Living room and dining room layouts: seating, TV and tables
A conversation group with the path around it, a screen placed by viewing angle, and a dining table sized by the number of diners with room to pull out a chair and walk past.
- Start here: the essentials
- 1. The conversation group and the path around it
- 2. Coffee tables, side tables and getting up
- 3. The screen: distance, height and what it stands on
- 4. Dining: table size and the room around it
- 5. Smaller rooms and open plans
- 6. See it: Lena, Marcus and Jo, Chidi and Ana
- 7. Practice: measure the group or the table
- 8. Your rooms
- 9. Check your work
- 10. Knowledge check and scenario
Start here Essentials
At minimum, apply the method in Arrange and test to whichever of these rooms you chose: the seating group and its path in a living room, the table and its clearances in a dining area. If you chose neither, turn to Bedrooms and small homes. Everything marked Go deeper can wait.
- Mark the seats that face each other and measure across the group. Seat to seat, on the plan or with a tape (the conversation group).
- Check that the main path runs around the group, not through it. Measure its narrowest point (the path around).
- For a screen, run the screen calculator and compare it with the main seat. Measure from the seat to the screen (the screen).
- For a dining table, run the dining calculator and measure behind each chair. Table edge to the wall or nearest piece (dining).
- Write the figures in the layout sheet. In the chosen option's row of the options sheet, and the path's narrowest point in the walk tests sheet.
Minimum time: about 45 minutes for one room. Done when: the layout sheet records the conversation distance and the path, or the dining clearances, for your first living or dining room.
1. The conversation group and the path around it Understand
A living room usually holds three activities at once: sitting and talking, watching a screen or reading, and passing through. This chapter applies the arranging order from Arrange and test to the two shared rooms.
Seats that face each other, within about 8 ft
A conversation group is the set of seats where people sit to talk: usually a sofa and one or two chairs, facing each other or set at right angles, often around a low table. The Virginia extension bulletin said the chairs in a conversation group should preferably face one another, and the Michigan bulletin said conversation works best when the seats are within about 8 ft of each other (Michigan State University Extension, Rooms with Rhyme and Reason, archived 1972 bulletin). A current practitioner article gives the same figure: about 8 ft across is ideal, and a larger room may need to be split into more than one seating group (Houzz, Key Measurements for Your Living Room). Convention
Use 8 ft as a starting point. Measure across the group from the middle of one seat to the middle of the seat opposite, or to the farthest seat in an L. If the distance is well over 8 ft, people in the group tend to raise their voices or lean forward; the usual fixes are to move the chairs in and float them, or to make two smaller groups. If it is well under, knees and the table get crowded. The test is to sit in the group with another person and talk for a few minutes. Test it How close people like to sit varies by person and culture; the Go deeper block below gives the research behind that.
| Situation | Figure we use | Kind and source | What it applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across a conversation group | About 8 ft, seat to seat | Convention; Michigan extension bulletin, Houzz | Seats where people talk |
| Main path around the group | 36 in (our default, Paths and clearances) | Convention shared by several codes and guides | Routes through the room; the walk test decides |
| Between groupings, no path | At least 24 in | Convention; Michigan bulletin, Houzz | Moving between pieces, cleaning |
| Seat edge to coffee table | 12 to 18 in to reach it; more for legs or a walker | Convention; Houzz, Living Spaces, This Old House | Reaching a cup from the seat |
| Coffee table to TV console | At least 30 in | Convention; Living Spaces | Walking between them |
| Screen distance | From the viewing angle: about 1.6 times the diagonal at 30 degrees, 1.2 times at 40 degrees | Convention; RTINGS, reporting SMPTE and a cinema figure | 16:9 screens; see the screen calculator |
| Top of the screen | At or below seated eye height | Agency guidance for computer monitors, used here by analogy (OSHA) | The main seat |
The path goes around the group, not through it
The extension bulletins put it plainly: traffic paths should not pass through a conversation group or an area set aside for an activity (Virginia Cooperative Extension, Furniture Arrangement, archived). Convention A path through the group means someone walks between a seated person and the table or the screen, and the group stops being a place to sit.
