SFGate

mapeggy Questions first... How many people do you need to accommodate? What does the other end of the room look like? Do you have a floor plan or sketch?

decoenthusiaste I might snug the chair and the table in the center up under the staircase somewhat, along with some potted plants. A large area rug to snug under the front feet of the sofa would look nice - pattern and color, please. Remove the dining chair and if you need more seating try a swivel armchair that can turn to watch tv or to converse with others. Without enough photos and proper lighting it is hard to advise.

buddyluv I'll upload another photo, I have snugged the chair up there before, but it kinds of cuts off pathway between living area and kitchen . Thx

buddyluv I don't have a sketch, but maybe these other photos would help, I'd like to be able to accommodate around 4

mitts255 great cabin and beautiful view!

buddyluv More Picts of the room

Cancork Floor Inc. My one and only comment: The asian rug is too big for the space. It would be better to have a circular or oval carpet. This one makes it look like the dining area is trying to steal into the living space!

I would also remove the little chair beside the TV and replace it with a bench or ottoman. The space is very pretty and you have everything you need, it just needs a bit of regulation.

buddyluv Thx and I see that now about the rug , and yes, I was trying to get an extra seat in there. Thanks for your suggestions!

mapeggy Thanks for the extra pictures. Your guest house is wonderful, it just lacks oomph! Looking at what you have I would go with a blue, white, red and yellow colour scheme. The "feeling" is the water. So here goes. Use the ideas you like..or maybe some will spark another idea for you to build on. If possible put the area rug in the seating area. Leave the dining area without a rug. Your piano back is probably visible. So make a screen that extends across the back of the sofa at the same height but no higher than 8" above the back of the piano. You can sit it on the floor or fastened to the piano back. Cover the screen with material which coordinates with other fabric..BUT is not the same pattern as anything else in the room.. For the TV your best solution is a flat screen, tilted downward over the fireplace. Where the TV is now, put a long wood or metal bench with a cushion on one half and your plants arranged on the other half. If flat screen not possible, the put TV on one half of bench. Then take a picture of you, your family or buddies having a great time on the water. Have the picture enlarged on canvas and put over the fireplace. Smiling fun filled pictures makes guests automatically feel happy. An "L" shaped low profile sofa with a chaise forming the "L" configuration. A compact size is preferable. Check big box, online and IKEA for low price and good quality furniture. If not in the budget put a fitted slip cover on the sofa. Then put an ottoman on the left side of the sofa (material same as drapery fabric) for seating and your upholstered chair on the sofa's right side.The yellow kitchen chair can go in the bathroom for stacking guest towels/supplies, or in place of the white chair at the desk. This gives you seating for 5 and 6 (if you pull up the desk chair when needed). Now for theme and colour. Put a large boat on the piano. Something that gets your immediate attention when looking around the room. Keep it in a neutral not a primary colour. Now determine how to spread the colour around. 1. Area rug in seating area is red. 2. Sofa colour blue. 3. Drapery panels in a print with blue, red, and yellow in it on a creme or white background. Put on dark rods with tops almost touching ceiling (at least a foot above windows and doors) including dining area. Panels can easily be made with fabric, using pocket rod top or grommets. Hang to cover current louvre blinds for sun and privacy. 5. Use current sofa cushion for colour scheme. Limit red use as it will probably conflict with the wood trim. Use yellow as bright accents... Flowers, kitchen canisters, tea towels or vases. For wall behind piano look for old barn wood, old Americana folk art, hanging quilt, etc. 6. In the dining area, paint the dark chairs a light colour..but not yellow. Maybe white, blue or barn red; in gloss finish. Make the colour light enough to contrast against dark floor. White would coordinate with drapery panels and appliances. For some extra zing you could paint the seats in a stripe. 7. The blank kitchen wall needs attention. A wall filled with pictures of fun times with your guests would bring a personal touch. Hang a 4x8 thin plywood with cork glued to it. Then tack up pictures in random order filling the board... You can cut it to 4x6 if you prefer that size...do not make it too small. With high ceilings and the volumn of space, bigger is better. 8. The desk area needs pizzazz. Paint a colour block on the mirror wall, using the blue colour of the sofa. On the desk put a guest book, preferably with a hand made cover of twigs, bark, pebbles, shells, etc. Then put pamphlets of local sites and restaurants (available from tourist huts or hotel lobbies). Don't forget instructions to connect to Internet and writing paper. Are you willing to entertain my comments on the bedroom? Just post pictures and room dimensions plus ceiling height. Hope my comments spark your creativity because your guest house has terrific bones and just needs some decor coordination. Good luck!

buddyluv You r amazing. I can't tell you how many times I have read read reread your thoughtful comments. I want to thank you for your input. I have already moved the rug over to the " seating area", which looks better, and moved the yellow chair to the bath, moved a black chair to the desk, which made the white desk pop. I had some friends over today and they loved the changes, too. And we are planning on painting the kitchen chairs soon. Thank so much, you are very inspiring!

