AWKWARD SPACE SOLUTIONS - Long and Narrow Rooms _ Julie Khuu

Hello , everyone .

Welcome back to The Awkward Space Solution series .

This is the second episode and we are tackling that much dreaded long and narrow space while I don't find long and narrow spaces quite awkward .

I know that some of you do .

Most of the comments I've received are primarily about furniture placement and how to maximize the space .

So in today's video , I will be sharing creative furniture placement ideas and decorative solutions for the following long and narrow spaces for studio apartments with integrated kitchens , long and narrow great rooms with a separate kitchen or dining space , predominantly used as a living room , long and narrow spaces with a fireplace at the end or a fireplace in the middle of the room and long and narrow spaces with window walls or multiple passageways .

Let's jump right into long and narrow studio apartments with an integrated kitchen .

You typically walk right into this tiny kitchen and there could be some counter space for bar stools or counters stools .

I like to source round dining tables for a long and narrow studio apartment because no sharp edges allows you more space to walk around the furniture , the far end is typically where the seating group is .

If you have room for a long sofa against the wall , you really could be facing the television , measure the space and see if there's enough room for another chair to create an intimate seating group .

You could also source a sectional with a chess lounge that could double as a place for you to take your shoes on and off .

Moving on to that long and narrow great room .

Not all of us are blessed with one giant open concept space that's long and narrow .

There are so many different types of configurations that we can play around with .

But usually the issue is that there's so much space , it's long , it's narrow .

You really don't know what to do with it .

My best suggestion would be to create multiple seating groups with multiple focal walls on yourself .

The focal wall could be a fireplace , it could be at the television , it could be a beautiful view or it could even be statement artwork .

Don't be afraid of sourcing large sofas to fill up the space , try open back day beds or loungey low benches in between the different seating zones .

You can even custom make sectionals or sofas to prioritize the main function of this space .

Let's talk about the long and narrow space with the fireplace at the end .

Don't worry if you have multiple passages leading into this long and narrow awkward space with a fireplace at the end it gives you the opportunity to flank a club chair , a lounge chair or even a shes lounge right at the fireplace to enjoy the coziness and warmth .

The opposite end of the room could be designated with another seating group burger .

You could source a sectional , you could source a sofa facing two chairs or even a sofa facing a day bed or a lounge .

If you have more space towards the end of the room where the fireplace is centered , you can create a nice cozy seating group there .

I love the look of cozy accent chairs placed right in front of the fireplace .

The scale of the furniture is imperative to the room's success .

So make sure you have a minimum passage weigh of 36 inches or 42 inches to be able to walk back and forth .

If you have a long and narrow awkward space with a fireplace at the end and the TV , on an adjacent wall , it might be a good idea just to have one singular seating group , maybe a sectional or a long sofa with the primary purpose of facing the television .

Only some long and narrow rooms with a fireplace at the end doesn't allow for you to walk in and around the seating group .

In this case , it's perfectly ok to push your main seating furniture against the walls , maybe two sofas that face each other and float accent chairs in space to create an intimate seating group .

Let's talk about long and narrow rooms with a fireplace right in the center of a wall .

The main idea here is for you to use the fireplace as the focal point of the room and center your seating group facing the fireplace , measure that area to see even what you have space for .

You may only have enough space to fit a slim console .

You might have a ton of space to flank a pair of accent chairs .

There may be no space at all for any furniture .

In this case , I will focus on some really beautiful window treatments .

If the fireplace is in the center of the room , and you find that there's so much space to the left and the right , you could also create two different conversation areas and the fireplace is simply secondary and in the background just to create ambiance .

Here are some examples for long and narrow spaces with windows , for walls , treat the windows like any other wall .

Of course , in this case , you want to keep the furniture that's placed in front of it low profile on the flip side , you could also designate the windows as a focal point and possibly make a grand statement with a baby grand piano .

So see , let's talk about that long and narrow space with multiple passages into the room .

So the issues here seem to be that the passages get in the way of the furniture placement .

The first rule of thumb is to always measure a clearance between the passages and the back of your furniture .

Make sure you have enough room to walk in and around the furniture and absolutely do not block any of the passage ways .

