For starters, I'd switch the candystripe chair and ottoman with the single blue chair which apparently has no ottoman - the striped otto conflicts with the blue one in front of the sofa. Also, if your husband watches TV, where is it? And why is that a factor in choosing a recliner vs chair, etc? The rug may not be too small, but doesn't seem to go with any living room furniture (or are you planning to recover any of it?).

I have tried moving the striped chair and ottoman to where the loveseat is and vice versa. Just can't tell which looks better. Then the view is broken up by the loveseat. I've also put the striped chair in the big empty corner where the lamp is, angled outward. I just don't know.

Actually, the rug is a perfect match with the blue sofa and striped chair. The lighting is a little off in the picture from the glare of the sliding glass door. Sunny Florida!

The TV is inside the white armoire. He usually sits on the blue sofa with his feet on the ottoman. He really wants a recliner but is insistent that it faces the tv. Slight angle is ok but he will not sit perpendicular to the television (like where the striped chair is).
All of the furniture is brand new so we aren't going to recover any time soon.
I wouldn't mind getting rid of the blue ottoman altogether. Maybe a coffee table?

I just wanted to say that I *love* the rug - and I think it goes with the furniture. In fact, looking at your photos, I feel like I could walk in and feel right at home :)

One thing that seems out of balance to me: your ceilings are pretty tall? I wonder if you could do something with that area around the room - like quite a few 12" x 12" framed pictures, or something else bright hung in a pattern. (Not sure if that makes sense)

I don't have a lot of advice with furniture placement, other than have you tried to draw the room to scale, and cutout little furniture pieces and move them around?

I'm wondering around putting the red striped chair in the corner to the right of where the loveseat is, move the loveseat to where the striped chair is, and then put the leather chair in the corner left over? Also, you can could squish the blue couch and loveseat closer together, with a square table in the corner of them.. make them seem more of a unit?

Anyway - Good Luck!

As I look at your beautiful home, I do Not see "blah" by any stretch of the imagination! It is an example of beautiful cottage decor! The rug is the perfect compliment to your furniture. Love the colors! I'm sure one of our resident space planners can advise you on how to get the most from your room. I just wanted to tell you how refreshing your home looks!

What brand is your entertainment center? My mother is looking for something very similar for her traditional living room.

I think it's wonderfully cheerful and pretty. I love the fresh colors. What about white or simply patterned fabric panels, maybe something more substantial on top of the TV armoire, and something going on next to it... I have that empty corner problem in my lr, but all my ideas for correcting it antique secretary desk?) are too $$. I actually love the striped chair and while the rug is a little small, that is an expensive fix. Alternatively you could get a simple sisal-style rug with a border. I really love your space and don't think it's dull at all.

I see you have a pom too - here's my baby:

ahhh - I love the bright colors! Your home is not bland - it is beautiful. I am in Florida and your colors are what I have always had until I started redoing with the red/gold/green. While I love the direction I am going, the style you posted is a true love, my 1st love.

I think once you start getting accessories/pictures, etc. going stronger, you will NOT feel it is blah. You will be the envy of all.

You got a good/GREAT thing going, just keep going.

I think your room is lovely (and this is coming from a strong earth-color person!).

Have you tried the sofa parallel to the fireplace, with the loveseat at a right angle to it and the chair in the corner between the tv and the sofa? Square end table can go between sofa and loveseat and floor lamp can go between sofa and chair. (I can't get a good sense of the space from photos so I have no idea if there's room for that.) If that works, and DH is so-inclined, he could replace the loveseat with a recliner and be almost directly in front of the tv. I have no idea how the rug would work into that arrangement. Just a thought.

Thank you so much!! All of your kind words make me feel so much better! I love bright happy colors. I initially thought white drapes would be pretty but didn't know if that was too much white, esp with all the white cabinets.
The armoire is from Stanley Furniture. I think it is called the Shelter Island collection. I really like it. It fits our big old flat screen in it, (I think it is 42 inches) but doesn't take up a whole wall like all the other entertainment centers I found.
I can't wait to try out the different arrangements. I'll try to post pics and get opinions. Yes, I definitely need some artwork and things up on the armoire. Just don't know what.
My rug was the bargain of a lifetime. I wish it came in a bigger size. It is an 8 x 10. I got it from the Company Store website on clearance for almost 200. And when it came, the colors matched everything perfectly. I never get that lucky! Now I would love to find out who made it and contact them to see if they still make it and if so, any bigger.
Does anyone have any curtain/pattern pictures that might look good?
Thank you so much! I really appreciate everyone's help.

Oh yes, and here is a better pic of my baby. She has the same coloring as yours! Same sweet eyes, too. This isn't a great picture. She was all wet and dirty after Christmas.

Here is my other baby

I thought that was a Company C rug! When I look at your house, I feel that my day just got brighter--if only for a minute. It's absolutely charming. :)

I don't have much to add--although Bungalow's suggestions seem good to me.

As for the artwork: don't hurry--wait until you find something that really means something. :)

Love your rooms, they are great and so bright.

If you plan on getting the recliner I don't think you should try to fit it along with all the other furniture already in the room or it will be way too crowded.

I would try some greenery on top of the TV cabinet for starters to draw the eye up there.

