SFGate

LizaJane Your art above the sofa is the wrong scale. I would put a horizontal piece up. Also, add some throw pillows with some color.

Kelli Kaufer Designs I would move your armoire to one of the other large blank walls or move it over, it is too close to the window.
What is your style? Do you want color? If so what colors do you like?

Melanie Hon I agree with LizaJane. Hang the art above the sofa horizontally. Get some throw pillows, pick colours from the artwork. I am not a fan of the tall lamps behind the loveseat, or even see a purpose for having a sofa table behind it at all. An end table would be more useful for people to set their drinks down. Your other pictures make it a bit hard to see the room so I can't comment on those.

tamma2006 Thanks for the comments! I have had the armoire on the wall by the recliner which of course furniture was arranged different but it seemed to make the room even smaller than it already is. The "window" is actually a sliding glass door which I am not fond of and isn't used. I was trying to make it seem like a window. Would you still suggest moving it over? I do want color I like the aqua coral/orange color scheme but really any bright colors are a go with me. Style wise I ask myself that question ha electric modern I seem to lean more to those styles.

tamma2006 Melanie thanks the table was in the corner of the room and looked cluttered so I moved it trying to hide clutter to be honest it holds all the computer office supplies . Thanks for your suggestions

Melanie Hon Okay, it wouldn't even be that noticeable if the lamps weren't on it. They are too tall and formal, while your couches are casual. They look like they should go in a formal dining room on a buffet maybe.

carolins How much do you love your furniture? Your colourful modern art and your large, not very modern sofa don't go together. And since you want it to be a colourful happy place and you don't have the largest sitting room in the world.... I think starting with new, smaller furniture will be the best option. I do like the wall colour. I'd go for a sofa and two chairs you absolutely love! Don't have to be two of the same chairs. And don't buy chairs that match the sofa! Just buy what you absolutely love!
Throwing you some 'wild' ideas:

janishill Can you step back and take pictures? That would give a better perspective of the room.

I'm not seeing much in the way of coral in the picture, but maybe it's my monitor. At any rate turn it on the horizon and swap it with the mirror. Remove the existing lamps and add a short squatty lamp(coral color would be fantastic!) to one side of the sofa table and a green plant or books to the other side.

Your existing rug is much too small and rather blends right in. Search home decorators to find one at a reasonable price: http://www.homedecorators.com/Rugs/color/174/Orange_Rugs/
Purchse one that covers almost the entire floor leaving a few inches up to a couple of feet all the way around the edge. You want at least the front feet of all your furniture to be on the rug.

Purchase a selection of coral throw pillows in different patterns and maybe a throw. That big cube shaped basket you have could be spray painted coral!

Coral print drapery panels would help make the room look "finished"...unles you want to cover the window with blackout fabric and move the armoire right in front of it as though it doesn't exist!

And right now the room arrangement isn't doing a lot for the room. The recliner looks like it isn't even in the room! Can you draw a simple floor plan showing where the doors are? It will make it much easier to help with coming up with the best furniture arrangement.

tamma2006 Carolines no I'm not in love with the furniture and would consider buying new furniture I love the red one !

tamma2006 Janishill I love your ideas! I moved the mirror and the art took away the lamps and have attached a picture. I put a lamp that I had just for the picture to see if that was the size lamp you were referring to.In the picture you will see the 'ugly chair' it will be reupholstered to match the color scheme.
The art work doesnt have a lot of coral in it. The main colors are blue, aqua, yellow and lime green. I dont have to keep this its more of a sentimental piece though and would like to keep it.I am also attaching a drawing of the floor plan. Thanks so much for your ideas and help.

carolins It already looks so much better :-) Hooray for Janishill!