If you find that the furniture arrangement is still a little bit too stuffy , then your furniture is not scaled proportionately to the size of the room .

Today's case studies take into account different long and narrow awkward spaces .

Let's dissect this long and narrow living room with a huge fireplace as its focal point .

I love that there's a pair of accent chairs that's flanked right in front of the fireplace .

You're able to enjoy the coziness and the warmth .

You'll also be able to have a nice conversation with someone seated right next to you .

You'll see that they mounted a television right above it .

Now , in a typical case , the television is way too high at this viewing angle .

However , since the sofa is pretty far away , I would say that the viewing angle could work in this space .

Some of the things that I would change would probably source smaller lounge chairs so you could pull these pieces closer in the center of the room and give the walls a little bit more breathing space .

I would also source a larger area rug to help ground the space and make the room appear even larger .

I do moving on to this long and narrow studio space .

This is as real as it gets .

It's a long and narrow space with the TV .

As the focal point .

In this case , you really have no choice but to flank a sectional or a long cozy sofa opposite the television .

I love that the owner sourced a long coffee table .

In this case , two nesting tables that is scaled to fit the length of the room .

I think there's a missed opportunity here by the windows since you could also place either a console table or another accent chair to enjoy the view .

Yes .

Under our last case study space dissects this long and narrow great room which has so much space .

It's really all about how much furniture can you fit into it for .

It's a function day to day .

My first advice is to always designate the focal point .

In this case , the focal point is this huge built in entertainment center with a television and a bookcase to the side , the longest sofa faces , the television and the accent pieces float in space to create an intimate seating group .

I love that some of the pieces are really small so you really can move them around according to your needs .

On the opposite end of the space by the windows , you'll see a furniture group that's not quite traditional , but I love the way this is set up .

It allows for one large group to be socializing with each other or you really can break it off into two smaller groups .

When seated at the sofas that are pushed against the walls , you could also enjoy the beautiful view outside .

There's enough room to be able to walk in and around all of the furniture freely without anything getting in your way .

Here are the steps you can take to make designing your long and narrow space , effortless , efficient and functional measure the overall room and sketch out the space show windows , doors , and passages , designate the focal point .

If you have multiple walls that you could use , let's dissect the advantages and disadvantages of each wall , you have a shorter wall on one end that has a passage way to the bedroom .

Should you place the television on the shorter wall or the longer wall ?

I would place a television on the shorter wall because it's more important for me to have a longer sofa on the opposite side .

Break the room up into functional zones .

You'll need different seating groups or specialized furniture for specific tasks .

This long and narrow studio space is pretty obvious .

You walk into a kitchen , you can put barstools at the counter and maybe a small round dining table that doubles as a workspace .

Clearly , you'll need to determine the function first of your space and break up the zones accordingly .

Now that you've determined the focal point , the far end of the space is your living room .

Lastly , you'll need to shop for proportionally scaled furniture .

The right size of furniture really makes or breaks the room .

You really can't tell what type of furniture will fit into this space until you accurately measure it .

The success of your room depends on it .

So never neglect this crucial first step .

My goal at the end of this series is to help you look at your challenging space with fresh eyes , think of all the amazing solutions that you can come up with that stops people dead in their tracks and really makes them wish they had some of these cool unique features in their home .

Not everyone knows what to do with a huge blink box either .

So don't let that long and narrow space challenge you perspective is everything but I get it .

I mean , you live in the home , you see it every day .

Sometimes you're so close to the problem that you can't really see what the problem is .

I hope that you got some really amazing tips out of this video for your long and narrow awkward space .

If you like this type of content and you're loving the Awkward space series , please give this video a thumbs up .

Comment below and let me know if you have any issues when it comes to awkward spaces in your home .

I'd love to hear your feedback and I'm hoping to incorporate it into a future video in this series .

We filmed the series week by week and I'm reading your comments daily .

Don't be shy .

Leave me a comment below and let me know if I could help you answer any issues when it comes to your awkward space , share this video with anyone , you know , who is struggling with a long and narrow , awkward space and subscribe to my channel if you haven't already .

Thank you so much for watching .

I'll see you next week .