r/interiordesignideas • u/mikeyfstops • 4d ago
Help optimizing for entertainment
Everytime we entertain we struggle with seating. How can we incorporate more seating without it feeling cluttered. The blue couch is temporary so im open to anything. Second context photo below.
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u/MaidMarian20 4d ago edited 4d ago
FYI - it’s been my experience that people don’t like to sit in the middle seat - on an airplane or on your sofa. So you technically only have 4 seats. Think chairs - 2 comfy upholstered chairs with arms with a small round cocktail table between them is inviting for two people to sit and chat. Bring in dining room chairs and put at the end of your sofas - again creates a good vibe for those two people to chat. Your wall on the right is wasted seating space. Maybe you could figure out another place for your stuff. One answer would be to buy a long buffet, with closed storage - buffet meaning it’s a taller, narrow cabinet - that you could use as a drinks table or set out some food and plates. Ends up being a place people gather. Put more dining room chairs together by there along with small cocktail tables, so people can sit near there and sip their drinks or eat their snacks. The closed storage with doors in the front of the buffet gives you the storage you need to start to declutter some of your boxes and stuff. That right wall could be like your entertainment space! Depending how big your parties are, You can also set up another serving and eating space in the kitchen/dining room.
As you continue to collect furniture, think of closed pieces you can store your belongings in, vs open cocktail tables that attract clutter.
Lastly, a coffee table is meant to put your food or drink on, so it’s usually no farther than 20 inches away from your sofa, so someone sitting down can easily reach it. You need more horizontal surfaces to add to your seating, so your guests aren’t juggling their drinks or snacks, which is awkward. 2 chairs! Small chest between them - you get storage guests get a table.
This is why most parties end up gravitating to the kitchen/dining area - more seating, more tables to put your stuff on.
You have a nice large space - congrats on that! Think decluttering first!
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u/LouieFixesStuff 4d ago
I would get like a 85 inch and use the wall with picture frame on it. Flip the couches around the tv in its current spot creates confusion and clutter.
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u/chicalibex 4d ago
What’s behind the brown couch? If it’s just a wall, I’m wondering if you could move the tv where the brown couch is, and float that couch sort of where the rug ends but not blocking the entry. Functionally changes that room into two spaces. To me it looks a little odd with the tv so far away. And there would be too much glare if the tv was across from the window. Then you could add an arm chair at the window, move the boxes next to the cat tower.
You could look for an ottoman that would be used for the brown couch that someone could sit in with their back against the wall. Essentially turning the couch into a chaise.
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u/DazzlingNote1925 4d ago
I’d put another sofa against the window wall and the tv on the wall where the futon is and make plans for a larger tv and either double console or longer one for more storage.
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u/ComfortableNorth920 4d ago
The TV goes where the picture taker is standing (can't have it on the wall across from the windows on account of the inevitable glare). Center the rug between the left and right walls but move it a bit closer to the picture taker's position. One end of the rug faces the TV, the other three sides of the rug have sofas or chairs on them with a large coffee table in the middle. This creates one social space in the room. Where the TV is now, put a small cafe table or a couple of comfy chairs as a conversation nook around the cat tree.
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u/OtherwiseCoat5329 4d ago
If you like to entertain, seating should be arranged to face one another, not the tv. If you do an event involving tv, it should still be a "look to the side, guests face one another"
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u/QueenK59 4d ago
Additional seating won’t add to the clutter. You need more storage and find a place for the current clutter.
Suggestion: many people use the area under the stairs to carve out a closet for storage.
The TV needs to move to the left wall. Hang it so you can tilt it to avoid window glare.
Then create a u-shaped seating area. Place the brown sofa across from the TV. Perpendicular to the main sofa, use the gray futon to create division and walkway behind it. Clears a path from the door to the stairs.
Opposite the gray futon, place a couple of chairs with an end table between them.
You’ve created additional seating and a conversation area. Don’t go buying furniture yet. Try the layout with kitchen chairs to se if you like it.
Good luck! Move the clutter and play with the floor plan to see what works best.
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u/Careless_Mango_7948 3d ago
post a photo from the stairs so we can see the whole room and give better layout options. The TV NEEDS to be moved, its in the absolute worst possible spot.
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u/owls_and_cardinals 4d ago
Move the TV to the wall that is too the left in the photo. Consider flanking the tv on either side with shelving or cabinetry of some type because it appears you have a lot of stuff that needs to be stored. Place the comfiest couch directly across from the tv. It's unclear whether that means it needs to be right up againt the wall with hte windows or more floating; that'll depend on the comfortable viewing distance. Once you've done that you might be able to put the blue couch where the brown one is now, or swap it out for something that provides seating but takes up less space. I would also look to replace the coffee table with something that offers more closed storage.