Liz's Living Room

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Hello Christine,

I was so happy to find your blog.  I would love your advice for my house.  We just finished a green remodel of our house.  We are currently looking to furnish the great room.  I was hoping to find 2 chairs to face the sofa with a coffee table for the center.  I really like this coffee table.. but it seems it's only 17 inches tall and 16 inches wide.  I think it pulls in the exposed beam in the ceiling.  I really want something without sharp edges or glass ( I have a 18 month old).   I was thinking that it might be best to get 2 chairs with a bold (yet not overpowering) pattern... maybe a dark teal damask or something.  Have you seen any reasonably priced accent chairs anywhere?  I have used all Benjamin Moore colors for the walls.  The great room is painted "Mellowed Ivory".  The office through the french doors is "Mill Springs Blue", and the family room is "Palladian blue".  All trim, doors, and ceilings are "White Dove".  I have attached pictures.

- Liz

Hi Liz.  First let me address the coffee table.  It is too small.  You could get two of them - but I would not do that if you get two chairs.  The two and two thing is less than ideal.  It also looks pretty "ouchy" for an 18 month old.  :) 

Consider instead a tufted ottoman.  They are tight enough to add a tray for beverages, but soft enough to learn how to walk around.  (overstock.com)

 I do appreciate your idea of repeating te finish on the beams- but you can do that in and end table, and/ or accessories, like this tray from Uttermost:

Now for your two chairs.  Teal damask is pretty specific.  Even just Teal is hard to find in a pre-made chair.  That would be no problem if you had not added the phrase "reasonably priced."  You could always have a fabulous set of chairs made for you in a fabulous fabric like the one below from Lee Jofa:- but you might not consider that "reasonably priced". 

 I tried to find some well priced chairs for you- without a lot of luck.  The one below is definitely more of a turquoise.    

This chair is from CSNSofa.com.  $249.  I found this manufacturer when I had a client interersted in a chair in the Macy's furniture showroom.  The chair had a name on it- the Jasmine Chair.  I thought I'd google it and sure enough I found the same chair from CSN for a much lower price. It iwas a very comfortable chair by the way- and a fun style:  (but doesn't come in teal)

I also like to check out homedecorator.com  I liked this chair quite a bit:

The leaves do have a teal:

I am far from an expert on great sources with low prices.  I am more of an expert on fabulous sources and who cares what the price is. So- here is where I'd like some help from all of you- if someone asked you where to find a great chair at a reasonable price- where would you send them?  What are your favorite sources?  Let's share.  :) 

Lauren's New Home Part III

Today's post is a continuation of the last two on Lauren's new house. I had a few more thoughts for her today. I found a new rug option for her today. From- Crate and Barrel- the Sash Rug has it all- It has white, terra cotta and blue. There you go- you can look no further.

Secondly- furniture. I did not like the way the previous owner used a sectional in that room. Ideally the furniture would frame and face the focal point- and the sectional put it more off center than I like to see. I would use a sofa and have it right in front of the fireplace/TV alcove. (I wold do a built-in for the TV.) This will give you enough room to walk around the sofa on both sides. Add some chairs that bring in texture like the ones above from West Elm. I also like the idea of using a white slip cover on them. Your white cabinets will stand out more when you paint your walls- and repeating the white will make it stand out in a good way instead of a bad way. Small slip covers are easy to wash and not terribly expensive to replace. Use a nice long sofa - take advantage of the size of the room. The one above is from Pottery Barn. Pull in some more pattern with throw pillows that pull on your wall color and rug colors.

I have been giving your counters some more thought- and this is what you should do. Use the Silver Siena slab on the backsplash. The white in it will work great with your cabinets- but at the same time will give you color and contrast. I would use your stone here to pull out your paint color for the room- a nice neutral warm gray- with a hint of blue. I woulld look at Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray, Oyster Bay and Sea Salt. Remember- everything else first- then the paint color.

