The Cozy Factor

 Hi Christine,

I've been faithfully following your blog, and I've read every single post you have written.

I am a desperate woman, in dire need of your blunt help with my family room.

This is our main room for TV watching and entertaining, and I kind of hate it. It does not feel cozy or balanced to me.

We ripped up the carpet and put down the hardwoods to match the existing that was everywhere else in house.  I removed the 8 x 11 rug I had in there (this one), as I wanted something a bit bigger and not so brown. I like traditional Persian and oushak rugs; however I don't want a red-dominant one.  My very patient husband has driven me all over NY, NJ and CT the last few months to go rug shopping. I've not found any Persians I'm overly keen on, so I was considering a seagrass rug and then punching up the pattern by replacing the linen drapes with something graphic (something like this? , or maybe this? ). I know you like a minimum of 3 in a room.

 I thought you might tell me to put the TV on the fireplace. We tried that, and it was too high and hurting our eyes.

I plan on removing existing vertical blinds left by previous homeowner and installing Roman shades, probably in a woven. If you want me to keep the flax linen drapes, I will have them hemmed and weighted, and also get a longer rod to increase the stack off to the side of the windows.

The only thing I really like in this room are the Greek key pillows I had made.

I was planning on having the armchairs reupholstered in something very graphic. I am at a loss on what to do with the huge wall behind couch. I have a 6.5ft long mirror I was considering, but that still doesn't take up the length of the wall.

My house is a traditional New England colonial, and the rest of my house is done in greys, taupes and blues. Those, along with light green, are the colors I gravitate towards. I'm including some photos of our living room (the blue room, or where our furniture goes to die) in case you want to tell me to use any of this furniture in the family room. The living room is currently a TV/train table room for the kids until we finish the basement. It will be dealt with at a later time.

I am excellent at following directions, and I hope that you can help me. I promise to take pictures and show you what I've done.

Cheers, and thank you ever so much,
Laura

Hi Laura,

Your wood floors are beautiful!  Good move!

I want to address three things with you that will make all the difference in the room:

1.  Your TV

2.  Your big blank wall

3.  The Cozy Factor  (or lack of it)

Let's start with your television.  Yes, it's true that the first thing I would say is, put it above the fireplace or move it to a different room.  So- now that it is staying in this room, and not above the fireplace, I do have another plan for you.  What is really wrong with having it like it is, is your rhythm.  It is very poor rhythm the way it is.  To improve that, I added two large shelves, and set it on an angle on one of them.  The height of the shelves (from Dovetail), gives a different type of rhythm and balance to the wall.  Is it as perfect as no TV at all?  No- but it is a good solution that doesn't sacrifice your furniture arrangement and balance that I am trying to achieve in the space.  Number 2- that big wall.  You have two ways of dealing with the large empty wall.  First, you could have a large collection of wall decor.  One large mirror will not do the trick.  It would still be out of scale with the massive size of the wall.  Or, secondly, you could add furniture to the wall.  When you do this, you change the scale for the wall decor.  Instead of having a relationship with the wall it is on, the wall decor now has a relationship with the furniture that it is over. The piece below is 94 inches in length.  That is great.  With that said, your furniture should have a scale relationship with the wall.  I did this by using a very long buffet table, and then also adding two sconces on either side. 

Do you see how I took you from having to cover 240 inches of wall down to about 70 inches?  You're welcome. 

Now for the cozy factor.  Your room is not cozy because:

First of all, your furniture is too small.  Get larger, taller furniture.  I selected a couple of pieces for you from Bernhardt.  Nothing is cozier than a wing back.  It's like you're being hugged as you sit there.

I also selected for you a sofa that is a larger scale than your current one, and with a softer fabric, and a higher back and arm.  The larger size with be a better scale for the room, taking away the awkward "I'm too small" look that you have. 

I also added two large ottomans for the center.  They push right together to look like one.  An oversized ottoman, or oversized coffee table, could serve the same purpose.  However, you would pay quite a bit more generally for an oversized piece.  Using two is sometimes a cost saver. 

This is the Ulster ottoman from Bernhardt.

Secondly, the scale of the patterns in the room make a difference as well.  Larger patterns in darker colors brings a large room in.  I just went off your pillows and selected a rug and fabric for you.  This rug is from Uttermost:

Of course, sometimes a rug is like a piece of art, and you might want to stumble upon the one that is perfect for you.  Either way, you could get a jute or sisal rug,  (9 x 12) and then later layer a patterned rug on top of it in an 8 x 10.  When you are purchasing a very expensive rug, this can save you thousands of dollars.  It also increases your textural variety, and can buy you time if you want to take your time on the second rug. 

