A fireplace is usually the centerpiece of a well-designed room. But what happens when the fireplace is tucked away in the corner? A corner fireplace can be an extremely advantageous design feature that, when handled correctly, results in a beautiful, stylish finish.
Here’s how to design a room with a corner fireplace:
- Take an inventory of the furniture going into the room.
- Choose your style and ambiance.
- Choose a main focal point.
- Plan the placement of the furniture.
- Create a secondary focal point.
- Add aesthetic finishes.
Keep reading to learn more about designing rooms with a corner fireplace. I will examine the steps to follow in order to achieve a well-designed and organized space. By the end of this article, you will have a good idea of the tricks required to make the most of a stylish corner fireplace and how to proceed with your new plan.
Contents
1. Take an inventory of the furniture going into the room
The first step in designing a room is figuring out what you want to use the space for and what you want to have in the room. If your new room with a corner fireplace is going to be your main living room, you’ll likely want to have at least a television and a sofa in the room. However, if the new space is intended to be a dining area or a playroom, your requirements will be quite different.
Once you’ve decided what your new room is going to be used for, it’s time to figure out how much furniture you’ll need and what additional elements, like paintings or sculptures, you would like to add to the design.
After figuring all of this out, you can proceed with the design. Don’t buy any new furniture just yet, as there are some crucial aspects you’ll need to consider first, but more on that later.
2. Choose your style and ambiance
Deciding what style you want for your new room is an essential step. Do you want the design to be elegant and sophisticated, or bold and daring? You can also choose a contemporary style, which follows modern trends. Whatever your style preferences are, you need to make a decision on whether you want to proceed with the plan.
Here are some styles that could fit the ambiance of your home or serve as inspiration for your new room:
Minimalist – Minimalist designs are hugely popular. A minimalist design includes a few more features than necessary. You’ll also find lots of straight lines and often contrasting colors to achieve a sleek and streamlined appearance. Rooms with a minimalist style and a corner fireplace often have a tall fireplace to draw attention and complete the ambiance.
Modern – A modern design uses contemporary materials like plastics, glass, slate, or even concrete. In recent years, stamped concrete has gained great popularity due to its elegant surface and durability. It’s also important to remember symmetry when trying to achieve a modern design approach, as it often is an essential part of the finish.
Classic– Classic designs for a room with a fireplace utilize traditional materials like brick, wallpaper, and wood to achieve an elegant and stylish finish. Large fireplaces are also standard in a classically designed room, complete with a mantelpiece where you can place framed photos of your loved ones.
The suggestions above are only a few of the most common ways people choose to design rooms with corner fireplaces. Take a look online, and you’ll find literally thousands of examples of stylish finishes and designs in rooms with a corner fireplace.
3. Choose a main focal point
The fireplace is, of course, the focal point of a room. The main focal point is a term used to describe where people’s focus naturally gravitates in the room. For this reason, in most rooms with a fireplace not located in a corner, the furniture is typically arranged facing the fireplace.
Televisions are another element that naturally draws a lot of attention in a room. As a result, you’ll often find televisions placed next to or above fireplaces as they both represent the same focal point in the room. However, you don’t want you and everyone else standing in a corner when enjoying your new room.
Therefore, you’ll need to shift the main focal point away from the corner fireplace towards a more central position. You can do this by placing the television on an adjacent wall or even a corner on the wall adjacent to the fireplace. This point will be the main focal point of the room.
However, some people may not see or have a television, or their room may be intended for a different purpose. If that’s the case, you can choose a mirror or a painting as the main focal point. You can also choose to keep your corner fireplace as the main focal point, but this can make life difficult when it comes to organizing the furniture in the room.
Another critical point to consider is the fact that a room can have more than one focal point. However, you should choose one central focal point around which the rest of the room can be organized. Just make sure to choose wisely, as the main focal point can set the tone and mood for the rest of the room.
4. Plan the placement of the furniture
Arranging furniture for rooms with a corner fireplace can initially be a confusing task. When the fireplace is in a central position, arranging furniture is an easy task, especially since you’re used to seeing it that way. However, a corner fireplace can almost act like a fifth wall, which can be confusing.
You’ll want to configure your furniture around the main focal point in your room. To do this, you can place a soft encasement around the main focal point with either another sofa or two chairs next to the focal point. If the fireplace in the corner is the main focal point, this can look disorganized.
This happens because humans like parallel lines and symmetry when it comes to design. As a result, sofas that don’t run parallel to walls can look off. You can correct this by using furniture with rounded edges or surfaces. This has a psychological effect that makes the spaces feel better matched to each other.