On the plan, draw the main routes from Paths and clearances first (door to door, door to the balcony or window), then check where they meet the group. Three common fixes:
- Turn the group. Put the sofa's back or side to the path, so the path runs along the outside of the group.
- Move the group off the route. Slide it toward the wall that has no door.
- Close the gap. If the path cuts between the sofa and a chair, move the chair so the gap is too small to walk through and the path goes around.
The path around the group takes this manual's main-path default, 36 in, and This Old House gives the same figure for passage around a seating area (This Old House, All About Living Rooms). Where only one person goes and nothing is carried, the narrower minor-path figures in Paths and clearances apply, and the walk test decides. Test it
Where 8 ft comes from, and what it leaves out. The 8 ft figure is a rule of practice: the 1972 Michigan bulletin and a 2019 practitioner article both give it, and neither reports a study. The research nearby is Edward Hall's proxemics, the study of how people use the distance between them. EBSCO's reference summary reports his zones for Americans as intimate (to 18 in), personal (1.5 to 4 ft), social (4 to 10 ft) and public (beyond 10 ft), and says ordinary conversation in the United States usually happens at about 4 to 7 ft, with about half that in many parts of Europe and Latin America (EBSCO Research Starters, Proxemics). So 8 ft seat to seat sits inside Hall's social range, and a household whose habits differ can move it either way. No source we found tests a living-room seating distance directly. Preference
Sectional sofas in small rooms. A sectional takes a corner and two walls of the group at once. Houzz's article says two 84 in sectional pieces together need a space about 7 ft wide and 10 ft long. In a small room the questions are the same as for any group: does the path run around the sectional, not through the L, and does the open end leave the path width? A sectional also tends to fix the group on one corner for good, so tape it (Arrange and test) before buying. Moving one up a stair is a fit question, covered in The furniture you have; Marcus and Jo's 82 in piece is the worked case there.
2. Coffee tables, side tables and getting up
Coffee table distance: set it by what you do there
Sources split on the gap between the seat and the coffee table because they are solving for different things. Current practitioner and retailer figures are about reach: Houzz says as close as 12 in from the seat edge and less than 18 to 20 in; Living Spaces gives 12 to 18 in (14 to 18 in elsewhere on the same page); This Old House gives 18 in (Living Spaces, coffee table dimensions). The older Virginia bulletin is about legs: it gave 30 in of "foot room" between a sofa or chair and a coffee table. Convention
The default we use: 12 to 18 in from the front edge of the seat when people reach the table from their seats. Set it wider when the people who sit there need room for their legs, or need to stand up with a walker or a cane in front of them. Sit, reach for a cup, stand up, and move the table until all three are easy. Test it
Living Spaces also gives at least 30 in between a coffee table and a TV console, which is a path figure in practice: if the route to the window or balcony runs between them, the path width from Paths and clearances applies instead. Convention
Side tables and lamps
Every seat in the group should have somewhere to put a cup: the coffee table if it is within reach, otherwise a side table at the arm. This is a preference with a practical side, since a cup set on the floor ends up on a path. Preference A side table is also where a lamp usually goes, which brings back the cord check in Arrange and test: the lamp needs an outlet without a cord across a path. Learn Interior Lighting covers where a reading lamp sits relative to the seat in layers and glare.
