I suggest breaking up the room into two separate areas, so maybe the sofa and against the wall just past the foyer and one or two chairs positioned across from it by the window. Then, at the end of the room, have your bookshelves, storage, easel, etc. with another chair and small table. I did something similar in my old place and it worked well.

We have several entire walls in your homes covered with Ikea Billy bookshelves. One wall is open bookshelves and holds books + some bins for legos at the bottom. We also have the extra shelf at the top so we maxamize our space. One wall has the doors that you can cover with fabric and it holds random stuff plus housewares. We have another set with both open shelves + doors to holds kid's books and toys.

Because they need to be bolted to the wall like any piece of big furniture, they can be a bit ackward to move (like I said, we have 13 total).

I also like the idea of breaking up the room into zones. BUT just try floating your sofa maybe about three or four feet from the windows. Then behind that is toy storage, a little table and whatnot. When your kid goes to bed its gone away and it looks tidy. When she is playing its a cool space and the toys get dragged out all over anyway.
We did this with our long ass living room. It works well for us.

Our living room has the exact same measurements. It was very challanging. This is what we have done. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26795538@N05/6691809571/
At the end of the rug we have 5-6 feet of tile and thats were we have our computer desk pushed up against the wall. Hope this helps or at least gives you some new ideas!

Divide the area using the "natural divides" of the space - such as those small edges that separate your foyer from the living room.

With those two larger areas, begin to again separate the space using furniture - long sofa + two arms chairs with low storage ottoman in the middle, etc. Work in "layers" by placing large furniture pieces like bookcases and sofa, then rugs, lighting/lamps, artwork, books/accessories, storage baskets.

You have a great space to work with and it will probably evolve naturally the longer you live there. Invest in great, functional pieces that you know will work in another apartment, too.

Good luck!

Hannah McCoy
hannahmccoyinteriors.com

I think this is actually an easy one. Like others have suggested break the area into to "rooms".

I would put tall bookshelves on eitehrside of the window with a short ne inbetween those and below the window. Wrap the shalfing around along the wall shared with the kitchen. You can use a section of that wall to have your TV. Have a couch opposite along the shared bedroom wall. Have a coffee table and a rug. across from the window in the middle of the actual aroom, place a couple chairs facing the window. This will make a square "room" but as long as your chairs aren't huge, it wont block the flow in and out. Or you can set up the chairs still facing the window but a bit more angled and facing in from the "corners" of the square. The room in now set up and the other half in front of the dining room can now be set up.

In the dinning room, if you still need more storage you could put up more shelves along the part of the wall that's across from the dining room (or put tall shelves here and in the other room only use short shelving under the windows). Place another rug in this area, and set up a small table and chairs and an easle. It's too bad this section is at the front of the house, but you work with what you've got.

Hopefully it gives you some ideas that you can pick and choose from.

Holy smokes I have major typos in my last post. Sorry all, I will preview next time :)

The main room in my place is the same, very long and narrow, and it is a challenge. And I did what others have suggested: zoned it into two spaces (living room/dining room) and also floated the furniture in the middle of the room. I used an area rug to help "anchor" the living room part, and installed a hanging lighting fixture over the dining table to help better define that area. One thing I would advice if you do this type of set-up is to be careful with the scale of your furnishings -- it's a narrow space so wider, bulkier furniture might not look good..

I would use the dining area as a playroom, the entry as dining and then the living as living...

Our layout is pretty similar. I use the area closest to the window as an office area, separated by one side of an L shaped sofa. The sofa takes up half of the long wall on one side. Bookshelves line the other long wall and have a smallish dining table on that wall as well. We use the foyer as a playroom. There is one nice corner that is a little reading nook with floor cushions, and toy storage (ikea trofast) on one of the other walls, as well as the play kitchen. So far so good. I use book bins to have an assortment of books out and put the rest in the kids' bedroom, and a few other toys live in there (mostly because we have a 3 yo and a baby). We have a little hallway where strollers, coats, scooters, etc. live (thank goodness), but I think using part of the foyer space as a playroom is a great way to go.