Interiors International, Inc. I love my cabin and enjoy the relaxed feel you get being there. I would have a daybed where you can nap or use for extra sleeping area when guest over flow the house. I would also have 4 club chairs around a leather ottoman for comfortable conversation.

mapeggy Glad to help. If you do not sew and budget is limited then for drapery panels you can go to a big box depot or lumber store and buy 1 - 1 1/2 inch dowels in longer lengths. (You can also screw them together to make them longer by getting a connection that has screw threads on each end.) You just use the double end screw to join the dowels together and voila! you have an extra long "drapery rod". Make sure you support the joint with a bracket. Paint them the same colour as your walls. Then hang them on "L" brackets or use drapery hardware. For end finials, if not on sale at a fabric store, then go to the lumber fencing dept. Pick up some, (smaller size) square or round 'caps' that sit on top of exterior fence posts. Screw them into the ends of each hanging dowel...but paint them the same colour as the dowels first. Now your drapery rods are up and the cost for ALL of your doors and windows should be less than $100. Except kitchen window should not have full length drapery panels.
Now for the drapery panels. You want them to cover the louvre blinds when the blinds are pulled back and of course to have that 'finished' look to your wonderful guest house. If you or a friend has a sewing machine and can sew a straight line then it will be easier to make the drapery panels. If not, then we can improvise. Measure the distance from the top of your drapery rod to the floor then add 6" (for a 3" hem and 3" turn-under for around the drapery rod). Make sure material is not too heavy...you want fabric that will drape nicely, but economical. You will need two or three lengths (distance from the floor to rod +6") of material for each drapery panel placement.
There are tons of options now. Since the drapery will be stationary, only your louvre blinds will open & close, you can get out the staple gun, the hot glue gun, duct tape, Velcro, pins, tacks, etc. to fasten the material to the dowel rods. To give some flow to the panels you need fullness. you can gather the material or use drapery header sewing notions. but the easiest for non sewers is to make small pleats. This is done by making small (1 to 2") pleats on the dowels. As you form a pleat you staple the material to the dowel. (Staple to back of dowel so you will not see the staples when finished) And continue until you have reached the width of your material. At this point you hang up the rod you are working with. Your partial panel is hanging from the dowel and the rest of the material is piled on the floor. Are your pulled back louvre blinds still showing? If so you now need to cut your fabric at the floor leaving 3" for a hem. Then repeat the process, ensuring this first new pleat overlaps the last pleat you already made. This will hide the fact you did not sew the panels together. Note; the smaller the pleat the fuller the panel will drape...but the more material you will need. That is why you may need two or three panels of material for each drapery. You can always practice using an old bed sheet cut to the width of the material you plan on buying. Then you will know if you need to buy two or three widths of material for each panel. Which reminds me... When the material was too expensive, I have used bed sheets that were on sale. Usually a variety of patterns and colours available. And maybe your floor to dowel measurement is close to the bed sheet length...just another option.
I hope you are still with me!
Now the hem. Again there are several alternatives. You can turn the material under 1/2" , then press with iron. Now fold up material until hem barely touches floor & pin in place. You can use iron-on hemming tape, sew, or hot glue hem in place. Double sided carpet tape also works. Place material on ironing board or table to do this.
An even easier way to make a full length hem is to use "pinking" scissors and cut the material the panel length you need. Only pinking shears work, otherwise you will have the material fray, or need to treat the ends of the fabric...more work. The fuller the drape and/or the busier the pattern, the less likely anyone will notice a pinking shear hem. I hope I have help you tackle a DIY. I am waiting for you to ask what "painting a colour block" is... If you already know then you will certainly possess the skills for future DIY projects. Good luck. My email is mapeggy208@gmail.com. Peggy

buddyluv Peggy, I am of that group that you have probably heard of, "if I did it myself, it looks like I did it myself"., oh and and what is "color blocking"? I thought you meant to paint that wall a different color! You are definitely inspiring me!

