Some Guildance for Viki

Hi Christine,

I need help in the worst way.  I have been trying to figure out what to do with my family room and a friend suggested your website.   I have really enjoyed looking at your website.

Finally after 16 years I have convinced my husband to remove the wallpaper border from our kitchen.  That is where it all started.  We have an open floor plan -- the kitchen and breakfast room is open to our family room. I changed the curtains in the kitchen and want to coordinate the rooms.  So I changed the pillow.  We spent two years looking for the chairs -- he wanted recliners and I wanted oversize chairs with ottomans. 

We found recliners we both love.  But I can't figure out how to arrange my living room and now my walls look bare and boring.  I need advice because I have one shot at my husband to make changes.  He doesn't like to change things in the house - he is about function.
The table between the chairs is just until I find a table but can't seem to find anything.  And my room is long and has openings.  I am not sure how to arrange my furniture.

Can you help me?

Thank you
Viki

Hi Viki,

Let's start with your furniture arrangement.  Yeah- it is really bad.  I do like the wall you chose to put the TV on- I think that is probably the best wall unless you wanted to purchase a large wall unit.  I would also consider not having the TV in the room altogether.  If you had a single focal point- that is always ideal.  Or- the TV over the fireplace is another option.  I find the split focal point frustrating.  For now- my advice will include you leaving it where it is.

The sofa and love seat pushed up against opposite walls is definitely the worst part about your furniture arrangement.  Your room does not lend itself to a parallel grouping, and it is too wide to have the furniture against the walls.  Pull the furniture in, put the long sofa opposite the TV wall, add a console table to make it look good from the back.  Create a more intimate seating area by pulling the furniture away from the walls. 

Add a coffee table or two- not chocolate brown.  You have too much dark brown in your room already.    The addition of the coffee tables will help with your seriously horrible negative space.  Read about what I mean by negative space in these posts.

Your rug is disconnected with the brown furniture and the room in general.  Replace it with a rug that can act as more of a unifier.  The rug above is from Homedecorator.com

Your drapes at one end of the room are different from your drapes at the other end.  They should all be the same, even in a large open floorplan where the areas function as separate rooms.  The pattern above is from Waverly.  Your brown furniture is coming across more like you wanted a safe non-committal color.  You have brown furniture- so act like it is part of your color pallet in a stronger way. 

I would paint your walls a silver sage blue color.  Keep it light, keep it subdued. 

Remember scale, scale, scale on your wall decor.  Also, remember variety, variety, variety.  You have three pictures,  (you need variety)  and all of them are too small (you need better scale).  See my advice to Julie on scale.    You should have a variety of wall decor items, and also a variety of numbers.  See my advice to Becca on variety.  You also have a problem with relationships in your wall decor.  See this post on relationships.

Add a lighting plan and some greenery and your room will be fantastic!

Color Repetition

I suppose it is easiest if I am just honest. I am a bad shopper. In fact people like me, should not be allowed to shop without bringing people like you along.

Item to be shopped for today: Bar stools. Sturdy ones. The last set my children have managed to…. destroy. So, I don’t want to go overboard on price, as they may just destroy these – but I will pay enough to buy sturdy ones.

The trick is… this room is boring!! No color! Sometimes I introduce color into my kitchen simply with placemats, etc. But, do you have a better idea? Maybe some fun RED bar stools? Or blue, or anything fun that can bring in some style / color? Or should I keep it simple (and inexpensive) and bring in color and style another way?

Attached are photos of the table as is, as well as a few other of my house, to get you an idea of what my current color palate is, etc. The walls are a very light blue with dark wood.

- Kim

Dear Kim,

And I say this for everyone- your photos need to be in a jpeg format for me to post them. ;) Please re-send.

For the benefit of everyone- her kitchen was all dark espresso cabinets- with a dark table- and light blue walls. She had dark brown woven wood shades.

Yes- Kim- you are right- you do need some color. The blue has to be repeated- you can't just have it on the wall- and nowhere else- it is too detached. These barstools are on sale from Pottery Barn right now. I would get some fabric- have some cafe curtains made- and use a color from the fabric in the stools. I think I would use a pattern like green one- and then trim it in a pattern like the small print at the top- to add more pattern and color in the area. Then I would use the green barstools.

Repeat your colors again with table linens and accessories. Also add a rug or runner in front of your sink area- like the one in the post from Dash and Albert. This repeats your blue and green- as well as some red- repeating your sofa color in the next room.

The top pattern is from Amy Butler- and the stripe is Waverly.

Thanks for writing in!

Christine