When my partner and I moved into this two floor, railroad-style apartment in the UES, I went to work establishing cozy vignettes with specific purposes. Instead of one long room, I utilized a bookshelf to create a natural border between the living room and the kitchen. While I still adore a good nook, I’m now an open layout convert since we pivoted our couch a simple 90 degrees.
I loved our original layout (top left)—especially because of the breakfast nook—but I have to admit it cut the room off from the rest of the apartment giving us less space. Now that we’re vaccinated and having friends over again, our goal was to create a more welcoming environment.
It felt like fate when I saw how the caramel, vegan leather of our couch gave off a warmth that balanced out the dark blue statement wall. It fit snuggly under the gallery art like we had planned it to be there from the start. When we brought the blue loveseat downstairs for more seating it was clear this was the better layout for us.
The only thing left to reconfigure was our media center. I stand by the rule that you should never plan a room around the TV, but I loved showing off our record player. This is why when I stumbled upon a TV wall mount in my local Housing Works it felt like the perfect excuse to get it up and out of the way. With some clever placements of decor, even the wires were mostly hidden from view.
This is just an example of how it can be good to experiment changing the layout of your space three to six months after you move into a new home. Now that your brain isn’t fogged with the stress of moving, you’ll also have a better feel for the space and how you use it day-to-day. That way you’re more equipped to make better layout decisions. Even if it’s as simple as pivoting your couch.
