SFGate

hollybsb1 And the furniture in this picture is not mine.....

Julie Thome Draperies, Inc. Phew, thank god.....What is your vision for the room , or taste? After you've thrown out those old drapes, I recommend floor to ceiling panels on each window, with a decorative rod.Hang them high and wide to beef up the windows. Its a good place to introduce pattern if you like. Choose a rug first, then art, drapes, upholstery., then paint.

carole could you put in a picture of the firplace too?once all that stuuf is out you are back to basics,any favourite color or style you want advise on??are you bringin in any furniture or are you buying as you go??

hollybsb1 I am going to be buying everything new... I like blues, Greys and tans but I have no idea where to start. I think a want a sectional but I have no idea how to coordinate a rug, couch, curtains and walls....I really need help matching colors. P.S. I hate the current green color and the furniture is completely not my taste. I'm looking for a light relaxing feel that's still modern

Manon Floreat I like Julie Thome's process for building a room. You have a nice space. As you're considering your color palette, also think about your lifestyle and what sorts of activities you'll be doing in this room. That will help you in selecting furnishigs. Here are some color palettes that may appeal to you.

Keitha That little shelf to the right of the fireplace could be a problem. If possible, I suggest removing it and drywall that area before painting.

Susan Mills Design Is that a sun porch I see beyond the two windows? If so what will you do in this room? The way window coverings are dealt with in this living room, may reveal a lot more of that room. Can you give us a sense of how those spaces connect?

hollybsb1 I love the tall window idea! And yes there is a patio behind those two windows it is in the front of the house and you can see it through the windows in the living room.

decoenthusiaste Find a very large, colorful area rug that you absolutely love! The colors in it will be the basis for everything else you buy or paint. If you'll post a close up pic of the rug you select, paint, furniture and accessory suggestions will come forth, I'm sure.

hollybsb1 Once again....not my furniture:)

Julie Thome Draperies, Inc. Aye aye..the valance!!! Sorry. That sun room in front has nice windows, and they would be a good candidate for woven shades, which will provide privacy depending on the lining choice, as well as have a light casual feel. http://horizonshades.com/site/natural-woven-shades.html

carole from your description of colours and style manon floriat's picture san fransico home staging looks the perfect one,and decoenthousiast is right,find that perfect rug and you will have the one thing you need to make it perfect for you!!

Miller's Paint & Wallpaper I would start with the furniture. Decide what you would like. A sofa & love seat, sofa & two chairs, etc (It looks like you have the room.) Then is your sofa & love seat or sofa & chairs going to have a pattern or be solid? If you go with sofa & chairs you can mix it if you like. ( Pattern & solid) Then you want to pull from there. If you go solid on the furniture, I would bring in a pattern for window treatments and pillows. If you do the opposite than I would go tone on tone or solid. Open up your window area! I would either use Roman shades on the windows or I see someone mentioned panels. They could work but I notice on one of the windows there is not a lot of room to the right of the wall. You need to have at least 22" from the trim of that window to the wall for the panels to work well. It is always best to work in stages so that you don't get over whelmed. Pull your colors from the furniture you get. If you have trouble doing that find some art work that you can hang in there and pull your colors from that. Area rug would also work well in there. Last thing I would do is pick the paint color for the room if possible for there are so many to choose from. I don't have time right this moment but if I see some photo ideas I'll send them your way.

Julie Thome Draperies, Inc. Beg to differ with above poster. You have PLENTY of room to stack a drapery panel off the glass on the wall. A panel that is 1.5 widths of fabric will take up 7" of rod if pinch pleats...a 2 width panel will take up about 10" stacked and fully off the window.

Miller's Paint & Wallpaper Most fabric widths are 54" so would you be kind enough to explain to me how you figuredout the stacking. THX.

Julie Thome Draperies, Inc. One width of fabric pleats down to five pleats, 1.5 widths gives 7 pleats, 2 widths gives 10 pleats. Each pleat occupies approx. 1" of rod length when stacked...so one width stacks to about 5". I would never recommend a one width panel for any window. Those windows in the pic will need a pair of 1 1/2 wdith panels each window, and will have plenty of room to stack.

Miller's Paint & Wallpaper Also, the panels would make the windows seem larger,which is good. Photos only show so much therefore, from experience I have to be conservative. With the 3 windows so close at one end of the room..and the room is long I feel panels could be to much fabric ( heavy) in that one area. If you go this route I wouldn't use a busy fabric.

lparides A warm color pick it from a pic or pillow and go with it.

Jennifer Hogan I have seen so many people get their first home and decorate each room without a plan. This is a costly mistake that ends up with a disconnected home. I am a huge believer in whole home decorating. Not everything has to be the same, but it has to flow from room to room.

If you are like most of us, you inherited some furniture and things that are not exactly your taste, but you have to live with them until you can afford to replace them. That's okay, but this is the time to discover what you really like and plan for your dream home.

Look through your closet and your current furniture and tons of posts on the internet. Decide the style of furniture that best fits your lifestyle and what you expect your lifestyle to be in 5 or 10 years. (If you think you will be having children it's best not to invest in a glass topped coffee table).

Once you figure out what style furniture you like the next step is to figure out what your colors are. Again, look at your closet and the things you own (especially paintings and artwork) that you LOVE. What color combinations make your heart sing! The current trends will only be the trend for a few years, but the colors you love will last you a lifetime.

Next you look at your home and decide what you can't afford to change and have to make work for a long time, and those that you have to make work for the moment, but will probably get changed in the next couple of years.

Next pick the colors that you love that work with the colors that you are going to have to live with for a long time.

You want to pick a base color or 2 shades of one base color and plan on that being about 50% of your homes walls and ceilings. Pick another 3-6 colors that are the colors that you love. These will be the rest of the walls and ceilings and the colors that are incorporated into your furniture, carpets, window coverings etc.

Once you know your style and your colors then you are ready to buy new things to fill your home. As you buy and replace your home will become a reflection of your personality.

Bargain Backer I recommend hanging something on the walls. Maybe even remove the old curtains and replace (we don't carry curtains). But, we do carry much wall decor and accent furniture.
http://www.bargainbacker.com/Decor-_c_8.html

Jennifer Hogan Base colors are usually a neutral beige or gray or neutral "color" like sage green or smokey blue.

Be careful with the undertones of the neutral that you select. Pink undertones are hard to work with - not impossible, but it is really tough to mix them with yellow undertones.

Maria Killam has a great article on undertones. . .

http://www.mariakillam.com/2009/02/vancouver-colour-expert-reveals-what-everyone-should-know-about-beige.html/