Today I’m sharing all about our major furniture upgrade in our living room at the Peppermint House! We have a long, narrow living room that’s very open to the rest of our home. So I intentionally picked furniture that would help ground the space and be practical for our family. I’m diving into all the design details like what we picked and why below, keep reading on!
Configuring A New Narrow Living Room Layout
If you remember, we had a navy L-shaped sectional in here. It moved with us from Texas and was pretty worn out. The L shape wasn’t right for this long, skinny space, and made the room feel cut off and awkward.
We needed a different furniture layout to make our narrow living room more functional.
Instead, I opted for a U-shape layout. This would give us additional seating, would allow easier access into the space, and would make our open-concept first floor feel more open.
Furniture For A Narrow Living Room: What We Picked
With this layout in mind, I measured our space and went on the hunt for a long couch and two accent chairs.
Capa Leather Couch from Poly & Bark
I love the look and feel of a leather couch, and wanted to invest in a high quality couch that will last us long term.
After lots of browsing, we went with Poly & Bark’s Capa Leather Cigar Sofa.
The boxy, low-to-the-floor look is perfect for grounding our open living room space.
I love the clean lines, french seams, and panel details. It has a single cushion which means less places for crumbs to get into. *praise hands up*
It has a low back, so if that’s not your thing, maybe skip this one. I have back problems and was worried this wouldn’t be comfortable. But we tried it out for a few days and absolutely love it.
It’s not too firm, and so comfortable that I keep accidentally falling asleep on it in the evenings.
All four of us can sit comfortably on it because it’s extra long. The seat depth is perfect for curling up on the couch comfortably.
Royce Corduroy Swivel Accent Chairs from World Market
To balance out how much light brown/tan we have in our living room, I wanted colorful accent chairs. I also wanted chairs with a rounded barrel shape to compliment the couch’s boxy shape.
We went to our local World Market and tried a few chairs in person. Ultimately I ordered two Royce Corduroy Swivel Accent Chairs online from World Market and crossed our fingers we’d like them.
I was looking for big, comfy chairs and these honestly don’t quite hit the mark. I wish the backs were a bit higher for adults.
But we still love them enough that we decided to keep them.
These are the perfect width, I love the rounded barrel shape, the color, and the unexpected corduroy material.
I didn’t think much about their ability to swivel, but we love this feature! It makes it easy to turn and face someone as you’re talking to them, or swivel around to watch the tv.
Plus you can get sea sick in your own house. Who wouldn’t want that.
Future Living Room Changes
As with anything in a home, changes come in stages. I tried to keep our long-term plans in mind for this space before buying any furniture. We hope to have our basement finished by the end of this year. When that happens, we’ll move our TV downstairs and rearrange this room one more time.
For now, a U-shaped layout let’s us utilize this space for more socialization and family movie nights, and makes the most sense for us right now.
Eventually we’ll switch to an H shape to allow for for seating and more socializing.
Colors
I love a caramel leather, but I tried to convince Nathan to go with the darker brown leather couch in here. Admittedly, it’s hard to find furniture we both like so I happily compromised on the color so we could still get this particular couch.
I think we have too much light brown/tan in here now, but I trust that I can design around it.
It partly feels like too much because this space is open to our dining and kitchen, and our kitchen cabinets are oak tan. Once we paint those it will feel less overwhelmingly tan. When we finish our basement too, our brown tv stand will get moved downstairs.
So I’m not worried about it at all. The long-term vision checks out in my head!
Lighting, Coffee Table, and Remodels
Other future changes will include swapping out our round coffee table for a matching rectangle leather ottoman. This would give us a place to put up our feet. For now, the coffee table is a practical for our family with little kids.
I’d like to find a big globe light for this living room too. Or a black modern spider light.
Eventually, my gallery wall will expand to cover the whole TV wall. Our fireplace will get remodeled to be a more prominent feature in here. And I’d like to add a wood treatment and wood beams to our high ceiling in here. I can’t wait to watch this vision come together over the next few years!
Little Changes Make A Big Difference
It feels SO much better in here! More open, accessible, and functional. Now we have a better walkway to our dining and kitchen, and this setup gives us more seating options.
I’m so grateful we found a good set up for this narrow living room in our home. It’s made a huge difference in how we live here already. We’ve been spending more time together and enjoying our home more.
It will only get better and better.
Cheers, friends!
