Small Living Room Layout Calculator
Sofa on one wall, TV on the other: the most common small living room layout, and the one where every inch of furniture comes out of the same strip of floor. Enter the room and the pieces. You get the screen size the distance suits, the walkway that is left past the coffee table, and the room drawn to scale.
How the numbers are worked out
Distance to the screen is measured from your eyes, not the wall: wall to wall, minus the console depth, minus 24 in for where you actually sit. The screen size comes from the viewing angle — 30° for comfortable, 40° as the upper limit. The full table and the reasoning are in TV size for your viewing distance.
The coffee table sits 18 in from the sofa (the working range is 14–18 in), and what is left between it and the TV console is the walkway. 30–36 in is what a main walkway wants; under 30 in is the room that feels cramped. Why, with two plans of the same room, is in Coffee table size and clearance.
Common rooms at a glance
84 × 36 in sofa, 60 × 18 in TV console, 48 × 24 in coffee table.
| Room (sofa wall to TV wall × other) | To the screen | TV size (comfortable–max) | Walkway past the table |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | 6 ft 6 in | 50–65 in | 24 in |
| 11 × 10 ft | 7 ft 6 in | 55–75 in | 36 in |
| 12 × 11 ft | 8 ft 6 in | 65–85 in | 48 in |
| 13 × 12 ft | 9 ft 6 in | 65–85 in | 60 in |
| 14 × 11 ft | 10 ft 6 in | 75–85 in | 72 in |
| 15 × 12 ft | 11 ft 6 in | 85 in | 84 in |
Related guides
- TV size for your viewing distance — the angle method and the 24 in correction
- Coffee table size and clearance — the 18 in gap and where the walkway comes from
- Sofas under 34 inches deep — when the walkway is short by a few inches
- Dining rug size calculator