Furnishing solutions for a modern, attractive, functional lounge

The lounge is by definition the room in the home that accommodates the largest number of different functions. The traditional functions of entertaining, relaxing, watching TV or reading a good book now have to share the floor space available with the new needs of the modern home lifestyle.

In fact, the lounge is often the room that has to accommodate one or more workstations for working from home and even a children’s play corner, a kitchen or cooking area extension, and the dining area.

So the keyword when designing lounge furnishing is versatility. Achieving the aim of a dynamic, fluid interior able to respond to the most widely varying needs may be aided by the furnishing systems which companies have developed to criteria of modularity, scalability and transformabilityover time.

These systems are particular effective when the main need is furnishing a small lounge, where full use has to be made of every corner, alcove and wall, in both functional and design terms.

Let’s take a look together at some solutions for:

• comfortable, welcoming organisation of the relaxation and conversation zone
• creating a play corner in the lounge
• designing layouts and furnishings for a small office corner in the lounge, with one or more workstations

The various solutions can provide a kind of short design handbook, with lots of ideas for a small or large lounge, depending on individual requirements.

Ideas for a small lounge: the conversation and relaxation area

The conversation and relaxation area usually occupies most of the lounge, whatever its size. The sofa, with one or two armchairs if space permits, is placed facing the bookcase with TV shelf or, even better, the window.

To furnish a small lounge so that it is comfortable, and will help us to unwind after a tiring day at work, it is important not only to choose the right layout for the various items, but also to take care when choosingthe color of the lounge floor and to make the most effective use of the natural and artificial lighting available.

The fundamental points for successful design of the conversation and relaxation zone are:

• place the main seating item (the sofa) preferably so that it faces towards one of the windows.
• create the TV corner in a space not immediately visible from the doorway, and above all not opposite the window (the light would make it difficult to see the screen).
• arrange the seating (the sofa and armchairs, any poufs) to create a clearly defined, intimate space, preferably emphasised by a large, soft rug.
• place the light fittings so that they fulfil specific functions: effective lighting of the entire room, reading light where needed, highlighting details of furnishings and ornaments.
• choose a dominant neutral color(not necessarily white!) and a main material, such as wood effect stoneware, combine a feature color (like green, bright blue or red) with these two and select the furnishings, ornaments and fittings to match this color and material scheme.

The lounge play corner must be neat and tidy!

If not properly designed, the lounge play corner can be a real problem when it comes to maintaining a tidy home. There is a constant risk of finding toy trains, dolls and Lego blocks all over the place!

The secret of preventing this is to define the kids’ play space so it is immediately recognisable and provide convenient, sturdy containers where they can put their toys away easily at the end of the day, making tidying-up into a game in its own right.

The first step is to make a list of the different types of toys and buy a bin or box for each one, preferably matching. The market offers a wide range of solutions, including low cost options, with the considerable advantage of being compact and stackable, making them space saving.

It is also a good idea to equip the lounge play corner with a kids’-sizetable and chairs, to encourage activities such as drawing and reading. Nowadays, many companies offer miniature versions of their “grown-up” furniture, enabling attractive, tasteful lounge interior design.

Lounge office corner for home workers

Unfortunately, the lounge office corner is often viewed as temporary. It is frequently created with any old desk and chairs that may be available. Nothing could be more wrong, since many of us spend many hours a day in front of our PCs.

Working in a well organised, comfortable space that stimulates thought and creativity can make all the difference, and help us to use our time to best effect.
 

Here are some hints to be put into practice straight away:

• allocate aspecific corner of the lounge for use as home office, preferably not right next to the TV, to reduce the risk of continual distraction
• if possible, provide a screening system, which may be movable and lightweight, to partition off the office corner: just a curtain or draught screen can make all the difference
• choose a comfortable working chair, which will not give you backache
• provide enough storage space to take your equipment and documents at the end of the day