San Francisco Bay Area - Where on earth do I start? Family room craziness ....

by pokyhoky

Where on earth do I start? Family room craziness ....

I would like my large (21'x30') family room to have more of an impact. DH likes rustic, I like a little more modern. It is a true family room - my daughters do crafts, we watch tv here, play games. The wood stove - used daily - puts out a LOT of heat so we can't get too close. So the seating area is facing a built-in stone shelf for the television, and there is a high table behind the sofa so my girls can do a project and watch a movie (or not!), plus I have this large light maple cabinet that stores all the craft supplies. All the different wood tones in here are too much. I don't know where my starting point should be for this room.

1. DH is not a fan of the green (we've had it 6 years). I'm ready to paint - is a warm charcoal too much? I'm really looking for a wow factor. The adjoining spaces - very open - are all a vanilla color.

2. The maple cabinet needs to match/blend more - have thought about staining it to match the coffee table.

3. Should I do a rug in the seating area? Maybe in browns and greys?

http://www.rugshq.com/rugs/jaipur-blue-petal-pusher-white-bl65-rug.html

4. Window treatment challenge - electric baseboards under the windows so I cannot do panels. How do I handle the windows? I probably wouldn't cover our views but think I should bring in some color here.

5. We originally thought about doing the ceiling in wood, but maybe that's too much wood. Because of that, it's the only room in the house that we didn't scrape the popcorn off of - and why we haven't changed out the brass ceiling fan yet.

6. I've removed the burgundy chair and moved the brown chair and ottoman in its place.

Comment

Bookmark

pokyhoky Or I could go a whole 'nuther direction and go with white:

Eclectic Living Room design by San Francisco Interior Designer Jute Interior Design

3 months ago · Like

carole all i can say is YES all good ideas!!charcoal grey on the wall and white for the trim and windowframes, the maple could be white too or brown like your coffeetable,love the rug,how about blinds for the windows in a color you can pick from the rug taken the fan away!!good start for the ceiling..

3 months ago · Like ·

pokyhoky Ok, great! Going with a charcoal wall color, what sort of blinds for the windows? Should I take down the wooden cornices? Do a Roman shade? And is the rug I (hopefully) linked look like a good option? Or not "timeless" enough? I really liked it when I saw it, but wonder if it's too trendy.

I've done lots of deep colors on walls, but never anything this bold. I think I'm afraid I don't know the difference between achieving impact vs going bold to try to make up the shortcomings.

3 months ago · Like ·

ASVInteriors Please keep the chestnut colour for your window frames - it will look great with the charcoal grey - and gives it a lovely warmth as you have lots of light and space. However, paint your ceiling two or three tones lighter otherwise the white will bring down the ceiling visually.
I would wait before adding a rug to see the effect of the walls on the room. You have a lovely light carpet and this might be necessary to give you space that the grey walls take away.

3 months ago · Like ·

pokyhoky Oh that's a great plan for the ceiling - I see now that it looks like a big expanse of white.

I have the worst luck of choosing shades of paint that are close, but not quite right. Any suggestions for a charcoal with brown undertones?

3 months ago · Like

pokyhoky ASV, that room looks so crisp and soothing.

3 months ago · Like

Rosemarie In this application, the fan is vital to disperse and mix the heat released from the stove, there are many, many styles of fan, if you check some sites you could find just the right one. I would go with roman shades in pattern of choice ( a large plaid?) perhaps a ottoman or couple pillows in the same fabric. I sometimes suggest making a minaiture floor drawing on graph paper to size, also measure your furniture and cut out blocks. Then you can move your furniture around as much as you want--no backache! it may encourage an idea or two how to make a compact craft corner, perhaps incorporating the hutch/desk with additional shelves or storage . I would encourage a change in sofa placement as well. Have fun moving furniture! lol

3 months ago · Like ·

Gretchen Maurer I feel the cornices make the room look dated. If you put up bright lively curtains to the floor it will draw your eye up. Make the panels fall over the side trim so the window does not get covered up and will make it appear bigger and should fall to the sides of the heaters as well. Do Romans on the other windows. Pick a fun fabric and then pic a color from that to paint behind your stove. The room needs some pop. I like the pictures behind the stove but not the shelf. who can admire your things if they have to stand in front of a hot stove...spread that decor around the room. You don't have to fill a large room by spreading out your pieces....it will appear too sparse. I would tighten up the arraignment that faces the TV, the pieces seem too far apart. cozy zones are great, and you seem to use the room well.....it just needs some fun and pop. anchor the TV area with a fun rug!

3 months ago · Like ·