Christi's Living Room

 wi 

Hi Christine:
Need your expertise.
Living Room is 19 x 21
Want it to be comfortable but have a WOW! factor is it's right of the foyer and my largest room for entertaining.
 
Questions:
1. Let me know what you think of current arrangement
2. Do you have recommendations on how to make it a bit more comfortable. Should I change out sofa's/seating?
3. How can I make the room look complete? Draperies? Rug? Suggestions? I can not wed to blue theme shown in pillows
4. Any way to create multiple conversation areas?
 - Christi

Christi- Let me start by saying that you have a beautiful home.  I love the lightness in the room. 

         Let's discuss 4 things:

1.  Furniture arrangement.  Move your coffee table to be square- not set on a diagonal.  It is possible that the table is too small for the area.  You have a very large room- consider more of an oversized, or set of two coffee tables.  In the meantime, set it straight and center it with your fireplace.  Your fireplace is your focal point.  Frame it as you would a painting, with your furnishings.  Your sofa and backless sofa are great- except- switch locations.  Having the backless sofa closer to the view optimizes the view.  Your windows are beautiful.  They are a secondary focal point.  Have the sofa with a back facing them.  Have the two pieces of furniture equidistant from the center of the fireplace.  Be more symmetrical in your arrangement.  I would do this by widening the furniture arrangement.  Put two chairs opposite the fireplace, where you currently have one.  You could use larger chairs in this space.  I still like your smaller chairs in the corners, where you have them. 

2.  Wall decor.  I have been staring at your mantle.  I like the topiaries.  I like the two candles.  I don't like the line-up using all of them.  Pick your favorite of the two- and find a new home for the others.  I would also add a piece of wall decor above the fireplace.  Make it even more of a focal point.  The metal trees below are from Uttermost, and are 32 x 53- I am just guessing your dimensions- but this is probably a good proportion for your space. 

 Don't worry about having a bit of overlap with your upper moldings.  Also- overlap the decor on your mantle (the topiaries or candles) with your wall decor, i.e.  don't keep those candles way out there on the end.  If you keep them, bring them in to overlap a bit. 

Your set of four botanicals are hung too high.  Bring the center of them to about 5'5" from the floor.  I love your other piece of art and it is hung at a great height.

3.  Your room needs a rug to feel more grounded and finished.  You don't seem to be terribly committed to your blue.  Perhaps you want to maintain the neutral nature of the room, allowing you to change it up with the season.  Keep that neutrality in your rug.  The rug below is from Room and Board.  A sisal rug would also work very well.  Get a nice large rug- like a 10 x 13 for your size of room.  It is always tempting to go smaller, for a smaller price- but it shrinks the room, and is a bad idea.   

4.  Drapery panels will help to finish off the space.  If you want some sun protection, or privacy, layer them with some roller or Roman shades.  I would look for unique textures, but keep the softness of the low contrast in the room, selecting a light neutral color like the drapes below.  This also keeps the eye on the prize- the view.  The drapes add texture and such a great finishing touch.

 Thanks for writing in, Christi, you are off to a great start.  In addition to what I mentioned above- add more greenery - some nice large floor plants with uplights. 

Q. and A. Period- Ottomans and Coffee Tables

Ottomans and coffee tables. Can you have both? When do you do an ottoman and when to you do a coffee table?
- Aly sun

Aly sun,

Start by taking this quiz:

1. Do you have other hard tables in the room?

2. Do you have fewer than three patterns in the room?

3. Would you increase your textural variety the most with a coffee table or ottoman?

4. Would your use of the room be most enhanced with a coffee table or ottoman?

So- starting with #1- Do you have other hard tables in the room? If you do not- use a coffee table. You will add variety in your surfaces this way.

#2- Do you have fewer than three patterns in the room? If this is the case- an ottoman can be an opportunity to add pattern.

#3- Would you increase your textural variety the most with a coffee table or ottoman? Remember that coffee tables can be wood, metal, glass, ceramic, wicker... Do you have all leather furniture? Perhaps the textural variety you need is in a fabric ottoman...

#4. Would the use of your room be most enhanced with a coffee table or ottoman? Are you more likely to want to set a glass down, eat lunch and play chess at your coffee table, or do you want a soft place to put your feet up?

