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Interiors International, Inc. Contemporary can be warm and cozy. It just depends on the materials used and the mixture of color and texture. Search Houzz and you will see the difference between your rooms and ones that are done with more detail.

Mona Ives You have too much grey and neutrals. You need some color. It's obvious you like neutrals, but you have to think about some colors that you like. Do you like turquoise? Lime green? Yellow? red? orange? You don't need a lot, just small pops. Pillows, area rugs, drapes, shades, vases, lamp shades. Introduce a few of these items slowly into your decor and you'll see it change for the better. I'm so sick of grey everything in decor. Grey does not EQUAL modern.

ashinkareva I like Turquoise, my husband prefers reds. I found some nice pictures. If I find something colorful to put in the niches, that would help too. But it's so hard. I designed the house, but have no imagination left for details

Gabberts Design Studio Add some personality to the room by painting the bumped out tv wall a fun accent color. Window treatments, throw pillows, and artwork are great ways to add new patterns, colors, and textures.

ashinkareva would you do pattern window treatments? solids? would you make the accent rug match window treatments?

Jonathan Hress Design If you can, Hire someone to bring you a car load of colorful accessories and throw pillows. Place them around and see what you think. Give the designer a price range you can spend and start there. One colorful bowl you both agree on will not do the job.

ashinkareva I wish I knew a good inexpensive designer in Boston. That being said, i am thinking about going to home goods and getting lots of stuff that i can return if I dont like it. Window treatments is what concerns me the most

Jonathan Hress Design that would be next choice. Don't be afraid to get some larger items. Maybe even a color you are not sure of. some colored glass. Stay away from metal if you can. Good luck.

Jonathan Hress Design Forgot to mention, Some better boutiques will let you take things home for two or three days, But please be respectful and return timely.

putter2 Add reds and lamps with warm shades.........

popeyefur you should add crown molding. you don't have to go very traditional in the shape, but it really adds some interest and coziness. consider putting a matching cornice over the sliding glass door and having some curtains there, even if you never pull them shut.

the chair shoved into that tiny corner is kind of awkwardly far away from the couch for conversation. try moving it forward a little and angling it a bit inward to the rug--it shouldn't block the door.

your couch is too far back (it isn't even on the rug which is odd) and you have a huge open expanse in the room. consider a console table behind the couch where you can add a few small decorative pieces, and if you are sitting on the couch your feet should be on the rug

also, you really need a coffee table or a different ottoman. what you have now is too matchy with your couch and your rug. it's like looking at one room full of beige/tan.

on the subject of being too matchy, if you aren't dead set on your rug, consider one that isn't the same color as your couch. also, get rid of some of those couch pillow and replace them with some that have accent fabrics (to do this on the cheap just buy fabric and make zip-off covers yourself)

if you wanted to make the tv wall a really beautiful focal piece, consider tiling over the whole thing. if you have smaller tiles you can do this yourself with the sticky tile-setting mats they sell at the big box homes stores, then you just hire someone to grout. you need to add some texture and specialness to this room. here are two examples Bedroom Milton but you could do whatever tile you want.

if your budget is very low, pull that chair forward and angle it in, put the rug so the front feet of the couch are on it, put a curtain rod and some curtain panels on the sliding glass door, and sew a few pillowcases in accent fabrics

dbaune Paint the wall around the fireplace and flat screen a warm color., or cover it in expresso stained wood. You could soften the sides of the fireplace by hanging drapes from ceiling to floor on each side, even though there's no window behind. You'd create the illusion of windows, and the long fabric (clean folds, nothing fancy) could add texture and really soften the room. Also, you need a larger (taller) print by your dining room table--something with some dramatic color. Then pull a couple "pops" of that color into the rest of the room (e.g. throw pillows, a vase, etc. It will feel like home in no time.

ashinkareva popeyefur, I like all of your ideas, I did have some changes done to the room, but they are still not good enough for me. I am looking for a different rug actively now, I will put this one away once I find something like. The matching chairs came from the other house (where we had a separate sitting area) and those will be moved away as well. I did add a console table with framed and books .
If I add tile to the fireplace wall, what color would you suggest?

Van der Fleet Design Change the color, add an interesting set of rugs and add your personality to the space. Right now it's cold because it has none of the owners personality coming through.

popeyefur tile is totally dependent on your personal preference. large format is a very different look than smaller tiles. and you could go flat or textural. go to some tile shops and ask if you can bring home some samples. or glasstilestore.com sells little samples which is how we picked our backplash. i would go with something pretty neutral since it's such a large space. stick in the white/cream/beige/grey/brown family because you will be able to change out your accent colors in the room without them clashing with the tile. someone else had the idea of wrapping it in wood, which could also be really nice, but it's definitely a different aesthetic. you really should get as many samples as you can of tiles/woods you like and stick them up there

i personally like this stone tile Contemporary Family Room

but this is also quite nice and textural Denver Ranch

a grey might look nice if you want a darker wall. the only thing i really think you stay far away from is the very small glass tiles because they remind people of bathrooms and if you get one that isn't mixed with stone they can look very dated in some applications

cathyjoco Call the closest Pottery Barn, they bring the stuff over and help you! Good luck!

Jonathan Hress Design Didn't know Pottery Barn had that service. Good to know.

ashinkareva I am calling Pottery Barn now. :)

ashinkareva Popeyefur, I am a little hesitant to add texture to the accent wall, maybe with time. I am afraid to do it just yet. Maybe I will start with all the accent pieces. But I will take some pictures tonight of what the space looks like right now.

popeyefur yeah it's kind of a big change. i would do everything you feel comfotable with in terms of easily changed decor items first, and then re-evaluate whether or not you still think something is missing. i would definitely ask the pottery barn people to bring some curtain options though :)

ashinkareva Popeyefur, are you a designer?

popeyefur nope. we just do a lot of remodeling and furnishing vacation rental properties, so it's all about making them as functional and cozy as possible

ashinkareva Well, I just made a in-house consulation with West Elm too. I am afraid I am going back to my neutral stages again...

onecb1 You have too many niches around the fireplace. Too distracting..I would get rid of the niches and do build out shelving in the two corners. .Are some of them for speakers? Look at some of Candice Olsens ideas for family rooms. She does alot of contemporay spaces.
Some sort of light colored stone, tile or horizontal light colored wide planks of hardwood would look great on your fireplace. You also need some color other than beige in the room. A rug with more contrast and accent pillows. If you decide to add curtains..run them on a track to the ceiling and the length of the wall. Keep them in a light color. It adds coziness and warmth to the room. Your chairs are too far apart. Get the small chairs out of the niches. Looks strange.. Great house though. Good luck with the decorating. :)

ashinkareva that was my first idea, to build out shelves, never followed up with hat. The speakers are built in the ceiling, so no need for them. running curtains on a track is a good idea, I just cant picture it in my head. OMG so happy I found this website. A lot to process. The chairs have already left the area.