Anne Hathaway follows this ‘conversational seating’ method
Practicality is key for the living room, and the layout you select should not only be able to accommodate your lifestyle but enhance it. Inspiration on how to master this layout comes from Anne Hathaway’s living room – the product of Pamela Shamshiri, the co-founder of Los Angeles-based Studio Shamshiri. The design firm first shared the room in 2019, but as we look toward 2025, the layout is just as impactful.
The Devil Wears Prada actress and her husband, jewelry designer Adam Shulman, have perfected a clever living room seating arrangement in their chalet-style residence in California. It epitomizes a ‘conversational seating’ method that, top designers say, is the perfect example of how to maximize your floorplan.
Design icon Nina Campbell is a champion of what she calls ‘conversational seating.’ Essentially, it’s a living room layout designed entirely around your seating arrangement, best exhibited in Hathaway’s space.
Shop the look
Nothing sets the tone for a conversational space quite like a statement sofa. This piece, inspired by the blue sofa in Hathaway’s space, has a dressy but fun silhouette that feels sophisticated in every living room. It’s the ultimate party centerpiece.
Joss & Main Eleanne Coffee Table
Crafted with a mix of kiln-dried solid and engineered wood, this modern coffee table features a tray-style top that’s perfect for hosting. It keeps your guest’s snacks and drinks in place and still has room for decorative candles and books.
Inspired by the beautiful olive green chair in Hathaway’s living room, this wingback has a vintage aesthetic that will bring old money charm to any contemporary living room. It’s the product of Jake Arnold’s genius (The Expert founder who’s responsible for several celebrity homes). What’s not to love?
Figuring out your floor plan is vital to ensure that your living room works from a practical and aesthetic standpoint. Start by working out the central point of the room; this will guide you as to where to place large pieces of furniture, such as sofas and chairs.
‘For example, when designing a living room with a traditional fireplace, this will be a central point,’ Campbell says. ‘You can then either have the sofa to one side with a couple of chairs opposite. Alternatively, you can position the couch so it’s facing the fireplace and chairs on either side.’
It’s always good to throw off the symmetry of the room and add an extra dimension with mismatched furniture, color schemes, shapes, and styles to make the space feel more relaxed and encourage conversation.
But there is so much more to choosing a living room sofa or chair than just their appearance. The number of chairs you set out is an important consideration, too. Odd numbers are good for seating plans in general because they allow for some rotation of guests.
The interior designer Elsie de Wolfe wrote in 1913 that you must never place a chair on its own in a room; she was very shy herself and noted that it is always the shy person who arrives first, sits on the lone chair, and then is often rooted there for the whole party. But two next to each other does not always work, either. I find that two people sitting side by side do not always speak to each other, so having an occasional chair pulled in at a diagonal can create conversational triangles, similar to the seating placement in Anne Hathaway’s home above.
Another way to arrange your seating is to place them within arm’s reach of a side or coffee table. Can you imagine having to get up every time you – or your guest – wanted to reach the remote or sip their drink?
Perfecting the ‘conversational seating’ method is a good idea at every point of the calendar, but there is no time like the present – considering we’re deep into hosting season.
This December, we suggest replacing art books and vases with small, tabletop Christmas trees while leaving room for a charcuterie board in the center of your social place. This way, your guests are all at an equal distance from the board – making it easy to eat, drink, and be merry long into the evening. I love how Hathaway’s layout (with the coffee table in the middle) demonstrates this look perfectly.
Finally, you should never skimp on the most important piece of furniture in your living room: the sofa. ‘The sofas and bigger pieces of furniture should be covered in a tough, strong, and relatively plain fabric so you don’t tire of it; they are expensive to recover. You can jazz them up with cushions and throws,’ Campbell adds.
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