Unfortunately, long narrow rooms are very common, and many owners are faced with the need to "correct" this awkward shape and make the apartment functional and comfortable. But on the other hand, such an awkward room is an excellent platform for creativity and can become a cozy and attractive place in an apartment or house. Here are the rules to make it beautiful and practical.

  1. Paint the wide sides in bright colors of light tones, and the narrow ones in rich and more saturated colors. You should not stop your choice exclusively on white when designing, beige, pink or orange will be an excellent solution. By attracting attention with such accents, you will visually reduce the "extra centimeters" of the elongated walls.
  2. The carpet or floor covering should be placed perpendicular to the wide walls. A good choice in this case would be parquet, laminate or tiles with a large rectangular pattern.
  3. On one side you can arrange a dressing room or install a tall wardrobe. This is very practical and at the same time you will correct the proportions of the room, making it visually square.
  4. This can also be achieved by "filling" the interior with smooth lines and curves that hide corners and conceal the feeling of the room's length. Round or oval furniture, decorative elements or paintings are great for this.
  5. Avoid massive chandeliers and use spot lighting or sconces. It is better to place them on narrow walls painted in rich colors, otherwise you cannot avoid the effect of a corridor.
  6. A very original and practical solution can be podiums on the floor and shelves of different sizes and types.
  7. The ceiling should be painted in warm and light tones. The use of a multi-level suspended ceiling will also help to hide the irregular shape of the room.
  8. Large mirrors and photo wallpapers are especially relevant, allowing you to expand the space and blur the outlines of the room.
  9. Natural sunlight will also do a good job of this. Opt for light and bright materials that let the sun's rays through.
arrange furniture in a long and narrow room
Even a designer needs to try hard to make a narrow room not resemble a train car.
furniture arrangement
Create two functional centers in the room.
furniture arrangement in a narrow hall
Before deciding how best to handle the "pencil case", precise measurements are needed.

Furniture arrangement and zoning

You can turn the disadvantages of your long narrow room into undeniable advantages by dividing it into two zones of the correct shape. This can be a sleeping area and a study for the bedroom, or a cooking area and a dining area for the kitchen. The correct arrangement of furniture in this case is an excellent way of zoning, but there are some nuances here too.

arrange furniture in a very narrow room
As long as Soviet buildings exist, the issue of narrow rooms will remain relevant.
children's room design
How to turn a long room into a living room, dining room, bedroom, study, nursery or even a dressing room with the additional function of a guest bedroom?

Try not to put massive sofas or solid partitions in such places. This will lead to even greater visual compression of the space and make it difficult to pass. Instead, try podiums, carpets or use several colors in the interior design. Such methods will not only allow you to divide your living room or kitchen into independent zones, but will also significantly improve their functionality. Mobile partitions, which can also be a bright design element, will also cope well with this.

Interior in a narrow bedroom
The only problem is that standard methods of visually expanding the size of a narrow room do not work in this case - neither light wall colors nor standard furniture arrangement will bring much of an effect.
photo of a narrow room
Your choice is long sofas; it is even desirable that they be longer than usual.

Avoid placing all the furniture near long walls and give preference to light, light-transmitting structures. A small couch in a narrow space or several armchairs and poufs of different shapes and colors can be a good solution.

arrange furniture correctly
Playing with colors and textures, properly zoning the compressed space, and lighting the necessary interior elements help to expand the narrow part of the room – these techniques, taken together, can correct the room.
Interior of a long narrow room
A room with a window near the door can also be adapted to a compact area with living room functions.
cozy long and narrow room
If both the shelves and surfaces are the same width, this will visually balance the room.

The arrangement of furniture in a narrow kitchen has its own characteristics.

