SFGate

mmilos Paint your walls out a warm light gray color - currently it's too much brown/tans. Get new drapery panels that go roughly floor to ceiling in a accent color pulled from your rug. Add pillows in same accent color. Purchase a larger scale art print for above your sofa and hang it about 6" above the sofa.

Jenna Emrich I would definitely change the wall color. It does not really play well with the black furniture. A softer beige would look much better (see photo below). I would also suggest getting longer curtains and installing them higher so that they fall from ceiling to floor. Larger pieces of art/mirrors would also fill up the space a bit more. The three photos that you have above the couch look too small for that space.

aminac Thanks for the suggestions, would you add any color in the form of pillows or art? If yes, what color?
Thanks

Jenna Emrich I would keep the artwork neutral go with blue pillows in several shades. I think that the reddish tones in your current pillows are too much with the carpet.

aminac I also need some suggestions for overhead lighting .....and what if repainting the walls isn't an option for now? I also wonder if the carpet needs changing nod if yes what color?

mjlb Can't see the entire space, but it does look unbalanced with all of the furniture weight on one side of the room. I think reversing locations of seating vs TV might work better. A much larger rug would anchor the seating area better. Perhaps the existing rug could be used under the dining table. You have very little pattern in the room, so a patterned rug or curtains would help enliven all that brown.

aminac This is a pic of the whole room

designideas4me curtains seem too low and too heavy . Try sheers or modern open curtains.

janishill Turn your rug the other way.

Because the furniture fabric has a stripe (due to the nap) your throw pillows don't work very well. Try a solid teal then add some prints as well. Buy 2 or 3 different sizes for added interest. Add a throw to snuggle under. Mjlb is right about switching the side of the room the furniture goes on.

Add lumbar shaped, teal printed throw pillows to the two chairs withthe table between them.

Add new drapery panels. Hang them high and wide as seen in the attached illustration. A print with teal, off white, beige, and or brown would be gorgeous.

Remove the table runner from the coffee table. Add a large, flat basket. Put a candle, some books, an interesting vase or a vase of flowers, a kaladiscope, a wooden puzzle, or anything else yo ufind interesting in it.

The 3 small pictures above your sofa are hanging much to high and are far too small for the wall they are on. Find one large, long picture that picks up the wall color and the teal accent color. Hang it about 6" above your sofa. The 3 small pictures could be hung where the clock is. They should hang with one above the other. The top of the first one should be no higher then the top of the clock. You can find very inexpensive art work here: http://www.allposters.com/?aid=1023741760&DestType=3&Referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Faclk%3Fsa%3Dl%26ai%3DCjP9qmanSULWrMaXL6QG%5Fy4DwC6KdizrOy%2D%5FeH6LZjzAIABABIO2K3wZQ7svyvPz%5F&VTP=Start&NetWorkType=g&PAdCopyId=8432567166&ClickPos=1t1&VTP=End&KWID=74281047&KWID=742810474&gclid=CLW686SnqLQCFQWe4AodgjQAzg&SEM=lang%3D1%26AID%3D1023741760%26KWID%3D742810474%26gclid%3DCLW686SnqLQCFQWe4AodgjQAzg

In the dining area center the shelf on that wall. The large basket should be centered on the top. The two small plants need to go. Place a couple of large teal vases on the top left and one teal vase on the right side. (see photo)

Hang a small chandelier in place of the bright ceiling light.

Add a table runner that has the teal accent color in it and an interesting rug.

Add a runner that picks up the living room colors to the hallway for a finished look.

Hope to see updates soon!

kathleen MK I don't think gray walls will work well with the brown sofas. I'd just add more color in art work on the walls and bright pillows. The 3 pictures are too high and small. Add some other small framed photos or paintings to expand the grouping. Or replace them with one large bright piece. You can change pillows ,curtains (or just the tie-backs) and tablecloths with seasonal colors. Warm oranges and golds for fall and cool blues and greens for spring. Pick art that you love and pull the colors from that. I can see sage or moss green working with what you have or coppery tones. i think just a few bright accents will make a big difference.

aminac Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll post some updates as soon as I have them :)

janishill Whoops. Here is an idea of art for above the sofa. It is what I intended to post instead of posting the accent color twice. :-)

aminac I was thinking the art above the sofa needed to be landscape ?

aminac Or multiple ones just larger and lower?

mjlb If you do reverse TV/seating, you could probably move the two small chairs (currently in dining area) to either side of TV. And artwork in portrait orientation, not landscape, over sofa would probably look better.