Seats for getting up, and room for a walker
The National Institute on Aging's room-by-room advice says to arrange furniture, especially low coffee tables, so it is not in the way when you walk, and to make sure sofas and chairs are a height you can get in and out of easily (National Institute on Aging, Preventing Falls at Home: Room by Room). It gives no seat height. AARP's HomeFit guide says that when someone in the home uses a walker or rollator, the space between the coffee table and the seating should be clear enough to maneuver while sitting down and getting up; it also gives no figure (AARP HomeFit Guide, 2025 file). Convention
Because neither source gives a number, the person decides by trying it. Have them sit down and get up from each seat they use, with the walker or cane, and move the table until the walker fits in front of the seat. Whether a seat with arms makes getting up easier is a question for that person, and for their occupational therapist if they have one; we found no free source that settles it. Record what worked on the needs sheet (see People and activities). Test it Ask the authority
3. The screen: distance, height and what it stands on
Distance from the viewing angle
The useful way to think about screen distance is how much of your view the screen fills. The viewing angle is the angle the screen's width takes up from the seat: closer or bigger means a wider angle. RTINGS, a site that tests TVs, reports that SMPTE (the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) recommends a screen fill at least 30 degrees of your field of view for mixed use, and recommends 40 degrees for a more cinematic setup (RTINGS, TV size to distance). We have not read the SMPTE document, which is paywalled; these are figures as RTINGS reports them. Convention
The geometry turns an angle into a distance. For a 16:9 screen, which is most TVs: Physical principle
- Screen width = diagonal × 16 ÷ √(16² + 9²), which is about diagonal × 0.872.
- Distance = (width ÷ 2) ÷ tan(angle ÷ 2).
For a 55 in screen: the width is about 47.9 in. At 30 degrees the distance is about 89 in (7 ft 5 in); at 40 degrees about 66 in (5 ft 6 in). Those match RTINGS's own table. As a shortcut, 30 degrees comes to about 1.6 times the diagonal and 40 degrees to about 1.2 times. The screen calculator does the arithmetic for any diagonal, or works backwards from a seat distance to the angle.
| Diagonal | Width | 30 degrees (about 1.6 ×) | 40 degrees (about 1.2 ×) | 1.5 to 2.5 × diagonal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 in | 37.5 in | 70 in (5 ft 10 in) | 52 in (4 ft 4 in) | 65 to 108 in |
| 55 in | 47.9 in | 89 in (7 ft 5 in) | 66 in (5 ft 6 in) | 83 to 138 in |
| 65 in | 56.7 in | 106 in (8 ft 10 in) | 78 in (6 ft 6 in) | 98 to 163 in |
| 75 in | 65.4 in | 122 in (10 ft 2 in) | 90 in (7 ft 6 in) | 113 to 188 in |
Two simpler rules of thumb are around too. Houzz's living room article says to keep seating within 1.5 to 2.5 times the screen's diagonal. AARP's HomeFit guide works the other way: divide the viewing distance in inches by two to get a screen size. Both are conventions, and they give different answers; the Go deeper block shows how far apart. Convention
The default we use: measure from the main seat to the screen, then compare it with the 30 and 40 degree distances. Between them, the screen fills about the range RTINGS reports. Farther than the 30 degree distance, the screen fills less of your view; that may suit a room used for talking more than for films. Then sit there with something on screen and judge for yourself. Test it
Height: the top at or below seated eye height
For screen height we borrow the workstation figure. OSHA's computer workstation guidance says to place a monitor so its top line is at or below eye level (OSHA, Computer Workstations eTool: Monitors). That guidance is for desks, and we use it only as a reference point for a TV. Convention Your seated eye height depends on you and the seat: have someone measure from the floor to your eyes while you sit in the main seat the way you usually sit. A screen whose top is above that line makes you look up; a screen on a low console usually meets it.
The viewing-angle geometry. Picture a triangle from your eyes to the two side edges of the screen. Split it down the middle: you get a right triangle with the half-width (w ÷ 2) opposite the half-angle (θ ÷ 2), and the distance d as the side next to it. So tan(θ ÷ 2) = (w ÷ 2) ÷ d, and d = (w ÷ 2) ÷ tan(θ ÷ 2). The width comes from the diagonal by Pythagoras: a 16:9 screen's sides are in the ratio 16 to 9, so the diagonal is √(16² + 9²) = √337, about 18.36 parts, and the width is 16 of those parts. Worked backwards, a 55 in screen 96 in away fills 2 × arctan(23.97 ÷ 96), about 28 degrees. RTINGS also reports an SMPTE maximum of 62 degrees, which for a 55 in screen is about 40 in away.