Ok, assuming that this pic is pretty close to your actual layout, here's what I say. Get a couch and a loveseat (or a big sectional). Put the couch or long side of the sectional with its back to the dining room, and spaced a few feet away from that wall so people can comfortably walk from the foyer to the dining room by going behind the couch. Put the loveseat or short side of the sectional floating in the room with its back to the windows. Put the TV on the wall shared with the bedroom, opposite the couch. Add a nice storage ottoman, end table or two, and rug to this set-up to complete your seating area. Put a low bookshelf (something like this: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80176279/#/00176278) directly behind the loveseat, and load that up with toys and whatnot. Put your child size table and easel back in that area, too, along with whatever additional storage you want (I like the idea of two tall bookshelves flanking the window, with maybe another low shelf between them, for instance). My living room is too small and square for this, but I wish I could do it, because it's a great set-up--like EAMOXIE says, it gives your kid their own special space, AND mostly hides their mess from general view when you come in the door, AND gives you a nice, cozy seating area to watch movies or whatever.

My best advice, as a mother of a 5 year old daughter and as someone who likes to make my home feel comfortable and inviting, is I have let my furniture gel with the arts and crafts bungalow that I bought about a year ago. And after I took down the Christmas decorations a couple of weeks ago, I finally discovered a more suiting way to arrange my furniture. I have a narrow living room too. I put my sofa in front of the window. It faces the tv for now I have a tall book shelf with my books and soon I will be putting my daughter's books on a smaller bookshelf on the other side of the sofa. I have let her have her chairs, doll house, and other toys in the the living room too. Maybe try putting your sofa at an angle that invites people to walk through the living room.
But most of all, be patient too with yourself and your daughter. I let my daughter have her toys where she wants when she wants for the most part because she is only little once and eventually she will grow out of the fact that she wants her tent set up in my dinning room instead using it as a dinning room. I guess it's a good thing that I have an eat in kitchen and it's only her and me. :-)

We downsized into a small house with an eat in kitchen, no dining room, and a long narrow living room. We fought with trying to fit in a couch, then gave up. We ended up with 3 love seats in a "U" shape. Two are against opposite walls facing each other and the third "floats" and divides the room into two areas. The love seats form the movie watching half of the room. TV & electronics are on/in an antique buffet which faces the love seats. A coffee table makes this a fine conversation area as well. Behind the floating love seat is a gate leg table which when closed makes a narrow sofa table, but can be opened for dining. The back half of the room has two big comfy reading chairs and books books books. Our two loves are watching movies and reading, so having an area for each works great for us and the room feels cozy/comfy.

Ok, I'm going to suggest something kind of radical: put your daughter in the "master" bedroom and you in the smaller bedroom. Since, you're not in a large two story house, you can then store all her toys in her room, and just bring out a basket of stuff to play with in the LR, and then it's easier to clean up and have a for-real adult space too. I have an 11 year old, and believe me, you will get to a point where you're sick of having the entire place look like a toy store AND you will not regret training your daughter from an early age to keep her stuff contained!

Some other suggestions to help with the LR: I agree that zoning is the way to go. Put the lounging are at the far end of the LR. The near end of the LR could become the DR with the table right in the middle. Take down the railing at the step to help traffic flow, and then line the raised old DR area with tall shelves (a few with doors for hidden storage), and perhaps a cosy chair with a light and use the area for books, overflow kitchen goods, etc. A small desk might also be useful here. Also, consider curtaining off the small doorway from the raised area and then you have another storage area (accessible from the foyer. Finally, your foyer is huge: put some large wardrobes in it for extra storage.

I would do exactly what @stream13 suggests but add one more item: a folding screen that can be set at an angle to block off your daughter's play area by the foyer whenever you want to hide the toys, easel etc.

My parents have a long living room so they made little clusters in the room - at one end there is a seating area, at the other end is a table (maybe a place for the book shelf) and in the middle there is some sort of armoire thingy that serves as a focal point.

