apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Where does the kitchen connect to this room?

i have a hard time seeing your television based on the photos. but if it is a flat panel could you get a wall mount kit and mount it on the left wall (the wall the desk chair is next to now)? this would allow you to place the couch against the opposite wall and keep the space open a little bit, and maybe even get a slim cocktail table in front of the couch.

i am a devout minimalist/modernist. but honestly, you are going to have to make a few decisions if you want to pursue that style. if you can find an attractive store unit that could both house and hide a lot of the electronics and clutter that would stand in the way of a clean design. with the design i suggested above, it would open the far wall to a nice storage solution.

good luck.

I think I would get rid of the overstuffed leather chair. Too large, and takes up too much space. I'd focus on smaller pieces for seating, (eames shell chairs or bean bags maybe?) and create a little section for "entertainment " right near the turn tables. I'd mount the TV on the wall. Additionally, I'd put the DJ'g equipment right in front of the AC unit but not blocking the door. That way all the unsightly utility stuff is in the corner. I might break up the space slighty with something like the Low room divider-ish shelves in the middle of the room, if you want a distinct eating vs living area. I'd go with strong primary colors as accents and maybe some graphic posters or art on the larger wall. A small dining bistro table, maybe with drop down leaves shouldn't be hard to find and can fit where the TV is currently.

I think I would get rid of the overstuffed leather chair. Too large, and takes up too much space. I'd focus on smaller pieces for seating, (eames shell chairs or bean bags maybe?) and create a little section for "entertainment " right near the turn tables. I'd mount the TV on the wall. Additionally, I'd put the DJ'g equipment right in front of the AC unit but not blocking the door. That way all the unsightly utility stuff is in the corner. I might break up the space slighty with something like the Low room divider-ish shelves in the middle of the room, if you want a distinct eating vs living area. I'd go with strong primary colors as accents and maybe some graphic posters or art on the larger wall. A small dining bistro table, maybe with drop down leaves shouldn't be hard to find and can fit where the TV is currently.

I think I would get rid of the overstuffed leather chair. Too large, and takes up too much space. I'd focus on smaller pieces for seating, (eames shell chairs or bean bags maybe?) and create a little section for "entertainment " right near the turn tables. I'd mount the TV on the wall. Additionally, I'd put the DJ'g equipment right in front of the AC unit but not blocking the door. That way all the unsightly utility stuff is in the corner. I might break up the space slighty with something like the low room divider-ish shelves in the middle of the room, if you want a distinct eating vs living area. I'd go with strong primary colors as accents and maybe some graphic posters or art on the larger wall. A small dining bistro table, maybe with drop down leaves shouldn't be hard to find and can fit where the TV is currently.

my living room is tiny, maybe a foot larger than yours. Faced with this space I might look at paint as a way to visually make the room feel wider, painting the wall opposite of the entrance, not the small one...

I would also look at a much smaller scale sofa, yours looks so heavy. I ended up buying a klippan sofa at Ikea and then purchased a small horseshoe shaped chair there as well (forget the name). If you are handy, maybe somehow fitting in a floating AV cabinet might be a good idea and you could store a couple cushy stools underneath.

A small, narrow coffee table or some side tables and you should be set in there. Then a round table in the dining area - again, small scale...

here is a very blurry version of my former living room

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mireille/15694537/in/photostream/

Does the kitchen connect to the room in the rear corner by the AC unit? or not at all?

Well, going with there not being any other doorways into this room, I would suggest this:

place couch on the wall where the office chair is

place tv on wall opposite with a slim unit underneath

use 2 storage ottomans as a coffee table/extra seating

get an arm chair to float a bit back from where the couch currently is

place shelving and a landing strip (assuming the front door is close by) on the wall where the TV is currently

place mixing table/components in the rear corner with the AC unit is

put something..end table, open bookcase, plant between the mixing table and the sofa

put dining space behind the floating chair near the balcony door

use two rugs to define the two spaces

also,
if there is not space in the width for the couch, ottomans, and the AV unit under the TV, use a side table and put the ottomans under the AV unit as superchou suggested

I would get a small tv unit (like this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80113545 ) and put the tv in the corner next to the air conditioner. turn the couch so that its back is against the wall that its arm is currently touching and move it towards the door to the balcony, leaving about a foot of clearance for the door to still be able to be opened. turn the turntables around but keep them pretty much where they are right now. the turntables can act as a divider that separates the dining and living rooms. the wall next to the tv in the corner can be used for bookshelves or cabinets for your stuff. next, get a long dining table that rests in the middle of the wall where your tv currently is, so that it points lengthwise into the room. you could even have some space between the wall and the table, for easier access to the seats in that corner. I quite like the high dining table look of this:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S69843456
in the 47 x 23 x 41 size, maybe with the brown table top.
also, get some curtains to cover up the air conditioner / window / door area and finally, paint the walls a more interesting color.

it rid of the sofa and get something with simpler, cleaner, minimalist lines.

orient the sofa the other way.

hang the tv on the wall.