For your counters- use wood. You don't have wood floors, or wood cabinets- yours is the perfect room for wood counters. It adds warmth and charm so much more than granite or other solid surfaces. Sure there's maintenance- but sometimes it is worth it. Houses have maintenance- let's face it.

You have a tiny little three pendant light in your family room. What is up with the size of that? The nice part is you have the wiring for a better sized fixture- like the pendant light above from Lamps Plus.

Find a nice narrow table for your dining area- and bring in some warmth using a bench on the window side and then a couple of upholstered chairs on the other side- like the ones below from Crate and Barrel. You could go red and bring in some red accents- or keep it more neutral and go brown leather.

For your barstools- I would go backless. You want something that will slide under the bar and get out of the way. The stool below is from Sundance.

Congratualtions on your new home Lauren. Don't go off making your own decisions now- just do what I said to. :)

XOXO

Christine

Maryann's Family Room

Hi Christine,
Wow! Thanks for what you do. I really could use some advice for my family room. Starting with the basics: paint color, window treatments and furniture layout, etc. The upholstered furniture and carpet are very worn and need to be replaced. I tend to choose classic simple pieces. I gravitate towards greens, browns, purples, red and dark wood. I’d like to have the fireplace stand out. I’m also stuck with what to do on the left wall.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Maryann

Hi Maryann,

The first step I would take is to decide what furniture layout you want. For this, draw a "to scale" floorplan of your room, and try out a couple of different options.

Currently you have a sofa and two chairs; perhaps you have room for four chairs.

Try chairs of different sizes. I figure out exactly what size would look best on paper- and then go find that size of chair. This helps you to not have chairs that are too small or too large for the room. I also keep in mind if this is a "lounge chair" or a decorative chair. For lounge chairs I like to have at least 36 inches of depth with a tight back, and 38 inches with a pillow back (generally speaking).

Maybe you would like the two sofa look instead...

This goes for deciding your quantity and size of tables as well. You can check yourself with some blue masking tape on the floor to make sure that you have given yourself sufficient walk spaces.

Maybe you have room for two sofas and two chairs. Ask yourself how many people you want to seat in the room- and then see if it will work.

Then you need to start somewhere- perhaps you will find a chair and fall in love with it... maybe it will be a fabric for your drapes... you need an inspiration piece to chart your color pallet and path. I wouldn't try to fit both red and purple in the room. (chair from Horchow)

After you have a fabric to work with- it will be more clear to find others that coordinate. This is a drapery fabric from Beacon Hill. Have your panels- four on the large wall of windows- and the two on the wall with the TV- all hang at the same taller height. Layer your window treatments with woven woods or a solid color Roman shade. I would pull out the dark neutral khaki shade for a carpet color- or better yet- continue with your stone floors and put in an area rug. (is that Jerusalem Gold limestone?) The rug at the top of the post is from Homedecorator.com.

Add your sofa. Vary different textures in your selections. (sofa from Horchow)

After you have made these selections, it is time to select your wall color. If you want your fireplace to "stand out" like you mentioned- you will go with a high contrast in color. With the light colored stone- you would use a darker color on the wall. After you have fabrics- you have something to match paint samples to.

It looks to me like your sofa is pushed up against the pony wall. I would push everything closer to the TV- pulling your furniture into the room. What to do with the left wall??? It looks to me like your door and stereo components are filling what I can see- but you do need some art and wall decor in your room.

You have a beautiful home- it will look great!

Thanks,
Christine

The Chair Mix

Christine,
What is your take on switching out two of the craftsman intercon quartersawn white oak dining room arm chairs to something that is upholstered and more contemporary and keeping two of the craftsman side chairs without arms (they have leather seats)? The table we love, the two side chairs w/o arms we love as well but would like something more contemporary in that space, more pattern, more color. What style would complement? Or maybe you think we need to keep things as they are and play up something else?

