A living room is a vital part of any home. It’s a place that is supposed to provide a wonderful experience when chilling with family, relaxing after a long day, watching TV, and interacting with guests.
However, this experience can be compromised if the living room doesn’t feel welcoming and inviting. Yes, if your living room has a very weird layout in terms of furniture structure or décor, it’ll turn your visitors off.
Of course, there are so many factors that can make your living room feel awkward. It could be the old interior design, the slanted walls, the irregularly shaped room, or the lack of décor know-how.
Whatever the cause of an awkward layout for the living room is, it can be fixed, or at least you can get around it. You can embrace the slant walls or the irregularly shaped room, you can fix some of the décors of your living room and you can declutter the cluttered living room.
This is why I’ve assembled 15 common weird living room ideas and how to fix each of them. And the best part is that you can fix them on your own.
15 Awkward Living Room Layout Ideas and Solutions
Here are the common awkward living room layout ideas and the solutions for each one of them.
1. Open Concept
This is a very common problem with apartment living rooms. Just so you know, an open-concept living room consists of a wide floor plan that is not separated, and living room spaces are merged into one large hall.
In other words, the dining room, kitchen, and living room are merged into one gigantic room. Again, this is largely common in apartment building living rooms.
Solutions to an Open Concept Living Room
Honestly, no one likes a hall with a kitchen and dining in it for a living room. So, how can we fix an open-concept living room?
First, choose specific areas for the living room, dining room, and kitchen. The living room needs to have at least some windows. And it can be the first room from the front door or the elevator door.
Once you’ve decided which area will be what, you need to demarcate the areas into separate rooms. This way, your living room won’t look weird –especially if you mix it with the right living room decor.
2. L-Shaped
The next awkward scenario is when your living room is made in form of an L-shape. It’s pretty challenging for you to figure out where to mount the TV so that everyone can see it and how to arrange the living room furniture around it.
Solutions to an L-shaped Living Room
If you’ve just moved into the house, you need to understand that the L-shaped space is designed is for two rooms; a small rectangular or square dining room and a large rectangular living room. And the best option here, if you’re just relocating, is keeping them as such.
However, if the house has a dining room and an L-shaped living room, you’ll need to use the whole room for the living room.
First, instead of mounting the TV on one of the walls, you’ll need to mount the TV at the intersection angle; that is, an angle shared by the small rectangle and the large rectangle room. The TV stand with a mount will be helpful in this case and it’ll be placed against the corner.
And you’ll need two sets of sectional sofas or chairs. These chairs will be placed facing the TV.
3. Corner Fireplace
A fireplace, natural or electric, easily serves as the focal point in the living room. However, it can be a little challenging if the fireplace is located in the corner.
You would end up scratching your head thinking: how can I arrange furniture around this corner fireplace? Or where should I put the TV?
Solutions to Corner Fireplace
There are two solutions to an awkward living room that has a fireplace in the corner.
The first solution is to drop the idea of making the fireplace or the fireplace wall a focal point. Instead of putting the TV above the fireplace, you’ll choose another wall and place the TV on it. And you’ll arrange all furniture by putting the fireplace to the side.
You can also make the fireplace wall the focal point of the living room. Just mount the TV above the fireplace and arrange the sectional sofa or large armed chair around the fireplace wall.
4. Round Living Room
Wait, what? Around the living room? Yeah, I know. It’s awkward, right?
If you’ve stumbled upon a property with a round or hexagonal living room, you can be confused as to where to place the TV and how to arrange the furniture.
Solutions to a Round Living Room
In terms of furniture, you should try to find a curvy sectional sofa. This way, they’ll easily fit into the shape of the room. If you can’t find the curvy ones, you should arrange the sofa mixed with chairs in some kind of a circle.
Of course, you need to choose one side away from the door to serve as the focal. This is where you’ll place the TV.
5. Irregular Living Room
Sometimes, you may end up in a house that has a completely irregular living room. This may happen because of barriers like large unbreakable rocks or large tree trunks.
The solution to an Irregular/Odd Living Room
It’s so easy to fix an odd-shaped living room. The first thing is to find an angle that will be can best serve as the center of attraction. It’s imperative to choose a side that does not face the front door.
