DESIGN OF A LIVING ROOM | SIZES

A living room is the space where people spend plenty of time, a place for social gatherings, or a space to watch TV together in the evening or also can be used as a dining space when a room separator is implemented. So, before buying furniture for the living room it is important to take care of the functional needs. 

While designing your living room, it’s a good idea to think about certain key aspects like space available, the colours to be used, the kind of furniture and accessories you fancy.

LIVING ROOM DOORS AND WINDOWS -

• Door openings in a Living room should be located so as to give enough wall space for the furniture arrangements.

• It is preferable to have the doors of constant use placed so that the traffic between them will not interfere with the furniture groups.

• It is even better if the Main door and the door leading to the other rooms are close to each other in one corner of the room, as the rest of the room can be used for the furniture and a main traffic lane can be avoided.

• Windows should be located so that a seating arrangement can face the window, since looking out while having a conversation is quite interesting.

• There should be convenient access to the windows and doors, and furniture should not block the windows.

• The TV position should be fixed such that it is not opposite a window, as the TV screen will reflect the light from the window.

LIVING ROOM SIZES: 

In my experience as an Architect for the past 15 years, I have found that to arrange furniture and move around comfortably in a Living room, it has to have some minimum basic sizes. Here I have recommended the sixes for a comfortable Living room.

LIVING ROOM WIDTH:

• There should be convenient access to the windows and doors, and furniture should not block the windows.
• In small sites, it is difficult to have wide living rooms, but I suggest that the bare minimum width should be 11'0", though it is worthwhile to somehow increase it to 12'0" or at least 11'6", because this will allow for the comfortable arrangement of a furniture group along the width of the Living room.
• A comfortable width will be 13'0", provided the living room has a big opening to the dining room.
• A luxurious width will be about 15'0" or even more, depending on the size of your site, budget and the number of people you intend to entertain very often.

LIVING ROOM LENGTH:

• In a small site, you may have to restrict the length to about 15', which I consider the bare minimum in order to have a reasonably spacious feel and to arrange two seating groups.
•  A comfortable length for a Living room will be at least 18', as this allows for spacious arrangement of seating groups, easy movement space as well as comfortable distance for TV viewing.
• A luxurious length will be 20' and above. This solely depends on your site size, budget, and how often and how many people you entertain. It also depends on whether you want to have additional furniture like a Piano, or a Game table for cards etc.

LIVING ROOM DIMENSIONS:

So to summarize, the Living room dimensions can be as follows:

• Basic minimum - 11'0"x 15'0" and above.
• Comfortable - 13'0"x18'0" and above.
• Luxurious - 15'0" (and above) x 20'0" (and above).

LOCATION OF LIVING ROOM:

The Living room is the space where guests are entertained and the first impression is made. In many houses, it is also a kind of Family room, where the family sits together to watch TV or have discussions. The Location of a Living room depends on factors like the main Road, the Foyer, the main entrance door, orientation etc. For Vastu tips on the best location for a Living Room go to:

• VAASTU SHASTRA | LIVING ROOM

Related Topics:

DESIGN OF A LIVING ROOM | PLANNING
DESIGN OF OTHER ROOMS IN A HOUSE