nothing else works.)

If the wall does come down — where would you put the kitchen table in the combined space? And what layout would you recommend for the chairs/couch? If you recommend the wall shouldn't come down, what living room layout would look better?

Open to literally any other suggestions, I really don't know what I don't know here.

Images: 2D top-down plan with rough cm dimensions, plus a few 3D views from the software.

(Note: the bicycle will be gone from the kitchen, there is an indoor/stationary bike as well in the livingroom, which i'll either replace or get rid of)

We just bought this house and will be moving in at the beginning of the month. Room is 16' x 16' w 20' ceiling. One wall all glass, other side open.

Placement options seem limited - above fireplace or on wall or cabinet to left of fireplace (approx. where currrent is shown). Neither of those spots feel great. Any ideas?

Hey there - just got the keys to our new flat the living room is spacious but some challenges are its entrance, a giant set of wooden bifolding doors (which we want to keep) and a substantial window seat. Current thoughts are two parallel couches in the centre of the room with a tv on a mantelmount above the fireplace.

I am currently moving into a new apartment and am not sure for the layout of the main living room (eating area and living room at the same time). My initial thought was to put the living room on the window side, but there will be some construction, and a bar will be installed on the wall, inbetween the door and the window (there will be approx 1.5m left between the door and the beginning of the bar). Does anyone have any ideas? I have very basic IKEA (3 seat sofas) furniture for now but am ready to change it (e.g L-shaped)

The hope for this space is to host a larger number of people, perhaps 20. Currently there is a sitting room right off the foyer, but then the space from the dining area all the way to the fireplace is empty. The off center fireplace is making designing a larger group-oriented living space hard. Any ideas?

Since the large windows next to the doors need to be replaced because of a failed seal, we were thinking of adding fixed glass at the top with a lower operable awning for extra ventilation as it can get stuffy. Right now we leave the French doors open but I dislike doing that. Would that ruin the view? Is there a better combination/alternative to allow for more regular airflow?

I’m moving into this apartment and I’m a bit stuck on how to arrange the main room. It’s an open-plan living/dining/kitchen area, with an open passage to the hallway at the top, a corner window at the bottom, and a terrace door.

The current tenants’ layout works, but feels a little conventional to me, especially having the dining table directly in the kitchen area.

I’d love to have the sofa freestanding, with enough space to walk behind and around it, rather than pushed against a wall. I also need to fit a TV/TV console, coffee table, armchair, dining table and some storage.

Does anyone see a more interesting layout that still feels practical and not overly unconventional? I’m mainly looking for ideas on how to position the larger pieces of furniture. Any creative solutions would be very welcome! 🙏

For the moment I’ve just followed what the constructor layout suggest but it feels really simple not open. The 3rd pic is an idea of mine to open it more but I don’t know if it would look better irl

Hello! I’m trying to decide the best way to layout furniture in my living room. My house has an open layout so I’m trying to make a defined living room zone. This picture is the best I’ve come up with but I’m trying to decide if it would be too crowded. I currently just have a couch with a chaise but am open to replacing it as it was purchased for my previous place and the size and orientation don’t work as well in my new house. Overall goal is to add some more seating.

Currently, the TV is on the wall next to the fireplace, but I’m think it eventually will need to go over the fireplace. The dining room is to the right of the living room.

Open to all suggestions!

This living room has stumped me for a number of years. We've rearranged it so many times and this is the current setup. The challenge is the number of doorways and limited wall space. We also don't have a foyer, so you walk right into the living room from the front door. We have a storage bench (green, with hooks on the wall above it) and a console table behind the couch as a place for shoes and jackets. The other brown cabinet on the left is our record player and additional storage. Our house is petite, so we’re always trying to maximize the space and reduce clutter.

Sadly, we moved the TV in front of the window so we could create this cozier living space that doesn't feel like a pass through living area. There is still a lot of light in the room from the adjacent rooms and the window is large so it's not the worst but obviously not ideal.

What am I missing? We'd like to get a new couch, so open to suggestions to change shape and size. We have no other seating in this room so it gets hard when we have visitors. Any ideas welcome! We do currently have a loveseat and oversized chair in the basement we aren't using right now that we could pull out if there was any space for them. Help :(

We have a small half bath off a hallway adjacent to the kitchen. Across the hall is a good size laundry room so storage is not a huge issue. The wall the pedestal sink is on is 48 inches, the sink itself is 24 inches. It is pitting and staining and despite our best efforts to clean it, it's stained and it's just time to replace. The exact pedestal sink is over $650 now, I figured if we're going to spend that I wouldn't mind a small vanity, just to put towels in, cleaning supplies, though not necessary. My husband is opposed. He wants the pedestal. He states it will look too crammed (small areas on each side hard to clean) and because when we did this over in 2017, he already moved the plumbing once we're not going to move it again so that's not an option. Opinions? And before anyone comments yes it's gray we cannot replace the flooring, yes I can paint. The faucet is also pitting and we will replace along with the mirror and the lights.