How far apart the rules are. For a 55 in screen: 30 degrees gives 89 in; 40 degrees gives 66 in; Houzz's 1.5 to 2.5 times gives 83 to 138 in; AARP's rule, turned around, gives 110 in (twice the diagonal). The 40 degree distance sits below Houzz's whole range. That spread is why we call all of them conventions: they agree that bigger screens go farther away and disagree on how far.
Screen height figures. Houzz says the middle of the screen at a seated adult's eye level, about 42 in, is optimum; This Old House says the center of the screen should be 30 in above the lowest seat height in the room. The Army's 2012 anthropometric survey gives seated eye height, measured from the seat surface, of 27.5 to 31.5 in for women and 29.5 to 33.9 in for men (5th to 95th percentile) (ANSUR II, 2012). It is a military sample that does not represent civilians, and people slump on a sofa, so measure your own.
What the screen stands on
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says televisions should be placed only on furniture designed to hold a television, such as TV stands or media centers, and that a TV that is not wall-mounted should still be anchored to the wall (CPSC, Anchor It! information center). Its tip-over report counts a TV on furniture not made for it among the factors in tip-overs (Safety in the layout). A dresser, a bookcase or a low chest is not a TV stand, however wide its top.
Put the TV on a stand or media unit made for a TV, and anchor it, or mount it following the manufacturer's instructions as the CPSC advises. This manual does not teach wall mounting. If you rent, mounting and anchoring holes are the landlord's call, asked in writing (Safety in the layout). Keep remotes and toys off the top of the TV furniture, where a child could climb for them.
Where the screen faces matters as well as how far away it is. A screen opposite a window shows the window as a reflection; one beside a window puts daylight in view around it. Learn Interior Lighting's layers and glare chapter covers both, with the test: sit in the main seat at the time of day you watch and look.
Viewing distances and coffee-table distances are conventions with a wide spread. This manual gives the geometry and the range; your own eyes and knees decide. A seat outside every range is not wrong if the household watches comfortably from it, and a seat inside them is not right if someone squints or cannot get up past the table. Nothing in this chapter says how to mount a TV; follow the manufacturer's instructions, and ask your landlord first if you rent.
4. Dining: table size and the room around it
Seats from the table: 24 in per diner
The National Kitchen & Bath Association's planning guidelines allow each seated diner a space 24 in wide, with 18 in of knee space under a 30 in high table (NKBA, Kitchen Planning Guidelines, free summary). Houzz's dining article says the same 24 in of elbow room per guest, and 26 in per person at a round table seating three to six (Houzz, How to Seat Your Dinner Guests in Comfort). Convention The NKBA figures come from a trade association's free summary of guidelines that predate its paid 2026 edition, which we have not reviewed.
The dining calculator counts seats this way:
- Rectangle: on each long side, the length ÷ 24, rounded down; one seat at each end when the end is at least 24 in wide. A 72 by 36 in table gives 3 a side and 1 at each end: up to 8.
- Round: the circumference (π × diameter) ÷ 24, rounded down, with 26 in as the roomier figure for a small round. A 48 in round gives 6 at 24 in each, 5 at 26 in.
The count is a maximum at those widths. Table legs, a pedestal and armchairs all take seats away; sit at the table to check. Test it
The room the table needs
A table needs its own size plus room on every side for chairs to pull out and people to get past. NKBA gives three figures for the space from the table edge to a wall or other obstruction behind a seated diner: 32 in where no one passes behind, at least 36 in for someone to edge past, and at least 44 in to walk past. Its access figures are 36 in where no one passes and 60 in for a person in a wheelchair to pass behind. Convention
The default we use is 36 in on every side where someone sits: chairs pull out and a person can edge past. Choose 32 in for a side against a wall where no one will pass, 44 in for a side that is also a walkway, and 60 in where a wheelchair user needs to get by. The calculator takes your choice and adds it to every side:
room needed = table length + 2 × clearance, by table width + 2 × clearance
For a 72 by 36 in table at 36 in: 144 by 108 in, or 12 ft by 9 ft. If your room or dining area is given in setup, the calculator compares the two. Then measure the real clearance behind each chair with a tape, from the table edge to the wall or the nearest piece, and pull each chair out to sit down. Test it
| Situation | Table edge to wall or obstruction | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| No one passes behind | 32 in | A side against a wall that no one walks along |
| Edge past a seated diner (our default) | 36 in | Most sides where someone sits |
| Walk past a seated diner | 44 in | A side that is also a route through the room |
| Access: no one passes | 36 in | A wheelchair user at the table |
| Access: a wheelchair passes behind | 60 in | A household member who uses a wheelchair |
The dining clearances are a trade association's guidelines for seating in a kitchen, applied here to a dining table. They are reference figures, not rules for your home. Your tape and a chair pulled out decide. For a household member who uses a wheelchair or walker, the 60 in figure is a starting point for a test with that person, and an occupational therapist is the one to ask about their needs.