I have the same size living/dining room but that also includes the kitchen, so consider your place spacious! We bought a knock-off Barcelona chair (armless is a BIG help in small spaces) a small round table on a pedestal (no legs/corners to bump into) for the "dining" room, and custom made a system to hold all the TV and electronics across from the "sofa". Oh, did I mention there is also a 55 gallon fish tank in the space too? So you can do it!

Looking at your pictures, I'd place the sofa where the tv is, build a double-sided boxy unit where the mixing board and sofa currently are (or you could use back to back low shelving units if you're not into building things.) This could hold the tv and dvd etc on the side facing the sofa, and extra electronics/books on the other and provide a mini-wall division in the middle to break up the space a little and an extra horizontal space for whatever.

As for extra seating, I've daydreamed about getting some of those decent looking folding wooden chairs, painting them red or some great bright color, and just hanging them on the wall Shaker style on pegs. They'd be decorations when not in use, and seating when needed. A long, narrow bench might do well too along the far wall - can use as a coffee table and extra seating when you have people over.

The main thing is to keep in mind where the doors are and how you are going to need to move through the space to be comfortable. When you are working with a really narrow space, even a few inches can be crucial.

Since it's so tight, why not a small sectional? You could even place it so it divides the room for dining or office area.

Alright, I am attaching a few ideas here. (please note that the stuff I am posting is kind of expensive, and you can usually kind IKEA and CB2 knock offs.)

The TV, could be next to the wall it currently is near, with a setup kind of like this:

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/collection.do?method=get&id=378391&cat=55

Your pictures could be done with a setup like this, on the wall adjacent to the TV: (please note the matching frame and matting color)

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product.do?method=popup&id=885223&tab=room

Eating Area:

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/collection.do?method=get&id=377417&cat=52

You should also define the areas with carpet, or FLOR brand tiles: (I would go with a lighter color, however)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradgillette/2249365602/in/set-72157603862098727/

I forgot to add that coffee table that can act as a bench could act as extra seating for sitting guests.:

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/collection.do?method=get&id=377559&cat=62

I'd max out the storage on the far wall where the TV is now - get some tall PAX units from IKEA w/ floor-ceiling white doors and fill that wall with cabinets for your desk/music/storage/etc.

Mount the TV on the wall on one side of the room - a white Lack bookcase would work great as a shallow credenza beneath it.

Get rid of that awful loveseat and get a long low one such as the Klippan 4 seater from IKEA - place it along the ling wall. Place a couple of small tables in front instead of one long table. A simple 6x8 area rug would work to define this as the sitting area. Don't forget lighting - either on end tables with drawers (to hide the remotes) or a pair of hanging lamps at the ends of the sofa.

Get rid of the office chair and get a couple of nice chairs that can do double duty as dining chairs - and pair them with a round pedestal table at the windows.

Consider a pair of tall narrow bookcase towers (2 more white Lacks might fit - mounted on the wall floating off the floor vertically with the tops above the window mouldings) on either side of the windows and run a thick drapery rod/pole in between with floor-length grommetted draperies.

Since you like minimalism - I'd do absolutely everything in white and beige. The only color should come from your tile floors, the black TV, fresh flowers and a large abstract art canvas on the wall over your sofa.

MOVE

That loveseat is too big but if you can't get rid of it, turn it so it is against the wall and mount the flatscreen on the opposite side. I would move this area closer to the balcony door (I'm assuming that isn't your front entrance) so you can have some space for a small eating area closer to the kitchen. The turntable will have to go somewhere here as well. Also, consider getting a pair of cube storage ottomans that flip their top to double as a tray. This will be more efficient than a coffee table and/or side chair.

I drew up a little mock blueprint of what I think you could do with the space. You can look at here while you read my suggestions.

