For a long narrow living room, the best wooden TV stands are shallow in depth, low in height and either long and slim on the main wall or compact and placed across a short wall, depending on where you sit. Units raised on legs, with light timber finishes and closed fronts, help the room feel wider. Very deep, tall or heavily detailed stands work against the shape of the room, because they push into the walkway and make the space feel like a corridor.
Long narrow lounges are common in the UK, particularly in Victorian and Edwardian terraces, converted flats and through lounges where two rooms have been joined. The layout can be awkward, but the right stand from our modern wooden TV stands UK sale will make it far easier to arrange. The same principles apply when you browse our wider range of modern TV units UK.
A long narrow room has two short walls and two long walls. Typically, one short wall holds a window or bay, the other has a door or opens into another room, and one of the long walls has a chimney breast. The layout you choose depends on where the sofa goes, and the sofa depends on where people naturally walk through the room.
Before buying anything, stand in the doorway and note the natural route through the room. That route needs to stay clear. The TV and sofa should then sit either side of it, or together within one half of the room.
This is the most common arrangement. The sofa sits against one long wall and the TV stand against the other. It works well if the room is at least wide enough for the sofa, a comfortable walkway and the depth of the stand.
In this layout, depth is critical. A shallow stand protects the walkway between the sofa and the TV. Length is less of a concern, and a longer, slimmer unit can help the wall feel balanced. Keep the stand low so it does not visually narrow the room further.
If there is a chimney breast on the long wall, the TV often goes on it, with the stand sitting in front or within one alcove. Measure the chimney breast carefully, because many are narrower than they look.
If the room is too narrow for a sofa and a TV on opposite long walls, turn the arrangement. Place the TV on one short wall and the sofa facing it, part way down the room. This creates a cosy zone at one end and leaves the rest of the room for a desk, dining table or reading chair.
Here, a compact stand usually works better than a long one, because the short wall may also hold a window or door. Corner units can be useful if the TV needs to sit at an angle to avoid glare from a bay window. Our range of corner TV stands UK includes designs sized for smaller walls.
This is the most important measurement. Measure the deepest piece of equipment you plan to store, add a little space for cables and choose the slimmest stand that fits. If most of your devices are small, a very shallow unit may be enough.
Low stands keep the wall feeling open and help the room look wider. They also suit most UK sofas, which have fairly low seats.
A stand on legs shows more floor, which makes the room feel more spacious. It also allows light to pass underneath, which helps in rooms with only one window.
Pale oak, ash and whitewashed timber reflect more light than dark walnut or smoked oak. In a narrow room with limited daylight, lighter wood tones make a noticeable difference.
Doors and drawers keep clutter hidden. In a narrow room, visible clutter is always close to the eye, so closed storage matters more than usual.
People move past the stand frequently in a narrow room. Softened edges are kinder to legs and hips and reduce knocks.
Mounting the TV on the wall frees the stand from having to support the screen. This means you can choose an even shallower unit, since it only needs to hold devices and a soundbar. It also lifts the screen to a comfortable height without a tall stand.
Choose a bracket suited to your wall type and screen size. Our range of wall TV brackets UK sale includes slim fixed brackets that keep the TV close to the wall, which suits narrow rooms well. Hide cables in trunking painted to match the wall, or behind the plaster if you are redecorating.
When the TV sits on the stand, the centre of the screen should be close to your eye level when seated. With a low sofa, a low stand usually achieves this. With a wall mounted TV, position the screen so you are not looking up. Our guide on low TV unit measurements for UK living rooms explains how to work out the right height for your sofa.
If your room has a higher ceiling, as many period properties do, a slightly taller unit can work, provided it stays shallow. Our guide to standard UK sizes for tall TV units explains when height is an advantage.
In a narrow room, the distance between the sofa and the TV may be shorter than ideal. A slightly smaller screen can be more comfortable than a very large one at close range. If the TV sits on the short wall, the viewing distance will be longer, so a larger screen may work better there.
Many long narrow living rooms are in older properties, and their features can help or hinder the layout. Chimney breasts are the most common. If the chimney breast sits on a long wall, it naturally becomes the focal point, and the TV often goes above or in front of it. A slim stand in one alcove, with the TV on a bracket angled towards the sofa, can keep the fireplace visible while giving the screen a sensible home.
Bay windows are another familiar feature, usually at the front of a terrace. They bring in good light, but they also create glare. Avoid placing the TV directly opposite the bay. If the TV sits on a short wall, use the one furthest from the window.
Picture rails, deep skirting boards and original cornicing all affect how a stand sits against the wall. Deep skirting can push a stand forward, so measure from the face of the skirting rather than the wall itself. Some stands have a cutaway at the back to sit flush over skirting, which saves valuable depth.
Where two rooms have been knocked into one, the resulting space often has a lounge at one end and a dining or work area at the other. In this case, keep the TV stand in the lounge half and make it low enough that it does not block the view down the room. A long, slim stand on the short wall at the lounge end can look deliberate and calm. If there is a central chimney breast, it can act as a natural divider between the two zones.
The most frequent mistake is choosing a deep corner unit or a bulky media wall that projects too far into the room. Another is placing a dark, heavy stand on the long wall, which makes the room feel narrower. A third is ignoring the walkway: if people need to turn sideways to pass the stand, it is too deep or in the wrong place.
The right wooden TV stand for a long narrow living room is slim, low and light in tone, and positioned to protect the natural walkway. Measure depth first, then height, then length. We offer free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes, and full dimensions are listed for every product. For more ideas across the home, visit Furniture in Fashion.
Usually on a long wall opposite the sofa, if the room is wide enough. If not, place the TV on a short wall and create a seating zone at that end.
The shallowest stand that holds your equipment and cables. Wall mounting the TV allows you to choose an even slimmer unit.
They can be useful on a short wall, especially to avoid glare from a window. On a long wall, a straight slim unit is usually better.
Light timbers such as pale oak or ash reflect more light and help the room feel wider than dark finishes.
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