A long, narrow living room becomes a dual-purpose area with the right decor. Long, narrow rooms pose decorating issues for people seeking a traditional living room. Typical living room furniture groups sometimes look too spread out. Even oversize furniture can appear too short or too wide. Abandon the traditional ideas of living room decorating and put all the available space to good use.
Instructions
1. Divide the room. For a long room, dividing the space in half eliminates some of the decorating issues. Divide the room front to back using a freestanding room divider. This creates a two-room look. Alternatively, place a tall bookshelf on one wall to act as a divider. In a narrow room, be sure the bookcase or divider does not prohibit free movement to the back part of the room.
2. Differentiate the floor in the room. Another trick to divide a room too long for traditional decorating and furniture placement is to break up the flooring. For example, place tile in the area in front of the divider and carpet in the area behind. This makes a distinctive break in the space.
3. Change the wall color from the front to the back. Use light-colored paint or wallpaper in the room to make the narrow room look wider. Using a different color in the front of the room versus the back of the room gives extra distinction to a divided room.
4. Add mirrors to the wall. Large, framed mirrors or mirror tiles placed on side walls add width and dimension to a narrow room.
5. Arrange small furniture into separate groups in the front and the back of the room. A small loveseat and chair complemented with a narrow cocktail table can fill the front of the room, while a round wooden table and chairs occupy the back. Keep the furniture fairly small so you do not crowd the narrow room.
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