6 Hints to Arrange a Living Room with a Corner Fireplace

A corner fireplace is absolutely stunning and a treat to have, however, it can sometimes be difficult to arrange furniture around.

We created this post to help you to arrange your furniture in your living room with a corner fireplace and to give some helpful hints as to how energy moves around your layout. We hope you create a warm, comfortable, and inviting living room space the whole family can enjoy.

Let’s get right into it.

1.  Direct the Furniture Towards Your Corner Fireplace

All or part of your furniture placement should be directed toward the fireplace. You want to place your furniture so its angles match / mirror the angle of the fireplace and how it extends out into the room.

Here you can see the on the floorplan how the energy comes into the space. Be mindful of how the energy enters a room and what you can do to break up the energy. For example, a large french doors will allow a lot of energy to come into the space. Rugs, side tables and coffee tables help to direct the energy coming into the space down and around.

2. Promote Easy Conversation around a Corner Fireplace

You want to place furniture so sofas talk to chairs, which promotes easy conversation while seated in the room.

Keep in mind that the primary goal of furniture arranging is to create efficient and convenient footpath navigation and access in the living room. Avoid blocking the fireplace with any type of furniture whether it’s a chair or a table. Always try to arrange furniture around it or leave at least 3 feet parallel distance between the fireplace and the furniture.

For the energy coming into this space, as visualized with the arrows on the floorplan, the energy will pool in the middle of the floorplan. Similar to photo 1, it is important to add in elements such as a carpet and coffee table for the energy to continue to move around the space.

3. Add Corner Cabinets, Plants & Decorative Elements

If you can, try to introduce furniture (corner cabinets, chests, sofa tables, round drop-leaf tables, etc) or decorative elements (folding screens, artificial potted trees, large urns on pedestals, etc) into the corner(s) of the room to cut off the room’s corners; as the corner fireplace does.

The trick here is to layout furniture pieces parallel to the walls but there should be enough space near the fireplace for people to walk around. This makes the corner fireplace connected and a part of the interior design scheme.

In interior design, it’s all about symmetry and balance to achieve a coherent visual appeal. This means you can also symmetrically arrange your furniture with the corner fireplace at its center when viewed at a vantage point.

4.  Make the Corner Fireplace your Focal Point

Decorate the fireplace first, and style the rest of the room in a way that completely ties back to the hearth. Ideally, all your furniture should be facing towards the fireplace. Keep in mind that the furniture layout is the one that directs the footpath in the interior. therefore, arranging your chairs and lounges towards the hearth subconsciously tells whoever is entering the room how to navigate the space.

In this layout your furniture can be arranged diagonally so that it faces the corner fireplace. If you have an open planned living room layout, arranging your furniture this way, is pretty easy.

The thing with diagonal layouts is that it juxtaposes the sleek and straight enclosure of the space creating an interesting visual appeal and a unique furniture placement.

For the energy within this space, you can see that the door on the right wall when the energy enters into the space, the energy will hit the back of the sofa or sofa console table. It's important here to add elements that will keep the energy moving around the console table and accents.

5.  Highlight the Fireplace with Accent Chairs

There are instances where the corner fireplace is too far from the main living area. It’s hard to utterly move the whole seating area to that corner just so the fireplace doesn’t look like an outcast.

To solve this, create a certain space or nook for the corner fireplace alone. Make it separate yet special by placing either one or two accent chairs. It can be a paired wingback chair, a recliner chair, or a lounge with an ottoman. It’s entirely up to you and the available accent chairs you have. The goal is to simply create a nook near the fireplace where anyone can lounge when they want to relax, take a short nap, or read on a cold winter night.

6. Find Ways to Save Space

If you have a living room with limited space, how you layout furniture can either make your space look spacious or cramped. For living areas with smaller space, opt for a more open layout furniture placement. This means you’d have your seating on the other side and leave the opposite side where the chairs are facing empty. It could be right in front of your fireplace or adjacent to it. Keep it void of any furniture and use that space instead as a footpath.

Key Takeaway:

The tips we’ve gathered above are meant to give you an idea and to guide you on how you can make your corner fireplace a central attraction in your living room. While all living rooms are different and the tips above may not always apply to every living room out there, keep in mind the core purpose of arranging furniture in the living room which are: Convenient and efficient access, conversational nooks, warmth, and an inviting ambiance, and above all, visual coherence. If you find this blog helpful, subscribe to our email list and get notified whenever we release new blogs.

For more furniture arrangement ideas for your home check out our article on Long Living Room Layout Ideas or Square Living Room layouts.