An L-Shaped Sectional in a Square Living Room: Three Layouts to Try

Layout concepts, not to scale.

A square living room gives you several walls to work with, which can make choosing one surprisingly difficult. Put the couch in the middle and the corners look empty. Push everything to the edges and the coffee table ends up a long way from anyone sitting down.

An L-shaped sectional gives the seating area a corner of its own. Where that corner belongs depends on the entrance, the view from the seats, and what else needs to stay in the room. These three arrangements are useful starting points.

Along a wall, with the chaise away from the entrance

If one wall is mostly clear, place the long back of the sectional there. Keep the chaise at the end farther from the main entrance, so you can approach the seats without walking around its extended end.

This arrangement suits a room where the TV is opposite the couch and the door sits near one corner. The chaise becomes the place to stretch out; the other end stays open for coming and going. A small side table at that open end gives someone a place to set a drink without filling the middle of the room.

Watch what happens beside the chaise. A cabinet door or a route to the window can make an otherwise tidy corner awkward to use. Position the coffee table within the seating area, rather than centering it between all four walls.

Away from the wall, with a route behind the couch

When windows and doorways interrupt every wall, try bringing the whole sectional forward. Its back can face the entrance, with enough room behind it to reach the other side of the room.

Now the square has two distinct areas: a place to sit and a route past it. Keep that route clear before adding a console table behind the couch. A console is useful only if you can still walk past carrying a laundry basket or groceries.

In this arrangement, the chaise should sit away from the point where you turn into the seating area. Otherwise, the first thing you meet after coming around the couch is another obstacle. Leave the space behind the back empty if that is what makes the layout work.

Facing the view you use most

A TV on one wall and a good window view on another can pull a square room in two directions. Decide which view matters from the main seats. For regular TV watching, face the couch toward the screen. For a room used mostly for reading and talking, try facing the window instead, with the TV off to the side if you have one.

You don't need to angle the entire sectional diagonally to acknowledge both walls. Keep its back parallel to a wall and let a separate chair face the other direction, if there is space for one. That chair can turn toward someone on the couch without making every seat compromise.

Try the arrangement from a seated position. A TV that looks close on a floor plan can still be uncomfortable to watch from the chaise if it requires a constant sideways turn.

Trying these layouts with a 96-inch sectional

Our 96-inch L-shaped couch is 8 feet wide, with an overall depth of 60.2 inches at the chaise. Mark that outside footprint on your floor before choosing an arrangement. Include the table and any chair you plan to keep, rather than testing the couch by itself.

For the wall layout, compare the space at each end. For the floating layout, walk behind the back and turn toward the seats. For the view-led layout, sit where the main cushion would be and look toward the screen or window.

Then choose the left- or right-facing chaise shown on the product page to match your plan. The room can stay square; the furniture doesn't have to form a square inside it.