Thanks for all your help! Best, Cheryl

I love it. I am going to give you a couple of pointers to hep you do it right- with your dining set. These two Pottery Barn chairs would work great. A simple slipcoverd look is hard to go wrong with - you could even have a pattern in your slipcover fabric. The leather below would also work great.

The Bernhardt chair below is another good style to mix with your Mission, although maybe not as "modern" as you described wanting to go.

Maintain your level of formality. The chair below is a beautiful chair (from Bernhardt) - but too formal to mix with your Mission style set.

Don't try to go too modern - your house can't pull it off. Super modern just wouldn't mix at all with your set. (chair below from CB2)

If you were adding end chairs to a rectangular table - going taller is great - but in your case - keep your height to within a few inches of each other - and your scale similar. There you go - have fun! Shake up your look with some new chairs!

Post Script:

Christine,
I investigated the Parson Chair on the Pottery Barn website (thanks for that post!) – good to know we’re thinking along the same lines. I have three questions if you don’t mind me asking. I so want to make a good decision here because I’ve so messed up the dining room purchase. Read on . . .
1) Do you think Restoration Hardware would have it over Pottery Barn dining furniture in terms of quality? I tried out the Parsons Chair at RH in weathered oak (http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/category/category_sub_w_products.jsp?categoryId=cat1675021&navAction=jump&link=link=ci_hudson_parsons_dining_chair_collection&cm_re=CI-_-CategoryImage-_-HudsonParsonsDiningChair ) and they seem like solid chairs. Pottery Barn in Spokane didn’t have any floor samples that day I was in, only all wood chairs. You may know someone with PB chairs; I don’t.
2) For the RH Parson’s Chair (or PB Parson’s Chair) – not sure if there’s a great advantage to ordering arm chairs vs side chair. Style-wise, where do you weigh in?
3) Last question, for the RH Parson’s chair above, thinking of going flax linen. Too bland? Linen too ify in terms of care and wrinkling?
What we have is the round table, 4 arm chairs (yes, four), 2 side chairs—all in the craftsman style as the pictures show. Eight months old. Really don’t need the 4 arm chairs and really don’t care for them. But I got a close-out sale on the set (will never do that again . . .). I can try to sell the 2-4 of the arm chairs and give myself some slack for making not such a great decision there. But I want to do way better next time. All our children are grown but we have family dinners here as two of our kids and their families live close by (and we have friends in) and of course everyone is home for the holidays. I keep my four year old grandson 2x/week so I have little hands all over everything and welcome it.

That’s where I am. We live in the west (Idaho). You are right on the mark – can do contemporary lines (as in clean lines) but watch the too modern look! I like classic contemporary lines, furniture that won’t get dated and can be enjoyed for years to come. I do love the round table and the two side chairs so that is something at least!

Best, Cheryl

Cheryl,

Yes- I think Restoration Hardware is better quality furniture. Why do I think that? A Restoration Hardware salesperson convinced me of it years ago. I also think they are larger and more substantial. And I have always felt like they "look" like a better quality. I actually have the exact Restoration Hardware chair that you are you looking at in my own home. I have six of them around my kitchen table - I have had them for about 6 years - they have been great.

You could really go either way on the arm vs side chair. I lean a little toward the arm - with your other two being arm chairs.

Linen in general is not the most durable of fabrics... I would want to go feel it and see how tightly woven it is. Also consider your family - are you dealing with small children? How durable do you need to be? I had to have slipcovers made for mine about two years after I purchased them - as they got water spots from where I had to clean them. But keep in mind that I have small children. Also consider that if you have slip covers made, the side chair will be easier than the arm chair, and Pottery barn is easier than both, as they sell them pre-made. I was surprised to not find slip covers for sale from Restoration Hardware. I still keep hoping they will start carrying them, as mine are about ready to need to be replaced...

Good Luck!

Christine

Cool New Chair

I have a tendency to love the super- expensive- so when I came across these fabulous chairs- for only $99 from West Elm- I wanted to share :). They're cool huh?