Q: I live in a charming old one bedroom apartment with a very small kitchen. My living room serves as my entry way, living room, dining room and office/storage. It also serves as the hallway to the other areas of my apartment. I'm trying to figure out the best way to lay out the room. I would like to create a better living room situation — the table and desk just need to be worked in somewhere that makes sense. Pictured is what I've been living with for a while now. Suggestions, please?:
The room is 14' x 13.5'. Starting from the right wall and going clockwise:
- 2 large 40 inch windows and an 8 foot baseboard heater (can't put anything over it.)
- door to the bedroom, table, couch, door to closet.
- entryway to kitchen, chest of drawers/tv/entry landing strip, entryway door.
- bookshelf, desk, table.
Sent by Alison
Editor: Leave your suggestions for Alison in the comments — thanks!
• Got a question? Send us yours with pic attachments here (those with pics get answered first).

Sheex Bedding
Off the top of my head...
I think I would try putting the couch and side table in front of the windows (a couple inches away from the baseboard heater), put the bookcase in the corner where the dining table is, slide the desk a wee bit closer to the door, and move the dining table to where the couch is now. Leave the tv where it is. This way the dining table is closer to the kitchen and the couch is set straight in front the tv for comfy viewing :)
I have almost the exact same foot print but add another door for the bathroom and yet another door for a small coat closet! I didn't need a desk/office area though.
My set up is:
- TV/entertainment stand on one wall between kitchen, window and bathroom
- Dining table on next wall between closet door and entry door
- Dresser and bookself on next wall between entryway door and bedroom door
- side table and 66" couch on final wall between beadroom door and kitchen. (smallish round coffee table in front of couch)
Could you get double duty out of a table as a desk and table? Maybe install some cabinets above it instead of drawers, or get a small rolling unit like the CB2 or Ikea to keep under it when using as desk then roll somewhere else when using as table.
If you need to keep both desk and table - could you move desk to between the windows (float from walls so not covering base board heater)?
Art on all walls except for the first.
You can put a sofa table over the baseboard heater to get flow then put the sofa in front of that.
Is the room big enough that you could float the couch in the middle so the TV can go on perhaps the wall between the doors? You could even put the desk or table up against the back of the couch, almost like a console. Just a thought.
Or, to mix up the comment above, place the sofa in front of the big window and float the TV and the desk, placed back-to-back, in the middle of the room.
megdc's idea, but with the sofa in the middle facing the windows, and the TV in front of the window (if that's possible) would also work (plus no glare).
Also, that corner where the closet is would make a great eating nook. It seems to have a small window. You could try taking the door off the closet and having that function as a sideboard somehow (wine storage? fancy plates?).
N/M, that the entry to the kitchen, not a window.
Still...If you move the dining table to where the couch is now, and the landing strip over to the current TV locations, you'll have much better flow. No more cutting between the TV and couch.
I agree with tallmary. couch between the windows, floating out a little, table where the couch was, swap the position of the desk and bookshelf, maybe into the corner if it fits. desk can work as a landing strip. This also creates a nice social area where you can get seating from the desk and table when entertaining. I'd ask the cat, but they only tell you what they don't like.
I think one solution can be moving the couch and side table onto opposite wall and placing the TV where the couch was. Put desk between the entry door and kitchen and place table right between the windows like this http://m1342.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/CollageInteriors/D047BF71-BBFB-4BAA-9FEB-072387FE5AA9-1682-00000173AD39F5B3_zpse4ff355b.jpg.html?o=0&newest=1
CollageInteriors@gmail.com
I would put the sofa and end table directly opposite wall that it. I now. Then move thetv in front of the radiator in between the windows. Next float the round table in between the two doors on the left side of the room with walking distance around it. Last put the desk and taller bookshelves where the sofa is now. Done!
You could try using your desk like you would a partition to break up the space a little more eve. Just turning out to face the center of the room would make it a more pleasant desk to use. If the desk is only used occasionally, decide whether you use the couch or table more and being that more into the center of the room.
The first reply is exactly what I was going to say.
Create an entry corridor by placing the couch and side table perpendicular to the door and facing the closet/kitchen doors.
Move the tv and bookcase to between those two doors.
Leave the table where it is mostly but give it a little breathing room by pulling it away from the wall some.
As for the office space, see what the flow is like leaving it where it is or scoot the couch away from the entrance towards the closet/kitchen, and place the desk behind it so that it doubles as a sofa table.
You should be able to add a smalll arm chair in this floorplan, I think.
Just another thought....
Do you really need both the table and the desk?
The table itself could work as a work space, removing the desk would provide some additional square footage, and you would just need to add some storage to make up for the lost drawer space of the desk.
Very similarly to what tallmary said - I would suggest the sofa & end table go in front of windows/baseboard, but not pushed up against the wall, a few inches out or even a foot (if space allows); the dining table on the wall between the closet & bedroom doors, allowing easier access to the kitchen; I would switch the bookcase & desk around or possibly (as some suggested) even get rid of the desk & add another bookshelf for storage & pretty things. If the layout picture is true to size, you should have enough room to float the sofa out a bit from the wall, allowing for a sofa table behind it. If you added a sofa table you could even get rid of your end table which would visually free up some space.
sofa out 6-12" from the base heat, round table where sofa is. what kind of base is the top affixed to? you could put on one of those piano bench/adjustable height bases like they sell at World Market, then your dining room table could screw down low enough to coffee table height - having the added benefit of being a lazy susan coffee table. we have one and LOVE it [the lazy susan bit, not the height adjusting bit - yet].
The long wall by the window is made for the sofa. I also like the idea of a long, narrow sofa table or shelf that ensures the sofa doesn't back into the baseboard heater. You can get a single bi-fold door that would be anywhere from 9" to 12" wide, and if it was a shutter-style, you could add legs or attach to the wall on brackets so the sofa is prevented from sliding any further back. The shutter-style louvers would let the air through so your room stays warm. Salvage bi-fold doors have a lot of character!
If there is space, I would try to think about walking around the edges of the room and have most of the furniture towards the middle. Leave the TV landing strip where it is, float the couch about 4 feet from the heater wall, back it up with the desk (so you would be looking towards the TV when sitting at the desk. Then try the dining table on the wall where the couch was, towards the kitchen door end. For those who haven't had these kind of heaters, even placing a couch a few inches from the heater will block off so much of the heat one is paying for! Not sure how your lighting will be with the desk floating, most of us don't have outlets in the floor. But right now it feels so empty in the middle and disjointed. Good luck!