An L-shaped room can be hard to work with: the angles cut off views, no rug fits both sections, and so on. However, the L turns to an advantage when using the room for two purposes: as a living and a dining room. Each part of the L acts as one or the other. This way it's as though you have two synergistic rooms overlapping each other, making a welcoming space that nvites others into your home for entertaining and lounging.
Instructions
1. Paint the two long walls of the L different but complementary colors, such as white and green, to begin differentiating the two uses of the L-shaped room. Use the color you choose for the walls to inform the colors for the furniture to come. For example, if you choose a tan color for the living room part, all the furniture in the L-shaped space as a whole should work well with tan, such as dark browns, reds, and blues.
2. Position two rugs in the L-shaped space, one in each functional section.
3. Place the central furniture pieces, at least one couch and a dining table, in the appropriate portions of the L-shaped space.
4. Place another couch or chairs in the L shaped room in such a way that they cannot be seen when entering the L shaped room from the dining room section. For example, imagine looking at a floor plan of an L-shaped room in which the living room space is the vertical bar of the L and the dining room is the horizontal foot of the L. Comfortable chairs could be placed at the top of the vertical bar of the L, i.e., at the end of the living room space.
5. Place the television or entertainment center in the living room space away from the dining room space, on a wall facing the couch. That way, no one sitting at the dining table can see the entertainment center or television, encouraging conversation during meals.
6. Consider installing a chandelier or overhanging light fixture over the dining room section of the L-shaped space. Place tables with lamps or floor lamps in the living room section. Lighting the two sections differently helps differentiate the spaces.
Tags: living room, dining room, L-shaped space, room space, living room space, L-shaped room, room section