How To Arrange Furniture With A Corner Fireplace

In this post I’m sharing helpful design solutions on how to arrange furniture with a corner fireplace.

These design tips will show you how to arrange your furniture – the right way – to create a cohesive layout that looks pulled together!

Two sofas and two chairs furniture layout with tv over corner fireplace

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Sectional sofa and two chair furniture arrangement around corner fireplace

How To Arrange Living Room Furniture With A Corner Fireplace

Chances are – if you are here reading this then your living room or family room furniture is too big or you have too many furniture pieces to fit your corner fireplace design.

If that’s the case you’ll have to either eliminate some pieces of your living room furniture from the space or buy new furniture to accommodate your corner living room fireplace layout.

Let’s take a look at both scenarios!

Living room sectional furniture arrangement idea with corner fireplace and TV as a focal point. The beautiful stone fireplace is incorporated into the design for a cohesive look.

The Design Problems That Corner Fireplaces Create

Corner fireplaces are awkward. There’s no way around it!

The angle of the fireplace causes the room to be imbalanced and cuts off available floor space to place furniture and a rug.

I’ve seen awkward corner fireplaces many times in my design clients’ homes – even in new builds!

What causes the difficulty with furniture placement is that the fireplace is the main focal point in a room ….and furniture needs to be arranged around it in a cohesive manner.

This is easy to do when the fireplace is on a flat wall.

When the fireplace is on a flat wall either the sofa/sectional is parallel to it and facing it or two chairs are. However when the fireplace is located in a corner, furniture arrangement is more complicated.

It impacts the symmetry in a room. And when the corner fireplace is paired with a tall ceiling, the fireplace angle is more pronounced and impacts furniture arrangement even more!

Also, if your corner fireplace has a large hearth and mantel, the balance of the room is impacted once again! Whether you have a tile, stone, plaster, marble or brick fireplace surround – the corner configuration requires a strategized furniture layout plan.

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Living room furniture arrangement with a tv unit and a corner fireplace, 2 sofas and chairs:

Brick corner fireplace, sofa, chair and coffee table:

Stone corner fireplace with sectional sofa, coffee table and chair:

Should your sofa face the fireplace?

Yes and no.

The sofa shouldn’t be parallel to the fireplace.

This looks really awkward in my point of view!

If you place a sofa directly facing the fireplace, parallel to the fireplace, it will cut off a portion of the living room and make placement of chairs awkward or not possible at all.

It will also cause the corners of the furniture to stick out in the room.

The sofa should face the fireplace at a perpendicular angle.

It’s facing the fireplace at an angle.

In order to do this you may have to replace all or some of your furniture to fit the corner fireplace layout.

I can help you pick out the perfect size and shape of furniture that will fit your corner fireplace living room’s footprint!

See my virtual design service information here and let’s chat!

Two sofas facing each other, perpendicular to the corner fireplace:

source

Here are a couple more corner fireplace questions – and answers!:

How do I arrange living room furniture with a fireplace and TV?

Where should a TV be placed on a corner fireplace?

1. The TV can be placed above the corner fireplace mantel.

I really love the Samsung Frame TV which resembles artwork when it’s turned off!

The frame TV is a TV that has a frame on it like a framed piece of art and displays artwork like landscapes, abstract art, florals, photography and more!

It hides ‘the ugly big black box’ and disguises the TV as beautiful art! If you decide to hang the TV above the corner fireplace then arrange your furniture as explained above.

2. TV is placed on a wall to the side of the fireplace.

Hang the TV on the wall adjacent to the corner fireplace with a TV stand underneath the TV.

Arrange your furniture so that one piece faces the TV and media consule and the other furniture pieces are in an L configuration.

A sectional sofa should be placed with one of it’s sides facing the TV and the other side facing the fireplace.

Corner fireplace and TV unit furniture arrangement with sectional sofa and 2 chairs:

With these design tips your furniture will be arranged the right way to fit your corner fireplace!

Have any questions? Leave them in the comments below!

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are corner fireplaces a good idea?

