A living room for hosting the family in summer: a big sofa, a table for 8 and what fits in the apartment

A beach-house living room has two sizes: the everyday one, with two or three people, and the holiday one, when children, grandchildren, in-laws and the friend who is “just staying for the day” arrive. Setting up the room for the second size without smothering the first is the job I do most often with people who live in Praia Grande or come here for the summer. This guide brings together the measurements from the Lucy Home catalog and a public reference for space per person, so you can count sofa seats and table seats before you buy.

A modular sofa in the Lucy Home showroom: modules add up to whatever length the wall allows, and one extra module in summer does not mean replacing the sofa.

First, count the real people

Before the measurements, two questions: how many people sit in the living room on an ordinary Sunday, and how many on a full holiday? The first answer defines comfort; the second, the limit. A room set up only for the holiday feels empty and stiff all year; one set up only for everyday life leaves people on the floor in January. What I look for is the room that grows: a sofa that adds modules, a long table, armchairs and ottomans that become seats when needed and disappear when not.

Also measure the sofa wall, the depth to the coffee table and the path in from the door. The guide sofa size shows how to measure, and will the sofa fit through the door and the elevator saves you the surprise on delivery day.

Big sofas: 4, 5 and 6 seats exist, and they are modular

What the catalog gives is the length, not the number of seats, and I prefer it that way, because a seat depends on seat width and on who is sitting. The measurements:

Sofa	Length	Note
K-18	3.40 m	three modules with chaise, as seen in the showroom
Diamond	2.10, 2.30, 2.70, 3.00, 3.30 or 3.90 m	modular, with a 1.15 x 1.55 m chaise; manual or motorized
Otto	2.90 m	rounded lines
Dolomite	2.60 m	modules with cushions
Zara	2.30 x 1.55 m	with chaise

How to count seats: sit down and measure the width of one seat in the showroom, then divide the usable length, without the arms, by that width. The guide how many people fit on a 2.50 m sofa does that math with a public reference. A 3.90 m Diamond, for example, is a full-wall sofa; before choosing, mark the L on the floor with masking tape, as I explain in the size guide.

For a beach house, the advantage of modular goes beyond length: most Lucy Home sofas are delivered in modules, which makes the elevator easier and lets you replace one module if it suffers from humidity, as I explain in furniture that lasts at the beach.

Large corner sofa or modular L

The corner sofa closes a fixed L and uses two walls; it is the choice of anyone who wants the most seats in a square room. The modular one builds the same L and can also come apart: on a holiday, one module becomes a loose seat on the other side of the room. With a chaise, one person stretches out and “spends” two seats, which counts on a holiday. The guide chaise or corner sofa compares the two, and sliding-seat or fixed sofa covers the seat that slides forward, which also needs clear floor.

A dining table for 8 and for 10

Here the public reference helps. The design guide Kin Store recommends about 60 cm of table edge per person for everyday use, says a table of around 160 cm usually seats six and one of around 200 cm may seat eight, depending on width, leg position and chair size, and asks for at least 90 cm clear between the edge and the wall or another piece where someone pulls out a chair.

The long tables in the catalog:

Table	Measurements (length x depth)	Height
Âncora rectangular	1.80 x 1.00 to 2.70 x 1.20 m, in six sizes	78 cm
Enjoy	2.00 x 1.00, 2.20 x 1.10, 2.40 x 1.10 or 2.70 x 1.10 m	76 cm
Org	1.80 or 2.00 x 1.00 m	78 cm

The 60 cm count, which is mine and not the guide’s: 2.70 m of length gives four seats on each side, and a width of 1.10 to 1.20 m allows one at each end, that is, ten at the table, with armless chairs. With armchairs, it drops to eight. Add 90 cm on each side to pull out the chairs and you have the dining room this table asks for. The guides dining table height and measurements and round or rectangular table help close the choice; chairs for the dining table covers the chairs.

Extra seats that disappear afterwards

• Armchairs. Two armchairs facing the sofa close the conversation circle and add two good seats, with arms. The guide armchairs for the living room helps you pair them.
• Ottomans. An ottoman beside the armchair is a seat on the holiday and a footrest the rest of the year.
• Dining chairs. With the dining table in the same room, the chairs become sofa seats at game time.
• A bench or low sideboard. Not always, but in a long room a bench against the wall takes children and bags.

The small apartment hosts too

In a 50 or 60 square meter apartment, the family fits if the room is thought out in layers: a modular sofa of two or three modules, a dining table that sits against the wall on weekdays and moves to the middle on the holiday, chairs that serve both, a light armchair. A table with legs at the ends, like the Âncora, frees the head of the table; a table with a central base, like the Org and the Enjoy, leaves more legroom along the sides. The guide new apartment checklist has the reference measurements I use, and furniture for a beach apartment covers materials.

Come set up the holiday living room in the showroom

Lucy Home is at Av. Presidente Kennedy, 3870, Aviação, Praia Grande. Bring the room measurements and the number of people on a Sunday and on a holiday; the team builds the combination of modules, table and armchairs with you, with room planning at no cost. Sofas and tables are set up for sitting, and there are in-stock and made-to-order pieces. If you prefer, send the floor plan on WhatsApp. See the sofas page and the tables page.

Frequently asked questions

Do 4, 5 or 6-seat sofas exist?

They do, and most of the time they are modular: seat modules that add up to whatever length the wall allows. In the Lucy Home catalog, the K-18 is 3.40 m, the Diamond runs from 2.10 to 3.90 m, the Otto is 2.90 m and the Dolomite is 2.60 m. The spec sheets do not state a number of seats, and I prefer to count by sitting on the seat rather than by the name.

What size dining table seats 8 people?

The reference I use, from a UK design guide, is about 60 cm of table edge per person, and it says a table of around 200 cm may seat eight, depending on width, leg position and chair size. By the 60 cm count, which is Lucy Home's and not the guide's, a 2.70 m by 1.20 m table, the largest in the Âncora line, fits four on each side and one at each end.

Large corner sofa or modular sofa?

Both add seats. The corner sofa closes a fixed L; the modular one lets you change the configuration and replace a module if needed. For a beach house, where the family changes size every holiday, I usually recommend modular, and Lucy Home's guide on chaise or corner sofas helps you decide.

How much space should I leave around the dining table?

The guide I use recommends at least 90 cm between the table edge and the wall or another piece of furniture where someone pulls out a chair and walks behind it. Where nobody passes behind, it can be less, but test it with the actual chair.

Sources

• Kin Store (UK design guide), What size dining table do I need (60 cm per person, 160 cm for six, 200 cm for eight, 90 cm clearance)