Table height and knee space
Most dining tables are about 30 in high, which is what NKBA's 18 in knee depth assumes. Houzz says the most comfortable arrangement leaves 10 to 12 in between the top of the seat and the top of the table. Convention For a household member who uses a wheelchair, the 2010 ADA Standards, which cover public accommodations and government buildings and not private homes, give 28 to 34 in for the height of a dining surface, with knee space below (2010 ADA Standards, 902.3 and 306). They are a reference point for trying a table with that person, not a requirement for your home. Test it
The dining rug
If the table sits on a rug, size the rug so the chairs stay on it when pulled out; otherwise the back legs catch on its edge each time. This Old House gives 24 to 30 in past the table edge on every side (This Old House, rug sizing guide); IKEA gives 60 to 80 cm on each long side. Convention The test is the same either way: pull a chair out as you would to sit down and look at its back legs. A rug edge in the path behind the chairs is also a trip point (Safety in the layout).
The extension bulletins' dining figures. The Virginia bulletin gave 3 ft 4 in for occupied armless chairs, 3 ft to 3 ft 8 in from the table edge to the nearest wall or piece to get into a chair, and a 2 to 3 ft traffic path around the table and occupied chairs for serving. The Michigan bulletin gave about 36 in on each side of a dining table. Houzz's dining article gives 36 in from the table edge to each wall and 48 in between the table and the room's entrance. They cluster around NKBA's 36 in, which is why we use it as the default. None of them tested the figure; they are rules of practice.
A dining table in a kitchen. NKBA's guidelines were written for kitchen seating, so they apply directly there. Its knee-space figures change with the surface: 18 in deep at a 30 in table, 15 in at a 36 in counter and 12 in at a 42 in counter, 24 in wide per diner in each case. A table in a kitchen also meets NKBA's work aisle and walkway figures, which Kitchens, baths and desks covers; the seating clearance and the cook's aisle cannot share the same floor while someone is cooking behind a seated diner.
Seating ten for a holiday. Ten people at 24 in each need a table about 96 in long with one seat at each end, or two tables end to end. With 32 in behind the diners on every side, that table needs a space about 160 by 100 in (if it is 36 in wide), more than many dining areas have. The usual answers: run the table into the next room through an open side, or set one side against a wall with no one seated there. Tape the table outline on the floor the day before and walk around it with a plate in each hand.
5. Smaller rooms and open plans
Fitting a table into a smaller room
When the room the table needs is more than the room you have, the shape and type of table do more than the measuring tape:
- A bench on one side or end. A backless bench slides under the table when not in use, and people step over it rather than pulling it back. Whether that works for your household (children, older adults, guests) is something to try, not a figure. Test it
- A shorter or narrower table. Every inch off the table is an inch of clearance gained on that side.
- Extension leaves. A table that seats four every day and six with leaves keeps the everyday clearance; check the extended size against the room for the days it is used. Product-specific
- Round tables, which have no corners to walk around and seat people closer together at the same clearance.
- One side against the wall, with no one seated there, so that side needs no chair clearance.