In my opinion as a Designer they aren’t a good ideabecause they look awkward, chop the room at an angle and impact the amount of floorspace to place furniture. So for new build homes I recommend that you don’t add a corner fireplace!

2. Does a corner fireplace save space?

No it actually doesn’t save space, because it greatly decreases the amount of space for placing furniture.

3. Where should a fireplace be placed in a living room?

The fireplace should be placed in the center of the wall that you want to be the focal point. This is typically the longest wall in the living room. You can place the fireplace on a short wall in the living room.

More Design and Decor Ideas:

I’d love to help you create spaces that function well and bring you joy!

The Open Concept Living Room With A Corner Fireplace

What are the best furniture pieces for a good corner fireplace furniture arrangement for an open floor plan?

It depends on how much seating you need – how many people will be using the family room and how many guests you have during the holidays. Typically a combination of the following furniture seating best works for an open concept living room with a corner fireplace:

two sofas and one or two accent chairs to create a conversation area
two large sofas if there is enough space
a seating arrangement with a sectional sofa and one or two armchairs
4 comfortable chairs and skip the couch. A grouping of 4 chairs can be the best furniture arrangement solution for your corner fireplace.

Corner Fireplace Design Tip’s Do’s and Don’ts

Do: Ground your furniture arrangement with a large rug to define the seating area and create a cozy, pulled together look. A rug adds cosiness and comfort too!
Don’t: Add a corner cabinet to a living room with a corner fireplace! A corner cabinet will cause more problems with floor space being cut off and will emphasize the angle of the corner fireplace!

What about a narrow living room layout with a corner fireplace?

When a living room is narrow and there’s a corner fireplace, the number of furniture pieces will be limited.

One small sofa, one loveseat or two chairs may be all you can fit into this situation.

The other solution is to buy an apartment sized sofa or small sectional sofa that is smaller and will fit a small living room.

Click on the images below to shop beautiful apartment size sofas to fit a small living room with a corner fireplace:

How do you arrange furniture around a corner fireplace?

Let’s start with what NOT to do!

DO NOT place any furniture parallel to the corner fireplace.

This creates an awkward living room layout.

Placing furniture parallel and facing a fireplace will make traffic flow around the furniture difficult because the corners of the furniture will jut out.

It’s also not the best use of space.

How to place furniture in living room with corner fireplace?

Follow these placement rules:

1. Place your sofa perpendicular to the corner fireplace and then place the second sofa (or two chairs) kitty corner to the sofa.

2. Then place a square or rectangular coffee table in front of the fireplace, so that it’s perpendicular to the fireplace. (a round coffee table is the most flexible).

This will create an L shape furniture arrangement with the two sofas (or sofa and two chairs).

3. If you have a sectional sofa, place it perpendicular to the corner fireplace as well.

4. Once you have your sofa(s)/sectional sofa and coffee table in place add your side tables.

The end tables you add may have to be narrow – to take up less space.

5. Lastly, if you have enough space you could add a bench or two ottoman poufs in front of the fireplace to add style and extra seating in a pinch.

Design tip: Don’t forget to add a console table to the back of the sofa if you have an open concept space to help ground the living room.

A sofa table helps to hide the back of the sofa, adds more storage to the room and helps define the living room zone.

An open concept living room with corner fireplace furniture layout with sectional sofa perpendicular to corner fireplace and parallel/ facing the TV unit.

Sofa and chair perpendicular to the corner fireplace.

Furniture layout with sofa parallel to TV unit and perpendicular to corner fireplace:

Need help with furniture layout, choosing paint colors, room design, selecting furniture or updating your home?

I’m a Designer and True Color Expert® – I can help!

See my Online Interior Design & Paint Color Services and client reviews.

Email me at [email protected] for more information and rates!

I’d love to work with you!

Living room furniture arrangement with a tv unit and a corner fireplace, 2 sofas and chairs:

Brick corner fireplace, sofa, chair and coffee table:

Stone corner fireplace with sectional sofa, coffee table and chair: