SFGate

the essentials inside Hi Robin! Love your profile pic & your doggie!

I was wondering - can you take 2 more pics - 1 w/your back to the bay window, standing close to the couch & 1 as if you are sitting on the couch next to the bay so I can see the wall connected to the stairs? No problem if you can't - I'm just a little less talented than the rest in orienting myself in a room. :)

Also a couple of questions - I assume you have a tv in this room? Are you doing any work in the kitchen w/your budget?

Hope you are having a great Sunday!

Lyvonne
www.essentialsinside.com

honeyg911 Take the couch off the wall and connect them. Use the rug under your dinette for the floor under the couch. Keep the baby stuff to one location (not in the living area). I don't see a television in the living room, so I am not sure if there is a focal point there. Good luck!

honeyg911 Also, get a neutral paint and get jazzy with it. Choose an accent wall and do a faux design, I would pick the wall with the window, but I can't really see it. Also, take the small pictures off the wall and put them on a table. Use your budget to get small cans of paint and get an artistic member of the family to draw something really colorful, and they can draw the frame as well. Make sure the picture is large enough for behind the couch. If you chose, you can also use masking tape and outline the frame and then fill the frame up with the small pictures (evenly spaced out) that you already have.

Robin Hart More Pictures

Robin Hart More Pictures

Robin Hart More Pictures

Robin Hart Also, think of this as a bare room. Everything will be moved out, furniture, toys, pictures.. We wanted to do a Beige as a main color and then a dark Blue for an accent wall, but we have no idea which wall to put the blue on. We truly are at a loss on what to do with this room. Hubby was thinking of painting the inside of the bay window blue? I am not sure that would look too great. For the kitchen we are doing a blue/grey/tan pebble back splash behind the stove. I am also considering placing a rod iron pot rack above the island.

Right now we are just having a hard time with the paint. I will upload a picture of the Painting we are working off.

thislittlehouse Keep the general layout of dining and lounge areas, but I would put the TV (think about buying a nice console/built in bookcase to house it) on the long wall to the left of the bay window.

Position a couch directly opposite it, leaving a space behind to be able to walk behind it from the stairs to the kitchen. Buy a couple of nice armchairs to position in the bay window area. You could even buy another couch to put opposite the bay window if you needed extra seating, or keep it open to the dining area. An essential item will be a large area rug to ground the living area.

the essentials inside Don't worry - this room is a little tricky but it is going to come together quite nicely & you are doing the perfect thing in planning before buying.

I have some more questions if you don't mind --

Do you already have the painting? If so, what size? If not, I say the bigger the better.

Do you know a carpenter? Building a seat under the bay window would be great.

Does the other window (not the bay window) line up w/the stairs? In other words, can you draw a straight line from the outside stair railing to the left edge of the window?

Can you measure living room from wall to wall and then from wall to the left of the bay to the edge of the non-bay window?

Do you have any other art work already?

Lyvonne
www.essentialsinside.com

blindsdirectcanada I would recommend putting in Cellular Shades inside the frames to give you the light control you need in that space.

http://www.blindsdirectcanada.com/blinds-toronto/shades-toronto/cellular-shades.html

Robin Hart Do you already have the painting? If so, what size? If not, I say the bigger the better.

Yes, it is 35X28 on canvas print, it is huge

Do you know a carpenter? Building a seat under the bay window would be great.
Hubby is a carpenter, and we have been thinking about adding a bay seat but the builders placed a vent right in front of the window...
so we aren't sure if we want to insert a bay seat there now. If not, we were thinking of a storage chaise
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Leena-Storage-Chaise/6053486/product.html

Does the other window (not the bay window) line up w/the stairs? In other words, can you draw a straight line from the outside stair railing to the left edge of the window?
It does not line up

Can you measure living room from wall to wall and then from wall to the left of the bay to the edge of the non-bay window? I will get these tonight

Do you have any other art work already?
No other artwork

nikitasmom Lovely home. How flexible are you on moving the television? I like having mine where I can see it from the kitchen. Will you be needing storage options as well? I know you said that the childrens items would be removed but unless you have somewhere else for playing then you may want to consider pieces that will give you the option to quickly tuck items away.

Budget My Build Try adding some curtains and maybe a golden yellow paint will give it that modern look you want. You can even redo the floors in tile, but you have to consider the budget, this is pretty good for getting a handle on cost. http://budgetmybuild.co/

Robin Hart We are flexible on moving the television, but unsure of where else to place it. New couches/seating will need to go wherever the TV goes. No storage needed, the toys will be in a playroom downstairs.

the essentials inside Hi Robin! Sorry - got super busy yesterday and then a neighbor's dog went missing last night so got way off course. Luckily, puppy was found!

I'm going to rally some Houzzers to come visit your thread! There are such wonderfully talented people here - I don't want them to miss it or you to miss out. I'll be back!