Open plans: zones without walls
In a room that is both living and dining, or open to a kitchen, the zones have to be marked by the furniture. The usual edge is the back of the sofa: a sofa floated with its back to the dining area ends the living zone there. Arrange and test covers what a floating sofa needs. Two checks matter here:
- The path between zones. The route from the entry or the kitchen to the far side of the room usually runs between the sofa back and the dining chairs. It needs the path width plus the dining clearance behind any chair that backs onto it: NKBA's 44 in to walk past a seated diner is the figure for that side. Convention
- The gap with no path. Between groupings where no one walks, the Michigan bulletin left at least 24 in, and Houzz says the same between pieces for moving about. Convention
A rug under each group helps mark the zones (Arrange and test). So does light: a pendant over the table and lamps in the seating group read as two places. Learn Interior Lighting covers that in layers and glare.
6. See it: Lena, Marcus and Jo, Chidi and Ana See it
All measurements and dates in these examples are invented for this manual.
Lena's living room (Option B from Arrange and test). The sofa is on the window wall, its back about 6 in from the radiator, with the coffee table 12 in in front of it and the TV console opposite on the entry wall. The armchair is on the short wall by the entry door's hinge side, with the bookcase below it. The path to the balcony runs between the coffee table and the console, 38 in as drawn. Her 55 in TV is about 47.9 in wide. On the plan, from the middle of the sofa seat to the screen measures about 96 in (8 ft). That is farther than the 30 degree distance (about 89 in) and fills about 28 degrees of her view; it is inside Houzz's 1.5 to 2.5 times range (83 to 138 in). The conversation group is the sofa and the armchair, about 7 ft apart on the plan. The path stays outside that group, but it crosses the line from the sofa to the screen: anyone going to the balcony walks in front of the TV. She judges that during her week with the layout.
Known: the screen size and the room. Assumed: the 96 in and 7 ft are measured on the plan, from where she expects to sit; the real figures come from her tape test at the seat (Arrange and test). Open: the radiator check from Arrange and test. If she moves the sofa out to leave 3 ft from the radiator, it moves about 30 in toward the TV: the screen distance drops to about 66 in, the 40 degree distance, and the gap between the coffee table and the console potentially falls from 38 in to under 10 in, well under Living Spaces' 30 in and the path width. She redraws the option and measures again; the week of living with the layout settles whether she likes the screen at that distance (Your layout plan). The window behind the sofa may show as a reflection on the screen; she checks that from the seat in the afternoon.
Marcus and Jo's dining area. They are moving on 2026-12-05 into a rented third-floor walk-up. The dining area is 10 ft by 11 ft 4 in (120 by 136 in), open to the living room on one side. Their table is 72 by 36 in, for six. The dining calculator gives up to 8 seats at 24 in (3 a side and one at each end), so six fit with room to spare.
The clearances. With the table's long side along the 136 in length: on the width, 120 − 36 = 84 in, so 42 in each side, more than the 36 in default and just short of NKBA's 44 in to walk past. On the length, 136 − 72 = 64 in, so 32 in at each end, against the 36 in default. 32 in is NKBA's figure for a side where no one passes behind, so the ends potentially work if no one walks behind the end chairs; it is 4 in short for anyone to edge past.
Known: the table and the dining area dimensions. Assumed: that the table sits centered with the long side along the room's length, and that the open side to the living room is not on a route. Open: which way they solve the ends. A bench on one end, or a shorter table (a 64 in table would leave 36 in at each end and, at 24 in a diner, still seat six: 2 a side and one at each end). That is their choice, settled by taping the table and chairs on the floor after the move and sitting at it. Whether the open side carries a path is settled by drawing the living room's routes on the plan.
Chidi and Ana's TV. They own a 1962 house. In the living room, their 65 in TV sits on a low dresser bought in 1998. Their daughter Ife is 2, and a baby is due in March 2027.
Settled by the guidance. The CPSC says a TV goes only on furniture designed to hold one, and is anchored even when it is not wall-mounted. A dresser is not a TV stand, so the dresser is not where the TV stays. The TV goes on a stand made for a TV, anchored, or on a wall mount installed to the manufacturer's instructions; this manual does not teach the mounting. The dresser itself, which has drawers, goes on the anchoring list from Safety in the layout wherever it ends up.