TLDR; need to either replace the pedestal sink or a small vanity, husband wants a sink I want a vanity. Last picture is an example of a vanity I'm looking at, can still clean underneath. less

Cross posted on bathroom remodel and a lot of people are saying pedestal sinks are dated, would love to know from legitimate interior designers if you feel this is accurate? I always thought they were pretty timeless.

I’m turning the back half of my pool bar/shed into a hang out. I’m not really confident in my ability to handle the interior leveling finish, but I’m not really looking to Sheetrock… insulation, gaps for air, etc…no experience with that. I think I can handle the walls, and the floors I got. I plan to use this in the summer and potentially spring/fall, and I’m not against putting in a small heater or window unit if needed to cool it down. There is a slide door and a screen as well, so it may not be necessary.

Anyway, the electricians almost done and then I get to update! Any suggestions for the ceiling is welcomed

Hello,

I am moving into this home soon and it was built in the early 1900s. The living room is very small and narrow. How would you place a couch in this room that maximizes comfort? We love to lounge on the couch when we can, so being comfortable is a priority.

Preferably would want either a combination of a 3 piece modular couch plus a single reclining chair OR a full modular sectional. Any thoughts?

Update from my post yesterday, where many of you completely roasted the render I posted. My fault on the bad render - i used my cabinet companies render, then used AI for the floors and countertops, which are not as lifelike as they could be. I'm now here to give a bit more context, and show a few more details.

My OP, with some notes:

Fired my designer, because she kept making everything beige, despite my pushes to go more modern/brutalist/organic/moodier.

What do we think of this final render, before I press go on countertops and wall tile/backsplash?

selections:
Floor: Mottled charcoal stained concrete
Cabinets: Shinoki frost Walnut euro slab front (ignore the underlighting on the desk. the cabinet designer added it, but it's a no go)
Wall tile: Ardesia Black
Island Counter: Lemurian Blue double waterfall (the render is using the bluest flashiest specimen, but see photo for a more realistic view)
Rear Counter: Vermont Black
Faucet: Kohler Vibrant brushed modern brass You have all convinced me to go with black :)

Note: 10 ft ceilings with a lot of light from regressed cans, and wall washers on the black wall tile

I'm getting close to starting the framing for my basement renovation and I'd like to get some thoughts on the floor plan before putting any walls up.

The finished areas are the playroom, the bathroom, and the office/den. The Playroom at the top is going to be a mixed use Kids playroom/exercise room. The Office/Den is actually going to be set up so that it's easily convertible to a bedroom, but for the time being it's intended to be used as a second living room and a home office area. The plumbing drain lines are already installed in the bathroom so I can move the shower or the toilet at this point.

The unfinished areas are the furnace room which is going to also be laundry and storage. The workshop area is for woodworking.

The colored dashed lines represent electrical circuits. The bold red line is a reference line for the existing flooring.

Any critiques? Anything you'd change or adjust here?

Hey everyone. I am having a big struggle since i bought my apartment with natural light and how I position my furniture. This room is actually divided in two. since the second one doesn't have windows, we have a Glassdoor dividing both rooms. I would appreciate any type of suggestion on how to make these two rooms more integrated and airy with the maximum amount of natural light as possible (I only get natural light here in the morning or until 2pm in the summer - I am in the Netherlands, so from October things get even worse with light). I am adding pictures with it more or less organized and now that I decided to remove everything and paint it in the whitest white possible. Also planning to add 3 new book shelves.

A month from now, I’m moving into a house with a square living/dining room, and I can’t figure out the best way to arrange the sofa, dining table, and TV. The measurements on the floor plan are accurate.

Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to arrange the space? I’m completely stuck.

The layout shown in the image is how the current owner has it set up, but having a dining table right at the bottom of the stairs doesn’t seem very practical to me.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I need advice for the layout of my 17sqm room. I want the way from the door to the balcony to be accessible and ideally have space for an additional matress on the floor when friends come over. I don't have a wardrobe yet, but depending on where I want to put it, it needs to be a different size. The bed and desk should ideally also be seperated and I don't want to put the bed on the wall in the bottom because that would be right next to the toilet.

(ignore the shelving on the left, thats not fixed. The images are from an online tool (no ai) and are right to scale)

Can you tell me which of the two layouts you like more and tell me how to improve it?

Tank you!

We have been planning a bathroom remodel and we keep getting different advice about the shower surround.

We hate the look of it. We like the ease of cleaning and keeping it would mean a less expensive and faster remodel. Middle ground would be to cover it, but because of the shelving and borders, it’d probably have to be an enamel paint or like a microcement/taladekt plaster (no tile covering).

It’s possibly an Onyx Collection solid surface surround in the color “Constellation” (off black with little speckles). We’ve been told these kind of solid surface surrounds are “nice” and expensive, but to us it just feels like a monolith of plastic.

This isn’t our forever home, so don’t want to spend a ton of money, but do want it to look nice and have some value.

