Question: I live in a one-bedroom condo. The living room is long and narrow with the kitchen at one end and a small window and angled glass door at the other end, and a fireplace at the opposite angle next to the window.

I have lots of stuff in the living/dining room and it seems like a hodgepodge even though the pieces are very nice. I would like to make the living room more comfortable.

I have a loveseat near the fireplace and an iron daybed against the wall. It isn't very comfortable for guest seating so I've decided I could get rid of it but don't know how to place the new sofa. The loveseat belonged to my family and has a good frame with curved arms. Does a second sofa have to match or should I get two?

Susan Belmont
San Francisco

Answer: Long, narrow rooms are always a challenge, and with as many angled walls and details as yours has, this one is especially difficult. However, I think I've come up with a solution that solves all your needs.

MAKING THE MOST OF A LONG, NARROW SPACE Placing long narrow pieces perpendicular to the length of a narrow room creates the illusion of a wider space. In this case, the revised placement of furniture creates two distinct areas - living room and dining area - within a long space.

Such rooms need furniture placement that creates the illusion of greater width. With this principle in mind, your longest pieces should be perpendicular to the length of the room, thus forcing the illusion of a wider space. Let's start this transformation as you come into the room from the entry. Your willingness to part with the large sofa is a good place to start since it is out of scale with the other pieces and awkward. But because your family's loveseat sounds lovely, I've made it a focal point of the seating area but placed it in a more effective location.  Switch your dining table from the diagonal to parallel to the kitchen counter. The four chairs are now placed two on each of the long sides of the table instead of one on each side. Removing the chairs from the ends of the table gives better balance to the space, and allows a clearer passage into the room. Your charming loveseat that has curved arms should have its back to the dining area. Now it's the anchor of a separate seating area, the living room. Instead of having your piano floating in a space by itself, place it behind the loveseat so it functions as a low room divider. Opposite the loveseat add two upholstered bergere chairs, which are a nice complement to your loveseat, comfortable for guests and, because they are so open in their design, won't create visual clutter.

Between the loveseat and the two chairs is a rectangular coffee table. The top should be glass to keep the space open and airy. Find one that has a metal frame with curved legs so the soft lines of the loveseat and two chairs are enhanced.

Your armoire has been brought closer to this area to create a focal point and a place in which to put your television. By putting it inside the armoire, you're creating a place to socialize without the TV being so evident.

With the furniture placed in this arrangement, there is now access to the patio door.

Now for storage of your CDs, books and art objects, add a combination storage cabinet and bookcase on the long wall between the dining and living areas. It can have closed cabinets below and open shelving above, solving most storage problems. It should be tall enough to give you plenty of bookcase space.

I don't think this piece should be a low, console-height cabinet (36 inches) because, with the exception of the armoire, everything else in the room is low.

The height of this piece will add drama and visual interest to the room.

On either side of this long bookcase are plants. Perhaps a low potted plant on the side nearest the entry, and a taller one on the side closest to the living room. These plants will soften the lines of the cabinet and add visual interest at the same time.

 

 

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