apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Would it be possible to turn your sofa width ways without making the room awkward to get around? That might cut the long look. Good luck!

I am afraid it's difficult to see what furniture you have in the small picture. But I do see that you have everything lined up against the wall, which only emphasizes the narrowness of the room. I would try to put for instance the desk sideways and maybe also a chair. Maybe you could put up an EXPDIT shelf from IKEA (the one that is only 2 cubes wide), which makes a good room divider, but still lets light through. This way the living and working areas would be a bit more separate.
Right now your room also seems a bit cluttered and dark. A lighter rug, and sofa would probably also make the room seem airier.

Paint, decluttering.

If you're up for ditching your sofa, how about getting four cool chairs and arranging them around a small round coffee table? You could either go sleek, and keep the chairs all the same, or go funky and get four different ones.

And then you might want to consider setting up your office so that it's integrated into the room . . . maybe a bookshelf with a desk built in or even some sort of an armoire that closes up.

An apartment size couch with one side (closest to camera) being a chaise extension. Will change your eye's direction without blocking the flow.

Consider also turning your back to the room with the office, or run it along the same wall as the sofa, and use the desk/console corner as a side table for the sofa.

Declutter, Streamline, Think about moving couch out from the wall to middle of room to break up the space and define areas.

I really like the idea of four chairs around a coffee table that Birdy had, it would make it more like a lounge for visiting. If this is a crash place to hang out and you really need a couch you might want to try to get another one, something simple like this one http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/collection.do?method=get&id=92329731&cat=47, and you might want to put it on the other long wall. That way you might break up the hallway effect you get when you line up your desk and sofa.

I'd also try to streamline and edit your stuff down, don't have so much of it visible. The metal bookcase on the right could be replaced with something that wasn't quite as busy looking, like a solid wood-type one, maybe something with doors. And I do think a tall bookcase to kind of shield your desk area would help calm things down immensely.

I have a narrow living room myself and to make it look biggger I bought a huge mirror (about 40" x 80") with a nice frame standing on the floor leaning against one of the long walls. It has a huge effect on the whole room and atmosphere.
As I can see on the foto you mainly do not have a concept for your room, everything is mixed up (and sorry not in a good way), you should decide what colours and style you want for the room and stick to it and get rid of the things you dont really need all the time and storage them.

Hi, Renee,
The hidden advantage of a long room is that it lends itself to creating multiple living zones!
Use the back area of the room as an office - tall bookcase on the left long wall with attached shelf-style desk (needs good lighting)
Divide the room with a credenza behind a new loveseat-size sofa eg. Ikea Karlanda in leather, 72" wide (v. toddler-friendly!) placed across the room, pushed up to the RIGHT long wall (breaks up the visueal width). Credenza can be additional office storage as well as for table lamps/display. If you are handy, a hinged fold-out top on the credenza can morph it into a dining table! 2 armchairs facing sofa with storage ottoman inbetween (soft for toddlers, and who can't use more storage in NY?). Flatscreen TV/media stuff on 12" wide shelving unit on left wall opposite sofa/chairs.
I have a 10'3" x 17' studio in midtown, and it has an entry area, kitchen with island bar, living area and office!
Hope this helps!
Everydaydiva

We had a very similar living room/office in our 400-sq-ft rental in Boston's North End and turning the sofa width-wise helped a lot. If we'd had the money, we'd probably have gotten a loveseat instead.

We had inherited two large flat files that we placed side-by-side opposite the sofa that served as more seating and gave us a ton of storage. Maybe some big storage benches for your toddler's toys and office supplies could serve a similar purpose and help declutter?

Thanks for the suggestions so far, they're helpful.
I agree that the room is very cluttered, it's difficult b/c one small space has become an office and a living room. We are working on this, though.
I'm curious--is a lighter rug better in a small room? I'm fond of the rug but at least one person above suggested that it was weighing the room down.
I understand the principle of moving the couch away from the wall..the problem is that the room is so narrow that this particular couch really couldn't go anywhere.
Also, I like the idea of doing something to divide the space more, e.g. put a bookshelf in front of the desk. I'm not sure how to do that with our toddler, though..everything needs to be bolted down pretty well these days.
--Renee

get rid of of as much 'stuff" as possible, stick with one neutral color with accessories as accent colors - I suggest a jute rug (perhaps one that was linked to yesterday at West Elm...) with a coordinating sofa...right now the rug is so colorful it looks like a "thing" that takes up space versus just adding highlights of color... if you can get a new desk I suggest one as narrow (front to back) as possible and add shelving above... good luck!

