Need ideas for a big blank wall in my living room

calliewmu · September 2013

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting in this forum. I am really desperate for help as I have really not been able to find a solution to this problem. We moved into this house over a year ago, and this is really the only remaining spot I just don't know what to do with.

The problem: My living room is a bit awkwardly laid out. I have posted pictures that hopefully give a sense of the entire room. The TV in the room is near theonly cable outlet in this room, making it difficult to change the TV placement. It is off center on the wall because otherwise the couch would have to be floated waaaay out into the entryway to the room, and I like keeping the entryway nice and open. Plus the room is oblong, so much so that spreading the furniture out in the direction to the left and right of the TV would create large voids between chairs. It is very important to us that the couch face the TV because, well, that's just the way we like it. TV over the fireplace mantle is definitely a no-go as neither of us likes looking up to see the TV, and we video game a LOT, so we need it to be in a good position. So really, I need to figure out what to do with the blank space to the left of the TV and the void behind the recliners. There is a huge fireplace to the right of the TV, so I really need to figure out what to put on the left of the TV (and even possibly above it) that will balance it out visually.

I am posting 5 pictures of the living room as it is. The 6th picture is a hypothetical picture. I slapped some Microsoft Office clipart on it to show possible solutions. I am thinking of putting a dresser-like thing under that painting behind the recliners (as shown in the picture). I just haven't found one yet. I'm also open to suggestions for filling this space. As for the area to the left of the TV with the framed question mark, that's really the main problem area. It doesn't have to be filled with a giant frame either, that was just my way of highlighting the problem area.

I would love to hear any and all ideas!

blaqueirish320 · October 2013

Looking at your pics I think that if you got an entertainment cabinet to house the TV in you can probably build one that allows you to keep the TV towards the right while the left side provides storage and shelving where you can display personal photos. As for the other wall..if you go with my idea not really sure because it might come off as too much. Is it possible to push the chairs closer to the wall since you use the couch more?

short+sassy · October 2013

blaqueirish320 said:

Looking at your pics I think that if you got an entertainment cabinet to house the TV in you can probably build one that allows you to keep the TV towards the right while the left side provides storage and shelving where you can display personal photos. As for the other wall..if you go with my idea not really sure because it might come off as too much. Is it possible to push the chairs closer to the wall since you use the couch more?

I like this idea best. However, something I am doing with a blank wall in my living room is building/installing a large built-in bookshelf. I could see you doing something like that for either wall, but big storage on both walls would (I think) be too much.

calliewmu · October 2013

I was kind of thinking of an entertainment center as well. My dad is quite handy and already built one entertainment center for us in our upstairs living room. However, I hesitated to choose a color because as you can see in the third picture, our kitchen cabinets are very dark brown (like dark chocolate). I wasn't sure if I went with a medium shade of brown if it would look weird.