Would greatly appreciate advice on redesigning living room

[nuts2uiam]

You can achieve the "dark" by using lined drapes or blackout curtains (or shades). A dark wall color, as others have suggested and since you don't mention a tv, I will skip that. I would build or have built bookcases made proportional to the wall you plan on placing them. A lighter rug or else with the dark walls and drapes it will resemble a dungeon. I would place the pain in the room it is in now and add a conversational seating area near the bottom portion of your drawing.

You did not not ask but personally I find nothing sexy about the description you offered so I am sure I was not too much help at all.

[silibran]

To me it doesn't look like you really have room to put to recliners in front of the fireplace. I agree that the fireplace could be pushed outside, and your room would function so, so much better. Others have recommended the dark woods and dark wall tones, which will get you what you want. If you keep the fireplace which takes up a ton of floor space, I'd say you should concentrate on the fuller part of the room, and put your book shelves there, and fit your seating in there. You didn't give dimensions, so I can't say that you really have room for those things there. If not, you could put your shelves in the skinnier part of the room, keep the fireplace where it is, and put the recliners in the fuller part.

The fireplace really messes up the functionality of the room. You can't enjoy it because of where it is and how much floor space it take up. Honestly, I'd get rid of it, if possible, or move it back, as one other poster suggested, if financially feasible. Yes, it will be expensive, but I don't see how to fix the floor plan as it is.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by LivingRoomRedesign

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Hello all,

My girlfriend and I want to redesign our barely-used living room off our front door into a space that we would want to hang out in. Thank you in advance for your help and consideration. We greatly appreciate it.

The room receives barely any natural light as the north facing windows are half-frosted for security purposes and the only other windows, west/north facing, have their light source blocked by the neighboring houses. With that considered, we would like to turn the space into a purposefully dark and cozy (via the fireplace) library (lots of dark wood bookshelves), and we would love to be able to have a small bar there.

The layout is hard to work with (even with the couch removed, which we plan on doing). Again, we would love lots of bookshelves, maybe two large recliners positioned near the fireplace, the piano to stay, and a small bar/liquor shelf. We are not attached to anything existing in the room currently besides the piano and fireplace. We want it to be dark, sexy, cozy, academic. Any help related to furniture ideas/positioning, aesthetic themes, or other advice/resources would be greatly appreciated.

We are super excited!

Okay, I'm going to assume you don't want to move walls or fireplaces. So, this is what I think you need to do.

Create the illusion of a "wall" that is even with the fireplace, on either side of the fireplace, so the fireplace isn't sticking out into the room.

Facing the fireplace, I'd put the piano to the left of the fireplace (assuming your drawing is correct as far as that space being smaller than the space to the right of the fireplace). And put it so it is even with the front of the fireplace.

Facing the fireplace - To the right of the fireplace, I'd create a bar. So that you can get behind the bar from either side, put in a flip up counter on the left side of the bar. On the right side of the bar, you can walk around behind it. You'd want to leave a space at the end of the bar by the window. It would be too weird for the bar to go all the way to the window. So, the bar would go from the fireplace, ending maybe 3 feet from the window. You could put stools around the bar, if they'd fit. You should at least be able to put them in front of the bar.

Here's what I mean by the flip-up bar:

http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2011/04/29/8376267/LAS.jpg

What you want to do, is pull all of that space into one space even with the fireplace - so it's not disjointed into two rooms on either side of the fireplace.

So, I'd remove the chandelier in front of the fireplace. It separates the space.

I'd hang pendant lamps on both sides of the fireplace, even with the fireplace wall. You'd want the last pendant light to be at the end of the bar, so the window won't look wrong, since it's in the middle of that space. And pendants on the piano side, too. That way, you're defining your "wall" from above and below, and it gives you nice lighting. If you can put them on a dimmer with remote, it would be great.

A neon sign behind the bar might be fun. In fact, if you put one behind the piano, too, it would pull the space together, too.

This is kind of what I'm thinking of, and in this photo, you can also see some neon, so you can see my idea with that:

https://greyshft.files.wordpress.com...der1.jpg?w=529


I would put some huge, really cool artwork on the fireplace. You can have fun shopping for a large canvas artwork, or a big carving or old sign, etc.

I can't see your other walls, but I'm thinking to put your library on the side wall by the piano that has the door in it. Here's a photo with shelves built around a door, even:

http://www.myhomerocks.com/wp-conten...iving-room.jpg

I think separate recliners will break up the space, and that's what we're trying to avoid. So, a big brown leather sofa is what I'm thinking. Look for one with two recliners built into it. But, visually, you'd have one large sofa. And with the built-in recliners, you can put your feet up, but there's no ottoman taking up space. Like this:

https://www.furnitureoutletworld.com...w-console.html


Greys are popular colors right now. One option would be a dark gray, and I'd paint the trim brown like the colors in this photo:

https://spicesandspackledotcom.files...0339.jpg?w=615

And do all the trim and color of the bar to match the same color brown, if you can. And a brown couch. They don't have to match exactly, but I'd keep to the same tone of brown.

I would add a mantle to the fireplace. It would help to make it a more interesting focal point of the room and "center" the room, I think. You could also add some panels to it, to give it character, like the fireplace in this photo. But, I think I'd leave it plain above the mantle and just add a large canvas or other artwork piece there. A mantle would not be difficult to add. If you get one that stands on the floor, it's easier to put up than a floating one.

https://cdn.decorpad.com/photos/2012...0da22680c1.jpg

I also like the dark green with gray curtains in the above photo. Although, I think I'd go with gray roll up blinds instead of curtains for your room. Curtains would look too bulky, I think.

It looks like the ceiling is a medium gray, which I also really like. I wouldn't go with a white ceiling, but not as dark as the walls.

Either put no carpets down, or one long runner the length of the room. A carpet would make it cozier, no carpet would make it look bigger.

I think you can turn it into a great space. Have fun!