Living room layout ideas – beautiful ways to arrange your lounge

Our selection of the very best living room layout ideas include traditional and modern layouts to suit every home's size and style – and we have included a ton of added-value design advice, too.

So whether your living room design is open-plan, family-focused, a shared home office space or on the small side, there is a layout to suit your lounge. 

Practicality is key for living room ideas, and the layout you select should not only be able to accommodate your lifestyle, but enhance it. These expert living room design tips should meet your needs – and make the most of your existing space. 

If you’re lucky enough to be building a modern living room from scratch, you’ll have significant flexibility in terms of the living room layout and design – but it is also possible to transform an existing interior. A floor-to-ceiling bank of shelving, housing beautiful books, curios and artwork, lends a contemporary look and can be successfully paired with a living room fireplace – perhaps oversized to anchor the space.

Give an awkward or small living room space to breathe by moving furniture away from the walls. 

Pulling your living room furniture away from the walls, even by just a couple of inches, creates breathing space that will make your room appear more spacious. Be sure to select living room seating that is in proportion to the size of your space – oversized sofas and chairs can make a small room feel too narrow.

Bring your living room seating closer together in a large or open-plan living room to make the room feel more intimate. If your living space is generous enough, create multiple seating areas rather than just the one to help divide up the room.  

'Plan seating in groups to ensure conversation flows,' says interior designer Nina Campbell. This living room layout is great for intimate conversation, informal entertaining and compact spaces.

In an open-plan living space, pull the sofa away from the wall – and use its back to create a hallway or walkway – so traffic is directed behind a seating area rather than through it. Alternatively, use the area behind a sofa to add extra storage such as a shelving unit or bookcase, either up against the wall, or butted up to the back of the sofa.

Design your layout around a focal point or key design feature. If your living room has no natural focal point – create one. A pair of statement chairs – or, a one-of-a-kind sofa – will do the trick. Pull out one color from the furniture fabric – and, use as the wall paint, curtain fabric or artwork – for a unified feel.

Using scale in interior design will introduce unparalleled drama to a scheme. 

Playing with your living room proportions has the power to make a large space feel cozy and intimate, but upscaling can also make a small room feel a whole lot bigger than it really is, and of course a super-sized feature will add instant impact. 

Upscaling can be done simply – with a piece of furniture, as show here – or it can be created with a more complicated approach, with wallpaper or tiles.

An open-plan living room offers versatility for the way we live today, and are great for family homes, so figuring out how to design a living room is vital. After all, 'the main motivation for creating an open-plan living space is to be more sociable,’ says Robert Burnett of Holloways of Ludlow. 

Open-plan schemes often have a number of activities that take place within them, so it’s firstly it is important to identify an area for each one.

Use a sofa to mark out the boundary of a seating area in a multi-purpose space. L-shaped designs are a great tool to create a more intimate zone within a larger area, especially if it is one that also incorporates a kitchen or home office. 

In an open-plan living room with a kitchen, dining area or home office, you'll want to work with your interior designer to achieve a logical flow through the space.

Zoning an open-plan space room into distinct areas is a popular technique that can help maintain order in a family living room. Aim to establish similar materials, shapes and colors across the entire space to visually unite the room.

A route to the garden that passes in front of the TV or dining space will quickly prove unpopular, as will any layout that interferes with someone who is working from home. 

‘An L-shaped sofa, island unit or long table can be a real saviour in an open-plan design, as it aids traffic flow and provides the perfect link between the kitchen and living areas,’ adds Andrew Hayes of Smallbone of Devizes.

Though it can be challenging to find the right apartment living room ideas for studios and flats, there are several benefits to compact living. One of the main advantages is the convenient accessibility of everything that’s needed. 

If your apartment has a great view, arrange furniture to show enhance it. This might mean that you ditch the classic living room layout for a more unconventional or modern arrangement, but it will be worth the compromise. Choose furniture that works well with a small layout – armless sofas and chairs, for example, won't interrupt the sight lines. Plus, opt for built-in small living room storage ideas or fitted shelving and cabinets wherever you can.