A lot of Toronto renovations focus on kitchens and bathrooms. Yet most of your daily life actually happens in the living room. That is where game nights, Netflix, homework help, and quiet mornings with coffee all collide.
When the layout is off – the sofa is too big, walkways feel tight, or the TV dominates everything – the room never quite feels right, even after a fresh renovation.
This 2025 guide looks at how we plan living room layouts and furniture placement in Toronto semis, condos, and detached homes so the space feels comfortable, practical, and easy to use.
Step 1: Measure The Room Before You Buy A Sofa
Most living room problems start before renovation or furniture shopping. Measuring the room and entryways first gives you a realistic envelope to work with.
Designers consistently point out that the most common living room mistake is buying a sofa that is too large for the room or for the doorways leading in. Oversized sofas overwhelm the space, block walkways, and limit what else you can place.
Before you fall in love with a sectional online, take a few simple steps:
- Measure the length and width of the room.
- Note where doors, windows, radiators, and bulkheads are.
- Mark traffic paths from room to room on a simple sketch.
- Measure door openings and tight turns on the way in from the hallway or elevator.
You can even tape out the footprint of a potential sofa on the floor with painter’s tape to see how it feels in real life. This helps you avoid bringing home a piece that technically fits but makes the room feel cramped.
Step 2: Plan Clear Walkways And Everyday Routes
Once you understand the room, the next step is to protect circulation.
In most living rooms, you want at least one clear path through the space so people can move from entry to kitchen or hallway without zig-zagging around furniture. A comfortable walkway is usually around 3 feet wide. Many interior design resources recommend leaving roughly 30 inches between furniture pieces in tighter rooms and a bit more where possible, so it does not feel pinched.
In practice, that means:
- Avoid placing a sofa directly in the natural path from doorway to doorway.
- Let the coffee table and soft seating cluster sit slightly off the main traffic lane.
- Keep occasional chairs or plants out of the door swing zones.
If you are renovating and removing walls, it is worth thinking about where the natural walking path will land once the new openings are in. Good circulation and a logical furniture plan go hand in hand.
Step 3: Get The Sofa, Coffee Table And Rug Relationship Right
The core of almost every living room is the trio of sofa, coffee table, and rug. When their scale and spacing feel balanced, the room feels grounded.
Sofa to coffee table distance
Most designers suggest keeping the coffee table roughly 16 to 18 inches from the sofa. That is close enough to reach a drink or remote comfortably, and still wide enough to walk through. Many living room spacing guides give a workable range of around 14 to 18 inches, depending on room size and table shape.
Coffee table size
As a starting point:
- Length: about two-thirds the length of your sofa works well.
- Height: close to the seat height of your sofa, or an inch or two lower.
If you have a sectional, a square or round table can be easier to navigate.
Rug placement
A rug that is too small will make the room feel chopped up. For most living rooms, it is better to:
- Choose a rug large enough that at least the front legs of sofas and chairs sit on it.
- Leave a border of visible floor between the rug and the walls so the room does not feel crowded.
Living room rug guides often recommend keeping all or at least the front legs of major seating pieces on the rug. That anchors the furniture group and makes the space feel intentional.
If your living room is part of an open concept main floor, the rug also helps visually separate the seating area from the adjacent dining or kitchen zone.
Step 4: Choose A Focal Point That Makes Sense For Your Home
Every living room benefits from a clear focal point. In Toronto homes, that focal point might be:
- A fireplace or media wall in an older semi
- A large window with a city view in a condo
- A TV and built-in storage wall in a newer build
The key is to decide what matters most to you.
If movie nights are the priority, you might center the main sofa on the TV and place chairs where they can see both the screen and people in the room. If the fireplace matters more, the TV might live off to the side or in a cabinet, with seating oriented around the fire.
When you are adding built-ins or moving walls during a renovation, it is helpful to pick this focal point early. That way, electrical, cable, and any fireplace venting can be placed correctly from the start.
Step 5: Layout Ideas For Common Toronto Living Room Shapes
Toronto homes deliver a few recurring living room shapes. Here is how we usually approach them.
Long, narrow front room in a semi
Many older semis and rowhouses have a long front room that runs from the street window back toward the kitchen.
In this case, it often works to:
- Float the main sofa away from the window with a console table behind it.
- Create a clear seating group in the center of the room with a sofa, chairs, and a rug.
