The living room serves as the heart of most Australian homes—a space for family gatherings, movie nights, quiet reading, and entertaining guests. At the centre of modern living rooms sits the TV unit, which needs to work harmoniously with your seating, lighting, and traffic flow. Getting this layout right enhances both the functionality of the space and your daily enjoyment of it. This guide covers the principles of effective living room arrangement with your entertainment setup as the anchor.
Starting with the Focal Point
Every well-designed room has a focal point—a visual anchor that draws the eye and organises the space around it. In many contemporary living rooms, the TV and entertainment unit serve this role. However, your room's architecture might suggest a different focal point: a fireplace, a picture window with a view, or a distinctive architectural feature.
When the TV is the Focal Point
If your TV unit is the primary focal point, position it on the most prominent wall—typically the wall visible upon entering the room. Arrange seating to face this wall directly, creating a clear viewing axis. This layout works best for households where television viewing is a primary living room activity.
Competing Focal Points
Many Australian homes feature fireplaces or windows with garden views that compete for attention. In these cases, you have several options:
- Adjacent positioning: Place the TV near the fireplace (to one side, never directly above a wood-burning fireplace due to heat) so both share focus
- Integrated fireplace units: Entertainment units designed to incorporate electric fireplaces combine both features
- Secondary positioning: Accept the TV as a secondary element, positioning it on a less prominent wall where it doesn't compete with the natural focal point
- Concealment: Some units feature doors or artwork that hide the TV when not in use, allowing other features to dominate
Avoid positioning your TV directly opposite windows unless you have effective blinds or curtains. Glare significantly impacts viewing quality, especially during daytime. Perpendicular placement to windows often works best.
Optimal Viewing Distances and Angles
Comfortable viewing depends on getting the distance and angle right. These factors influence where your seating and TV unit should be positioned relative to each other.
Viewing Distance Guidelines
The optimal viewing distance depends on your TV size and resolution. For 4K televisions (which make up most new purchases), you can sit closer than with older HD TVs:
- 40" TV: 1.2 - 2.0 metres optimal viewing distance
- 50" TV: 1.5 - 2.5 metres optimal viewing distance
- 55" TV: 1.7 - 2.8 metres optimal viewing distance
- 65" TV: 2.0 - 3.3 metres optimal viewing distance
- 75" TV: 2.3 - 3.8 metres optimal viewing distance
These ranges provide comfortable viewing without needing to scan back and forth across the screen. Measure your room to determine what TV size works best, or use your preferred TV size to determine optimal furniture placement.
Viewing Height
The centre of your TV screen should be approximately at eye level when seated. For most Australians on standard sofas, this means the screen centre should be 100-120cm from the floor. If your TV unit raises the television too high, consider wall-mounting or choosing a lower unit.
Viewing Angles
The best picture quality is viewed straight-on. As viewing angles increase (sitting off to the side), picture quality degrades on most TVs. Arrange primary seating to face the TV directly. Secondary seating can be at angles up to about 30-40 degrees before viewing becomes uncomfortable.
Key Takeaway
Your primary seating should be at the optimal distance range for your TV size, directly facing the screen, with eye level at approximately the screen's centre.
Common Living Room Layouts
The Classic: Sofa Facing TV
The most straightforward arrangement places the sofa directly opposite the TV unit, with a coffee table between. This layout:
- Provides the best viewing position for the most people
- Creates a clear, symmetrical arrangement
- Works in both small and large spaces
- Leaves side walls free for other furniture or clear passage
Enhance this layout with side tables flanking the sofa and a reading lamp or two for task lighting when the TV isn't in use.
The L-Shape Arrangement
An L-shaped sectional sofa, or a sofa plus loveseat at right angles, creates a cosy conversation area that also accommodates TV viewing:
- Positions the TV at the open end of the L
- Creates an intimate seating group perfect for families
- Offers both prime viewing positions and secondary seating
- Defines the living area clearly in open-plan spaces
The Conversation Layout
When TV viewing is secondary to conversation, consider facing sofas or chairs toward each other with the TV to one side:
- Prioritises face-to-face interaction
- Still allows comfortable TV viewing by turning toward the screen
- Works well for households that don't watch much television
- Creates a more formal, traditional living room feel
The Open-Plan Solution
In open-plan living/dining/kitchen spaces, use furniture to define zones:
- Position the sofa with its back toward the dining or kitchen area
- The sofa back creates visual separation without walls
- The TV unit anchors the living zone
- A console table behind the sofa can bridge the zones attractively
Traffic Flow Considerations
A beautiful layout fails if you can't move through the room comfortably. Consider how people move through the space when arranging furniture.
Clear Pathways
Maintain clear pathways of at least 90cm width for primary traffic routes through the room. This typically means:
- Space between coffee table and sofa of 45-50cm for leg room
- Space around furniture of 90cm+ for walking routes
- Clear access to doorways without requiring detours around furniture
Avoiding Crossing Paths
If possible, arrange the room so traffic doesn't cross directly between the sofa and TV. Walking between viewers and the screen disrupts the experience and creates awkward moments.
Before moving heavy furniture, sketch your room to scale on paper and cut out furniture shapes to test arrangements. Many free apps also offer room planning tools that let you experiment virtually.
Balancing the Room
A well-designed room feels balanced—no single area feels too heavy or empty. The TV unit often represents significant visual weight that needs balancing.
Visual Weight Considerations
Large, dark, or heavily detailed furniture carries more visual weight. Balance a substantial TV unit by:
- Placing proportionally sized furniture on the opposite wall (such as a substantial bookshelf)
- Using a substantial sofa that "holds its own" against the entertainment unit
- Adding artwork or mirrors on side walls to distribute visual interest
- Ensuring window treatments have appropriate scale and presence
Symmetry and Asymmetry
Symmetrical arrangements (matching items on either side of the TV) create a formal, ordered feel. Asymmetrical balance (different items that have similar visual weight) feels more casual and dynamic. Choose based on your overall design aesthetic.
Lighting Your Entertainment Space
Proper lighting enhances both TV viewing and overall room ambiance. Consider multiple lighting types:
Ambient Lighting
General room lighting should be dimmable. Watching TV in complete darkness can cause eye strain, but too-bright rooms create glare. Dimmed ambient lighting—perhaps at 20-30% brightness—provides ideal viewing conditions.
Bias Lighting
LED strips behind the TV (bias lighting) reduce eye strain by providing soft illumination around the screen. This technique is increasingly popular and many TV units now include LED lighting options.
Task and Accent Lighting
Table lamps and floor lamps provide focused light for reading when the TV is off, and accent lighting highlights artwork or architectural features. Position these so they don't create glare on the TV screen.
Layout Checklist
Before finalising your living room arrangement, verify:
- Primary seating faces the TV at an appropriate distance for your screen size
- The TV is at comfortable viewing height (centre at seated eye level)
- No major windows create glare on the TV screen
- Traffic can flow through the room without crossing the viewing path
- The room feels balanced, with visual weight distributed appropriately
- Pathways of at least 90cm width are maintained for movement
- Lighting can be controlled for different activities (viewing, reading, entertaining)
- The focal point is clear and the arrangement feels intentional
Room layout is both art and science. These principles provide a foundation, but trust your instincts about what feels right in your specific space. A layout that works for your lifestyle—even if it breaks conventional rules—is the right layout for you.