You might also try rotating your dining table 90-degrees so that the area is more fully used for dining, than for walkway and secondary seating. The shelving might then go across from the dining room window, with artwork where shelving was prior.

It looks like you have a laundry room visible at end of hallway. You'll want to keep that door closed for a nicer view. That's a really wide hallway -- I think it needs some furniture and artwork as well. I'd paint the HVAC vent trim the wall color to make it less noticeable too. Another thing that you could try is to move the shelving partly into the open hallway to block the laundry room view. It may (or may not -- you'd just have to try to find out) look interesting to have partly open and partly closed storage on that wall.

b-t-w, your curtains do look much better open.

mjlb This has probably been mentioned already, but I'd add a colorful runner or placements on your dining table. If the tablecloth is to protect table surface, I'd add a piece of glass on top of the table instead. An overhead chandelier/pendant light would also accent the dining area.

mjlb Maybe the exercise machine could go in hallway?

mjlb Another possibility for screening part of the hallway:

http://www.gaiam.com/natural-bamboo-screen/05-0669,default,pd.html

aminac That's the kitchen at the end of the hallway and the entrance. It's actually quite wide and yes I agree it needs some furniture

janishill I think landscape is best, but this one had all the right colors. You can purchase 2 that are similar, but different.

You posted the second set of pictures while I was writing the first post last night. They do help, but I would still like to see what is across from the table and down the hall (looking from the dining area.)

The plastic on the table has to go. If you are worried about it being damaged buy a table pad to protect it.

The drapes do look better open, but they don't do justice to the room. Try the new ones hung high and wide. You will be amazed by how much better your rooms look.

Why don't you start by moving the living room furniture to the other wall, then take pictures and we will all go from there.

aminac I will move the furniture and see how it looks but I need to get an extension for the tv cable first....in the meantime here is some more pics

aminac One more

aminac Ok forget about the plastic in the corner of the second pic I just pulled it off the table and dumped it there :)

mjlb Openness has its drawbacks... For example, the ceiling outside your kitchen looks to be a commercial dropped ceiling with fluorescent lights? If changing that is not a priority, it would really help to lower the soffit (with drywall or even just hang something the proper dimension) over the opening so that the ceiling is not visible.

Is that your main entry door to the left of the door with white trim? If so, I'd paint the kitchen door trim the same color as the wall, and do a different color on the main door -- maybe just white, but something to set it apart.

It looks like there is a light source behind the wall with the shelving? Too bad that's not the open side of that wall.

Now that there is a head-on shot of the TV area, I would suggest placing the two towers together to make an asymmetrical arrangement. It looks as though you had that thought since your shelves are staggered. I'd extend that with an asymmetrical arrangement of the towers as well. You could probably use the three small art pieces above the sofa to complete the vignette.

Prime Walls If Teal is the colour you plan on going with for your accessories, I would suggest doing a Teal accent wall behind the couch; this is your largest wall and it is the foundation for your furniture layout. here is a beautiful option:

http://www.primewalls.com/products_residential/viewsku/78

I would than find a nice warm grey to paint the rest of the space. The colour you currently have on your walls overwhelms the space with the same tone, it leaves it seemingly "flat"
Whickham Gray by Benjamin Moore is a great soft, warm grey that will work with your existing furniture as well as accomidate the use of the teal.

Good Luck; Primewalls.com

mjlb Aminac wrote that painting was not in the near future. In a way, the gold walls already are an accent color, so perhaps introduce quite a lot of white to balance all the brown in there now. Then just a few bits of any other bright color such as red or green. Also, if the wall color eventually changes, the white accessories would still be useful.

Along those lines, maybe a brown/white patterned rug would pick up white flooring, plus introduce some color. Maybe design similar to fretwork, or possibly even cowhide rugs.

aminac Thanks for all the great ideas.... Lots of things to consider I will keep u posted as I go along.... Just in case I do decide to repaint the walls in say 6 months time, the wall u suggest to be teal is the wall currently behind the sofa, or the wall that will be behind the sofa once I turn around the furniture?

janishill Actually the wall color is the primary color, brown from the large furniture pieces is the secondary color and teal would be the accent color.