Can you use both? Of course. I posted a number of photos where there are ottomans and coffee tables. In larger rooms- this is a great way to fill space. Make sure you leave ample room for walking through the room- sometimes there simply isn't room for both. There are, of course, tables with ottomans below them for situations like that.

So- what kind of person are you? A coffee table person? An ottoman gal? Sometimes the decision is also made by trying for a certain style. Take the room above for example. There is an airy feminine feel to it that is enhanced more by mauve ottomans than a coffee table.

Check out this room above- a sofa, four chairs, two matching- two not, a coffee table, two small and one large ottoman, a sectional, and four non-matching occasional tables. I look at rooms like this and wonder if they were designed this way- or emerged over time. What do you think? Do you like the eclectic nature of it? Is it too much for you?

Small Items Create Large Scale Wall Decor

My new April Veranda magazine had this great room in it. Like I mentioned the other day- I am continually looking for good solutions for large scale wall decor. I liked this shelving system a lot. I can imagine the look duplicated in a number of different styles and color combinations. What do you think? Notice too the castings of Roman capitals used as a coffee table. This room is rich in texture, high in contrast, and sophisticated in pattern.

Fabulous Fun Funky

Hi Christine,

Well here are some photos of my family room. The bar has changed .I have gotten rid of the bar mirrors and put one large mirror behind it. I don't have a photo to show you. My husband is capable of building anything.

I have also bought a round table to put where the Xmas tree is. Thought I'd paint that black.
Let's see what you think before I ramble on any more.
I'd really like to glam up the room.
Kind Regards
Karen.

Dear Karen,
You have a lot going for you in this room. With brick walls, a paneled ceiling and built-ins- you have a lot of character. However- the character needs some updating.

1. If you read my blog, you have heard me sing the praises of brick walls. However- you have a couple of things working against yours. First of all- the color is outdated- the brick is dirty by the fireplace- it is too dark and drab. Secondly- readers might have to look closely to notice- but your flooring is the size and shape of brick as well. That is a scale issue. The repetition of the size and shape is just too much on both the walls and floor. And so- I am suggesting you paint your brick. I would use an off white- pull the color from the drapes that I will suggest later in the post. You will still get the texture from the brick- which is great- but with the walls painted- you won't have a better scale comparison with your flooring.

2. Paint the ceiling. I am suggesting a blue color like Sherwin Williams Quietude 6212. I would paint your built-ins the same color. (Trust me- it will look blue)

3. Get a large soft flokati rug- like this one from IKEA- to soften the hard surfaces in the room.
4. For furniture- I would use gray chairs (no sofa- just a group of chairs) like this one from West Elm- (Ignore the striped pillow). Instead- use a pillow like this one from Unison.
5. Your curtains are the unifier in this room. These are from Anthropologie and have all the colors in a great bold pattern. I love the patterns from Anthropolgie- but I don't think they are lined. I would have them lined if they are not- and weighted. All drapes that are not sheers should be lined and weighted. I figure if I say that in every post- people will get the picture. :)
6. For a coffee table- check out the bright yellow piece at the top of the post from Cottage and Bungalow. What a great conversation piece!

I can't get a good feel for furniture placement in your room- but I'll tell you a couple of things. Don't have your phone booth right by the refrigerator. Move it over to where the Christmas Tree is- or another well scaled wall. The phone booth is a cool piece- but loses its impact when put right next to the refrigerator.

When you have little bricks all over the wall- you don't want little things decorating it. A large mirror was a good idea. Find larger items for your other wall as well. For example- you could hang a rug- like the one from the top of the post on your wall- (Johnathon Adler- Squares). The juxtaposition of soft and rough would be great.

So- there you go- can you see it coming together? What’s your vote?
a. Too Crazy
b. Too Bright
c. Fabulous!

Cool New Source

Some sitting areas need a rectangular coffee table- some need a square- and others- need an odd shape- I found the perfect one for those situations- it is the Bolle table by Living Divani. Totally unique- different- a terrific look.

The same line also has this wonderful sofa- the Box Lounge sofa is definitely modern in style- but would work so nicely in many more traditional settings. I love the combination of the slip cover styling with the metal legs. Timeless.

What do you think? Make it or break it?