Regarding storage vs clutter...
I agree with Jendavid...your storage pieces need to be more solid (as opposed to the wire-y thing in the foreground of your photo).
Putting things behind doors allows you to have your stuff with out the visual chaos...

A buffet or a sideboard or a bookcase or two like this would work:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1210&f=14854

Also, LAMPS. I don't see any. It makes a space much cozier than overhead lighting.

Agree with basic ideas of paint, decluttering, lamps. In addition:

All your furniture is on one wall. Can you perhaps put the desk on the far wall next to the door AND put in a single floating shelf running the width of that wall above the door OR move the couch to the wall opposite where it is now?

As for couch, you could get a crappy old Victorian (I see them on the street here in Brooklyn for free, no kidding) and reupholster in a cream linen or jute-type underfabric with nailheads to match a sisal-type rug, then paint the walls a different color so the couch/rug seems to be a unit floating in the room? I think the wavy lines of the top of the couch would help break up the rectangular lines of the room. You could have a pillow with a two-tone print combining the couch color with a bright and a bright throw. Also bright painting behind.

You could also paint the far wall an accent color OR tack up a fun print wallpaper behind the desk (if the desk is against a long wall), then put up pictures and little notes on top of that to create another separate space for the desk.

A low, solid bookcase in wood opposite the couch might feel more open than a standard 6-footer.

Good luck! Anything less than a 12-foot-wide space presents problems, but I think you can make it look good.

Check out this area at IKEA, just to start, with the office needs. One area at a time:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/range/10364/10385/

Piled up stuff is generally not an effective storage system, but you can view the EFFEKTIV storage solutions! You need to find what you need, when you need it.

They have many storage solutions, in different price ranges, depending on how "serious" your workspace has to be.

The far wall, next to the door, will have a tallish storage system. Like maybe this?:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S89848245

You'd have to check your measurements. And look through the various products to find the one(s) that fit your space best.

Office and book areas can tend to look the most cluttered. And they can also be hazards or just "fun" mess making areas for little kids who only want to pull all the books off the shelf or be like mommy or daddy when they use the permanent marker on your huge, new, pricey monitor.

The desk will be turned to face into the room. As most of it's storage needs are taken care of by the new wall system, it does not have to be big or bulky. Much like the movies on the IKEA link, that one lady sitting there with a clean open desk could very well have a jumble of crap behind all her doors in her storage areas behind her. At least I would. Ha!

You CAN build additional storage desk-high, they even have small storage with locks (good to keep little hands away):
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S09837712

One of the Small, Cool contestants a couple years back used those all along a wall with the glass doors. I think they had cushions. Maybe not. But you could put cushions on top. Many of these systems can do a bit of double duty. So, you now have TONS of storage.

There will be a small area in front of that desk, for that storage, to access it.

Next comes the sofa, which can be changed for a love seat. And placed so it faces away from the desk. Separating the living room from the office space. And yet, the office person can SEE what is going on in the living area, so the toddler can play merrily while you manage to get some work done.

Since there are bound to be spills with children, think ahead and get something that will have covers that you can buy and/or wash, like this is one style at IKEA:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S69840486

If you browsed the wall storage, and doors, and then browse the cover options for that love seat, you'll see you have a vast number of decorating palettes to choose from.

Too confusing to choose? Too many choices? Like too many things? Decide via art...
Since you may be on the IKEA site already, browse these wall art items...
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/range/10372/10788?pageNumber=0

You might like the blues and greens of this image:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90130931

So, you'd choose the Mader Multicolor cover that is blues with green leaves. Bonus, patterns show oopsie spills less! And use the white finish or light wood finish storage items.

Maybe the deep red rose grabs you. So the red sofa cover and the black-brown finish for the storage (or white). There's an image that has browns and red, so that could use the black brown storage and the red sofa.

The giant world map would go swell with the light blue sofa and white finish office storage.

