SFGate

lefty47 HI -- Why don't you remove the wood wainscotting , - the room does not need it ,-- it just cuts an already small room in half . Then paint the room all in one color with white trim . Then the wood floors will shine all on their own . Then add a 4 by 8 sheet of pressed ceiling metal or galvinized metal or a large tile on the wall behind the wood stove . If you do the area in the yin ceiling tiles , that will look modern but still have the cottage look.There are many patterns and also matching trim. For furniture , you could have a sofa to face the woodstove that has a lounge end and that can have the lounge end at the front window so the back helps define the entrance . Then a couple of matching lounge chairs or one depending on how much room is left over. Then your lighting and tables etc. And don't forget some nice big Art . I think your place can be so cosy and cute .

lila29 Great advice, thank you! I was actually already thinking about getting a sofa with a lounge end, and maybe one side chair as space is limited. I'm not sure where to put our flat screen TV (this is the only living space in the house). We were thinking of mounting it on a wall.
I was also wondering how easy it is to cover up popcorn ceilings, perhaps with beadboard. Does anyone have experience with this?

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design If you buy just a nice sofa instead of a sofa with a lounge end, you will have more space for a nice big coffee table, which you don't seem to currently have. The lounge end on a sofa will definitely cut into any space for a coffee table.

I would then place two comfortable, but not oversized chairs in front of the window, with a smallish round table between them. On the entry wall shown to the right in the photos, I would place either a bench for extra seating or a console with lamps that would serve as an entry table. A mirror over it would be helpful. A comopromise would be a bench with a mirror above.
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID

dlanevi About 10 years ago we bought an older home with popcorn ceiling. We had it tested for asbestos and because it tested positive, it had to be removed by a professional company - not a cheap endeavor. However, we had some friends with a newer older home and their popcorn didn't have asbestos so they removed it themselves as it was a small home. They sprayed it with water; let it soak; then scraped off with a painter's spatula. Easy to do, but time consuming and a bit back-breaking as they stood on ladders. I've never heard of anyone covering the popcorn ceilings. Might be an option, but probably need a professional to do that unless you have a lot of handyman experience. Good luck.

lila29 So we finally moved in- sort of. I still don't know how to position the furniture if I want to mount a TV to a wall. Any advice for the TV? We painted the waincotting white and the top half Revere Pewter.

lefty47 HI -- I bet the new paint job made a huge change . For the TV it could go on the left wall from the wood stove or on a wall across from the wood stove if it doesn't block the traffic flow from the entrance . I don't think putting it beside the wood stove is a good idea due to the heat .The furniture would have to go mostly the same as before . I don't think the room is wide enough to have a sofa facing the wood stove , besides it's not a fireplace , it's just there . Mount the TV using a swing bracket . To bad the door has to be there ,-then you would have more room . Find a nice area rug and take your decor colors from that . Because it is a small room keep things simple and the furniture very tailored and with exposed legs . If having more space is more important and you don't really like or need the woodstove , then I would remove it . Then you could use a ventless or electric wall mount fireplace , then you could put it where it will work best in the room . That would free up the biggest wall for a sofa etc. You could also add to the wall going to the dining area , it doesn't need to be that wide when you need wall space .

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design Good point, lefty about the exposed legs. They will give a more open and spacious feel to a small room instead of having each piece going down to the floor.

Madeline I bought my dream house overlooking the Pacific Ocean and it was said to be "move-in" condition. What a joke! In any event the popcorn in this case had a cement aspect to it. I cannot remember the exact details. But we decided to hire plasterers to do a skim coat over the ceilings in all of the public rooms and of course the master bedroom. They looked fabulous. It was pretty costly, though. And worth every penny. ( Boy what a smooth ceiling does for the soul when you're staring up at it by moonlight and counting sheep on a sleepless night.)

Karen Naylor a nice neutral corner sofa, flat screen tv mounted on the wall and a small glass coffee table (fire proof as a wood one may get too hot when the fire is on) also the glass will let the light thru and allow the room to appear larger. stick to pale pastel on the walls, paint the wood work simple white, stunning lil space xx

Karen Naylor just read the others comments, like the exposed legs/ tailored look/ mirror to bounce the lightx i guess you mean by the 'bubble ceiling' it like artex? i had a plasterer skim all of mine..... nice smooth finish and not too costly xx