SFGate

decoenthusiaste The lampshade on the left is more in tune with our chairs which I like. However, I don't think the piano is where they should go. I'd prefer a standard brass piano light there. Do you have a buffet, sofa table or hall piece where they could go? You've selected chairs and drapery that are very formal. They look nice with your classical styled coffee table. I like the direction you're going, but would like to see the rest of the room after the holidays to have some more ideas for you. More photos = more input from Houzzers.

mpal13 Hi there, thanks for your ideas. I am attaching more photos of the room, although I'm fearful to do so because of the clutter. As I said, it's a work in progress :) The floor lamp next to the fish tank will go as well as the "extra" coffee table next to the Christmas tree. We are also in process of gathering estimates for a built in bookshelf to go where the shelves are, therefore it'll let us move the IKEA kid's storage units. Thanks for your help. What's your take on the curtains? Oh, and no, I don't have a buffet, but I REALLY like those lamps :)

tennisanyone Your room looks traditional so the lamps are not the right style and too high for the piano. I also prefer a tradtitional brass piano lamp on the piano that sits in the middle. I have one on mine and then I did two larger vases on either side and a big wrought iron piece in the middle for balance. If you are a player, they may vibrate so I don't recommend putting anything on top except the lamp. I don't have that problem anymore. It is more for show now. A picture of your couch would be helpful in deciding what window treatments to get, but as of now, I do not like either one :(

tennisanyone OK after seeing the pictures, I want you to know that we don't judge here because when we post pictures, it is that we are in the middle of deciding what to do with our rooms and clutter just goes along with having kids but it can be organized clutter. What do you need this room to do? Is it going to be a family room with TV, toy room, formal living room? This room has so many possibilities. Don't think about drapes yet.

ct design studio I have a couple of thoughts. The drapes are beautiful, have you had them up enough to really look at them at night? You will lose all the blue detailing against the dark background at night, so you will need more lighting to make them work. Also I would like to see you go warmer and darker on the walls to reduce the contrast between drapes and walls. I think floor lamps make more sense here, rather than the lamps on the piano, is there a matching floor lamp available? If you are set on the lamps, I prefer the drum shade, which is less matchy than the blue. The builtins will be great for you and reduce the visual clutter. Overall you are heading in a formal direction, are you thinking this will be a formal sitting room in the future?

mpal13 Well, this room will still be kids room as long as possible :) I want them to be able to play in it as well as I'd like to sit and chat with a friend in there too. We entertain quite a bit, thus I'd like for it to be multi-purpose :) I like the classic combined with contemporary sophisticated style. That's what I was trying to accomplish. I would LOVE this room to be clutter free, but I am not willing to sacrifice my kids for it :)

mpal13 ct design studio, you are referring to the drapes on the right, correct ? I really don't like the word formal :) I guess formal, yet inviting and comfortable is the goal :)

ct design studio Yes, the brocade ones. Is formal the new "f" word? haha But the brocade curtains, chairs, oriental style rug, table, all starting in the direction. That being said, I would keep the window treatments simple and light to give it that lighter contemporary mix you are going for.

And no, don't worry about the clutter, enjoy your kids while they are still kids, the toys can always be cleaned up later. :)

Unfortunately I need to sign off houzz but tomorrow will check back and try to give some suggestions of what I was thinking. And I'm sure you'll get good suggestions in the meantime.

lefty47 HI -- We all have works in progress , don't worry about it . The drapes are beautiful BUT not with those chairs -too much going on with the patterns . Maybe those drapes would look better in the master . For the winter I think a plain fabric like maybe something in a velvet or a brushed finish in a medium grey - the tone of the grey background in the chairs.- and then for the summer you could have some off white semi sheers or a light grey linen drape . Don't get TAB drapes like you have in the other room - they never look right to me. Your area rug is too small and too much pattern , try something in a plain woven texture with abound edge in a natural tone , so it will always go with everything over time. Get a paint sample for your walls in" Amstrdam Blue "by Benjamin Moore and see if that will work with your furniture. Are you planing to get drapes for all the windows in that room ? It will look odd if your only going to do the front window . Now the lamps are nice but not for the top of the piano . Find a nice proper piano lamp as said before . You are doing what a lot of others are doing , and that is buying things that you like without concidering the style and without an over all plan for the room . This is going to cost you extra by buying the wrong things . So before you buy anything like drapes and lamps , you have to work out a plan and figure out what is going where for the furniture. So get Christmas out of the way then start making plans . Get your bookcases done and what color they are , then decide on a carpet , then a floor plan then some paint , then drapes , then accents . Get and save some ideas on HOUZZ . Take it one step at a time . Also I think your room needs some architectural details ,-like some beams on the ceiling. It might help you to get some consult time with an interior designer .

mpal13 Thanks so much for all the suggestions - although I'm in a daze now :) The bookcases will be white. I was trying to forgo an interior designer since we are on a budget (thus most of the purchases are from World Market and Homegoods), but it sounds like I'll need to :) There is so many to choose from...

ct cesign studio - the new "f" word :) I love it!

