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Your room has beautiful features, windows, fireplace & floor.
Try this, take everything out of that room that is moveable, the clock, the lamp and end table, the table under the window, the coffee table, the greenery and picture on the fireplace, the area rug etc.
Live with that for a bit and decide what you want the focal point of the room to be, the fireplace? The entertainment center?
I think it looks warm and welcoming. Yes, the furniture is a little overstuffed for the space but it's certainly livable. Add a warm-colored throw (maybe rust/orange like your throw pillows) to drape over the back or side of your light-colored chair and it'll blend in better. A bigger and different colored rug will make a drastic difference in your impression of the whole room.
Do add a plant or tall fake grasses or something to that urn by the window. I would not add any decorative objects other than what you have because the baby will soon be reaching for them. Nice coffee table but I would move it elsewhere and replace it with a big cushy ottoman which baby can safely pull him or herself up with. You could put a wooden tray on the ottoman to make it hold your drinks when needed and also some of baby's toys. I think you can get a lot of bang for your buck without changing out the furniture!
You have great bones in that room! Love the architectural details and the finishes. And there's nothing "wrong" with your furniture either - you have some nice things.
I think you have too much furniture in there though. Personally, I would take the love seat out of the seating arrangement altogether. I notice that there is only one comfortable "entry point" into the seating arrangement, and that's between the sofa and the wall with the TV. It seems like it feels very crowded.
Call me OCD, but it drives me crazy not to have a coffee table centered with the fireplace, when you have a symmetrical look going on like your room sort of dictates. But I doubt you can center that table because of the size of the two sofas.
I would START by centering that table. Actually, I agree with other people who have suggested replacing the table with a cocktail ottoman - a round one in a smashing fabric would look great centered in front of the fireplace. Then you could also tie in that fabric with a few pillows on the sofa. I would buy a much larger rug that ties in the colors of the cocktail ottoman and the pillows and the lighter colored chair. I would then put the chair to the RIGHT of the fireplace. That way seems like it would be a lot more comfortable for watching TV.
But that brings up the problem of anyone else in the room trying to watch TV. Is this room your main TV watching room? The reason I ask is that it's very difficult to have TWO focal points in a room - in this case the fireplace AND the TV. Have you considered putting the TV above the fireplace? I know a lot of people don't like that look, but it CAN work beautifully. In fact, you can even frame a TV in a beautiful frame and when it's not being watched, you can have gorgeous pictures - art, family portraits, etc. - rotating within the frame. Then you could place the ONE sofa across from it, in front of the fireplace, with the chair to the left or right of that sofa, and you could have TWO side tables, one on either side of the sofa, with lamps on both tables, giving you lighting that is warmer than overhead lighting, but plenty of it.
If you move the entertainment center out, you could even put the loveseat on that far wall rather than trying to bunch so many pieces of large furniture together in a close arrangement. You could create an intimate little reading area.
If you did things this way, you could use the coffee table that you currently have, if you can't afford to replace it right now. Here's the deal with that table - it's a bit small for the size of your furniture, but with all your furniture bunched up together, there's no way you can add a more size-appropriate table or cocktail ottoman.
Personally, I hate poufy leather furniture, especially brown ones, so I would get rid of those sofas. It looks like you have space for a sectional, so perhaps that would work for your family as a starting point? Get good quality that will stand up to hard family wear and tear in a neutral easy care fabric. You are forbidden to buy anything else that is brown.
Next, I would get a larger, colorful rug. I suggest you go look for a rug without any preconceived notions and when you see one you love, go with it. That will be your starting point for color, and accessories.
If those plants on the mantle are fake, just say no. I would like to see you buy a print or painting for over the mantle using the same method as for the rug. In response to your gut, rather than, "Oh, goody it has brown in it like the sofa".
I know how it feels to be sort of paralyzed about what to do. Good luck.
Kathy, I know you're into symmetry, but her room isn't symmetrical.
She has a fireplace with a window on either side. The ceiling above this space isn't angled, it's straight across. That is the natural focal point of the room and it IS a symmetrical space. But yes, there is an angled wall behind the loveseat, and the nook for the entertainment center is not centered (doesn't matter - those are to the side of the focal point in the room). It looks like the space to either side of the centered fireplace is the same.
What's throwing the monkey wrench into this room is that there are TWO focal points - the TV and the fireplace, and they are on different walls. And to add to the challenge, the room seems to be very narrow. That's why I think there's too much overstuffed furniture in the room. You can't even get into the room's seating area from any other route than right by the entertainment center, from what I can see.
At least that's how I see it. Not that this can't be worked with, but it's more challenging than some other layouts, especially with the very large furniture in the room. When you're sitting in the room, what are you looking at? That's why her chair by the fireplace is so often turned around, which also looks odd. But at least it apparently swivels. Still...awkward. That's why I asked if this is the main TV room in the house. If it is, I'd definitely change the way the furniture is arranged.
I've had to deal with this "split focal points" in a smallish living room myself, and I found it to be pretty tricky. And I don't have a symmetrical space at all, so in theory this would seem to free up lots of options. But it really hasn't. Two focal points in a small space can be problematic.
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 01-19-2014 at 12:55 PM..
And of course, put a wooden mirror on the fireplace mantle- I havent found one yet.
and Family photos instead of the clock, with a bench under them
I'm excited! I appreciate everyone helping me out!
I would caution you against putting a mirror above that fireplace. It will be placed too high and will reflect...what? A ceiling? This is a perfect spot for a colorful piece of art! Don't waste it.
Hey, I noticed that you have a big pot over by a window. I would put a low maintenance sort of "inside tree" in that pot for some warmth and color as well.
Do you have any other place you can put the love seat - like a home office? The reason I ask is that it would be nice to get another comfortable chair and put it to the right of the fireplace and the left of the sofa (if you're facing the sofa) - with an end table between them and the chair angled. Or you could put both chairs to the right of the fireplace with a small table and lamp between them and forego the end table. Then two people could watch TV comfortably from that end of the room. Your easy walking/entry area would still be in the same place but with the table moved from the end of the sofa to between the two chairs, you could also enter the room from between the sofa and the chair.
Just some ideas.
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 01-19-2014 at 12:53 PM..
And of course, put a wooden mirror on the fireplace mantle- I havent found one yet.
and Family photos instead of the clock, with a bench under them
I'm excited! I appreciate everyone helping me out!
Nikki, Just my opinion, but I think the paint color is too grey and will clash with the paint in the dining/kitchen area. Can't imagine why they call it natural cream.
I LOVE the area rug. This is my color choice. You do have that element in the carpet and I don't really see grey when I look at the area rug.
Thanks for allowing us to critique your living quarters and ideas. You've maintained a very good attitude through all the comments for AND against.
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