Your room really needs help with furniture placement. The way the room is now, there's no way can yon you have a cozy conversation as the furnitrue sits. Plus the T.V. is too far away for viewing. Can I suggest the book 'Use What You Have Decorating'. It's a wonderful book explaining good furniture placement and how you can achieve it.

mao

Here is a link that might be useful: Use What You Have Decorating

First of all I think you have a beautiful room! I love your space, fireplace, floors, art (I'm a sucker for trees)and your furniture looks very comfy. It looks to me like you have no other place for the TV unless you put your sofa in front of the slider (allowing room for traffic) or angle the furniture so that it is angled in the corner in front of the window. I would not buy new furniture right now. If you plan to stain the fireplace, I would do that first, then you can pick a wall color that complements your fireplace and furniture. I would check out some of the decorating sites where you can play around with furniture arrangement - I know Ethan Allen and Bassett furniture has them, and I know there are more, I just don't know what they are. Someone will chime in though. Good luck. It's going to be fantastic!

Okay, I've read your needs and ideas. I think before painting or anything else I'd trying bringing the furniture closer to the focal point of the room, which is the fireplace. In order to do that first move it all off the rug and bring the rug in closer to the fireplace. Maybe just another foot or so. Now bring the chairs back to their original places but just a bit closer to each other, possibly sharing the ottoman. Bring the sofa in with it's front legs on the long end of the rug facing the fireplace. Move the TV to the wall where the art is now. The art could go on the wall the TV just moved from, but I'd think about either a gallery wall or my personal preference would be built in bookcases. That can be costly and could always be added down the road with the gallery wall holding it's place until then.

I guess I should ask if the chair to the right of the fireplace swivels? It looks as though it might be a swivel rocker. That would make it perfect for turning to watch TV.

I'll draw up a floorplan to make this make more sense though I might be off since I don't know the dimensions.

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Justgotabme's furniture arrangement is just what I was thinking. I like your furniture. If you wanted to get something new, your room is large enough for a sectional or a bigger couch. If it works to use the ottoman between the two chairs, you could just get end tables. If it doesn't, you could get a pretty large coffee table-- maybe round. A sofa table would look nice behind the couch with a lamp or two.

I think the big wall where the TV is currently needs something pretty massive to balance the fireplace. Built-ins would look great, but are so expensive. Maybe you could start with some Ikea bookcases? The corner opposite the doorway would be a nice spot for a reading chair and lamp, or a desk.

I would stain your FP first, then pick out what you want for window treatments. Then you have all your elements in place to pick what paint color would be best.

Please post some pictures as you work on it!

Jen

I would move the TV into an entertainment center and put that on the wall where the couch is now.

Put the couch across from the tv, back to the sliding doors. Put the two chairs facing the fireplace.

Turn the rug so it runs longways from the fireplace out, and move it closer to the hearth. Add a great round coffeetable to echo the round clock and soften some of the square lines in the room.

You can get the same effect should you choose to get rid of the couch and chairs, and do a sectional instead.

Down on the wall where the tv is now, place a game table and chairs. If you have room and like the idea, you could run a wall of cabinets and bookcases there with a built-in desk area.

Don't pick a paint color until you have decided on the upholstered pieces. Be sure to paint the ceiling the same color as the walls, to de-emphasize the wall height and ceiling angles.

You have great pieces to start with and a lovely space.
Try what Becky and/or Les suggested and see how that works for you.
Make sure you post after pix so that we can see and can further help. :)

It appears that right now you have two focal points: the fireplace at one end of the room & the TV at the other end. The person sitting in a chair or on the couch could potentially trying to look both ways to view either focal point. I like les's suggestion to put the TV where the sofa is and then float the sofa & chairs to face both. As threedgrad said, the art above the sofa appears high and drapes will make a big difference. You have a pretty room that just needs tweaking.

Thanks everyone! I love all the ideas so far and am starting to feel a little better.
I went to ethanallen.com and put in my room and furniture dimensions, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to share them here. Anyone know?
Thanks for doing that layout, justgotabme. I like the layout, but our fireplace is too long (7 ft) for the two chairs to share an ottoman, I think. The room is almost a square with the wall where the doors are being slightly longer (18'x16 1/2'). The chair to the right of the fireplace does swivel.
I love the idea of built in shelving/cabinets. My husband is somewhat handy and said he could probably make some, so that is an option.
What do you think about putting the tv in the corner to the left of the fireplace?
We don't use the doorwall at all in the room, so putting the couch there is a good option.
I am going to try to see if my husband will help me move some furniture around and try out your suggestions.