Once the focal point is identified, it’s just a matter of aligning large pieces of furniture to face that side. Of course, it’s imperative to mount a screen TV on that side.
6. Slant Walls
The next weird living room is the one with slanted walls. This may happen because of a couple of reasons including the property design and roof design. This is common in the upper stairs living room.
Solutions to Slant Walls
Here are some of the creative ideas to get around the slanted wall living room.
· Add some bookshelves
· Decorate them in colors and patterns
· Plank the slanted walls
· Add some artwork, etc.
7. Staircases in the Living Room
You have an upstairs building, but are you wondering how to decorate or use some spaces created by the design? Well, you’re not alone. Most people struggle to create and make use of the staircases in the living –especially the space under the stairs.
Again, two problems arise out of this awkward living room layout; the ugly hallow area under the stairs and the difficulty in the living room furniture layout.
The solution to the Living Room with Staircases
Let’s look at the solution to the under-staircases area and how to arrange furniture in a living room with staircases.
Instead of leaving the area under the staircases hallow, you need to put it to use. Here are a couple of ideas for under staircases area:
· Add shelves and use them as a bookshelf
· Use it as a storage unit
· Install a foldable table and use it as a small home office, etc.
In terms of furniture placement and arrangement, make sure the staircases are to the side or at the back of a large sofa. In other words, you need to place the TV screen on the wall opposite or adjacent to the staircases.
8. Long & Narrow Living Space
Normally, the living room layout is usually square or wide rectangular room. However, because of space or other barriers, you may stumble upon a long and narrow living room.
This is indeed weird and creates a couple of issues. You can’t form the recommended round layout for the furniture and it’s hard to pull the furniture away from the walls.
The solution to a Long & Narrow Living Room
Having a house with such a living room does not mean you’re doomed. You can still lay out the furniture in a beautiful way.
Make one wall of the length to be the focal point. This means you’ll mount a TV and add pieces of art to one wall.
Feel free to push the sofa against the wall. Just leave some inches if there are curtains. And don’t get obsessed with the idea of round shaped furniture layout. You should go for an L-shaped or C-shaped layout.
9. Tiny Room
The other bizarre layout idea has to do with a tiny living room. This one is worse than the above one.
You either fail to add pieces of furniture or literary suffocate the living room with furniture. These result in poorly arranged furniture or heavily clouded living room.
Solutions to a Tiny Living Room
My first suggestion is to find a lightweight sectional sofa as opposed to a heavy sofa. Find a sectional sofa for a small space and bring them into your petit living room.
And go for a minimalist approach. Instead of trying to have everything that can be found in a living room, go for a few items.
Lastly, if the round-shaped furniture layout won’t work, go for an L or C furniture layout while squeezing them away from the wall.
10. Rectangular living room
Most living rooms are rectangular, and this does not mean they can be seen as awkward by someone. Awkward is a suggestive term which means it differs from person to person.
Sometimes, our eyes get tired of seeing rectangular figures. Wherever you go, you’ll see rectangular shapes; rectangular TV, rectangular artwork, and rectangular rooms.
How to Fix a Rectangular Living Room
“Go for round shapes” is what I would recommend to someone in this situation. Start with round center furniture like a round table or ottoman.
Secondly, you need to arrange the furniture in a round shape. Arrange the sectional sofa and armed chairs around the ottoman or round table.
11. Living room columns
A living room with columns inside it is one of the common weird scenarios you would find yourself in. In apartment living rooms, the columns can be formed by the pillars holding the building together.
You end up scratching your head wondering what to do with the pillars. And the worst part is that you’re stuck with columns forever for they provide support.
Solutions to Living Room Columns
Since you cannot get rid of the supporting pillars of the apartment building, the best solution is to embrace them. Don’t let them stand still. Allow them to help in decorating your living room.
Here are some of the ways of decorating the living with columns.
· Use the pillar for wall décor and hang artwork and DIY wallpapers
· Use some molding to create beautiful pillars
· If the living room is big enough, you can demarcate it and use other rooms for other purposes.
· Use a simple folding table to create a home office or bar
12. Weird Focal Point
Do you think your living room has an awkward focal point? Or does it feel like it does not have any focal point? No problem.
