SFGate

New Again Home Interiors I would put the TV on a pretty console to the left of the fireplace, where the brown chair is now. Make the fireplace/TV wall your focal point, and have your furniture face those, Try centering the sofa in front of the fireplace, with the coffee table in front of it, the chair with footstool to the right of it, end table between.

lois8 Consider painting the mantel a deep tone that you can pull out from the tile.

terriebracke I wood paint your wood mantel a tone of white or gray or a color that blends the tile. And also take off the black and gold door on the front. The tile does look contempoary and allready busy. Then maybe paint your wood railing spindles white to match. Pick a color out of the tile and go with it also on the walls. But neutral. Tv on concole to the right and couches in an L facing fireplace and tv chair in front of railing with side table

carole (would really like to see a picture of your own furniture)the fireplace wall choclate brown and the tv on the wall next to the stairwell. place the couch opposite the fp and the chair along the stairwell,
leave room to walk around,no need to have it all on the walls,if you put the furniture this way will keep the window free..hard to find an example but something more like this pict..

Judy M I don't understand the small hanging light in front of FP. I would change that to an eyeball light and aim it at a piece of art over the fireplace.

6500 Lighting has to go as well. Suggestions for transitional/contemporary lighting that won't make the rest of the house look too dated? Need light for foyer, over staircase and in front of fireplace.

altaheart I agree with "New Again Home Interiors" ideas. I would find a way to pull the fireplace/tv console area together....either with an accent paint both walls. I used to have the brass on my fireplace front....Mine was easy to remove...really helped to update it.

raeleemllr Doing a cement finish over the tiles is inexpensive! If you want low low budget and you hate the tile.

Judy M This picture shows type of FP light I suggest.

New Again Home Interiors There is a product available at craft stores called "Rub n Buff" that you can apply to the gold portion of your fireplace screen. I would also remove the chandelier in front of the fireplace, and replace it with an eyeball (like Judy M suggested) or can light

Bonnie Goodyear The Rub' n Buff, what does it do?

michaeladamalpert How about spinning the room and creating the couches in an L shape and putting the flat screen over the fire place. Taking the stone in the fire place and staining it in an ebony tone, ( if you can't stain the stone or find someone who can, you can always paint them with an oil based paint, use an exterior primer and sand the stone first). The wood on the mantle can be stained as well with a semi transparent stain. You can make this by mixing a wood stain 50% with a semi transparent glaze. Sand the wood with #220 sand paper very well, then mix your oil based stain and your oil based glaze and with a staining brush in one direction ( which is the direction the wood grain goes). If you need it to be darker you can use less wood stain, and or do two or more coats. Add a large format photo or image, just make sure that it has limited color and add some floor pillows or puffs, a small area rug and some colored glass or clear glass, to give it some bling or pop.

michaeladamalpert BTW, the cement over the existing fire place is a great idea and would be an inexpensive way to change the room dramatically.

traditionalguy467 First, note that you are dealing with a room with numerous angles and address that. Second, put the couch parallel with the wood railing, facing the fireplace, leaving room on either side for adequate traffic space. It should be approximately center, viewing the fireplace, no end table on either side. Consider putting a sofa table, no longer than the sofa, behind the sofa, and it should have the look of being long and narrow, again, not beyond the sofa, and actually can be a little shorter. Next, place your large chair and footstool on wall where the window and drapes are, placing it at a slight angle halfway in front of the window, using the middle of the window as your guide for center. It should be facing second angled wall to the right of existing fireplace, this is the wall the flat screen will go on. Have one of your dark wood end tables with a light on it to the right of the chair and footstool nearest the open kitchen door, mimicking the angle of the chair, so it will be on the right of the chair and stool. Place the coffee table in front of the couch and center, also consider a small area rug, part-way under couch and coffee table and in front of chair to define the sitting area. Choose contemporary or traditional, it's your call, and a personal choice. Seating for television viewing will be on the sofa and chair with stool. Consider placing your other? dark end table in the middle of the railing area where present couch is now, and having two proportionately sized chairs on either side of the dark end table, also with a small light on the table. The chairs could even be from your present dining or kitchen table. As a man who loves traditional design, I feel the wood in the room is beautiful. The railings, floors and wood around the fireplace, add character to a room, that already has a very modern feel to it. I personally would pull a color out of the tile, picking one of the lighter colors in the tile, and painting the wall behind the fireplace that color as an accent color, and perhaps the first angled wall immediately to the right of the fireplace that color to offset the windowed wall and new tv wall. As money permits, the entire room could be painted the same color, although the current color is very soothing, and perfectly fine. A small painting either contemporary or traditional, or perhaps a modern mirror could be placed behind the fireplace, centering one of these, and making sure they are in proper proportion to the wall and fireplace. Last , but not least, lighting I consider to be a work of art, and your choice dictates the feel the room will have. The present fixture is too small for the present room, although the style is perfectly fine. Consider changing the shades to the color you pick out of the tiles of the fireplace, or if you want a richer, finer look consider black shades. If money is tight consider the shade options and keeping the present fixture until you can change it. Also, consider swagging it, to center it over new seating area. Best of luck in your new home, and although suggestions are always nice, ultimately, a home should tell something about the people that live in it, this is where you and your family come in. Enjoy