The main thing you need is some kind of focal point that your eyes rest on in the middle of the room, breaking it up, as you enter the foyer, looking into the living room. A nice pair of chairs w/ little table in between, loveseat that fits in nicely across the width of the room, maybe even a nice long, low bookcase or amazing console with beautifully chosen pieces, a lamp on top. Nothing too high as to block your windows. To the left and right (along the long walls) will be your longer sofa opposite great set of tall bookcases, entertainment center, etc. Or, tons of bookcases on both sides with sofa(s) floating 2ft. from them. Behind your focal point can be your kids area. Playroom may be put in dining room, but I would not put dining table in foyer- too close to the entry. Dining room could be half of the living room- preferably the first, since the second is a long ways from the kitchen. You'd still have to go through the playroom from kitchen to dining, but it may work? Good luck!

One: Don't use bookshelves. Use wall shelves and layer them along the walls. I would put them over the sofa.
Two: Folding furniture. (Norbo table from Ikea. Terje chairs from Ikea.) If you don't like the idea of folding furniture, go with stacking furniture.)

Good luck!

my living room has the exact same measurements and i really dont recommend trying to seperate the room...i already feel claustrophobic, i couldnt imagine having to divide it into two.

I agree with amyfaith about keeping most of your daughter's toys in her room, even if that means giving her the larger bedroom. I was a single mother most of the time my daughter was growing up and that is what I ended up doing so that the living room could be attractive and comfortable. I don't think my daughter ever minded nor did I. I was perfectly happy in a small room that was my own.

Good luck to you in your new place. I hope both of you are very happy there.

I also have a long and narrow living room. It is visually divided into two areas, the first, a library and plant area, the second the "living" part of the living room, with couch, small entertainment center, and table in the corner. Each area has its own rug. The rugs are laid out in different directions, which also helps delineate the areas. A small grouping (a stool, plant, and basket) stands at the junction of the two areas and helps ease the eye from one area to the other. My house was on Apt Therapy a few years ago, so you can see what I am talking about at:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/barbaras-boho-hillside-gardenh-96883

Zones defined by colorful carpets would help to define things and keep them cozy while adding color. Another helpful thing would be a large EXPEDIT bookcase from IKEA--they can be used as room dividers (attach the end to a wall), aren't solid, but can have baskets for tons of storage of random crap that little ones attract (I have two, I get it.) They're also quite attractive and don't look cheap.

Try floorplanner.com for a free way to play around with things until you are happy with it. It's a really handy resource. :)

Another vote for amyfaiths suggestion for giving the daughter the larger bedroom. We did the same with our girls and the living room neatness factor improved a ton. Also when they got older they didn't have to spread out bookbags, homework etc in the common space as there was room for desks and clothes and the mass of etc.

I suggest using the dining space as a playroom with a small casual table for informal dining and kid's crafts. I would put a more formal dining table in the back of the living room by the widows and your sofa by the railing between the living room and dining room spaces. You didn't mention a TV, so I would put the chairs across from the sofa with and end table between them.

break the wall between the bedroom and living room. opt for sliding panels. during the day you will enjoy the light and space. i would go for low bookshelves at the back of the sofas (between 80cm-1meter high) to use the long side of the room, but not cut the view. you can use it to put objects on the top too (pictures, flowers, ...).
ps/ pardon my bad english, french man typing ;o) )
sketch HERE
regards, Cedric

Thanks a ton for the helpful/interesting suggestions. I wanted to have a better plan before I bought anything new to prevent some costly mistakes-

My daughter is too young to play by herself in her room. I divided a long and narrow room using a 4 x 2 cube expedit shelf from ikea on its side jutting from the wall, about 6 or 7 feet from the end of the room. The partially enclosed corner is her 'playhouse' and has her play kitchen, bookshelves, craft supplies. The top of the expedit also serves as a play surface. When i get around to it, I am going to finish making the fabric pup tent that will be a removable roof spanning from the top of the expedit to the opposite wall. If my daughter had her way, the fourth side of the playhouse would be closed off and she would access it by crawling through the one empty cube in the expedit. I cannot fit through the hole so I have left that side open to a love seat against the opposite wall (facing the playhouse). The coffee table doubles as a play table with little stools. I can sit on the loveseat doing my thing while my daughter plays. It is also a really convenient spot for reading together.