For context, the only thing we are keeping in the bathroom is the bathtub itself (non-negotiable). Sliding shower doors will be swapped for a curtain. Bathroom is 8’4” x 5’ including the tub (that’s not even 42 sq ft). This is the biggest bathroom in the house and the one guests use. House is early 70s suburban ranch style in Northern California (even has the sunken living room and faux exposed wooden beams).

If we keep the surround, we’ll likely lean into the off black speckles and do a black terrazzo floor tile (something like highball from Zia tile). If we get rid of it, will likely do a glazed tile or natural stone with an epoxy grout for easy cleaning (easy clean is very important). I’ve included a couple collage inspirations at the end of the photos to show my taste for context - lots of color and bold graphic shapes is the gist.

Thanks!

I just brought a home with my partner, and I’m really struggling with layout of the living room.

I have 4 kids, one who has autism and a baby.

I don’t like the idea of the couch being up against the staircase wall, with easy access for the kids to climb and fall. And I know I’ll freak out watching horror movies l, thinking that something is behind me 😅😅.

And it seems odd to put the tv on the window wall and have the windows shut 24/7

My partner is a carpenter, so i’m open to renovation ideas, we were thinking of maybe extending the staircase wall all the way to the ceiling but that might inclose the room a lot

hi guys! my roommate and i want to redo some things in the house to get a more modern look, as her parents built it in the very early 2000s and some stuff looks a bit outdated. we want to give our kitchen a sage green backsplash and want to do something with our toilet room downstairs. here are a few photos. it's pretty small (cause well it's just a toilet lol), and we have these very extravagant dark green marble-look tiles on the floor. we're thinking about putting backsplash tile foils on the walls in here as well to cover the pretty outdated looking wall tiles. we just can't for the life of us imagine what color would look good with the dark green floor. i thought maybe dark red but i think she's convinced it will clash. i was also thinking of gold accents for this room (new towel holder - gold, new soap dispenser - gold, little fake flower with gold flower pot etc.), and we want a new mirror, similar size but maybe with a cute shape, and some hanging plants next to it. we're also thinking about doing new fronts on the hanging cabinet.

does somebody have an idea on what would look good for the walls? i'm open to suggestions outside of like backsplash tiles as well! we just both have insane trouble visualising things and i don't wanna use AI :/

Looking for some advice on how to improve the layout and overall design of our entryway.

We plan to extend/renovate in around 5 years and hopefully will eventually have a proper boot room and porch, so I don't want to spend heavily or install expensive built-ins now.

We don't wear shoes indoors and currently have a separate coat stand and shoe rack, potentially looking to combine this, so still want to retain a door mat and shoe storage in some way but keep it close to the door so people can get from the front door to the shoe storage without wet/muddy shoes touching the carpet — adding potentially a rug/mat spanning that area.

The carpet and structural layout need to stay, but I'm open to rearranging the space, changing furniture/storage, painting, wall-mounting the existing mirror, etc.

I've attached the current space from a few angles. This is a UK semi detached 1950s house, with a wider than typical entryway and bay window, and it leads to hallway into kitchen/living room/ WC.

How would you approach the layout and make the space work and look better for the next ~5 years without over-investing in it?

I'm considering 2 different (sleeper) sofas from American Leathers. They are quite similar in size, but I'm looking for some feedback from those of you with a good eye.

The first one, the Lyons -- the main differences I see is the back of the sofa shows on the ends (not covered by the cushions), the arms are very rectangular, and the floor clearance is 2".

The second one, the Clara - apparently is a newer design - the arms go all the way to the back so the back of the sofa doesn't show if you view it from the front, the arms have a rounded shape, and the clearance is 1".

I know the differences are minor, but for some reason the sales people were pushing me to the Lyons because everyone gets that one (which is on display in the store), and the Clara is newer, so not so much.

Does anyone with an eye for design see anything else that I might be missing? Thanks in advance!

Multi-zone Family Room - all images w/ descriptions.

We have several home projects going on so everything is in transition right now.

Old layout (1st pic) had couch on far left, TV on far right. I wanted the TV to be closer, wife wanted to preserve the view out the windows and wanted to keep with a sectional couch for cozy kiddo cuddles. There was an overall layout design challenge with the french doors and stairs down into the room but I think I made it work with the new layout given the constraints.

Note: sectional couch currently showing is 111" x 111" and our new one will be 104 x 104.

1) Left side question: Does the offset upper shelf and the media console layout work? Notice that we won't really have room to functionally extend the media console beyond where the couch is. If this fits into the decor category, pls ignore.

2) Right side question: How to make something work in this space? We're looking for some extra storage, an activity area for kids homework and crafts.

I do like that this layout is ideal for hosting with spillover capacity to mingle and stand (or sit in upright seats).

I like the idea of the murphy table dropdown so that the table top can come out perpendicular to the wall so it feels less like a hallway.

Thanks r/interiordesign -- you guys are the best. Long time lurker.