Please keep the suggestions/ideas coming - you have no idea how much I appreciate them.

ct design studio Ok I won't use the "f" word today. How about some classic panels in a blue gray, these have some sheen to them, and then a warm taupe on the walls to warm up the room a bit. I think the blue/gray, taupe, white woodwork would be very classy and warm.

Marquee Shimmering Faux Silk Pinch Pleat Drape

These banded ones are very sharp as well
Custom Two-Toned Banded Knife Pleated Drapery Panel

I wouldn't go for a full on pattern if you are planning on keeping the chairs in front of the window.

Also replacing the painting above the piano with some favorite family pics would be a more personal touch.

Living Room 1
Mill Valley "home Sweet home"
Living Room 2

mpal13 Wow! Thank you so much. These pictures are excellent. Any places you'd recommend to purchase some of these items from? Usually, I like to touch and feel what I buy, but these rooms are just gorgeous. Okay, so, we're having people over for a party tonight. Should I nix the lamps then ? Currently they still have tags on them :) What do you think about the rug in this room, one person mentioned it's too small for that room (luckily I have another room I can try to put it in). Would the floor look weird w/o a rug for now? I'm attaching one more pic of a rug that used to be in that room, but I'm sure it's too dark for the chairs to put it back in there. Again, I really appreciate all your thoughts and opinions.

Ramona I like your lamps, but as you are on a budget, I would return them. You can take the rug out for the party. It would be better if it were summer, but it you are now aware that it is too small, go for it. The built ins will help tremendously. I like the idea of plain drapes in the grey/pewter above. Something tells me that the piano against the stair wall will be much better in the long run. You have a living room space in the back. This is the play room that you want to go formal (I am not afraid of 'ff' words) eventually? Will the fish tank be staying in this room? Moving the piano is too difficult for tonight probably. But if you did so, you could put the chairs and table against that wall with the rug under them and that would be a place for two people to sit and the kids could be sitting on the floor with playing with their stuff, or not. Don't make yourself crazy for tonight. Make the space part of your conversations and get ideas from your guests.

After Christmas, get all decorations down. Move the chairs and table under the window where the tree is and place the rug under them with the rest of the room bare. Then see how much of the toys you can fit in the built ins.

Post new pictures at that stage and you will get lots of ideas from the wonderful people here. Keep your budget in mind and don't worry about a decorator right now, but get good advice about the design of the built ins. They will have some doors and/or drawers to hide all the toys?

Take lamps and drapes back and wait till your built ins are finished. Think about painting before you buy drapes.

Have fun at the party and show your friends all the ideas from this thread.

mpal13 Great advice!

The lamps were around $60 each at Homegoods. I need light in that room for tonight - I'm afraid the Christmas tree lights, floor lamp and ceiling fan light won't be enough for tonight :( I'll keep posting pics though, I am getting tons of good advice here. And, this is one room out of 3 that needs a little "putting" together.

Yes, eventually the "toy room" will be more formal - not too formal though :)

Ramona Well, then keep the lamps for tonight minus tags which can be saved and reattached at the store. No foul/no harm. But candles all around the room would be pretty and give off a wonderful light for a party. Kids around candles though can be a problem.

ct design studio I've had good luck for panels at Bed Bath & Beyond. They have one of each hanging so you can touch and feel all you want. I would say for the party though just hang the original up for now. The first rug is too small but the red in the second is way off base. For tonight why not just put the first one back. I would also say pull the mismatched lamps and go with candles if you can safely. Even if the lighting is dim, it will be nice for those that want to talk calmly and sit by the tree. But if you leave the lamps out why not have a little fun with it? Label each one, put out a little bowl asking for people to vote for their favorite, and a pad of paper and pencils. People are always happy to give their opinion. :)

Have fun tonight!

mpal13 Haha! great idea on the lamps :) I'm attaching photo of the room before the Christmas tree :) As for the fish tank - I'd like to get rid of it or move it, but the kids and hubby want to keep it in this room :)

mpal13 Hello,
Well, it's long after Christmas and here I am completely unmotivated to work on this room. I know it has potential, but I am having trouble finding a rug (color, pattern) that would complement the chairs and hide kids' and pets' messes :) I found beautiful curtains at Z-Gallerie, except, they're discontinued, I'd have to get them online at a Final Sale a.k.a. can't return them. I am attaching some pics from the room after Christmas decorations have been put away, doesn't look that much different. Yes, I know the rug doesn't go with the room, but it's a temporary situation :) The kids don't like playing/sitting on the hardwood floor.

