Question about long living room

[Newyearnewrule]

We have a long reception space measuring approximately 4x10m part of which we use as the living room.

Apart from a dining room what else would you use the remainder of the open space for if you imagine using it as two 4x5m spaces?

We will not erect a wall to separate them.

I posted previously looking for general floor plan ideas for which I got really great advice.

I have a 3.6m x 9m reception room and have a large Ikea Kallax bookcase which acts as a room divider so I have a main living room / social space and a smaller library / museum / snug.

It really depends on your lifestyle, doesn’t it. I don’t have DC, hence the library. If you have DC you could use it as a play area so as to keep toys and child detritus out of your living room; if you work from home it could make a good office.

Thanks. My DC is 10 and has other areas to play in. I like the idea of a library/reading space. I have an office space already.

My house is like this and we have a dining area so no help. But we viewed another house on the road and whilst they had the same arrangement they also had an extension for an informal kitchen diner. This meant that the “dining area” of the long reception room was full of beautiful pieces of furniture and art, even the dining room table was amazing. The rest of the house was child friendly but this was the bit you could happily sit in with a coffee and a magazine and just enjoy the surroundings

We are similar, and almost 2/3 is sitting room, and other part is library and boxed games area with shelving and own sofa, rug and lighting (although since lockdown we have a ballet floor area for dd1 so a bit rejigged, furniture-wise). We eat in the kitchen.

I would consider a partial room divider. There are some great open ones where you can place ornaments and art on the shelves.

I wouldn’t necessarily split it in half either. You can have a very pleasant lounge that’s 4 x 6m. As an alternative to a room divider, place a console table (not quite as high as a hall console table) behind a sofa to divide the room. You can place a lamp on it. Or objects. Get a bigger sofa or two and have the luxury of walking around them!

At the square end (4x4m) I would have two reading chairs and a table for coffee. I like the Neptune ones. It’s a separate reading or relaxing area. If there’s a window here so much the better.

My lounge is a bit shorter than this but wider. We do have a table and chairs in the end base the kitchen but it’s open to the kitchen at that point. I would look at book cases too but along the walls at this end. We gave an antique secretaire. It’s all about zoning. And the luxury of having space around furniture!

base? End near the kitchen ....

Definitely split the room. Wouldn't use room dividers, but as a pp suggested a sofa with a console table behind maybe. We have a piano in the back of our long lounge - love the idea of arm chair, nice table plant, book, or a drinks trolley/table etc. Even if the back part of the room isn't actually used all that much, it helps the livable part of the room feel more proportioned and homely. Think about how rooms in stately homes (or on selling sunset etc) are decorated - furniture isn't all pushed to the edges of the room.

I would not have a divider all the way across a but you need to avoid a tunnel effect.

I’ve just looked at Houzz. If you google “long sitting room Houzz” a very informative article popped up.

We have a sofa across the middle, and we are planning to put a sideboard behind it with a large fish tank on, as a sort of room divider.

The end that the sofa faces is the lounge area with a second sofa at right angles, big inglenook fireplace and tv in the corner.

The other end struggles to have a function to be honest, so I’m watching this thread with interest. We already have a library, office, kids’ playroom/snug and we eat in the kitchen (kids’ playroom/snug used to be the dining room but was rarely used).

So we tend to refer to this end as the music room, because the piano is there, plus dd’s music stand and instruments. Apart from that it’s just empty floor space, which gets used for jigsaws and board games.

Ours is a "dining" end but the table is actually used every day for homework, games, puzzles, kids' projects, Lego. I used to think that having 2 tables was a waste of space but I love it, it keeps all the "doing" away from where we eat and bake.

Other ideas - playroom (you could define the space with a rug or train table), snooker/games table. Baby grand piano!

Love the idea of it being a music room or library space!

I think a music area looks messy when it is attached to a lounge. I like my lounge to be smart. I like lovely classic furniture and great fabrics. Not musical instruments all over the place. However I have two lounges and a grand piano in the hall so quite different to standard house layout I suspect.

I really would look at a second table or relaxed coffee/reading area with book cases. Plus a rug that is a focal point. And a decent overhead lamp like an Arco. You can get low level bookcases from companies like OKA that fit behind a sofa and face onto your second space. I would not have a fish tank. Ok for hotel lobbies but not great in a lounge I think. A lovely lamp or two makes a better statement.

I like the idea of having a square 4x4 as with coffee table and low level bookshelves. I can picture it being really nice and I would definitely use it. Unfortunately I don’t have a grand piano of any kind.

@PresentingPercy thanks for the Houzz link.

We were left it by DH's aunt.