Trying to determine furniture layout in our screened porch

[shaynaatl]

We are having a screened porch built. We are just waiting on paint and the screens/vinyl windows, so we are now thinking about furniture and layout. We haven't purchased any furniture yet so we are flexible.

The screened porch is 20"x14", though usable interior space is more like 18.6'x13'5'. The double doors on the bottom lead to our kitchen, and the door on the right leads to a 14'x9' uncovered space. The left side of the porch has a TV wall. It's mostly shaded so sun direction isn't a consideration.

I'm looking for layout suggestions. Our main goal is to treat this space as an outdoor family room (movie night, board games, watching sports). We also want to use it as a social space when friends or family are visiting.

I know we don't have enough space for distinct living and dining areas, but I would like to cram in a small dining table if possible.

This is a preliminary design I've put together, but would love to get your thoughts and suggestions. Is that dining table going to look too crammed in there? That wall is 88" long before it gets to the exterior door. Also, is there anything we can do with the wall bordering the house? Or should we keep that open for walking?

Thank you!

[momin2013]

20x14 is a pretty good sized room; I’m thinking you should be ok to have both seating areas. Our patio is a similar size and we have a sectional, patio umbrella, dining area for 6, and bbq in that space.

Is the furniture in your drawing to scale? Those two chairs look really big compared to other pieces - like one of them is almost as big as your proposed dining table…?

[kitty]

I know you said you haven’t purchased furniture yet but are these items to scale of things you are considering? Are you trying to make the chairs cushy and large for TV? How many people do you need to seat at the dining table?

[kitty]

Mar 27, 2023 10:52:03 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

20x14 is a pretty good sized room; I’m thinking you should be ok to have both seating areas. Our patio is a similar size and we have a sectional, patio umbrella, dining area for 6, and bbq in that space.

Is the furniture in your drawing to scale? Those two chairs look really big compared to other pieces - like one of them is almost as big as your proposed dining table…?

I think the trick here is getting the seating at a comfortable distance away from the tv.

[shaynaatl]

Mar 27, 2023 10:52:03 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

20x14 is a pretty good sized room; I’m thinking you should be ok to have both seating areas. Our patio is a similar size and we have a sectional, patio umbrella, dining area for 6, and bbq in that space.

Is the furniture in your drawing to scale? Those two chairs look really big compared to other pieces - like one of them is almost as big as your proposed dining table…?

The seats aren't necessarily to scale. We are starting furniture shopping next weekend, but we put some big cushy chairs in there for now. The thinking is that an adult and small kid could sit in one of those. We want all of the seats to be very comfortable. 

For dining- would like to ideally have space for 6, but would accept 4. We also have that outside space where we could put a bigger table, but with bugs in this area, I don't envision us eating in the uncovered space. 

[mpm]

How do you feel about banquette seating in the corner for the dining table? My parents’ screened porch has this, and it’s great extra seating for parties with or without the table.



Something like this: images.app.goo.gl/ATsE2wRXr4agkWPK8

[maudefindlay]

Maybe an outdoor sectional in the same shape of the furniture you have in the photo. I'd look at doing a round table in the corner.

[momin2013]

I like the sectional idea instead of two large chairs.

I'd also measure it out if you want to get a better idea of what will fit. Like literally bring a tape measure to a furniture store, measure the type of furniture you're considering, then plot it onto your floorplan so it's closer to scale.

[aprilsails]

How large is the planned tv? The larger the tv, the further the recommended viewing distance. I realize that some people might disagree, but I don’t always think bigger is better when you are working within a limited space.

I too think you could get more comfortable seating with a smaller form factor if you went with a sectional. I think having the correct spacing with two large chairs and a three seater sofa doesn’t leave you adequate space for a dining area. While the banquette suggestion is good, I still think you need more space to have a functional dining area. If you could swing it, the banquette could also be used as cushion storage if you can find pieces that open. It’s nice to have a storage space like that, even on a covered porch. We still get rain coming in on ours for the first 2’ along the edges. It’s more of a fine mist because of the screens, but things do get wet.

[simpsongal]

Ditto the suggestion for a round bistro table. I'd also consider a rectangular/larger coffee table - so there's plenty of room for snacks and drinks. Get an outdoor rug for the couch area too. You can use little round plant stands as end tables too. Watch the scale on the arms of the furniture. I bought separate pieces - couches from Macy's and chairs from Pier 1 and had cushions make in sunbrella fabric. A lot of patio sets have wide chunky or flared arms - they take up a lot of space.

I personally like having separate pieces like tables and couches rather than banquettes and sectionals - I think they're easier to move around for parties and other gatherings.

[candreco]

Ours is 20x14 as well, and we have plenty of space for a round dining table and chairs by the door to the kitchen, and a small sectional, coffee table, hanging egg chair, and a regular chair in the end further from the house, plus plants, a couple side tables, storage shelf, etc. We specifically did not want a TV in ours though, so we weren't trying to arrange around that.

[origami]

Wondering if you might get more seating space if you put the tv on the house wall and flipped the couch/table areas. That way you could have a sectional along 2 walls instead of the middle of the room.

[InBetweenDays]

I also would suggest considering a banquette setup for the table. We have a game table in the corner of our living room and used 2 Ikea Expedit bookcases (turned on their side) as benches (and have chairs on the other two sides). Then added cushions on top of the benches. We store all our games in the Expedit.

[shaynaatl]

Mar 28, 2023 11:37:31 GMT -5 origami said:

Wondering if you might get more seating space if you put the tv on the house wall and flipped the couch/table areas. That way you could have a sectional along 2 walls instead of the middle of the room.

So we thought about that last night. Here is how it would look. We could only use this spot on the house wall due to placement of existing window/outlet.

I like how this opens up the room. But not sure if it looks odd that the TV is not centered to the seating. Also, DH does not want a sectional as we have one in the family room. He is set on finding "cool looking chairs".

[origami]

There’s a window on that house wall?

[shaynaatl]

Mar 28, 2023 13:11:13 GMT -5 origami said:

There’s a window on that house wall?

Yep, it's just right to the TV stand I placed in there. It's a window looking into the kitchen.