Curved coffee tables or round seating options don’t have to run along walls to fit perfectly. Instead, you can arrange your furniture around your fireplace without the room feeling disjointed.
If your television is your main focal point, you can arrange your furniture along the walls, facing the television. It’s important to consider the position of the fireplace, though. Choose seating options that don’t block the fireplace, as you’ll be using the fireplace as a secondary focal point in the next stage of the design.
You should avoid adding seating or furniture in front of the fireplace as it can create an imbalance in the room or make it appear smaller and disjointed. It can also present a fire hazard.
5. Create a secondary focal point
Previously, we established the main focal point of your design. Your two best options are either the fireplace or the television. Whichever point you choose, the other will now become a secondary focal point.
Creating a secondary focal point is important as it prevents features in a room from appearing out of place. If you align your furniture towards the television and ignore the corner fireplace, the result will look like a sloppy design. Hence, create the secondary focal point.
One of the best ways to utilize your fireplace as a secondary focal point is by placing small furniture in front of it. You could use some ottomans or even floor cushions. This ensures that the fireplace blends into the surrounding aesthetics. It also provides the room with an alternative seating option when entertaining guests.
Another way to create a second focal point is by using coffee tables. By placing a coffee table near the fireplace or television and staging something nearby, people will naturally pay more attention to that area. This also ensures that the secondary focal point is established and nothing looks out of place.
Sculptures, paintings, and mirrors are more effective means of directing attention to an area in your room design. A beautiful painting or intriguing sculpture will attract attention and interest. Similarly, you can also opt for a large floor lamp or a potted plant.
This places a stronger focus on the spot where the artwork or mirror is, creating a secondary focal point.
Each of the above tips and tricks is an effective method of capturing attention in a room. This way, you can make the most of two focal points, which in turn leads to a well-designed and carefully planned finish that is sure to impress any guests or visitors to your property.
6. Add aesthetic finishes
The right aesthetic finishes can make all the difference in rooms or even entire objects. Well-chosen aesthetic finishes can leave a lasting impression on guests and visitors and massively enhance the ambiance.
The right aesthetic finishes can even attract more attention from potential buyers if you’re looking to sell the property. More attention leads to more money when it comes to selling. Therefore, investing in the right finishing touch can be incredibly cost-effective in the long run.
Once you’ve designed your layout and chosen your furniture, it’s time to find the small finishing touches that can truly transform your design. There is an almost infinite variety of finishes that you can add to your new room. Here are some key aspects to consider:
Wall surfaces – After figuring out what furniture goes where and what goes into your room, you need to decide what finishes you want for the walls. You can choose a tiled finish, wallpaper, or the most common choice; paint.
Whatever material you choose that suits your needs, style, and ambiance, it can have a massive impact on the end result. A beautifully designed room with a poor color choice can alter the mood of a room or deter guests and visitors.
Flooring – Flooring can massively affect any room. The type, quality, and design of your flooring can have a huge impact on the aesthetics. When choosing flooring, there are other factors to consider, including wear, price, the room’s purpose, or even the temperature in the room.
For example, a tiled floor may sound like a great idea until you’re walking on it barefoot on a cold winter’s night. Or you may think you want a concrete floor as it’s incredibly durable and versatile when it comes to shaping, coloring, texturing, and design. You may also need to consider how your baseboard, molding, or skirting complement the flooring and wall surfaces.
Lighting– Lighting is another essential element of room design. If the space you’re creating has a lot of natural light, you may not need to focus on adding more. However, if your room lacks natural lighting, adding more light can change the ambiance of the room.
You can do this by installing more light bulbs or brighter light bulbs on the ceiling, or you can add lamps to create a more relaxed atmosphere. Some people enjoy a room lit only by a fireplace when little or no other lights are on in the room. Others enjoy gadgets and install smart light bulbs that can be controlled via apps on your devices.
Whatever your preferences are, having good lighting in any room has many great benefits.
Final thoughts
When designing a room with a corner fireplace, it’s important to follow some crucial steps to ensure a precise end result. Remember, your fireplace doesn’t have to be the centerpiece of your room.
Another tip to keep in mind when deciding what furniture to place in your room is that people feel comfortable sitting in well-aligned furniture. This may not be easy in a room with a corner fireplace, so opting for rounded and curved edges may be best. Hopefully, you’ve gained some valuable tips that will help you design rooms with corner fireplaces.
Sources
- Setting For Four: How to Arrange Furniture with a Corner Fireplace
- Serendipity: How to Identify and Work with Focal Points
- IALD: Benefits of Good Lighting