I would not use your soft fabric on the drapes.  The bolder option you had selected is alright.  I also found one from Lee Jofa for you. 

Again, the bolder print will make your large room come in closer. 

Texture is the third aspect that will make a room cozier.  Ramp up your texture in your rugs, woven wood Roman shades layered with a textured drapery fabric, soft upholstery fabrics and plants.  Wallpaper would also be a terrific addition.

A few more additions:

A bench for under your window.  This gives the room a good rhythm, as well as additional seating.  It can be pulled around to the front of the fireplace for a boxed seating arrangement with a larger gathering.

A blue lamp.  Repeat the blue a couple more times to make it really work great in the room. 

I added the blue lamp on a sofa table behind one of your sofas.  Remember that good lighting also makes a room feel cozy.

(table from Dovetail)

You will need a few more lamps in that large room.  I added some buffet lamps on the console, and a floor lamp.

(lamps are from Uttermost)

Here you go- see it all put together:

Where to put that darn TV?

Hey Christine,

 

I've scoured your blog, which I love and get new ideas for our home all the time.  It's helped me pick out new paint for under our chair rail, rearrange furniture, and pick a rug before deciding on a color scheme.  The one thing I can't figure out is where to put our TV. 

 

Two days ago we bought a TV and wall mount.  Now that we have cable hooked up, we have to decide where to put the TV.  Personally, I HATE TVs over the fireplace.  This wouldn't work for us anyway, as this is the one TV in the house, and our little boys play video games on the floor and have sleepovers, watching movies in their sleeping bags. 

 

The most logical (and easiest way to run the cable cord) is to put the TV on the wall across from the fireplace.  However, the recliner (overlook the old upholstery) and couch would be facing perpendicular to the TV, making watching a movie uncomfortable. 

- Carrie

Hi Carrie,

Your fireplace is a strong architectural focal point.  I would not even consider putting the TV opposite it.  It would create such a split that the room would never feel right. 

As I see it you have three options.

1.  Put the TV over the fireplace, which you said you didn't want- but it is the best layout for your room, keeping one centralized focal point.  In a room that is not large, making two focal points and still making it a perfect room is hard to do. 

2.  Move the TV to a different room.  This might sound extreme, but it is what I did in my home.  I made my family room my living room and my living room my family room, becasue my family room had a fireplace, and my living room does not have one.  I couldn't stand the TV next to the fireplace, and the mantle was too high to hang it above, nor did I really want it there, like you.   I avoided the fireplace/ TV face-off entirely.

3.  A third option would be to put it to the side of the fireplace, but in a manner that is balanced.  One way to do that is with a large built-in wall unit across the whole wall.  Another way would be to add two open bookcase units, (one on either side of the fireplace) like the one below, and add a TV on one, making it subtle, so as to not compete too much with the fireplace.  Your sofa should be parallel  to the fireplace, not perpendicular.  Your chairs are too weak in visual weight to balance it otherwise.  It would also be the most comfortable TV angle.  What you really could use are two larger chairs and a larger coffee table.  Also- the burgundy and the leather don't work together.  I would pull out the slate blue in the rug.

(chair from bernhardt)

Have a good time watching the Olympics on your new TV.  Go USA!  Anyone out ther cheering for a different team? 

It's a Prize Post, it's a test, it's advice for Cara

Christine,

Good afternoon!  I was thrilled when I stumbled upon your blog.  My husband and I were married 3 months ago and recently moved into our first home.  Because we are in our early twenties, neither of us have much furniture to contribute to the house.  All that to say, we are trying to take it project by project and room by room until our dream house is complete!  :)

Here are a list of design questions I was hoping you could help me with (pictures are coming in separate emails because I had to use my iPhone...sorry!):

• There's a lot of empty space (wall space included) in our family room.  Ideas?
• I don't like the current light fixtures on our fireplace.  I'm not sure if I want to replace them with new fixtures or take advantage of the fact that electricity already runs behind our fireplace and do something altogether different with the light.
• Should I add a mantle to the fireplace?  If so, what do you suggest (height, depth, style, color, etc.)?
• I've seen pictures, online, of people putting candles different sizes and heights in their fireplace during the non-winter months.  Do you like that idea?
• We are planning on selling the current couch and coffee table, but I'm not sure what kind of furniture I want to buy next.  We have the issue of the fireplace and TV competing for the spotlight in the room.  What kind of furniture (placement included) would you suggest?
• Do you like the arrangement of frames, books, and nicknacks on the media stand?  If not, what do you suggest?

Thanks SO much for your ideas and time.  You're a lifesaver!