mapeggy8190 Yes, you can paint that wall (I suggest the same colour as the sofa cover) and since it is such a short wall it would work. But colour blocking is making a square, rectangle or any shape around an object or a group of objects. For example I was referring to painting the area around your mirror a different colour than the wall. You would measure out 6"- 10" around your mirror on all sides and paint that entire (rectangle in your case) a different colour than the wall. Colour blocking adds a punch of colour without having to paint the entire wall. It also highlights what is inside the painted area. After painting you put your mirror back up and all that shows is the boarder around the mirror. Doing it this way will allow you to change the wall with different objects without having to repaint or change your 'whole house' paint scheme of yellow. Of course, you can do colour blocking without having any objects to highlight. This is often done when you use 3 or more colours on a wall and you normally want to make a "graphic statement" done by paint. Since you are in the USA look up 'color blocking' on google and you will get many examples. And I forgot to mention... when you paint the kitchen chairs...DO NOT paint the legs of the table. Leave the legs dark. This will blend in with the floor colour and look visually less busy... Peggy

buddyluv R u speaking of color blocking behind the white mirror? The sofa is actually white, it prob looked blue in one of the pictures. I've been looking for a slipcover for it. The table has black wrought iron legs. What color do u think I should paint the kitchen chairs? Thx, Dottie

mapeggy When you pick out the drapery fabric you can take a colour from it for the chairs. Depends how much light the room gets. Too many bright Colours will make it look like a child's play room..too dark is dull. My choices are either barn red or soft white (not bright Snow White). Your appliances are quite noticeable, so more white in the room will actually lessen the visual impact of them. Or you can pick a classic barn red which will connect the red rug in the seating area to visually pull the rooms together. On Houzz, under ideabooks, Sarah Greenman posted the instructions for painting wood chairs. Take a read on how and what materials she used.

The sofa cannot stay white, it needs a colour. I suggest blue...light beach to navy, or somewhere in between. Even blue and white (cream) stripes will work. Then your chair paint can compliment the sofa colour. (That's why you see people carrying swatches of fabric, paint chips, pillows, wood, floor tile with them at all times...when they find that perfect match they buy it, but not before).

Yes, colour block around the mirror, painting the outside covering of all wall mechanics. If the wall is relatively small you can paint the whole wall. but be careful, we do not want the blue colour to be a focal point...just a spot of colour in the whole scheme. You need to spread colour around the whole area, to have a cohesive look.

Another thought! Is there a patio door on the left side of the fireplace? Is there room for the TV to be located there with a box built around it, so you can not see the back side? Moving the TV would give better seating at the front windows, while enabling more people to sit and watch TV.

If not, then consider making the main entrance at the side (kitchen patio doors) and the sliding door at the front (beside your piano) as the secondary entrance. This will stop main traffic thru your seating area. It will also function better for grilling, carrying food thru house and good traffic flow to reach washroom. Peggy

mapeggy Dottie, look up www.surefit.net. The have reasonable prices and lots of slip cover choices. Peggy

buddyluv I have looked at them, there are some waverly products, that looked good, one was moonstone, Nd one cardoman , ones on the blue side and one on the golden end. But the others were just plain.do u think that would be better?

buddyluv The light in the room is strong due to the room is surrounded by sliding glass doors

mapeggy Dottie. Examine this picture. Notice how colour is spread around. Tall ceiling is classic barn red. Done to tie ceiling and floor closer together in a tall room. Notice variety of patters. Notice stripes on drapery panels. Notice sleigh on hearth..could change for seasons. Notice wood coffee table ( easy for DIY). All fabric and patterns have similar "weight". No frilly things or sheers here. Few objects but each substantial in size. They use box etches at windows for sitting, display and storage. Also count the nimber of times yellow is used. Where is the blue? And red? Feel the balance of the Colours around the room, and into the adjoining spaces? This fireplace is a monster. But with enough variety of fabric Colours and patterns, on the other side, it "weights" visually to the eye and the room seems balanced. Hope this helps. Peggy





The Surefit patterns you picked are Scottish and old English design. Did you want to move away from the casual "water" theme? They are for English cottage. It will require lots of busy patterns (about 5) in each room. How comfortable will you be with these florals and birds sitting on the patterned rug? Then adding screen color in back of sofa, then having patterned drapes? The architecture of your guest house is not quite "English". But we can make anything work...you just have to make a decision what style and theme you want. If you decide that, then do not deviate from it. Otherwise every thing else including the colour of the kitchen chairs will need to change.. Do the surefit patterns say beachy, fun, and water to you? Let me know? Peggy

mapeggy Dottie last picture, I promise. I found this picture and it seems to be the dining area of the previous picture. Designer is john Malik from cA. Notice ceiling beam colour. Notice painted chairs. Always have 'unique' piece in every room..carved box on left side..great for built in bedding storage. Notice wood walls have been painted...Most men scream about this, but it makes huge differece to 'feeling' in rooms. Take care and good luck, Peggy

Go Nautical Collections If you love the sea and boating, why not bring your passion into your home with a nautical decor scheme?

buddyluv Thank you!