Just look the colors in the art. Browse other places, like http://www.artselect.com where you can browse by color grouping. There are probably colors you already like, and it's good to see what else those colors are combined with, and that can give you your whole room.

Lots of angles, then choose squared off furniture. Lots of curves, choose rounded furniture.

So while it may seem like a daunting task to redo your living area, it CAN be as simple as starting with the colors you already love, and browsing art to find your style.

Photos work too. Like this one:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80082657

You could then use the Korndal blue cover. A sandy sisal rug:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00080186

Rather than a coffee table, a pair of these might work:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/97322800
(look, more storage)

These are great for floor sitting inside:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60125506

And they have handles which means you can hang them on a hook to get them off the floor when not in use. They would work fine for the toddler to nap on, even.

So you can have a seaside resort, romantic red rose room, a garden room, just by looking at colors and photos and art and choosing items that go with the artwork.

A number of you have suggested better lighting.

Any idea about what kind of lighting would fit in this small space, would be toddler-proof and worth taking to our next place?

Eg we can't use a lamp that sits on a low table or the floor.

Thanks. --Renee

Mirrors work wonders on small spaces...put one above your couch or by the door

also, try a love seat with clean lines and legs.

I would definitely switch out the rug. If you have a toddler, I wouldn't go for a jute rug . . . you need something comfy for them to play on. I would love to see something like this that space:

http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=170&f=3589&viewall=1

If it were me, I'd probably get that rug, paint all the walls a crisp white. Then I'd go for a love seat and chair (maybe a cool Danish modern set?), keep the upholstery neutral and add some cool art and pillows.

As for lamps, try to find something that one break if it's dropped -- ceramic and glass are out (I can't tell you how many times my little guy has knocked lamps over . . . but he's something of a human tornado). Stick with wood and metal.

This is the sort of furniture I see in that space:

http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/022908atlaarthurscircus/living3

Ugh, I meant to say WON'T BREAK not ONE BREAK above.

I have clearly lost the ability to spell . . .

I don't know whether that door on the far end is an entrance or a closet or a door to another room, and can't see what openings are along the right side of the picture that make furniture difficult to place. Hang something interesting on it, perhaps?

The room looks like it could be painted, or maybe a wall?
The rug... get a different one or don't have a rug --maybe if you have neighbors below, get a neutral rug. That actually looks like a blanket on the floor and the edges are messy, which adds to the colors and the pattern and looks yuck in the space.
The desk/home office "unit" in the far end looks piled with stuff that looks like it will topple over. It is difficult to determine the width or size of the work surface of the desk, but I would say it's not accommodating your needs. Colorful filing cabinet or stacked bin drawers. I would try to replace the chair with a smaller profile chair. The one you have is probably comfortable, but it sucks attention from a nice living space.

Then there is an easy chair behind it. Group "living room" space (furniture) together, separate it from home office with a break of some kind, an end table or a floor lamp, or best yet, a high or low shelf you can access from either side, sticking out into the room -- would be useful and organize the office area. Make the seating area apart from the home office section. Try switching their areas as we see them. Also if there's no room for furniture along the right side, just too zigzaggy, then put up some art.

Uh.. my pet peeve. The room advertises your toddler and possibly a pet of some kind. Toys left around and safety equipment like a gate are forgiveable, but I don't like to see common rooms consigned to the decorating tastes of a child. It's not exactly as juvenile as they come, but it looks like you are waiting to have things as nice as you really want them, and it looks pretty crowded in there. I don't know how much more room you have to live in, and whether there are enough rooms for sleep and play for all of you.

Good luck!

i think the key here is finding better storage or purgepurgepurge.

This is so, so helpful. Yes, we were waiting until we could have a better space, but we recently decided to stay another year so I woke up and decided I'd better start working on solutions that are going to work for now, not the future.

To answer some questions above...you can't see if from the picture, but what's next to the metal shelves (e.g on the right wall) is the front door to the apartment! Which explains why the couch isn't there. The other door (in the back of the picture) leads to our bedrooms.

--Renee

Oops, that front door changes everything! (Especially since you are going to need a landing strip there and the couch def won't fit!) And now the room is also a major route.

BTW, have you read the Apartment Therapy book? Not just hawking it- it might help you alot.

Cheers!