A focal point is a feature that attracts people’s attention upon entering the living room. The weird focal point living room is a décor-related awkward idea. This means it’s easy to fix.
How to Fix Weird Focal Points
If the focal point seems unidentifiable, you need to identify remarkable features to be used as a focal point. Think of the following items as focal point features:
· TV screen
· Fireplace or Fireplace and TV
· Large piece of artwork
· Large mirror
· Large window
13. Cluttered living room
Another awkward mistake in a living room is having a cluttered living room. This is a living room filled with different decorative items.
Whether you’ve got a tiny or large living room, having a cluttered living room is not justifiable. A messy living room, whether it is because of poorly arranged furniture or too many decorative items, disturbs the layout of the room.
How to Fix Cluttered Living Room
If your living room is so small, you need to determine what type of furniture will be suitable for your living room. The sectional sofa for a small space will just be great for this as one or two armed chairs.
Arrange the sectional sofa facing a focal point and have the armed chair(s) face the sectional. Of course, keep at most three decorative items like indoor plants, crafts, books, or pots if necessary.
You need a sofa that will fit and leave enough space in the room if your living room is large. And try to keep decorative items in a few odd numbers like three and five.
Note: get rid of all the unnecessary decorative items. You can move them to the garage or basement, or you can sell them on local markets like Craigslist and Facebook marketplace.
14. Large Living Room with Furniture pushed against the wall
The next awkward living room layout is a large living room with furniture hugging the walls. This is weird décor and one of the décor mistakes.
Hold-on: you need to understand that it’s fine to have furniture pushed against the wall if the room is not spacious. However, it’s boring to have furniture close to the walls if the room is large.
The solution to Living Room with Furniture Pushed Against the Wall
The first solution is to find some light furniture like a sectional sofa. This type of furniture works best in most rooms. When the sectional sofas reach your home, just arrange them around a focal point.
Of course, you need to place the furniture in the center; that is, away from the walls. This will make a center-round table the first focal point.
15. Small Rug for furniture
The final awkward living room layout has to do with the rug décor. If you’ve got a super tiny rug where only the coffee table or ottoman sits on it, your room has a very awkward layout.
The solution to Small Rugs for Large Furniture
There is no way of getting around it. You need a living rug that will allow at least the front legs of your furniture to sit on it.
If you can afford a larger rug, you need one that will hold both the coffee table and the furniture. This touch will turn your living room into a very elegant living room.
FAQs about Awkward Living Room Layout Ideas
Here are some commonly asked questions concerning awkward living room ideas.
How do you arrange furniture in an awkward living room?
To fix a very awkward living room, you need to decide on a focal point. It can be a piece of artwork, a TV screen, or a large piece of mirror.
Next, you’ll need to decide on the furniture layout. It can be an L-shape, round, or C-shape. The most common are round, but you choose the furniture layout depending on the weird shape of your living room.
Thirdly, you need to strategically place the furniture following the furniture layout you’ve chosen. Arrange large furniture facing the wall focal point.
Where do you put your TV in an awkward living room?
Since what’s considered awkward varies so much, let’s look at various spots to put a TV screen if your living room is considered awkward.
· Away from direct sunlight
· Not so high to avoid hurting your neck
· As a wall focal point
· Above the fireplace if it’s not in the right position
· Away from the fireplace if it (the fireplace) is on a hidden spot
What I Can Do with an Awkward Entry Room?
Again, your definition of awkward entry may not be the same as another girl. So, here are a few touches you can add to the awkward entry room.
· Add a gallery of family photos in the hallway
· Add a hook behind the door for hanging coats or hats
· Put a bench in the doorway, etc.
Final Thoughts on Awkward Living Room Layout Ideas
The fact that you think one part of your living room is awkward means it’s awkward. This means you need to fix it and get it the way you want.
Go through the above list again and discover how to fix specific errors in your living room or how to get around a weird living room. If you want more décor ideas, check out the following blog posts:
21+ Front Yard Landscaping Ideas with Rocks for Amazing View
Otherwise, whether you were just looking for information on how to fix various living room errors or you wanted to know various awkward living room layout ideas, I hope you found what you were after.
All the best!
Ciao!