Since my most of my friends also have young children (mostly under 4), it works really well when we entertain. We can keep an eye on the kids, and they can see their parents, without tripping on the toys in the middle of the room. Sometimes we even get to have an adult conversation over the racket.

Amen, Amyfaith! Don't hand over the entire house to the child! Creating a clear separation between Childworld and Adultworld will help her understand that the universe doesn't revolve around her, and that other people have different priorities. Now more than ever, this is a potent lesson for little kids to learn.

That said, if neither bedroom is quite big enough, I like Pincushion's suggestion of creating a "fort" out of expedit bookcases, perhaps in the corner near the front door, so that she can have her own secret little play space while still feeling connected to the rest of the house.

My son (who is 11) has the larger bedroom in our house too. Mainly because he has WAY more stuff than I have, but also because we only have one bathroom and it's in the smaller room. I don't really want guests (or myself) tramping through his disaster of a room to go to the bathroom.

Pincusion - how young is "too young" to play in the bedroom alone? Assuming you don't have a gigantic house where the kid's rooms are far from the main living areas, and also assuming your child's room is child-proof, I would think a 3 or 4 year old could play in their rooms alone if they want to. I have twin nieces who are 1-1/2 and they wander back into their room to play all the time. The worst that could happen is that they get into their drawers and pull out all the clothes, but my SIL doesn't seem to mind (and I don't really think they ever do that anyway).

- sofa with back to dining room
- bookcases the full length all along the bedroom wall (with a space cut out for your TV)
- chairs inbetween window and sofa seating area
- small table, chairs, easel by window
- possible low hutch or bookcases on kitchen wall.

I'm with Amy faith.
Don't let the living space be dominated by kid world.

I'm guessing kiddo is either close to two, or four, based on six or 12 month leases.
She can easily have her own room, and I'm not sure it must be the larger one, although it would help. (I would definitely say larger room for siblings, however)

I have a bedroom the size of the smaller one and I share it!

I think it is fine to have some kid stuff in the living space, since they do in fact live there, but do you really want to live in a preschool, even if it is all Montessori?

Let an area be a project area for the day and clear it in the evening.
One free tip, invest in some 8 1/2 by 11 frames for her art. Always have a few up. Frames make it feel "real," and keep the walls from becoming cluttered.
File away the retired pieces.

I did give my son the bedroom when we were in one bedroom apartments.
I treated the living area like a studio for myself.
Some people thought I was spoiling him, but I liked having a door between us and an adult living space. I'd do it again.
Weirdly, when we were looking at a duplex that became home for five years, he chose the smaller room based on light levels.

I'd put the sofa about 5 feet in front of the window facing towards the foyer. Behind the sofa I would hang the wire curtains/wall dividers that IKEA sells--they sell both light diffusing and totally opaque ones. They could be drawn back during the day to allow light into the entire area, then at night or when company is coming you could pull them along the back of the sofa blocking off your daughter's play area but still letting diffused natural light into the sofa area.l. The play area could be set up with shelves, bins, a colorful child's rug even artwork.
In front of the sofa you could set up a typical living room with chairs, coffee table, TV on the wall shared with the bedroom... and anchor the conversation area with an area rug and artwork.
In the foyer I would place book shelves for your and your daughter's books, a little library (there is some very cute library paper showing books).
In the dining room, I would add storage (buffet or shelves with baskets) reserving at least one section for your daughter's art supplies

I echo what others have said about the two zones. Our living room is long and narrow also, and we have it in three zones actually - one is entryway (because our front door is at one end of the long wall), one is "living room" and one is "play area." Here are some older photos of our living room and play area.

First thing I would suggest is not to stress about your daughters toys and the size of her room. I had two kids in a room not much bigger than that. When they had lots of toys and dragged them out of their room the last thing before bath and bed was take then all back. Kids do not need a convention hall sized room, it's just the adults think they do. Kids will take over the whole house if YOU let them. As for the living room I think setting up two areas to divide and keep the furniture as open as you can. Glass top tables and slim footprint credenza, bookshelves would be good with basket or ?? to control clutter. I hope you are happy in your new place.