Lyvonne
www.essentialsinside.com

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design My first thought was to make the royal blue accent wall the wall opposite the staircase, but then I considered that it was probably the ideal TV wall, so low and behold, I decided that it could be a combination accent wall/TV wall because dear old Vincent van Gogh put a lot of black into his blue sky! Along, of course, with the shooting stars! Little did he know that in the 21st century, we'd be looking more at that black box on the wall than at the stars. But I don't see why we can't do both. So we marry Vincent's blue sky and our modern TV and console.

You'll need to find an artist friend who can make that sky LIVE for you, but at a price you can live with. Entrust her/him to paint fabulous stars in your sky, all the time working around your television on the wall! Your console below the TV should be black, if possible. As for the inspiration picture, I'd place it on the staircase wall.

For your furniture, I want, first of all, for you to draw for us a sketch of the room, with dimensions. I suspect that you need a nice sofa and a pair or chairs, and then possibly more chairs. Whatever you do,please do NOT buy a loveseat! One should NEVER buy a loveseat! Always buy 2 chairs instead.

Your friend, essentailsinside, asked me to join in this conversation and I'm glad she did as it's a fascinating one. I've never been asked before to design a room around a van Gogh painting.

the essentials inside Carolyn - I KNEW you'd have great ideas for this room! Thanks so much for joining!

Lyvonne
www.essentialsinside.com

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design My pleasure.

Robin Hart Thank you!

We have purchased the painting from Art.com, it is on Canvas.

The room is 18' wide and 25' long.

Our concern is entertaining, we would like as much seating as we can without being too overwhelmed.

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design I have drawn a plan, based on an 18 x 25' room, guessing at window placement, and what you might need. It's a huge room. I could better arrange your furniture if I knew how many are in your family and what ages, and whether your entertaining is based around the TV or a poker table or wine and conversation, or what. I also don't know if your breakfast table needs to be in this area. But it's a start.

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design The circles with a horizontal line and a vertical line through them indicate lamps, either floor lamps or table lamps. Do you have one or more floor outlets in the center of the room?

the essentials inside Carolyn - Love the game table idea & making separate areas in the space!

Robin - do you have another dining area in the house or is where the table is next to the kitchen the only eating area?

Lyvonne
www.essentialsinside.com

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design Robin, I really drew this just as an introduction to some of the things that could be done. If you'd share with us what you really want, I suspect I could come up with something that would really suit you and your family.

Robin Hart Thank you so much Carolyn for your help with this redesign! I have uploaded a layout from our community website. Your moc draw up Carolyn is right on. Our floor plan is reversed from the picture I am uploading today.

I don't want to go with a game table in that corner, the space feels small. Also, I don't think the seat in front of the bay window is functional for us with a toddler. We just wouldn't get any use out of it. I love the seating arrangement, I would have NEVER thought of that! I am concerned about the dining area, we do want a dining room table.

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design You are very welcome. I've redrawn the plan with the new information and I think it will be more suited to your needs. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Jeffrey Brooks Interior Design Yupper........! You definately need to rethink the floor plan. Carolyn's drawing is right on the money!
If the DR is not comfortable for you, you can consider an oval or round table instead. Another potential fix for the Dining Area; Use a curved banquette (see Lee Industries) and round table with chairs on the opposite side. Place the banquette on a 45 degree angle facing the LR and drop a fixture above.

Robin Hart Love Love Love it Carolyn! I would have never thought of that! :-) Any suggestions for Paint?

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design So glad you like the plan, Robin! With the Starry Nights theme you have going, I think I'd aim for a big blue wall where the TV is. For the other walls, I'd shoot for light gray, or white, or pale yellow.

Now for the furniture. With young children, you could select a sofa in a dark gray fabric or a light colored leather. I'm fond of the Loring sofa from Room & Board, shown below. It comes in a large number of colors. Fiber treatments are available these days that make fabrics almost bullet proof, so don't feel you have to go with leather. But if you really prefer leather, I find good prices at Macy's and like their Milan sofa, which comes in "Pearl" color that is nice. Again, the leather can be treated to bullet proof level. Here's the link to that sofa.
http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/milan-leather-sofa-86w-x-36d-x-34h?ID=251084

For chairs, I like the gray chair shown below. It looks comfortable, tho I have not sat in it, and is certainly well priced at under $400. I'd get a couple of those for good TV viewing.

You could pick up the yellows from the Van Gogh in the cool side table below, or an office lamp used in your family room. I love putting fun office lamps where you don't expect them! For the lone chair near the bay window, you could use a chair like the yellow and white one below. For the rug, consider a shiny gray shag.
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID Loring Sofas
http:/ / Modern Chair, Gray Indoor/Outdoor Round Accent Table, Yellow Industrial Task Table Lamp, Tumeric Skyline Furniture Armless Chair In Gerber Sungold TM04 Hand Woven - Tempo Rugs by lightingzilla.com