Steven Alvarez General Contractor Looks better. Mybe consider moving out or reducing size of large scale items that are not useful. Some of the pieces in the room are large scale and makes the room look a little "stufffed". Some times less is better and smaller and simple is beautiful. The ceiling fan is probably useful but also brings the ceiling down. I know that tv cabinets are useful but they do dominate a room. Maybe reconsider some thing smaller less bulky. I know some of these comments seem drastic however sometimes when you question designs and function it leads to lifestyle choices that may or may not be serving you or the house to be the best.

steve

FurnitureNYC Nice living room! If you want add brightness to your room then add a bright carpet. My advice is something like these
http://www.arearugsusa.net/product/cosmopolitan-brown-chocolate-blue-striped-round-rug
http://www.arearugsusa.net/product/cosmopolitan-parchment-and-multicolor-floral-round-rug

Chelsea I too suggest scaling down the furniture. I can't even describe how much it can open a room. Do it and it will feel much lighter and happier. One sofa, two chairs, one occasional chair (think dinning sized) if you feel you need more seating. I would also go with an ottoman in front of the sofa, great for propping your feet up snd extra seating when needed. Try moving the armiore over or to a different wall, it just doesnt feel right so close to the light from the door. Get pillows in the colors you like. Amazon and overstock have a lot of options at reasonale prices, as does target if you need to see things in person before buying. I like the second printed round rug above, i must admit I have a weak spot for round rugs though :-).

misecretary I always equate a "happy" place as one with plenty of natural light, so if it were my room I would definitely move and replace the TV unit. Would the sofa table be able to handle the weight of the TV until you are able to pick out a replacement?

Would you consider removing some furniture? I see 3 tables, a side chair, and the 3 large, upholstered furniture plus TV unit. My living room is larger than yours and I have fewer pieces of furniture. I know--personal preference...

tamma2006 I have convinced my husband on to go furniture shopping this weekend yeah!! So I will be looking for some much smaller pieces. On the armoire this is something that I can not replace at this time because it was purchased less than 6 months ago and I paid 2,000 for it so my husband would kill me! I can move it to another wall but then I still have the delima of the door that is behind it . No furniture looks or feels right on this wall since it is a large door and not centered with the wall.

carolins Happy shopping :-)

misecretary How about a chair and small table on the same wall as the patio door--they could even set in front of the patio door.

printesa I think the couches are too big in the sense that they are not very structured (too fluffy). Carolins' ideas are great.

tamma2006 I did go furniture shopping and I am planning on buying a L shape or U shape sectional but haven't committed to one just yet! So in the meantime I did move things around as some have mentioned in previous comments. I now have a vision for a black and white art work piece with horses above the love seat and a zebra print rug ? Would love to do orange? Or can this not be pulled off or possible ? Thanks for any help

carolins Oooo... decisions decisions.... difficult to make sometimes. Are there photos available of the sectional you're planning to buy? Somewhere online perhaps? What colour is it?

This furniture arrangement already looks so much better don't you think? But it still is a bit bulky for the size of the room. And the tv cabinet fits its new space perfectly. What do you and your family think of it?

Oh, and I've seen some interesting horse-paintings somewhere today... will see if I can find them for you again.

Why don't you decide on the sectional first, wait till you've got it home and go from there...

carolins Found the site with all the artwork, including horses:

http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/horses/all

Also, if you browse http://etsy.com and search for 'horse art'

tamma2006 Caroline's you have been such a big help! Thank you so much for your kindness! The sectional is a off white I have attached picture. It's not the exact one but very close .
The new arrangement has made it much better we actually all love it (which is saying a lot ). It feels much more open .

carolins You're very welcome.... :-)

I'm loving the sectional. I can totally see this work with a zebraprint rug and orange. You'll be thinking you're not in the same house when this one is in your room. Such a difference. It will feel even more spacious and open, I'm sure of that.
If you use your floor plan drawing, draw the sectional in the different options to scale on thick paper and cut that out, you can move them around in your living room and get a feel of the space when you choose either the U or the L-shape.
An L shape will leave you more room to add another chair or two.

erasistible Your floors already have yellow/orange tones in them so I don't think orange walls would be a good choice. Gray and white with hits of yellow would look nice with your floors. I like the picture Carolins posted but would worry about the seating pieces being white. I would use a gray sofa with gray, white and yellow pillows.

carolins Agreed on a darker colour being a more practical choice, but hey.... if it's a stain resistant fabric or washable... and your family is house-trained... :-) If not, I'd think again about the off-white. But if it makes you happy... go for it.

erasistible Fabrics are easier to clean than they used to be. Maybe I am just afraid to take a chance. The white does look better......