I can't help with the furniture placement because I can't get a sense of the room over the monitor. I'm not that good! You might try drawing yourself a diagram on graph paper with some paper furniture pieces drawn to scale and play with that and see if you can come up with a better seating arrangement. One thing I don't like is that you see half of the back of the love seat upon entering. If you're going to have the back of a sofa facing a door I think you should put a sofa table behind it so it looks like it's there on purpose and not by accident.

Please keep up posted on your changes and any other questions. Good luck Those pups are so precious. They are by far your best decor, you know that, right?

Why are you painting the kitchen green? It looks so pretty as it is. Because that room is so open I think the rooms will clash and especially your blue sofa, with the green.

I looooove your room too! I'd do a light rattan shade, or linen shade, perhaps in 2 or 3 sections, to alter your light needs at dark.

What color is on your walls -- I love it!

I love your rooms, too. I think the rug is perfect with the furniture. I love bright colors!

What a lovely home.

A green color sofa with yellow walls is indeed harmonising.

By the way, my lcd screen may not reproduce the actual color. Is your sofa green in color?

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Dgpro
http://www.myvietnamart.com

No, the sofa and loveseat are blue. Not denim blue, almost a little periwinkle. Thank you for your compliment!

The wall color is Sherwin Williams martha stewart collection "chopstick". I'm glad you like it!

The loveseat back to the front door bugs me too. I can't find a console table I like yet. I wanted to put one behind the sofa, I just don't know if it would look strange to have one behind the sofa and the loveseat too.

This room is huge so there is a lot of leeway for furnture placement. I just have no clue what I'm doing. I always had tiny houses before. I'll have to measure and get the exact dimensions.

I want to paint the kitchen Haven by sherwin williams. I had it in my last kitchen and it was gorgeous! So much so that one of my friends painted her living room the same shade. She also has an open floor plan and lots of bright colors and it really looks great. I mix and match lots of colors all of the time so I don't think it will clash. Even if it technically does, I probably would still like it! I like high contrast in colors, it makes them all pop.

So would you all suggest roman shades on the sliders and nook windows both? Or panels? Or panels on one and shades on the other? The nook is really confusing. The 3 sides of the window are connected, like a bay window I guess.

Thank you so much for all of your compliments on the room so far. It is greatly appreciated! And my dogs are great decor too!

mind if I say something?

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DGpro
http://www.myvietnamart.com

dgpro, what are you saying except that you're a spammer ?
please contact IVillage and pay for your ad.

And the rug...

If you find that it's too small, maybe you could put a larger jute or sisal underneath it to "expand" it??

Ok Alicahaley, you may choose to take up or discard the following.

Improve on the blue sofa since it may be an expensive piece of furniture. You can place a green head rest cover (or crochet) on the blue sofa and an orange headrest cover on the red sofa.

The reason is this - blue and red does not blend with the yellow walls which are great. In fact blue/red/yellow are three primary colors which really should not be co-existing.

*****************
Dgpro
http://www.myvietnamart.com

*bonks self on head*

What is going on with the spamming this week? lol

Your home reads as really cheery, happy, and bright...I'm sure the talented (non-spamming) folks on here will help you get it just right :).

I like the yellow shade as you seem to have similar in your rug & striped upholstery fabric but do think an accent wall (like the back kitchen wall) will help tie in all the color in the family room part while setting off your gorgeous kitchen.

I went with plain white cotton canvas panels (nautica @ l-n-t I think) in my home...wanted to keep it light/bright and only need privacy at night.

Cute puppies!

Nat

Sorry, no help here. I have one way to arrange my furniture and it stays that way forever (small house with open plan). Just wanted to ask what brand your striped chair/ottman are? It looks exactly like my Haverty's brand chair & couch. Except I changed the fabric. The fabric looks like what they had in the showroom. I thought it was really pretty.

By the way, I love your rug with the couch/chair/ottmans.

Christy

I agree your room is lovely and you are off to a great start!
If I am looking at your entertainment wall, the space to the left looks a little bare. I would suggest a tall plant or a
tall shelf unit or some stacked corner shelves going up with books and such. I agree about some greenery and perhaps books or other objects on the entertainment center. Do you collect anything? Sometimes it is nice to have a a collection of unique clocks, candles,
different photo frames, etc. It adds a nice touch. You could put them on shelves and your other areas for such.
I thumb through decor mags at the grocery store for ideas too! Good luck and congrats on a lovely home!

I came back to your post beacuse I was curious if you were able to place the couch perpendicular to the fireplace? So that it is sort of facing the FP? Then move the loveseat to the right of the couch in an "L" position and move the chair to the left of the entertainment center as you face it. You should have plenty of room for viewing the tv. A sofa table could be place behind the sofa with a lamp(s), pretty vase, etc. Move the rug on the same angle as the couch. I'm not sure if there is room to do this, but it might work. Then place the floor lamp by the chair.

OK here are some pics. Tell me your opinions, please.

These are of the carpet angled towards the fireplace, sofa on left and loveseat on right. Chair on far left. Something looks amiss. Maybe there isn't one defined focal point? I'm not sure.

These are views from the kitchen into the living room.

This is the view from the front door.

Any advice? Thank you in advance!