dsma Looking at your placement of your living room I would make some changes. First your sitting should be placed different. Couches not in sink. Try moving the big sofa and angle it away from the stairs. Then angle the loveseat facing the fireplace. Flat screen where the brown chair is. The chair would be near the walkway center of the couches. Paint your wood matle a lite color off white and your tile will look great.

conniedial raeleemllr, have you done the cement overlay ??? I have the same problem and am not nuts about the damage removing the marble looking tiles would do...

6500 Thanks for all the comments. Note: this is NOT my furniture.
And, I will not be doing the cement overlay FYI.....

conniedial I have seen pics of doing a brunished metal overlay...are you into that vibe or do you want to keep the fireplace surround already in place? I would not do a cement..as in gray..but there are some awesome tinted products out there to go with amy decor..not the cold gray look.

joverstreet21 Painting the wood in the room will make the room much more contemporary. I also agree with painting the fireplace screen. I painted mine and it made a huge difference. You can use one of the textured spray paints, or a high temp spray paint. The brass accents have to go! Give it a good cleaning and a light sanding before you paint.
The eyeball light over the fireplace is a great suggestion. However, with all the angles in the room, I would stick to a single wall color to avoid making it look choppy. I can't help you with the TV issue, I HATE a TV exposed all the time. Mine is in an armoire.

sclawson I think the style of the mantle needs to be changed and simplified. The tile seems more modern while the mantle is traditional. I think that would make the tile less discordant.

gaviotagal I don't think the tile, which seems high grade and lovely to me, is the problem. The room feels dated by the light fixture (as others have said) and the idea of an eyeball light (I have two over my mantle) is good. It would need to highlight some nice art or family portrait over the fireplace. I would probably put a TV to orient all furniture to the fireplace and TV at the same time. The mantle could be beefed up with a wider, thick piece of wood on top to give it more presence and a pair of bookcases could be added to each side. The mantle (again, as others have pointed out) needs to be painted to match the bookcases and I think I would paint a "white" which matches the tile lightest color.

Then I would move the furniture to face the fireplace in an L. I don't like separating the two primary seating pieces across from each other so far apart. The room loses intimacy that way. The two other ceiling fixtures are modern but your furniture is very almost "country". I think you need to decide on the style and overall feel you want and slowly follow through as you can afford. A wonderful room isn't created overnight by most of us, it evolves. If you have a vision of what you want, enjoy each project, the light, the mantle, the bookcases, staining the coffee table or building one or adding a couple of
antiques to give the room some history, collecting loving wall art....filling the room with a loving family that enjoys using it will be your best step.

judyideas You can paint the tiles

carole like the idea of having the tv in an armoire,but it does depend on t ht efurniture style...6500 are ther any pictures of your furniture or links to what style you would like to have in the room??

jjnman12 Please don't paint or cement over your stone .It looks like marble or granite to me.It will look richer with darker mantle and wall color as suggested above by michaeladamalpert. It will be lovely.I would mount flat screen to wall above or next to fireplace ,no need to hide it in armoire we had one years ago and doors were never closed anyway and so cumbersome.Think about viewing angle, would above fireplace crane your neck,how high would that be.If not I say go for it.

jjnman12 May as well add my 2 cents about lighting.replace with recessed lights.I just dont,t get the need for all the pendants.Maybe something special in the foyer.If you want to have something over staircase have it be something sculpetural. I just saw a fixture with lots of small clear globes.The trick is not to have the 2 fight each other.Keep one simple.