Known: the TV's size: about 56.7 in wide, with a 30 degree distance of about 106 in (8 ft 10 in) and a 40 degree distance of about 78 in (6 ft 6 in). Open: how far their sofa is from the screen (their tape), whether a stand or a mount suits them (their choice, with the manufacturer's instructions if they mount it), and where the stand can be anchored to a stud (their stud finder; they own the house, so no landlord is involved).
7. Practice: measure the group or the table Practice
Minimum: for your first living or dining room, the conversation distance and the path's narrowest point, or the dining clearance behind each chair, written in the layout sheet. Time: about 45 minutes for one room, 75 for both. Materials: a tape measure, your floor plan or paper drawing, the chosen option from Arrange and test, a laundry basket or tray, and someone to sit with you for the conversation test if you can.
- Find the group. On the chosen option, mark the seats that face each other. Measure across, seat middle to seat middle.
- Draw the route past it. Check it runs around the group. Measure the narrowest point and walk it carrying the basket.
- Check the table distance. Sit, reach a cup on the coffee table, stand up. Move the table until all three are easy; note the distance.
- Run the screen calculator. Enter your screen's diagonal. Measure from the main seat to the screen and compare with the 30 and 40 degree distances. Sit and watch for a few minutes.
- Check what the TV stands on. If it is not furniture made for a TV, or not anchored, add it to the moves list.
- Run the dining calculator. Enter the table and the clearance that fits each side. Then measure behind each chair with a tape and pull each one out.
- Write it down. Conversation distance, path width and screen distance, or the dining clearances, in the chosen option's row of the options sheet; the path walk in the walk tests sheet.
- Try the 40 degree seat. Put a chair at the 40 degree distance and watch a film from it, then from your usual seat.
- Tape a holiday table. Tape the largest table you would ever set up, with chairs pulled out, and walk around it carrying two plates.
- Measure your seated eye height from the floor at the main seat and compare it with the top of the screen.
8. Your rooms Your rooms
9. Check your work Check your work
Criteria
- Is the conversation distance measured seat to seat, and if it is far from 8 ft, did you sit in the group to judge it?
- Does the main path run around the group, with its narrowest point measured and walked?
- Was the coffee table set by sitting, reaching and standing, including for anyone who uses a walker or cane?
- Is the screen distance compared with the 30 and 40 degree distances, and checked from the seat?
- Is the TV on furniture made for a TV, anchored, or on the moves list?
- Does each side of the dining table have a clearance chosen for what happens there (no one passes, edge past, walk past, a wheelchair), measured with a tape?
- Are the figures written in the layout sheet?
Worked example
Lena's living room (fictional) has a group of sofa and armchair about 7 ft apart on the plan, a path between the coffee table and the console at 38 in, and a screen about 96 in from the sofa, all as drawn and to be confirmed by her tape. Her open item is the radiator, which would change the screen distance if the sofa moves. Marcus and Jo's dining area (fictional) has 42 in on each side of the table and 32 in at each end against the 36 in default, with the choice between a bench at one end and a shorter table left to them and their tape. Chidi and Ana's TV (fictional) is on the moves list: off the dresser, onto a TV stand anchored to a stud or a mount.
Common mistakes
- Placing the TV first and the seats wherever the distance rule says, so the path runs through the group.
- Treating one viewing-distance rule as the answer when the rules disagree by several feet.
- Setting the coffee table by a number without sitting down and standing up.
- Measuring dining clearance from the chair back instead of the table edge.
- Using 32 in behind chairs on a side that people walk along.
- Leaving a TV on a dresser or bookcase because it has stood there for years.
What is still unresolved
The figures here say whether a layout is within the usual ranges; whether the household likes sitting, watching and eating in it is settled by living with it (Your layout plan). Mounting a TV is outside this manual. Bedrooms, nurseries and one-room homes, where a living area may share the room with a bed, are Bedrooms and small homes; a table in a kitchen and the desk are Kitchens, baths and desks.