Again, the place to start is rearranging the furniture one room/space at a time.

Let's use the KISS principal ~ keep it super simple, keep it simple sir.

Prime Walls The wall that ends up being the foundation wall for the furniture once you move it. The Feature wall is a strong statement wall and is great to use as a foundation for your furniture placement. You wouldnt want to have a visual fight. this is usually the wall opposite the tv, or focal point once seated in the space. But yes, keep it simple, re arrange your funiture, fill in the blanks and when youre ready to paint or change the walls, you have some great starting points!

Primewalls.

aminac Back to the curtains.... Which of these would work best?

aminac .

mjlb Janis, I like your KISS principal "~ keep it super simple, keep it simple sir" better than mine -- I always heard it called "keep it simple, stupid"!

nevadan Match your walls to your furniture. Throw away those drapes. Buy much larger lamps. More your art into the bedroom and get something much larger for that wall. Use accent pillows and artwork for your color. Maybe you have too many sofas?

aminac Any suggestions on the curtains?

janishill Are you going to use teal as your accent color? You could also use green, orange, or red.

aminac I'm leaning toward teal, maybe green

Butterfly Yao Your flooring is similar like this picture. How about this paint. Your dinning table and sofa are dark color, that can be match, so you only need to change the wall paint. And it's good to put some red or blue color decoration, very comfortable and warm space.

mjlb Clearly, I'm procrastinating - but do you like any of these rugs (2 postings):

mjlb and the rest:

mjlb a couple more:

aminac There are a few I would pick....some nice choices.
Would I have suggestions for the curtains as well?

aminac Ok I moved the furniture around.... But I left the two shelves which were above the tv there for the time being bcs I need to drill holes in the other wall ect...this is just a rough idea .....any feedback?

aminac Here are the pics

aminac .

Cheery Curtains Hi, Cheery Curtains have lots of curtains that you may like. Here attached are some photos for your reference.

For more designs, welcome to my Houzz page!

aminac But now this space is very empty

aminac Another angle of the dining area

janishill The question I have is where is your entrance door? I don't like the furniture like that. It should be turned in such a way that guests can easily step in and have a seat.

I want to say "Put it back!", but I would like to see the area directly across from the table first. I wonder if that area would function better as the living room. Can you post a picture taken while standing in front of the dining room window looking toward the oppostie side?

Try turning your table so the short end is toward the wall where the shelving unit was.

Love the drapery panels on the bottom right side that Cheery Curtains posted. They would be perfect for your rooms. The tones are right and they have the gold in them.

I don't think you need a new rug just yet. I really think getting the furniture arranged in a comfortable, useable way is the first priority.

aminac The first pic is from the dining room window, second one from the living room window... The door at the end of the hallway is the entrance

janishill How large is that entrance area? Can you show a picture of it from side to side and top to bottom? I wonder if you could put the two chairs and table in there to make the space welcoming?

Universal Stretch Ceilings We would like to suggest you to make an accent wall and put a stretch ceiling. This combination will create cozy atmosphere in your living-dining room combination!

mjlb I want to say 'put it back' too, and feel really badly that you moved it for nothing. The only thing that perhaps works is the dining room table rotation.

aminac I put it back the same day, didn't like it at all either. My priority now is to look for new curtains and throw pillows and add some color.

aminac But I wonder if patterned throw pillows would work on the striped couch maybe I should just keep them plain.

kathleen MK You can mix patterns depending on the scale and colors. The stripe is very subtle so you have a chance to be bold with pillow in a bright hue.

aminac Which art would you pick for above the couch?

designideas4me what did you pick for a rug? Are you set on keeping the furniture that you have? Whats your remodeling budget?

aminac Yes I have to keep all the furniture, I would change the curtains and would like to add teal as my accent color. I can't do everything at once, some time in the future I would also repaint , maybe in a years time. For now I would just like to add color and as I mentioned change the curtains. I found some other wall art I really liked but need advice if it would go well to replace the three small frames which are above the couch.

aminac .

designideas4me those are interesting. more organic. The bottom right has teal and brown... your main color

liyong 首先你墙面颜色一定要改，现在看起来颜色有点沉闷，不够活跃，墙面可以考虑用照片墙的方式，这样墙面会丰富很多，我想沙发之类的家具是不能放弃的，这样成本太高，太浪费，改变下窗帘款式及颜色，地毯也要换。

designideas4me I have to agree with Liyong... I think thats the solution ........ok. problem solved.

