San Francisco Bay Area - Living Room Needs Help

by m1chelle_kip09

Living Room Needs Help

I have tried rearranging furniture and painting various colors, but never seem to find the right mix. The walls are currently SW Beach House. However, because we only have lamps in this room (eventually we will add can lights, but not right now) , it seems pretty dark in the Winter and evenings. We just remodeled the kitchen (still in process) and painted Maison Blanch, which I like. But I would like to paint LR different color for some variety (would love some sort of gray).
My bigger issue is how to arrange my furniture. I'm not opposed to taking a way or adding different pieces. Just have no idea and don't want to go buy another item only to have it not really fit the space. I'm in the process of slip covering the chairs, the instruments are going downstairs, and to be honest, I'm not married to one piece in there.
Any suggestions are helpful. Thanks!!

Dimension (roughly):
17'3" Wall with Window. (window is centered with roughly 4' each side)
8'9" Wall with no furniture. Includes doorway to hall
11'5" wall with stairway railing + hall to dining room
12' Wall with fireplace. (fireplace is 6' wide with 3' on either side).

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maureenindk Nice room with a pretty fireplace though I'm not sure that white is the best color for it. How about a much deeper version of the wall color? The mirror over the fireplace should be more substantial with a bigger frame. You should play with the fireplace to make it a real feature of the room. The furniture needs to be pulled off the walls and arranged into a conversation group. (Right now it looks like a waiting room.) The lamps are too small for the room and the furniture. I think you could use some artwork to add color and interest to the room (not too small please). Hope this is helpful

4 months ago · Like ·

rebecca8 Hi there, what you need to do is place the armchairs either side of the fireplace on a slight diagonal facing inwards. Float the large sofa, facing the fire place, but inline with your stair rail... Place the lamp tables on the outer side of the armchairs or either side of the large sofa (if there is enough room)
If the room is already dark then add to the drama and go with Farrow and balls Railings... It look so much different to the sample you see on line... This with really make the white fire place and armchairs pop whilst giving your room a really dramatic feel... Don't ever paint a dark room a light color, you are only fighting nature... Anyway good luck please let me know how it turns out. Would love to see more pictures...

4 months ago · Like ·

m1chelle_kip09 Thanks for the advice. Originally I was planning on facing the chairs like you suggested, rebecca8, but when I plugged it into floor planner, I just couldn't see it working. However, when I finish reupholstering my chairs, I physically rearrange the furniture that way and see how it goes. Anything would be better than the set up now :)

4 months ago · Like

michigammemom I like your neutral wall color and white brick fireplace. If you are reupholstering the pair of chairs in white/off white fabric, I would suggest a similar colored slip cover for your dark camo colored sofa. Bring subtle color and pattern into your room with a softly colored area rug like this beauty from Home Decorators. You have a narrow room, so I think your furniture placement is appropriate, but try just angling the chairs slightly into the room so that everything is not perfectly lined up against the walls.

4 months ago · Like

aniluap2 I agree with Rebecca . You need to pull the furniture of the walls to make it a cozier space.the sofa is a little bulky for the scale of the chairs and if you are going to replace one thing I would change that out. Maybe for one with a smaller profile to fit the scale of the room.. You also need a coffee table in front of your sofa or a large comfortable ottoman with a tray on top for resting drinks. You could use your side tables now as end tables on each side of the sofa .(this would work with a mallet sofa) or you could put them side by side in front of your sofa in lieu of a coffe table and get small round tables for each side of the sofa.. As Rebecca 8 suggested you need larger lamps and a larger more interesting mirror. You could check out Homegoods or thrift stores for reasonably priced unusual selections. Perhaps you could get a Rectangular or oval shaped mirror or even a sunburst mirror which are very popular again. Houzz did a piece on dressing up your mantel you may want to search that for ideas.

4 months ago · Like ·

Susan Mills Design Move the sofa to opposite wall to window, place the two slipcovered chairs in front of window with a round glass table between, this will open the room and make it feel brighter. The sofa can be placed in front of the rail, this will elongate that wall and cover that area which does not need to be seen. I would then add colourful art over the fireplace, and another piece over the sofa to balance the uneven width of the wall when sofa placed this way. Add a fun ottoman in front of sofa and more substantial lamps.

Is the sofa being slipcovered as well, and what color are you doing them? If neutral you have so much more choice for these added touches. Have fun with your space, you just need to add some colour! These are just suggestions as art is so personal. Find that then take cue for adding colour.

4 months ago · Like ·

Dar Eckert You need to get a new sofa in a smaller scale then place it facing the fireplace with chairs on either side of the fireplace or both opposite the windows. Put a table behind the sofa with a lamp on it. A large coffee table. If you decide to put both chairs on the same side of the room get a couple of poufs or stools to put on the window side.

I would also consider painting the stair railings white.

4 months ago · Like

Susan Mills Design A 7 foot sofa would only leave 2.5 feet on each side and block the room too much. Would have to go down to love seat size to make the room not feel closed off. The fireplace is 6 wide, sofa should be wider than fireplace to face it. Guests usually always feel more comfortable when back is not to door or opening. Sometimes sofa facing fireplace is good but in this case I don't think there is the width for it.

4 months ago · Like ·

aniluap2 I think susan mills design is right when I look at the room dimensions. Her ideas for furniture placement are right on target for the room, my only suggestion is pull them in from the walls for a cozier feel.

4 months ago · Like

decoenthusiaste For more decorating options, I would call a carpenter/drywall man and extend the wall to eliminate the stair railing in the living room. Your pieces are too large in scale for the room, and most sofas will eat it up if placed perpendicular the the long walls I would replace all of it with 3-4 chairs and a coffee table. If you put TV in then make the chairs swivels for viewing's sake. For more seating do a banquette under the window like #1&2 pics below. Search in the box above under Photos for four chairs to see more ways to pull this off. Then check out swivel chairs under Products.

Traditional Family Room

Vendome Home Renovation

AbbeyK, Inc.

Lorraine G Vale

4 months ago · Like

aniluap2 I like the idea of extending the wall if (decorenthusiate)not cost prohibitive, as it would extend the perceived spac and hide the stairs.

4 months ago · Like

m1chelle_kip09 Thank you so much for all the feedback. I love the idea of the glass table and adding color. I took down the mirror from the fireplace and found a large piece of artwork to go there instead. I love the idea of floating a loveseat in the middle (have one downstairs I could reupholster), but this room is used so often by the family (3 kids + 2 adults) and for entertaining, I don't think it would work for us. The sofa is not being reupholstered at this time, but I plan on bringing in alot more color. My goal is to add a few things these next few weeks and then I'll upload a picture of the final project. Thanks again!

4 months ago · Like