carolins We have three black labradors who love sleeping on the couch. Off-white wouldn't work for me. No fabric can be thát easy to clean;-)

tamma2006 ereasistible I was not going to paint the walls orange. I have been stuck on an orange zebra print rug and really really wanted it ha. I like bold colors and wanted to find a way to incorporate this rug. I agree on the darker sofa since I do have a dog and children. Carolines loving the art work!!! I am finally feeling like I see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!

carolins The orange zebra rug will perhaps be too orange in combination with your floor, but if you absolutely love that rug, get it in a smaller size and put a large neutral (can be a light grey but also charcoal, black, even light blue or so) coloured rug under it. Does that make sense? Also, make sure the bottom rug doesn't have the same structure as the zebra one. So, for instance: sisal on the bottom, wool on top. NOT two shaggy rugs :-)
(I don't know if you know, but I'm Dutch and sometimes struggle to find the right English words. Especially when I haven't had a coffee yet.)

Just to give you an idea of colourful art, grey sectional, pairing rugs, colourful cushions, modern lighting...

I'm thinking eclectic.

tamma2006 Love all of this! I think you have figured out my problem! Awesome I am so excited to get all this pulled together ! Caroline's your a life saver!!!!! I need to hire you to fix all my rooms!!!

carolins Hahaha.... would love that. Only... for the travel expenses alone you'll probably need to win the lottery first ;-)
You're well capable of fixing all your rooms yourself. It's just... sometimes you need a fresh eye to look at it, someone to put you on the right track and a bit of self-confidence to actually try out your own ideas. You're actually going for quite a big change in style here, but I'm sure you'll love the end result.

Are you following this thread?
http://www.houzz.com/discussions/293751#704973

If you take a look over there, you'll be amazed about the project and it's a lovely read. As someone commented: a good excuse to leave the housework... The Houzz-community at its best :-)

Keep us posted please and if you have doubts about something...

tamma2006 @ Carolines I was not following this but I am now it is a great read now I myself am anxious to see the end result of this remodel!
I am happy to tell you I have ordered the couch ( gray). I have ordered the pillows and am going to order the rugs today. Do you think I should stick with the square zebra rug? Or round ? I am going to order the charcoal sisal rug to go underneath like you have suggested.
My next question is window treatment?? Should I stay with a solid color or print? I was looking at some on etsy that were a Greek key print in a navy blue or royal blue???

carolins Oooo... exciting. I'm giving you ideas only you know, so if you don't like my suggestions you can always go for something else. You have to live there. And as I'm only browsing the internet, I can't really tell what colours are like in real life and how fabrics feel. You know...

I suggest you wait until you have the couch and the charcoal sisal rug, see how it looks and then decide whether to go for a round or a square zebra? (I'm leaning towards round. Which one would you like?)
Also, there will be so much going on in your room with the zebra on the floor and the horses or other colourful art on the walls... Don't go overboard on the fun and colourful.
Will have a think about the windows :-)

carolins To give you an idea....

carolins Can you give the link to the curtains you were looking at on Etsy?

tamma2006 I am so inpatient and wish I weren't I'm the type of person that I want it all right now! Ha ha I have got to work on this especially in a situation like this . As far as the rug goes I was leaning more towards the round zebra rug also .
What you've done with the picture above is amazing! Wow it lets you see it all together! Makes me even more excited.
I am attaching some of the curtain fabric that I was looking at on Etsy. Thanks again for all your wonderful advice and help.

carolins You're very welcome. I like doing this, so I have to thank you :-)
Don't know if it is a practical option for your windows, but how do you feel about Roman shades with floor to ceiling curtain panels either side?
Actually, I like all the Etsy fabrics you've chosen, but I'm not sure if they will be too busy.

Just wait, see and then decide. What if... you go looking for the painting(s) or prints or poster(s) that you (and your family, let's not forget them) absolutely, ab-sol-ute-ly love. Perhaps that will lead you to the colour of the curtain-fabric.

tamma2006 I love the idea of the roman shades ! I think that would be perfect . I am having a hard time with the print for sure I like so many. I will work on narrowing it down to a couple I like the best and post them and get some opinions .

carolins You'll need one of these... lol
http://www.etsy.com/listing/115001179/keep-calm-and-eat-a-cupcake-13x19-poster?ref=v1_other_2

tamma2006 Ha ha it is cute!!