  • Dark colored headsets should be avoided.
  • Use mirrored and glossy facades.
  • It is advisable to place the work surface along the short wall, and the dining table near the window.
  • Leave the space near the long walls free or fill it with open shelves and small racks.
  • The kitchen apron can be made from a dark material with a pronounced texture to accentuate the short wall.
  • A bar counter or a sofa with its back to the cooking area and being the main element of the dining area would be a good choice for zoning.
It is worth highlighting the long walls with accents
Usually, in order to expand the space, most owners of narrow rooms prefer to glue plain wallpaper or paint the walls in one light color.
Arrangement of a narrow bedroom
If the bedroom turns out to be very small, try to expand the end wall with the headboard using decorative techniques: for example: decorate it with mirrors or wallpaper with an optical effect.
Long Narrow Kitchen - Layout
In addition to the main methods of visual correction of interior space, use LED lighting, which has recently become increasingly popular.

Living room

The design of the living room should be approached especially carefully, because this room is always full of people and the lack of space is especially sensitive here. To hide its length, do not put the sofa along the wide wall, experiment with its location, and perhaps refuse it altogether. Armchairs, a coffee table and a couple of chairs will be a very interesting option. In such a living room there is no place for a bulky furniture wall, which will finally turn the room into a railway carriage. Use open racks and shelves that let in light. Do not hide the window with heavy curtains and drapes. This will fill the space with natural light.

rectangular living room design
Your task is to highlight the short walls and reduce the size of the long ones.
Narrow living room
Colored curtains or drapery are the best decoration: they add airiness to the room and hide extra centimeters of length.
narrow children's room for a girl
The technique of symmetrical arrangement of objects often saves narrow rooms. Especially children's bedrooms for one or two children.

Bedroom

Divide the bedroom interior by painting the walls in several colors. The wall of the room behind the headboard can be highlighted with a rich abstract pattern or photo wallpaper. Long walls should be done in warm neutral tones. The amount of furniture in the bedroom should be minimal, replace large chests of drawers and wardrobes with small bedside tables standing in the corners, or a tall wardrobe located near one of the walls. A podium under the bed can also be a good option, which will perfectly hide the difference in wall lengths, will become a bright interior detail and an excellent place to store bed linen. Try a bed that is completely folded into a furniture wall. But if this method is not for you, then arrange the sleeping area along the short wall or with the headboard against it.

Narrow bedroom
A plain or mountain range stretching into the distance will visually expand the room horizontally, and therefore level out the disproportionality of a long, narrow room.
place the bed against the long wall
Competent zoning of a narrow room: a podium, a carpet, a sofa and other helpers.
Narrow Living Room Furniture
Oddly enough, a narrow room with one window can also be used as a dining room if the kitchen and cooking area are nearby.

And some more useful tips

There are a number of general rules for finishing doors and windows in such rooms.

  1. Natural light conceals the disproportionality of an elongated room and makes it visually larger.
  2. Hang sheer curtains to the edge of the window or light blinds instead of heavy drapes. Roman blinds will also look great.
  3. Thick horizontal bars will visually make the window, and along with it the walls, wider, so try to choose frames with wide horizontal and narrow vertical bars.
  4. The entrance opening in a narrow wall can be made in the form of an eye-catching arch.
  5. If the door is located in a wide wall, try to widen it as much as possible so that the wall appears narrower.
  6. Install sliding interior doors, they will save space and decorate the interior much better than traditional hinged structures.
Narrow Room Design
Just don’t try to divide the room into parts with a bulky closet or a solid partition from floor to ceiling – in this case, one of the areas will be completely deprived of natural light.
Design of a narrow children's room
It's better to consider effective options.
Narrow room design photo
Built-in designs offer a variety of options.

By using these simple rules and imagination, you can transform an awkward, narrow, elongated room into an original and very functional space that will give you a lot of comfort and coziness, and will surprise your guests much more than the sight of a banal ideal square.

Arranging furniture in a room
A narrow, elongated room is not at all uncommon in our homes.
Furniture in a narrow bedroom
In addition, such rooms often have only one window, so the lighting of such a space suffers.
Narrow living room
A built-in design that leaves no passage between the sleeping area and the wall at all may be successful.

VIDEO: Design of a long narrow room photo

50 photo ideas for arranging furniture in a narrow room