If you have a very small house

[Gabbysdollhouse]

Can I ask how your front room/living room is arranged?

our front room is about 3.3m sq with a chimney breast & 2 essential doors on opposite corners. It serves as absolutely everything.
we need a new sofa/ sofas/ suite.
unfortunately the telly has to be a pretty central feature (currently on the chimney breast, but can be moved)
looking at 2 ikea vimle 2 seaters, but think that means we can’t get the folding dining table up, so then no dining table (no space in tiny kitchen.) looked at smaller sofas, but DH says not comfortable. To be fair the vimle were the most comfy we sat on.
need to have some storage ideally.
I just want a nice, functional room. That’s quite easy to live in & clean.
I would welcome any ideas.

Could you build cupboards into the alcoves to give you storage - maybe with one or two shelves above? TV could stay on the chimney breast. Have two two seaters against the 310 and 330 walls (with a gap to allow radiator heat to circulate and the door to be opened), and then put the table/2 chairs against the remaining wall with the other door?

The door to our living room is permanently open to allow us to have a two seater in front of it. I know some people don't like a door always being open but I find it more inviting when I come through the front door. Also allows light to spread round the room/hallway more.

A bit like this? The red square is a rug 😂

Thank you so much for replying. We haven’t looked at that configuration (I don’t know how we’ve missed it!) definitely worth consideration, then the table is by the kitchen door.
can’t keep that door open tho as the heat vanishes. Am thinking about re hanging the door so it swings towards the window rather than out into the room.

Is the tv comfortable over the chimney or a bit high? We have our telly in the alcove on a swinging bracket. It stays in place when it's just the two of us but we pull it out at an angle for guests using the other sofa. The room is too messy to take a photo right now  but here's one from a couple of weeks ago.

Rehanging the door so it opens to the window sounds like a good idea.

If you use Facebook there is a really good group called something along the lines of IKEA hacks/tips and tricks where people suggest all sorts of ideas which I would never have thought of. Doesn't just have to be for ikea furniture

We have a similar layout. We got shelves/cupboards built into the alcoves. Never had a fireplace anyway so that's just a blank wall and we have a 4 seater sofa right along that wall and a 2 seater along your 263 wall. TV is on the wall opposite the 4 seater (your 310 wall). We've also re-hung a few doors throughout the downstairs to save space - makes a huge difference.

I didn’t think I’d get any replies at all thank you so much.
@ProfYaffle Can I ask - how do you get to your built in storage with the sofa in front? Do you have to send in a child?

this is turning into a project of, I just wanted a new sofa and now I’ve remodelled the whole house around it.

Hi! Our radiator is behind the sofa, and I'm looking at replacing it with a tall one, and moving it ti the 'entrance' of the room, which is dead space as nothing else can really go there. Hoping that will stop the sofa absorbing the heat.
(Relevant because @Someaddedsugar design seems good)

Access is from a lift up lid in the top, more like a chest than a cupboard.

We felt the same as you about re-modelling the house. We finally took the plunge and did it about 6 years ago now, definitely well worth it. It's made a huge difference to the available space and how we live.

There is a long term plan for remodelling, but it’s not going to be soon.
i think we might just be going to buy some sofas and work it out from there 😂

I would definitely consider rehanging the doors to maximise space, this is something many architects suggest in old houses.
Would replacing one of the door with an insulated door curtain work? This could also free up lots of space.
Its worth taking time to decide on the best seating arrangement rather than winging it, try mock ups with cardboard boxes?
COuld you consider a coffee table which also works as a dining table? WIll see if I can fnd a link

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1591541713/danish-trioh-metamorphic-diningcoffee?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=danish+trioh&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&sca=1&local_signal_search=1&organic_search_click=1

We have a small table slid under our bigger sofa. We fold the chairs and they go in the under stairs cupboard.

Oh wow, that table’s great!
one of the doors is already a folding door rather than a proper
one.
why do they hang doors so they swing into the room? The whole house is small & the doors seem to take up loads of space!
we are Winging it a bit, but have been playing about with a
modelling tool the last 2 days.

Dh modelled ours in Minecraft! 😅

Minecraft is genius!

My first thought is like @Someaddedsugar 's design but maybe tuck a small round table into the top left corner. If you are rehanging the bottom right door can you do so to open outwards into the ?hall? Or is it the front door?

We shopped for sofas with a tape measure and went for ones with narrow arms for efficiency. The John Lewis Arlo was a clear winner in terms of both comfort and max seating space for minimum footprint. It is quite narrow front to back while (IMO) still giving plenty of seat depth. I don't know how that compares with the Vimle. A narrow depth sofa along through bottom wall in your pic would maximise the width of the walkway and therefore the sense of space.

Little mini tables in corners instead of a coffee table. We have a couple of wooden stools, which can double as easily portable side tables (move to where guests are sitting) or extra seating. Another idea is using a nesting pair of round coffee tables in the middle of the space, normally next to each other to approximate to a rectangular table, but able to be nested and moved as needed. There are loads of them around at the moment on metal frames. Round would be good again to create more roomy walkways. For a dining table a gateleg might be good, or a round one with a drop side so you can squidge it up against the wall but still have space to sit you both.

Sorry I've probably already brain dumped enough, but I find lightness a really useful "feature" in a small space. If something is physically easy to shift the space feels more flexible and you will use it in more different ways. You are more likely to shift the coffee table to do an exercise video if it's easy to shift. And being able to see under furniture - having sofas on long legs rather than stubby ones, maybe having a table with a central plinth rather than legs in the corners, and not having more dining chairs out than you use day to day - will help give an impression of space as you can see more of the floor.

Our lounge is a dining room, living room, play room.

Sorry it's really hard to write on my phone but I've tried to show how we lay it out. We also have a coffee table in the middle.

Habitat Hyde sofas are very good for maximum seat / minimum armrest size. I also have one from next - maybe a Wilson but not sure.

Go have a look round some small new build houses. The show homes usually give you some great ideas

Thank you for continuing ideas - I have spent time looking at Rightmove listings for our area to see what other people do -amazing what people fit in!
I went to look at next sofas, but the labelling on everything was so unclear I left in a huff! They were nice, but unfortunately we’re not quite Next price bracket 😳

I was very enthused by the idea of turning the door, looked up tutorials, great, easypeasy, then I realised the light switch will be behind the door! So I’m holding that thought for now.

I wish the door could open out, but it’s the front door and a ridiculously tiny hall (like 1m sq - useless!)

Have a look at never too small on Facebook or insta. Lots of very clever small space designs and ideas