1.   First you need to start with your furniture arrangement.  This split focal point of the TV and fireplace is such a disease in homes these days. I would start by walking around the home and looking at every room with fresh eyes- can you move the TV to an entirely different room?   That would be my first suggestion.  An ideal arrangement would have no TV in there at all.   Now is when I am starting to feel like I have addressed this before- which I have- check out this post.  My advice for you is the same.

2.  I saw this photo on pintrist and thought of you.  I especially liked it because it showed the look with sconces.

Now to address the question- "Should I add a mantle to the fireplace?  If so, what do you suggest (height, depth, style, color, etc.)?"   

Let me list some considerations.

1.  Height- well- if you are going to use the area over the fireplace for a television- you are going to want to make sure you are not too high.  You also don't want it to be awkwardly low in an effort to give you a comfortable television height.  Determine what your comfortable height is, and decide if you should have one from there.

2.  Height if there is no television to consider.  I would then select my art work first, decide the optimum height to hang it, centering the sconces as best as I could, and that would determine your height.

3.  Depth.  Now- if you are hanging a television- keep your depth minimal.  If not- consider how you intend to decorate the mantle.  If your mantle is not deep enough, you won't be able to do a lot of layering with your accessories. It will be more simplistic.  I have seen many times people who have a shallow mantle, try to put a lot of accessories on it, but if it is too shallow- they end up in a little row, instead of nice layered arrangement. 

Long time readers of my blog have read my addressing this before- so instead of regurgitating, I thought I would give you all a little test.  I will post some different fireplace photos.  I want you to determine which are poor examples, and which are good examples.  See- I am turning you all into interior designers.  Don't be fooled- just because the photo is clearly from House Beautiful- doesn't mean it is a good example.  When you have learned all I have to share with you- you will be better designers than those being photographed in popular magazines. 

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So- I have fourteen photos- seven bad and seven good.  To study up- you can look at these posts for guidance.  Is this too much work?  Is anyone going to take my test?  Someone out there humor me and take the test!  Forget your plans for the day and spend it picking apart fireplace mantle arrangements.  Tell me that's not more fun than what you had planned!  For a little encouragement- I will send the winner the latest copy of Elegant Homes magazine.  It is full of fabulous examples of great design.  (FYI- the number of each photo is ABOVE the photo.)

The Television / Fireplace Face-off

I know that I have been a lousy blogger lately.  My kids' end of the year stuff has me running!  Kindergarten graduation, plays, recitals, jog-a thons- end of year parties...  the list goes on and on.  Combining that with my regular work, and I am not making it over to the blog...  Only a couple more days of school.  Today's post is a follow-up on Cindy's - see this dining room post.  Today I wanted to tackle her family room. 

I have a beef with the architects out there that try to put a TV and a fireplace in the same room.  Every time you have a split focal point- you have what I would consider a non-ideal situation.  Why can't we just have the fireplace in the living room and the television in the family room? 

When there is no fireplace to compete with, a TV room is great- you know what direction to face the furniture- we have a single focal point- it's great.

Putting the television above the fireplace is nice for a few reasons.  First of all- you still are working with a single focal point- which is a big deal.  However- it loses the romance of the fireplace entirely.  Also- this requires the television to be hung much higher than the ideal viewing height.

Some rooms allow for you to have it to the side- sometimes I like it- but I do feel like usually it creates a competition for attention with the fireplace.  Still- it is a good idea- especially if the TV is not too big.

There is something in me that says- there really should be a lovely piece of art above that fireplace...

SO- what about for you, Cindy? 

Option 1- Your best furniture placement will be with the television above the fireplace.  You can always angle it downward for better viewing.  You could have a nice large comfy sofa, and add a couple of great chairs to flank the fireplace.  Or you could get a large L-shaped sectional- and have it where your entertainment center and current sofa are.  To this, add two chairs (not too small- we need balance)- where your recliner is currently.  You could also have builtins next to the fireplace and move the television over there.  (your TV might be too large for that).

Option 2- Keep the television on the wall where it is currently.  With a split focal point, you want a good L-shaped seating arrangement that is balanced.  Currently, you don't have a balance.  The sofa facing the fireplace is a stronger piece than the chairs facing the TV.  Do this with two sofas, a sectional with two equal sides, or a sofa with two chairs that are large enough to really balance the sofa.

You need to ask yourself, how may people watch television at a time?  If the number is high- go with option 1.  However- too large a TV will force you into option 2...  These are decisions that I cannot make for you.  :)  Let me know what direction you want to go- and I can direct you more.

Thanks,

Christine

photos from House Beautiful