Living Area:
I'm not sure if you're up for getting a new couch, but I think a small loveseat chaise would help to break up the space into living room/dining areas as well as give you the seating you want. I would put it up against a side wall on the side of the room near the terrace, and mount the TV on the opposite wall. A small media cabinet or bookshelf can go under the TV or just to the left of it to house your various devices. You could add a small coffee table if you don't mind a bit of crowding.

The unit with the turntables isn't the easiest thing to work into a design. If you don't mind a little DIY elbow grease, I would suggest putting the whole thing on casters then making a simple hinge-top case to cover it. A little wood and paint could turn it into a dual-use console table. This will allow you to open the top and pull out the turntables when you want to use them. When they're tucked away, you can use the top as a surface for magazines/vases/pictures etc. This can go on the long edge of the chaise to further distinguish between the living/dining areas.

Dining Area:
A small rectangular table pushed up against the side wall should give you the seating you need while economizing on space. There probably isn't really any room to have any other furniture, so use some wall art to make the space more interesting and to separate it from the living room.

I used to have a space just like this... maybe a little wider, but.

Mount the TV on the wall to the side of the couch, and put the couch were the TV is now. put another small couch or 2 chairs where the couch is now to create a sitting area. The 2 couches will both be perpendicular to the TV. Look at getting a multi-purpose coffee table...
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/tables-dining-occasional/occa-674-table-by-boconcept-019376

Also, when all is said and done, do your best to keep it tidy... nothing opens up a space better then a lack of clutter. AND HAVE FUN!

I sure hope you are kind to your neighbors ears with all that music equipment going!
I would also start looking for a place to live that suits you life style more---this is to small even for the best minimalist to handle.
Live the best you can for a while and just keep on looking!

whoa, so many good ideas. I tried putting to couch against one of the long walls. I like the fact that I could fit a sectional if I did that, but even if I wall mounted the TV I feel like it's WAY to close to my face lol. I do agree that I need to get rid of the leather couch I have now, I am looking to get a smaller one. I am going to take a few of these ideas and put them together I think. I like the area rug idea and the DJ setup idea to separate the spaces. I think with a few of these ideas the space can be very nice. Thanks for the help. When I'm done, I'll try to post pictures.

I noticed some comments suggested replacing your leather couch. If you decide to do so, I would suggest the Studio Daybed from Cost Plus. I have one, and it is very nice. It is slimmer and more airy, so that might work well in your place. The arms fold down, so it is multi-functional, too.

Anyway, I feel your pain. I also have a long, narrow living room, and it seems like a constant struggle to arrange furniture in a pleasing and functional way!

I don't know if this would work for you or not. I really would use one of the long walls as storage. with these colors

I'm a retard, the link for this is actually
http://www.jeanniedesign.net/pictures/at/room.jpg

These are supposedly for outside use, but you could match together a couple to make a sectional that would fit in your space. Could get different covers for the cushions. They're on serious discount at the end of the summer - the only bummer is there was a corner piece that seems to be out of stock, but you could simulate one with some of your own pillows in the corner with the ottoman, or even the chaise.

http://www.amazon.com/Strathwood-Balboa-Armless-Chair-Cushion/dp/B000HBYIJ6/ref=pd_bxgy_ol_img_b

I agree with getting rid of the black couch. It will only taunt you as you try to put the place together. How about the lovely mid-century day bed on yesterday's classifieds? It will work well with your space and your minimalist ideals. http://clitemsforsale.blogspot.com/2008/08/daybed-for-160.html
Eventually, you can reupholster it and it will be awesome. You can place it along the wall where the black couch is disecting the room.

You can get a couple of square cubes for a coffee table (maybe with storage underneath) and use those for extra seating too.

The turntables should go along the wall closest to the air conditioner. I'm thinking of something from IKEA to put them on. I know height is probably an issue but how about something like this http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90106356 Hopefully, it can come in another color!

Maybe you should mount your TV in that corner above the place where your new DJ area will be? If not, maybe another IKEA solution. Making that your media/storage wall.

I would get a rectangle dining table and place it at the entrance of the room (directly across from the balcony door) and use it as a work table during the day. When guests come over, you can rotate it into the room and have seating for 3-4.

You definitely need rugs. Thank God for rugs! Dining area and sofa area. You can pull in color through the rugs and art work.

Good luck!