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DESIGN 101
How To Arrange Your L-shaped Sofa in Your Living Room
Picture hosting movie night, the big game, or even a book club meeting with ample seating for everyone, no folding chairs required. To make this a reality, learn how to arrange your L-shaped sofa in your living room, considering comfort, functionality, and design.
Sectionals are upholstered couches with multiple segments that can be combined in various ways. Popular sectionals include L-shaped, U-shaped, modular, and curved sofas. Some sectionals recline, morph into sleeper sofas, or incorporate storage space.
What’s an L-Shaped Sectional?
The segments of L-shaped sectionals meet at one corner, resembling the shape of an uppercase letter "L." The pieces of a U-shaped sectional are arranged into the shape of the letter "U."
Sectionals let you maximize space while providing comfortable seating for more people than possible with a standard couch. L-shaped sectionals:
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Fit nicely into smaller spaces and corners
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Make strong focal points in large rooms
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Create boundaries between rooms in open-concept homes
Standard L-Shaped Sectional Dimensions
L-shaped sectionals typically seat six to eight people and come in various sizes. When determining the right size L-shaped sectional for your home and deciding how to arrange your L-shaped sofa in your living room:
1. Measure the room, including the height and width of doorways and entryways.
2. Consider the room's layout, including walking paths.
3. Select compact L-shaped sectional pieces for smaller rooms to avoid overcrowding and oversized pieces to bring warmth to larger rooms.
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Fit nicely into smaller spaces and corners
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Make strong focal points in large rooms
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Create boundaries between rooms in open-concept homes
How To Arrange an L-Shaped Sectional in Your Living Room
Arranging an L-shaped sectional in your living room is part of the fun of having one of these highly versatile pieces of furniture. As you consider how you'd like to lay out your L-shaped sectional pieces, envision how you'll use the sofa.
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If you choose reclining sectional segments, remember to factor in the space the piece requires when in the reclined position.
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Hosting the big game or movie nights
Arrange your L-shaped sectional with the TV as the focal point. Include designated places for drinks and snacks.
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Playing board games
A layout featuring a center table as the focal point with the L-shaped sectional within reach works well for game nights.
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Fostering conversation
Place your L-shaped sectional around your fireplace to encourage conversation, styling the room with warm, dimmer lighting.
One of the most attractive features of L-shaped sectionals is their flexibility. You can try different configurations, change the layout for various occasions, and tweak the arrangement as you add accent pieces or furniture.
Against the wall
Place an L-shaped sectional sofa against the wall to open up a smaller space. Wall placement allows other furniture, like an antique table, TV, or fireplace, to serve as the focal point. If your sectional reclines, allow space between the wall and sofa in the reclined position.
Open-concept room divider
Open-concept homes with no division can feel cold and empty. L-shaped sectionals can delineate rooms, adding warmth to your home. Place a backless ottoman in the space joining the rooms to ease the transition from room to room.
Center of the room focal point
An elegant L-shaped sectional couch can serve as a focal point in a larger room. When arranging furniture around sectional sofas intended to draw the eye, don't place other furniture against the wall. Instead, strategically place the furniture to complement the sectional sofa.
Back corner for a small space
Use your space strategically by tucking your L-shaped sectional sofa into an unused corner in your living room. Placing L-shaped couches in corners opens up small rooms, keeping all usable space from going to waste. Corner placement rounds out your design by bringing attention to an often-ignored area of the room.
Up against a window
Your L-shaped sofa may fit best under a window when in a corner or against a wall. You may appreciate the natural light that can accompany window placement for reading. Compare the height of the sofa with window placement to prevent overlap with windows.
Formal arrangement with chairs
Create conversation space for book club meetings or simple get-togethers by arranging accent chairs to create circle, square, or U-shaped layouts. Chairs can be moved for different occasions.
Split up modular
The modular functionality of sectional sofa pieces provides versatility. For example, you can adjust the modular pieces of a sleeper sectional sofa for the comfort of overnight guests and then rearrange them to encourage conversation around coffee and breakfast treats in the morning.
How To Style an L-Shaped Sectional
Rugs
Add warmth and complement your L-shaped sofa with a rug.
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Tuck your rug under the front feet of your sectional pieces to pull the elements together into a cohesive look.
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Center your rug just slightly outside the front feet of your sofa legs — without allowing it to extend beyond the boundaries of the sectional — to feature your rug as a focal point.
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Choose a longer rug that extends beyond one end of the L-shaped sectional and place additional complementary furniture on the rug to lengthen the boundaries of the space.
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Select a patterned rug to complement a solid-colored sofa or a solid-colored rug to balance a patterned sofa.
Pillows
Accent pillows are instrumental in defining the style of your living room.
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Add three to five pillows to most L-shaped sofas, although larger sofas may look better with more pillows.
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Choose throw pillows about half the size of the couch cushions to avoid overwhelming the look of the couch.
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Layer colored and patterned pillows to add depth.
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Mirror the pillows and pillow layouts on both sides of an L-shaped sofa for a cohesive, symmetrical look.
Throws
Throws in complementary colors and patterns are functional as well as stylish.
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Choose larger throws in soft materials if you expect them to be used to snuggle up on movie nights or smaller throws if you plan for them to serve only as decor.
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Drape throws over the backs or arms of your L-shaped couch or fold and layer with pillows.
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Include multiple throws for a symmetrical look.
Lighting
Style with lighting for functionality and to set the mood.
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Bright lighting works well for game nights, while softer lighting provides ambiance for movie nights and relaxing.
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Dimmer switches let you match the use and mood of the moment.
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Consider the availability of electrical outlets and cord placement when selecting lamps and other lighting.
Read our L-shaped sofa buying guide to learn how to pick the best L-shaped sectional for your space.