Shea McGee tells us her simple 3 step living room layout formula

Nailing a living room layout, and the pieces within can be tricky. But getting it right really is key to a successful space. You want the layout to flow and work for all the uses a living room faces and you want the furniture to talk to each other too – not be overly matchy-matchy but a cohesion there for sure.

Luckily, designer Shea McGee has provided some easy steps to use when starting out your living room layout. Using pieces from McGee & Co's living room collection, Shea talks us through the process...

1. Start with the biggest piece – and keep it classic

Shea's first tip is a simple one. It can often be tricky to know where to start in a living room layout, but she suggests the obvious jumping-off point is to find the right position for the largest piece of furniture.

'Let's dive into the look, starting with the biggest pieces,' begins Shea. 'We have this beautiful sofa in a praline velvet and it has an English roll arm shape with brass casters. It’s classic and traditional and sets the foundation for a lot of mixing and matching.'

It's this mixing and matching that's key to the transitional look. The classic shape and the brown shade are classic, but not so traditional they wouldn't work with more modern prints, shapes, and fresher colors.

Interestingly, Shea doesn't position her sofa within the room's perimeter (the conventional placement of large furniture pieces). Instead, she focuses on the front and center of the room and purposefully floats the couch in the center of the room, creating a cozy zone within the larger space.

2. Create a transitional space with smaller pieces of furniture

Armchairs are staple pieces in a living room, especially if you want to create a balanced layout and have some versatility with your seating options. They also provide the opportunity to bring in a slightly different style and texture to the room, as Shea shows here.

'The sofa is a more traditional piece, but now we are going to pull in the opposite direction with these more modern Clegg chairs. We did them in a linen so you get a nice texture change between the sofa and the chairs.' Shea goes for contrasting upholstery with the linen and the velvet, keeping the palette neutral but adding the interest with plenty of layers of texture instead.

3. Constrast straight lines with curves

To finish off, Shea, opts for an unexpected coffee table choice which gives the living room layout a more modern twist and again adding more texture and a darker shade to ground all the soft neutrals going on.

'Then centering the room, we have a huge organic modern coffee table with lots of surface for styling, really interesting leg detail, it fills the space really nicely,' explains Shea. 'But it’s also very practical because you have those curved corners, if you have kids having a round table is really nice when they’re running around the room. I think it also breaks up the expected look of a rectangular coffee table with two chairs and an accent, it just kind of gives it a fresh look which I love.’

The Harvey Coffee Tablesoftens all the straight lines going on in the layout, making the space feel less rigid. The table is low too, adding to that relaxed, informal feel whilst remaining chic. It's also perfect for hosting as it's super wide, meaning plenty of guests have room for their coffee (or cocktail).

Shop Shea's timeless living room style

McGee & Co's furniture line is so varied which means it couldn't be easier to find the perfect piece. It's crucial to make your living room personal to you and this process is made much smoother with the array of color and fabric choices available. Some of these key pieces are also on offer right now in the McGee & Co. Black Friday Sale.

Designing your living room layout is of course key to getting the room right, but as Shea shows, going for a simple, fail-safe formula is often the best approach. Ensure there's balance, a mix of seating styles and furniture shapes, and of course that the layout is going to work for how you use the room.