Question: I want to purchase three-person and two-person sofas from Ikea and a cocktail table for my living room. The room has a fireplace at an angle and a computer desk that I want to keep. I would appreciate some advice on where to put things. What do you suggest?

Ondina Castro
Daly City

Answer:Often, people get excited about furniture they see in stores without careful consideration as to how it will be placed in a room. And then, when the pieces are delivered, they don't fit the space properly. Not good.

To guarantee success, it's important to do your homework before you go shopping. Know the dimensions of the room, including the location and size of windows, doors, the fireplace and any other built-in elements that are fixed in place.

Before you buy anything, get the dimensions of pieces you're thinking about buying and lay them out on the floor in newspaper to see their footprint in the space.

Based on the pictures you sent with your dilemma, and your interest in having two sofas in the room, I made an important and necessary change to make this room work well for you. I've eliminated the smaller of the two sofas and created a furniture plan that addresses your desire to keep the desk near the window.

Contemporary living room The desk is positioned under the window for a pleasurable view. A long sofa, two club chairs, and a cabinet for media components are conducive to relaxing or socializing.

Let's start with the one sofa. I've chosen the one that's 6 feet, 6 inches long for maximum comfort and placed it against the long wall perpendicular to the fireplace and the window wall.

On the wall opposite the sofa is a TV console cabinet with a flat-screen TV on the wall above it. If it's not practical to hang the TV from the wall, you can place it on top of the console cabinet.

Peripheral hardware, such as cable box, DVD player and other components, reside in the cabinet.

Perpendicular to the sofa is a pair of club chairs. They are small and won't take up too much floor space. If watching TV is an important part of your socializing, they can be swivel chairs.

In front of the seating area is a glass-topped coffee table. I've selected one that has a wood frame with the glass set into it to anchor the area visually.

Your end table is placed at one end of the sofa and has a lamp on it, and on the other end of the sofa is a floor lamp to give the room balanced lighting.

Since you want to keep your desk, I've placed a new desk directly under the window so you have a good view. Its surface could be glass and be placed over a pair of wood or metal "horses" used as legs for an interesting, modern look that complements the style of your new sofa.

At only 2 feet deep, its narrow surface won't intrude into the seating area. Keep the desk clutter-free by using attractive storage containers.

Since the sofa you've selected is blue with light ash wood legs, and your wall-to-wall carpet is a neutral taupe, let's select colors for the other pieces that will give the room a cohesive, modern look.

The two club chairs could be ivory to keep the room looking light. Or, if you're daring and want to go very modern, they could be red, which would stand in sharp contrast to the sofa.

The window treatment over the desk should be attractive and functional. It should block the light when closed and be easy to operate. A simple shade like a honeycomb or Silhouette will give a modern look. For a more traditional approach, use a wood slat Venetian blind or white shutters.

Finish the transformation of this room with a piece of modern art hung over the fireplace and another on the wall over the sofa. Small pieces will make the room look cluttered, so choose pieces that are large enough to make a statement and be eye-catching.

 

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