Decorating and Design Questions Answered by Jessica Bonness

Jessica Bonness runs JGB Interiors and will answer PoP reader questions about decorating and design. If you have a question send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com and write ‘design question’ in the title.

“I have a design question! We live in a Wardman style row home with a large bay window in the living room. I love the light the bay window provides but we are having trouble figuring out how to arrange the furniture. In addition to the bay window which takes up one wall, we have an oversize opening to the hallway on another wall, the same opening to the dining room on a third wall and a large fireplace on the forth wall. We must keep the 52 inch tv in the room, which is currently in a corner across from the bay window. We have the sofa in the bay window right now but it doesn’t give us enough seating to entertain. (And only allows for one person to stretch out to watch tv!) Do you have any suggestions about what furniture would be better or how to best arrange the furniture when there is no wall space? Thanks!””

Jessica responds:

You could do a couple of things to maximize your seating with this wall-less floor plan.

First, you could get a modified sectional sofa. Not necessarily a huge 7-piece monstrosity, but more like a sofa with a chaise built in. Lots of retailers have “apartment sized” furniture – Crate and Barrel has some great options, like the City 2-Piece Armless Sectional – and the sectionals in this category would be a good fit without taking up too much space in the room.

If you’re keeping your furniture, I’d probably put your existing sofa in the middle of the room and place some armchairs or a bench opposite it. If you can fit two more small chairs next to each other in that bay window, you can define the area with a small rug and create a place to read a book or sit while you’re not watching television. You might even have room for a tiny table or a cube.

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In regards to storage, you can put a console table or a small horizontal bookcase at the back of the sofa. This will get you more storage and it often looks really sharp if you have colorful books or neat things to display. It’s an unexpected placement that especially helps if you don’t love the back of your sofa. Depending on the positioning, it also provides a view from the dining room that isn’t so filled with chairs.

I’d say you could bite the bullet and mount your tv above the mantle, but it appears your wall is mirrored and your tv is gigantic, so thankfully that won’t be an option. Better for your neck to not have to crane up above the fireplace anyway.

I’m sure lots of PoP readers have this same floor plan. What did you do?