A long narrow room can be a bit tricky to furnish so here we have a few simple suggestions to make the space feel more balanced.
1 – Create a walkway
How you do this depends on where the doors are in the room but if you can have a clearly defined path going the length of the room it will allow the energy to flow better. A curved walkway through the room will emphasise the width of the room more rather than a straight one. On the practical side, you don’t want people stubbing their toes on pieces of furniture that’s in the way all the time.
2 – Don’t position all your furniture against the long walls
Do not be tempted to line all your furniture up along the long walls – the best way to create an illusion of width….is to use the width of the room! So you can position a leather couch against one of the long walls and place a chesterfield chair or an accent chair perpendicular to it, to help balance it out.
3 – Create zones
Zoning is a great way to deal with a long narrow room. You can section off areas using floor rugs and reclaimed wood furniture pieces to create the zones. An L-shaped sofa with a rug and rustic coffee table will instantly zone an area, perfect for sitting and chatting. If you place your sofa widthways in the room then you can position a desk at the back to create a small home office area, again you can use a floor rug to zone the space. If your room is a living room / diner then zone one area to be the dining space, using a round dining table will also help with the aesthetics of the room.
4 – Use the height of the room
To make the room seem wider you should use the full height of the room. A rustic bookcase will add a bit of balance in a long narrow space and will draw the eye to the height of the room rather than the narrowness of the room. Create a display on your bookcase of trailing house plants, your favourite decorative pieces and some books. Another way to bring some height to the room is to add an industrial sideboard, the fuss-free minimalist metal frame will give more of a feeling of space. Hang a wall mirror above the sideboard and place some tall table lamps or candlesticks on it.
5 – Bring in circular elements
Circular elements are great to use in long narrow spaces. You should opt for round floor rugs, a round nest of tables, rather than a rectangular coffee table, (this saves space as well) a round dining table in your dining zone. Choose a round pendant light over your dining table, round lamp shades, wall mirrors and artwork, a clock is perfect! All these round elements will pull the eye away from the straight lines of the room.