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mpoulsom Some designers will give you some good advice on this, but one thing that I would suggest right off the bat is adding some mirrors in the room to add some more light.

If you give the dimensions of the room, that would help with what size furniture would be appropriate and arrangement possibilities. :)

ASVInteriors Capitalize on the ancient Chinese and Japanese traditions of bringing light into the home by adding metallics and sheens that relay and reflect light into the home. You can do this, by painting a wall with a metallic sheen - adding mirrors as mpoulsom suggested - or adding light colours and elements to the far end.

Alcove Decor and Furniture can you upload the picture for the living room? I can tell you what sort of furniture you might need.
Rugs? sofa? paintings? Chairs? end tables?

pollyg2012 Wow, thanks for the speedy comments guys. I will definately be placing a large mirror on one wall near the window and I propose to make a large canvas painting on the opposite wall. At the far end of the room, away from the window, I was going to use floor lamps that direct upwards. The room light is rececessed spot light in the ceiling, but I thought a few floor lamps will make sure that aren't any dark corners. I was also going to get a sofabed in an L-shape for the room, so that the longer part of the sofa acts as a divider to break the room up from the narrow length. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated :-)
We haven't got the keys yet, so no pictures!

simonabdo @alcove : I have the same problem ...so an L-shape cfor the formal living area will help? see pic attached.10x

Alcove Decor and Furniture I cant see your picture. you can email it to me @ alcove.furniture@gmail.com or upload it here.
most of the customers, offices and Restaurants that we have designed furniture for the narrow, long living room is L shape sectionals. are you planning to buy sectionals any time soon?

Alcove Decor and Furniture Are you planning to buy any furniture any time soon Polly?

pollyg2012 yup, planning to raid Ikea!

Alcove Decor and Furniture we can get whatever you are looking for! Ikea style Modern furniture, or whatever you like and want we can get it. Will try our best to beat their prices. email me what you are looking for alcove.furniture@gmail.com

Alcove Decor and Furniture @pollyg2012 I am the interior designer for the Alcove Furniture company. I like the ideas you've stated for the space! L-shaped sofas' are a great way to add a break in your space. Another great way to provide some divide in length is to add in a panel privacy screen, a vertical plus if you have high ceilings. Mirrors are a plus and if you do choose to paint your space, light colors with one accent wall would help to make the space appear larger. If you have a lot of vertical height, chandeliers could also be great space dividers or add light to a dark corner area that could potentially become a seating area. Let me know if you have any other questions! We would love to be of assistance and if you are able to provide dimensions, we could work out some furniture layouts for your space!

@simonabdo - We received your email with the photos and have some great ideas for your living/dining space! It would be great if we could get some dimensions and picture ideas of how you would like for your space to look. After looking over your profile, I see that you favor the contemporary style, but do let us know and we will do what we can to make your space functional and elegant. I will respond to your email tonight! Thanks!

Alice

Alcove Decor and Furniture Also, with residential interiors, it is helpful to pick out furniture before picking out paint colors because there are more options with paint then there are with furniture pieces and rugs, even if you pick the finishes. If you have an idea of furniture ideas or your interior that you would like to translate into your space, we can help you decide what finishes would complement your design!

simonabdo @alcove: That is very nice of you...I will take some measurements and I will provide it to you in weekend.
I luv the idea of a statement wall, I saw some pictures on this website, that might look good, but is very hard to take a decision. you know how is it!
Also I will send you a picture with our family room, ( that is ok,, i think) that is across of the room where is the dining table now, , in order to get an idea what is going on in my house.

simonabdo @alcove: room size is 3.75m x 8.86m. I couldn't agree more with you that I have to start with lighting and paint, but to tell you the truth , I have not decided yet where will be the dining area and where will be the living room...can you help with that?

Alcove Decor and Furniture @simonabdo - I would love to help with that! Could you perhaps send images of where your doors or entry ways are into the area? That would give me an idea of how the traffic will flow through the space and I can then determine, what would be the best area for your dining room and living. If you can send measurements of the door/hallway openings from a corner wall along with images, that would help too! I'm use to working from floor-plans you see, but given this information, I can come up with a detailed floor plan design for you of your furniture layout! After looking through your idea book on your page, I'm assuming you appreciate more of the lofty/open space look?

Alice