Our guide to fitted living room furniture
Fitted living room furniture is a stunning way of giving your living room all the storage space it requires, whilst giving the room a polished, coordinated and streamlined look. Fitted living room furniture is also referred to as built-in living room furniture or if it’s tailor-made bespoke fitted furniture.
The ideal living room has lots of storage space – but also looks chic and coordinated, with a place for everything, and everything in its place. One of the best ways of achieving a sleek and sophisticated look is to have bespoke cabinetry made to get that perfect look in size and proportion as well as colour and texture.
Many of the interiors we design are within period homes, which means that including fitted living room furniture is a creative challenge. The new pieces need to look at ease with traditional proportions or windows and appropriate joinery details and styles. Our Joinery and Design teams can incorporate classic proportions and even replicate details of existing trim and plasterwork so that the new living or sitting room furniture works beautifully within the scheme.
Size-Wise
Often the living and dining rooms are combined, or one may open out into the other. The dining space may also be connected to the kitchen too, so when we are designing fitted living room furniture we are also balancing the overall look of cabinetry throughout the home. The overall look must consider colours and finishes too, especially if say, on the ground floor, everything is open plan. If however, the living room is perhaps self-contained or maybe on the first floor, the scheme can sometimes be more individual, bringing more colours, finishes and textures into play. It also depends on the layout of each floor area too – bespoke living room storage can be designed to fill one particular wall with discreet cupboards and shelves, perhaps with push-to-open doors, and with a matching TV/Media cabinet. In a large room, we often place the sofa and other chairs or ottomans in the centre of the room, leaving wall space behind or at the sidewalls for bespoke cabinetry. Our design team will always ensure that there is adequate walk-through space within the layout, so bookshelves and cabinets can be used easily – we’ll find or make a library ladder too if one is needed!
TVs and Tech
For a lot of our clients, we are designing bespoke lounge furniture for a living room that includes a television. As most TVs these days are rather large, it’s something we always consider at the start of a project, what size will the TV be, and which wall will it go on? Once that has been decided we can design a large, fitted TV-audio visual unit that will surround it perfectly and which can include storage below and either side. Low-level drawers or cupboards are useful, and can store and disguise all the equipment too. We work with AV and tech teams to ensure everything will be in the right place with the right connectivity. Sometimes we are asked to design a system so that the TV can be hidden, perhaps with sliding doors within the cabinetry – this is a good solution when the entire wall is used for fitted furniture/cabinetry. The TV can also be integrated with a rise-and-fall mechanism, or there are also TVs where the screen can look like a piece of artwork or a mirror when not being used. There’s also the option of including integrated air-conditioning within fitted living room furniture, so it literally becomes ‘part of the furniture’ and doesn’t have to be on display.
Living Room Furniture Ideas
Fitted living room furniture isn’t just about cupboards, TV units and shelves, there are many other ideas which we can include in the scheme. A built-in bar is a very popular choice with our clients – it can be disguised, rather like a breakfast cupboard in the kitchen, and look to the casual glance just like a set of cabinets. But open up the doors and there will be a lovely display of illuminated shelves, pretty glassware, and cocktail ingredients, of course! The lower part of the cabinet can include a wine fridge, even a sink and ice machine. We can also include matching coffee tables, sofa tables, or footstools with hidden storage that will blend in with the rest of the fitted furniture. Our aim is to create a bespoke living room that is personal, beautiful, and practical for the whole family and their guests to use and enjoy.
Finishes and Materials
As all our fitted living room furniture is made to order, our Joinery workshop and design team can incorporate a variety of different finishes and materials. Natural veneers are classic choices that work very well within contemporary and traditional homes. In a contemporary home, natural veneers (which may be pine, oak, walnut, ash, or tropical veneers) can be teamed with metallic edges, handles, and trims. Mirrored panels and door or drawer fronts can also be included. For a more traditional look, we may just focus on the beauty of the natural timber veneer, perhaps combined with traditional paint shades in matt, gloss, or eggshell finishes.