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I have a living room that I'm really trying to figure out how to decorate. I have 2 leather chairs, a sofa and a loveseat. The rug is a wool pebble style rug. Dark wood floors and a dark brown wall make the whole room look gloomy. I do have 3 pieces of art I will be hanging that are very colorful but I'm trying to figure out what else to do to make this room actually pop.
I think I need a plant in the corner somewhere and maybe a floor lamp? I was also thinking of painting the coffee and side tables I have either a white or an espresso color. What is everyone on here's suggestions?
PS - The art hanging way high was up there because I was going to wall mount a much bigger TV right below it and decided not to in the end.
Get a different rug that is brighter in color
move the painting lower and add additional colorful paintings on the wall
get accessories such as pillows and throws that are brighter colors
put up curtains that are bright colors
add a few plants, my preference is fake but I usually go with none
If brightening is the goal, I would paint the walls a very pale, misty blue. Think Cape Cod and the ocean.
The pre existing white shutters, white stair case, and white tile floor would go well with this color. Get rid of the plastic tv stand and the coffee table, and replace with some white painted furniture pieces to tie in with the white floor, windows and stairs.
I would throw lighter slip covers over those ultra modern, masculine, dark, cube chairs, and add accent pillows with whites, blues and browns in the pattern, to the brown side sofas.
These rooms may not be your style, but they can give you an idea of how the blue/white/brown color palette can work together with all the brown and white you already have. These rooms contain all the elements you already have to work with, the dark woods floors, the light tile floors, the dark brown couches and the white painted trim. You are only missing the accents and wall color:
You have way too much brown leather. You do not mention replacing any of the furniture, so not sure how to help you.
Bmachina's suggestions are what I would do, if you can swap out some of the brown leather for something else. You are forbidden to buy anything else that is brown.
All the above. If nothing major is in your budget I would buy a couple of throws that have a lot of color and drape them over a couple of the pieces. Pillows for sure. Not normally something I would really go for, but if you can't buy new stuff and don't want to paint it will add a little pop to the room. Above all that picture needs to be moved down.
You have way too much brown leather. You do not mention replacing any of the furniture, so not sure how to help you.
Bmachina's suggestions are what I would do, if you can swap out some of the brown leather for something else. You are forbidden to buy anything else that is brown.
There's way too much furniture in that small room. Edit something out.
I agree with this totally.
RED RUG, PREFERABLY A PATTERNED ONE, AND TABLES WITH WROUGHT IRON LEGS AND INTERESTING TOPS THAT ARE NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT ANY VERSION OF BROWN. You definitely also need some lamps and indirect lighting - nothing with brown shades though!!!!
I really, really prefer a patterned rug over a solid color - you can do one with plenty of color in it and red would be one of the colors I'd use - or deep orange, deep blue, deep green or a combo of those colors.
I would move the sofa to where the two darker chairs are, put a small end table on either end, and then move the two dark chairs to either side at right angles, and take out the love seat entirely. I would also go ROUND on the coffee table rather than another square or rectangular piece of furniture. I'd strongly consider a FABRIC cocktail ottoman, with colors other than brown - reds, greens, yellows, blues, just about anything bright and rich and UNBROWN. I'd pull out some of those colors with throw pillows.
What are the colors in the artwork you're going to hang?
Finally - sorry but the TV is too small. If you can't or don't want to go larger, consider a cabinet around it or consider putting it on a larger, more interesting console (think Pier 1 if budget is an issue - they have some fabulous painted pieces specifically for TVs).
What do you guys think of doing something like this in the room (layout wise)?
I apparently have way too much brown in both of my living rooms haha. I guess I'd mistakenly figured that brown leather = masculine so I didn't need other colors.
I will be buying a larger rug and moving this rug to my other room. The size rug (8x10) reduces the room size a lot and the room isn't that small (it's 12x18) so I will be moving this rug to the other room and getting a larger rug (the one in the design above is 9x12 that is much lighter in color or maybe red as someone here suggested.
I will actually be getting a new TV and TV cabinet. The new TV will be 60-70" so it will be much larger. What color should I go there? I'd guess a dark brown wood one would not be a good idea lol.
Try putting the TV at an angle in the corner between the entry hall and the living room window with the sofa along the wall where the TV is currently located and the chairs where the love seat used to be.
I like the chairs angled with an end table between them. The coffee table should be in front of the sofa.
If you move the TV to where I suggest, you'll be able to watch it from any seat. The room will look better than to have a small TV looking lonely on that huge wall.
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