- Use a shallow cabinet or bench under the front window instead of deep furniture that blocks light.
If the room is long enough, you can create two zones: a seating area near the window and a reading or desk area toward the back.
Open concept living and dining
When the living room flows straight into the dining area, your layout needs to keep views open but still define each zone.
Some helpful choices:
- Use the sofa back to subtly divide living and dining, with the dining table further toward the kitchen.
- Choose a light, low-profile sofa or sectional so sightlines stay open.
- Align the coffee table and rug with the major architectural lines – for example, the window wall or the kitchen island.
Open concept planning articles often stress the importance of creating conversation groupings and clear circulation paths, not just pushing furniture to the walls.
Condo living rooms with one shared wall
In Toronto condos, the living room frequently shares a long wall with the kitchen. There is usually one big window or sliding door at the far end.
For these spaces:
- Keep deeper seating parallel to the window wall so views are not blocked.
- Use slim chairs or an accent bench instead of bulky armchairs.
- Mount the TV on a swing arm so it can angle toward the sofa without dominating the wall.
A single, well-sized rug and a clean media console go a long way toward making these rooms feel calm instead of cluttered.
Step 6: TV Height And Viewing Distance
If the TV is part of your focal point, its placement affects comfort more than most people realize.
As a general rule, you want the center of the screen close to eye level when seated. For many households, that means the bottom of the TV is around 24 to 30 inches off the floor, depending on sofa height.
For distance, TV sizing guides often suggest sitting roughly one and a half to two and a half times the diagonal screen size away for most 4K sets. For example, that puts a 65-inch TV in the range of about 8 feet of viewing distance, give or take, in an average living room.
During design, we check both dimensions on paper so the TV does not end up too high over a fireplace or too close to the seating.
Step 7: Layer Lighting, Storage And Soft Elements
Once the big pieces are set, the finishing layers tie the room together.
Lighting
A well-balanced living room usually has at least three types of light:
- Ambient light, such as ceiling fixtures or pot lights
- Task light from floor or table lamps for reading and work
- Accent light from wall sconces or small lamps to highlight art or shelves
Dimmers on at least some circuits help you change the mood from bright and energetic to calm and cozy.
Storage
Closed storage for games, chargers, and blankets keeps the room from feeling cluttered. Consider:
- A media unit with doors or drawers
- A coffee table or ottoman with hidden storage
- A built-in or freestanding cabinet along one wall
Soft elements
Finally, layer in:
- Cushions that tie together your colour palette
- Throws that add warmth and texture
- Plants or natural materials if you like a more biophilic feel, which many Toronto homeowners now gravitate to.
Design guides on biophilic design and soft shapes both highlight how small curves, organic lines, and natural textures make living spaces feel more inviting
How JG Contracting Helps With Living Room Layouts During Renovations
At JG Contracting, we treat living room layouts as part of the renovation, not an afterthought.
Our process often includes:
- Reviewing how you currently use the room – TV time, reading, kids play, hosting – and what frustrates you most.
- Measuring the space and sketching traffic paths, focal points, and window positions.
- Testing multiple furniture layouts on paper or in 3D so you can see how sectionals, sofas, and chairs change the feel of the room.
- Coordinating outlets, lighting, and built-ins with the final layout so you are not hiding cords or fighting glare later.
- Helping you right-size rugs, sofas, and tables to your actual room instead of relying on generic size charts.
Whether you are opening up walls, painting, or doing a full main floor renovation, a clear layout plan makes every other design choice easier.
Helpful companion reads on our site:
- Open Concept or Traditional? How to Choose the Right Floor Plan for Your Remodel
- Biophilic Design: Bringing Nature Into Your Home Renovation
- Third Street, Toronto – Full Home Renovation
- St. Patrick, Toronto – Condo Transformation: Flooring & Paint Upgrade
Ready To Plan A Living Room Layout That Actually Works?
If your living room always feels a bit cramped, underused, or awkward to furnish, a renovation is the perfect time to reset the layout.
We can help you choose the right sofa size, plan walkways, and coordinate built-ins, lighting, and finishes so the room fits how you live – not just how it looks in photos. Contact us today to book a consultation
📞 Call us at: 437-259-9632
✉️ Email us at: jgcontractingyyz@gmail.com
🌐 Website: https://jgcontractingyyz.com