Do you use the fireplace much? It might work to flip everything to the other end of the room, tv stays where it is, couch slides down toward tv, chairs with backs to fireplace and/or door into room, or couch opposite tv flanked by chairs, and library table and/or seating by the fireplace. I think that would function best, but it requires giving up the notion of the fireplace as the focus of the room.

justgotabme's furniture placement is what I would do. One other thing that might help would be painting the ceiling the same color as the walls-you have a lot of colors going on with the natural woodwork, wall color, ceiling color, and fireplace color. I like your idea of a green shade.

OK, I took a step back and gave everything some thought. We also took a trip to a furniture store and looked at some large wall units. I really liked the idea of built ins or a wall unti to help fill up our huge empty wall.

I came home and rearranged some furniture and below is what I came up with. Picturing the room set up this way and with a larger wall unit for the tv, what do you think? I tried to do it with the tv on the other wall, but it did not work with me. I printed out a scaled drawing of our room and took it to the store (Gorman's) with us and the designer wasn't much help.

We are going to leave the furniture the way it is below and see how we like it. If we like it, here is our tentative plan and some other ideas:

-buy a wall unit for the tv, art, etc
-paint the whole room one color, probably green
-make curtains for the room and remove the horizontal blinds
-stain brick on the fireplace to a warmer color
-buy a round coffee table and end tables (two? one for each end of the couch?) Do you think the coffee table would compete too much with the ottoman?
-Possibly build low built ins for below each window by the fireplace. Top with a cushion and throw pillows. We thought they could have a hinged opening on top like a toy chest and we could store our kids bizillion toys in there or maybe blanket, pillow, etc
-finally put a few more things on the wall!

Am I missing anything? Any other suggestions?

I thought you might like the idea of a wall unit on the large wall. We have a very similar set up with out gentleman's parlor, the room being 18 by 18 with doors on both sides the room as you have on the one side. Once we get our flat screen TV (if the monster ever dies) then we'll have our TV on the opposite wall as the fireplace.
We have two recliners and a two piece sectional, both sections being three seaters. I've had it a multitude of ways including the two sections of the sofa at angles. We only had one recliner then. I pretty much ignore the one set of french doors since we usually enter the back deck from the set of FDs in the Sunroom, as I can see you have the same set up with sliders. During the warmer months I do need to keep the front set of FDs open to getting to the front porch which is screened in and used quite often. If not by us, our kitties.
I might try changing the rug around the length goes from the fireplace to the TV in your room. It will bring the furniture a bit closer together for a more intimate feel instead of close to the walls. For now that would make a great place to store toys behind the sofa until you get the storage seats under the windows made. That's an awesome idea by the way.
I wish they'd make more chairs swivel. It makes it much easier to place furniture in a multi-purpose room. As for adding a coffee table along with the ottoman, I don't think you'll want one if you change the rug and schootch up the furniture. In you need you could always use the ottoman with a tray on top as a temp coffee table when you have guests and need somewhere for them to put a drink other than end tables.
Oh and end tables. I like having them on each end of the sofa for lighting and drinks, but I think it's better if they don't match. You just kind of have to play with what you have until it feels right in that case. Or if you don't have then you play with ones you find in the store with a similar sofa.
Don't forget to check Craigslist and thrift stores too though. Great finds on end tables all time in our area.

Here's an idea of how a sectional might work in your room....(please note this room was not complete at the time these photos were taken. We moved in with loads to do to finish our home. Still working on it in fact.) The first was taken from the main entry, the second from the sunroom.
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And what used to be on our big blank wall which was a walkway from sunroom to main entry through the back of the gentleman's parlor.
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Sorry for babbling. I have a habit of doing that even when I'm not on cold meds. I hope the photos, though not the greatest help you in deciding if you might want a sectional though.

I would try moving the tv and stand to the left of the fireplace (yes, in front of the window)and arrange the sofa and chairs so that you don't have to turn your head to view the tv. I have a similar set up in my family and it doesn't look awkward having the tv in front of the window.

I like your new setup and ideas. Have you tried the rug the other way, going with the length of the room?

ctlane-the rug was that way a few months ago, but I didn't try it again when I moved everything around. I'll try it though!

justgotabme-thank you for posting your pics. I love your rug, BTW! I think your sectional works nicely for you! I think one could be ok for us, but I decided I need to try to work with what I have, especially since what we have is only a year old. I think the large wall unit will make a huge difference.

I think we're going to skip the coffee table. It will just be too much. And about our swivel chair-its the piece of furniture my husband picked out and I hated it.....until now. I can tell already that its going to work great in its new spot and that the problem was just where it was, not the chair itself.

My livingroom is similar and has always been a headache to decorate. We had it on the market over the summer and will close end of Feb. I hired a stager to work with my furniture and stage the room. This is how it looks. I want to say that over the years I have put the couch against the windows as well as against the wall. Because the room is so wide, I always tried to make two separate areas in the one room.

