Use an armoire to conceal TV in living room

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/07/2006 (7351 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

QUESTION — We have just purchased an end-unit townhome and are having difficulty coming up with a suitable arrangement in the living room.

Overall, the house design is fairly standard, except for a window well that brings in a lot of light to both the living room and family room below, and provides the room with a pleasant, open feeling.

Our current furniture consists of a brown leather sofa and loveseat and a black and glass coffee table and wall unit (my style tends towards a casual and somewhat country look).

The wall-to-wall carpet throughout the house is a neutral grey and we have had white, two-inch slat blind installed throughout the ground floor.

This room is where we do most of our living.

We watch television, listen to music and read and we also do a fair bit of entertaining, so we need seating for at least six people.

I want to ensure that the living room provides comfortable television viewing, but I don’t want the television to be the focal point of the room.

Also, I would like to paint the space in a coral tone, but I find that those colours are rather common now.

Before we make any new purchases, could you advise?

ANSWER — Coral shades might be considered “common” because many people use them in same way — they paint all the walls in a single unbroken mass of colour.

Consider making the coral shade a part of your decorating scheme, but not necessarily the predominant colour.

Given that most of your existing furniture is a neutral brown and the carpet grey, the palette you have to work with runs from the palest of reds to rich terra cotta tones in red family, plus any number of combinations for accessory shades.

For your main wall colour, you could use a lighter shade of coral (which will help offset the heaviness of the brown sofa pieces) throughout the entire ground floor.

One feature wall — usually behind the sofa, but in this case it could also be behind the armoire — could then be painted in a darker tone of the same colour and it is here you can highlight a favourite painting or group of artwork.

You can then use other red and green tones in your chosen palette for accent pieces in throughout living room and dining area.

While wood and country antiques work well within a country setting, glass and metal pieces most often do not.

You may want to reconsider your choices for end and coffee tables.

Because the room is relatively narrow, making all the seating positions accessible to the television will be a challenge.

In the plan I have prepared for your living room, I have shown the larger sofa directly across the room from a new armoire or wall unit that may house the television set and any other electronic entertainment equipment.

An armoire is a great piece for an all-purpose room because, when the doors are closed, it ensures that the television is not the focal point in the room.

Ideally, this armoire should be a wooden piece with some country design elements.

I have chosen to show the smaller loveseat sofa at an angle, providing good viewing from all pieces to the television as well as a good conversation area with the main sofa.

An additional easy chair with an ottoman or a recliner will complete the seating arrangement at the other end of the space.

This easy chair by the window offers a comfortable spot for reading, or an equally comfortable spot for television viewing.

Because you have chosen white slat blinds for the windows, you might want to consider adding a bit more flair to them with attractive side drapes that will draw attention to the view and coordinate a bit better with the existing pieces in the room.

These side drapes could be a beautiful, natural linen or soft cotton fabric handing on cast iron or wooden hardware.

You can contact Toronto-based interior designer David Ferguson through his website below.

www.creativespaceonline.com