Redesign for the 21st Century

It used to be that the appropriate distance from a sofa to the TV was about 8-9 feet (from the back of the sofa, that is). But times are a-changing.

Nowadays redesigners are more likely to encounter big screen TVs and the viewing distance must be greater.

So now a good redesigner should be pulling that sofa back to about 10-12 feet, maybe even further if the TV is really huge.

This creates an abnormally large distance between the seating arrangement and the TV and the whole look of a room can start to break down if there is no unity.

So how do you compensate?

Well, one way is to place a large area rug between the sofa and TV, leaving a 1-2 foot "border" in front of the TV. This helps connect the seating arrangement to the TV visually. Some ottomans on the floor will help expand the whole seating arrangement closer to the TV without impairing the vision of the screen when seated on the sofa because they are usually lower than the coffee table.

As you adapt to these giant screen TVs, remember that it's still important to try to create a cohesive "unit" between the sofa, other seating, the coffee table and the TV.