Actually with a room so small, a photo from the other end might help folks out a lot as well...

If the door at the far end is not the front door, then I would not switch and bring the desk near (to the current view) and send the living room back there. Try opening the door and look at things now - what people see when you open the door to greet them and as they enter should be the living room if there's no hall or entryway, and they shouldn't have to walk across to look at it from the other side to get a nice view of it.

There is a shelf unit closest on the left (barely in view) that could be arranged further down the wall or if it's not very deep, to the other side of the wall, and make sure it's secure to the wall so it doesn't fall on anyone trying to climb on it. I wouldn't stick it out into the room, but I might set it as a marker between the living room area and the office area.

I agree about the Apartment Therapy home cure book. Most of it is logical to me already, but it helps you make decisions and take things on in doable segments if you don't know where to start and how to proceed. Managing a lot of the clutter would be a big improvement.

it's hard to tell from your picture whether there are any other architectural features we need to consider before rearranging furniture, can't tell if the desk has a hutch or attached shelving....in addition to the decluttering suggestions, here are my two cents (my main living area is also a shoebox, 8ft x18ft):

put the couch along one of the short walls, rug in front of it and with the brown armchair facing the couch, creating a conversation area.

put the bookcase on one of the long walls in the opposite end of the room. place the desk (without its hutch) perpendicular to the bookshelf, with the desk chair facing the couch, creating an office nook.

Depends on your budget.

Nine feet wide is tough. We have a room like that and it has either a fireplace or a door on every wall. My sympathy...

Here are some suggestions...

First: decide what you need to use the room for. I'm assuming that you have kitchen/dining, this narrow living room, one or two beds and bath. Not many options as far as the office is concerned, unfortunately. (If it has to go in the living room, perhaps you can get one of those nice closing computer cabinets. Close the door and the clutter disappears.) Once you have decided what the room is for, get rid of all the extra stuff.

Then decide what you want your home's mood to be. Peaceful and restful? Stimulating and always something going on? Right now it's so visually confusing that it would be hard to ever relax and put your feet up. The non-matching pictures, clutter, and furniture of all different heights are distracting.

Then design style. Modern? Traditional? Etc.

In this small area, the best choice would be small-scale furniture such as a loveseat or pair of chairs.

I think Ethan Allen sells small scale furniture. So does Ikea.

I went into my old drawing program (I don't have any fancy interior design software) and plugged in your measurements and some furniture measurements and worked this out:

on wall by bedroom door: closing computer desk

on couch wall: a pair of chairs slightly angled around a small-scale side table (one with storage, of course)

on wall facing chairs: a set of closing book cases and tv stand (do you have a tv?) such as the Ikea Besta

There is plenty of storage and a clear path through the room. The only artwork on the wall would be above the chairs.

Good luck!

I have a similar-sized living room myself. I bought a sectional couch, which makes the room feel much cozier and less like an alleyway. I also divided off one part of the room with one of the giant Expedit shelving units from IKEA, which also works well. Good luck!

You could separate the living and office spaces with an inexpensive, modern, see-through bookcase. A friend of mine did this in a similar apartment in Harlem and it looks fantastic.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40047675

Her unit is dark brown, like wenge wood. It is a strong statement and makes the room. I'm not sure if she got it at Ikea or West Elm. Her main room is about the same size as yours, only the left side is a kitchen and the right side she has to use for dining and couch. The front door opens directly into the middle of the room. The divider also helps shield the front door from the living area a little bit (though your setup is the opposite).

You could put books and unbreakable items on the low shelves. It would help with the clutter too. You can also place a small task or ambient light in one of the shelves.

Re lighting, get a metal floor lamp with a substantial, heavy base. Old ones are heavy. You can also put a lamp on an end table between the sofa and one chair where it's not easy to reach (such as in a corner). Or you can try a wall-mounted swivel light for reading or a sconce for ambient light.

P.S. The see-through bookcase is not against the wall, but sticks out from it, like a room divider or another wall. I hope this was clear.

West Elm has a smaller case (look under "storage) that will fit in your space. It's called the Rectangular Cutout Bookcase and costs $400. The URL is kinda long...

http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODf480&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1FRNSTO&retainNav=true&cmsrc=WE-SH1FRNSTO