Cheery Curtains Hi, Liyong, are you also from China? I've followed you on Houzz and I'm so glad to meet you here!

janishill The very first picture you posted is perfect. It will tie the wall color, the sofa color and the accent color (teal) all together. Great choice. By th etime you add teal throw pillows, drapes, and a couple of other accessories the teal in the picture will pop.

May I ask what site these are on?

lpmenache I agree, go back to original layout except turn rug 90 degrees. The shelves over the sofa are not to my liking. I would purchase any large painting that you like. Do not match your artwork to your sofas. The room is actually neutral enough that what ever you chose will look great. Then take the colors from the painting and use them for your pillow colors. Since teal is the accent color it would be nice if the painting had a bit of teal in it but it is not a must. All the colors do not need to match but harmonize. You might want an interesting table next to sofa by the window and a matching pair of lamps that are larger in scale. Also when you replace the curtains be sure to get some that touch the floor In regards to new drapes I think that I would stick with a solid color with some wide trim or banding on the leading edge for interest. This trim could be in the teal color. Would love to see how it all turns out!

aminac The paintings are on amazon...and I also liked the first one, then I saw the style in the second set of pics I posted and couldn't decide anymore :)

helponcolor Your selection on amazon is nice.Pick the red ones that add more color to your existing wall paint .BTW share us the amazon link for the products.

helponcolor Also for curtains,I would pick the middle one of the second row.Good luck.

aminac http://www.amazon.com/Canvas-Painted-Painting-Decoration-Unstretch/dp/B009Y339F2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_12

myrielle it would look great in yellow I promise have fun merry Christmas

Donna Cheek Definitely rotate the rug 90 degrees.

Try to match the size and shape of your pictures to the walls on which they hang (ex.-hang small rectangular pictures in a small rectangular space). Hang the pictures so the center is at eye-level. If hung above a piece of furniture, hang the bottom of the art no higher than 6-8 inches above the furniture piece.

In dining room, a buffet or chest with matching lamps on each end would look nice. On that note, balance the lamps that you have on each side of the sofa. They need to be the same height on each side. Draperies will look very nice (definitely from ceiling to floor).

Good luck. Please keep us posted.

Donna Cheek Definitely rotate the rug 90 degrees.

Try to match the size and shape of your pictures to the walls on which they hang (ex.-hang small rectangular pictures in a small rectangular space). Hang the pictures so the center is at eye-level. If hung above a piece of furniture, hang the bottom of the art no higher than 6-8 inches above the furniture piece.

In dining room, a buffet or chest with matching lamps on each end would look nice. On that note, balance the lamps that you have on each side of the sofa. They need to be the same height on each side. Draperies will look very nice (definitely from ceiling to floor).

Good luck. Please keep us posted.

Anish Motwani Associates hello

change the lamps - go for something more vibrant with crystal hanging
the carpet below the centre table is dull - change it to some colorful / vibrant

The pictures hanging on the sofa backdrop - change them to some colorful ones with large size frames

regards

aminac I'm back with more questions :)
Is this hanging lamp too small for the living space? The pic isn't very clear so I added a second pic of the same lamp but smaller. What about the art? How would it look above the sofa if I find a second one, same but different. Thanks for ur feedback

janishill That looks like a pendent light that would go over an island. It would be distracting hung in the middle of the room.

You need something that is simple, yet lovely. I am ataching a couple of pictures.

You also need bulkier looking lamps. I am including images to give you an idea of what to look for.

The artwork is OK It matches your walls very well and doesn't really introduce color to the space. Something with more life to it would work better. Keep looking. :-)

aminac Thanks for your feedback your ideas are great, I'm a bit slow at implementing them but I will get there some day :-) I really love the art I previously showed u on amazon I might just go ahead and order it