On the side note to those of you who recommended candles for the Christmas party - THANK YOU!! I didn't realize how neat that would be! I loved it, the guests loved it. The lamps went back to the store :)

mpal13 here are a couple more pictures.

mpal13 Would any of these rugs work with the chairs and table? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

mpal13 Here is one more rug. Should I post this as a new discussion as I haven't received any feedback yet. I'd like to finish this room before May. I am having trouble finding someone to do the custom bookcases, what do you think about the bookcase units instead? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

mpal13 And a couple more :)

mpal13 Also, eventually what kind of window treatments for this room? Awkward wall with the piano. On the left two windows, one under the other, the right side of the piano only has one window.

cani You had mentioned Ikea pieces for your bathroom in your other post. Have you considered the Ikea Billy wall units? I love them because you can get as many pieces as you want to fit your wall space and create your own look with open shelves, half closed and half glass, all glass etc. The possibilities are endless. I saw them at a clients house and loved what they had done and promptly bought some myself. I'm sure they would be cheaper than having one built and you would still get a custom look. I like the ones you showed but I think you would get more use by using different pieces of the Billy system because they would cover a larger area and look more custom. You could put the kids toys in baskets and put them on the open shelves and use some of the glass doors to put decorative items or books in them.

I am still a bit confused on the purpose of this room. Is there a sofa to lounge in? Will it be like a family room when done?

cani I just read all the posts again and see that you want the room to be an all purpose room. I'm thinking you need some help with the layout before thinking about a rug or drapes. If you purchase a sofa to put there or two more chairs to make a seating area, that would determine what size rug you need. I hope some designers help you out with ideas for the room to make it more cohesive.

mpal13 @cani - Yes! I need TONS of help with the layout. It seems like a large room, but it's a long rectangle. I am not working with a designer as we're trying to do it on our own. Thought about it, but we are on the budget. We looked into Billy bookcases around Christmas time, I talked to my dad's friend (a carpenter whom we could never afford) who said Billy bookcases are not very durable. For whatever reason, I always go back to Billy nonetheless :) IKEA has some fabulous marketing strategies :)

The goal is to make this room sophisticated and kids friendly at the same time - is that even possible without hiring a designer?

I wasn't planning on getting a sofa, but once we get the bookcases in and maybe move the chairs next to them, therefore giving us nice are for the sofa. I was trying not to block that window too much though. This is the room that gets most sunlight in the afternoon.

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it.

cani Where were you planning on putting the bookcases? I thought it was going on the wall where you have those two shelves hung, on each side of the opening into your family room? I have three furniture pieces from IKEA that I am very happy with and none of them have fallen apart. A chest of drawer, a row of cabinets in my office and a few pieces of the Billy system in a spare bedroom that we built around the bed. You will probably need to anchor them to the wall but they seem to be very durable, so I would not hesitate to get them. I hope some of the wonderful, creative people on here chime in on a layout for your room.

mpal13 @cani - yes, the bookcases would go on the wall where the shelves and the fish tank are on. The idea was to put them above the entrance as well, although we had trouble fitting a Billy up there as it was too long. That's when we thought about getting it custom done since it would save us from cutting the pieces in order to make them fit.

I personally have quite few pieces from IKEA as well, son's bed - we've had for 5 years, every so often we need to tighten the screws up as it becomes wobbly. My daughter's bed, nightstand and bookcase comes from there too. The night stand is only 3 years old, but already very unstable and we use it minimally. The only piece that is lasting is a cabinet for our office, but then again we use it very rarely too.

Thanks so much for your input.

cani Well if you haven't had much luck with your Ikea pieces then I would keep looking for a cabinet maker. When I did my bathroom I actually got a better deal having the vanity custom made than if I had bought it from Lowes or Home Depot when I added their installation cost to it. I would call around and get some more estimates.