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This set up would be difficult for entertaining. It was set-up to sell the room. Here is a shot from upstairs
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This is a shot with the couch against the windows and before we did any painting. We painted the mantel and the wood above the fireplace.
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Jane

Maxsam, you are very welcome, though I must admit it wasn't easy knowing how far from finished it looks in those photos. Can you tell I was working on the window treatments at the time? (red face here)
As for our rug, thank you. I had to look between your rug and ours a few times before I was sure they weren't the same.
I don't blame you for working with what you have. Especially since you have very nice furniture. Ours is probably, what?... twenty years old, but we still love it, it's color and have no plans to replace it unless something we love more happens to land in on top of us one of these days. I would like to replace our recliners, but that's a whole other story. (Okay real quick.. I'm not a recliner hater, but ours don't match each other so if I find a matching set at a good price that works I'll grab them up quick like a bunny after a carrot.)
We will be painting our room a khaki similar to the curtains as soon as I can get my hubby to help me. The color it is in the photos was suppose to be a basecoat for a faux leather that he later decided he didn't want. Men, gotta love 'em, but what else can you do with them, huh?

Jane, what a beautiful home and views too!

I really really think that you need to take you couch out into the middle of the room and face it so you are looking at that wonderful fireplace, and put a nice round, maybe glass (if its safe for the kids) cocktail table in front of it. and then put your tv to your left in the corner and position the chairs, perhaps the one with the ottoman on the right side of the fireplace. I like the idea of a game or card table behind where the tv is now. Its nice to sit where you can enjoy the view (tv or FPL) I always like to put a long sofa table behind my sofa with a lamp, if you can. Where that artwork was: lower it or put a large wall hanging there instead and take that artwork and put it on the other side where the tv was. I am very visual, so I may be missing something.

Love the new setup...
I too wondered about flipping the rug the other way also?
Try that, perhaps lower your painting a bit and call it a day~
Enjoy your room!

Hi Maxsam,

You mentioned...............

-buy a wall unit for the tv, art, etc
-paint the whole room one color, probably green
-make curtains for the room and remove the horizontal blinds
-stain brick on the fireplace to a warmer color
-buy a round coffee table and end tables (two? one for
each end of the couch?) Do you think the coffee table
would compete too much with the ottoman?
-Possibly build low built ins for below each window by the
fireplace. Top with a cushion and throw pillows. We
thought they could have a hinged opening on top like a toy
chest and we could store our kids bizillion toys in there
or maybe blanket, pillow, etc
-finally put a few more things on the wall! ............

So here are some ideas and images maybe they can help you.
~boxerpups

Rather than an entire wall entertainment what about just
the lower part. Pictures hung behind like one of these
type of TV stands.

A beautiful green paint that won't darkern the room
and will match the wood trim. Aganthus green by Ben Moore

Or Hazegreen by Pratt and Lambert this also goes nicely
with your fireplace should you decide to keep it as is.

I think you should skip the coffee table.
here is an end table idea...

You could frame photos of your family and put them on
the wall above and around the TV or you could find an old
window matching your wood trim. Replace the glass with
mirrors and wow you have a great wall peice.

You may not need to repaint the fireplace. Here are some
before and afters that might inspire you to paint or not.

After being painted. WOW

Check out Calico Corners, JCP, Ballard Design, and
Pottery Barn for drape ideas.. You might discover a
great plan for your windows.

Looking forward to your transformation.
~boxerpups

Here is a link that might be useful: Before and After fireplaces... just some ideas

boxerpups-Wow! Thanks for all the pics! They're beautiful!
We have a tv console right now like you pictured, but it is so small on that wall. I don't think art above it would help balance the room out much. We looked at a beautiful wall unit from Hooker today and are considering getting it.
Here is picture of one that is almost identical to what we're considering:
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Aganthus is actually one color I was considering when I first decided to repaint the room. I need to head back to BM and SW to get their paint decks again. I'm sure I will bug everyone on here about the color when I get to that point!

I am pretty sure I am staining the brick. It is different than painting in that it maintains the texture, etc of the existing brick. there are some great before and afters here: www.dyebrick.com . The company is in the UK.

Where did you find the end tables? That is exactly the size and style I was thinking of. Love them!

The curtains you posted (panels) are what I am planning on making. Those will be last, but I think they will make a huge difference!

Thanks for you help!

HI Maxsam,

I am so happy I could help with a few ideas.
The table image is from this link. I have never bought
from this company.

http://www.thefurniture.com/store/ASHL-MLN-ARIEL-END-T610.htm

I have no idea on the price of the above table however
I would check out Target, JCP, Macy's, Overstock, and even
Homedecorator's because they often have good prices for
end tables. And similar to the one you like.

WAIT...
Even better when you go for that gorgeous entertainment
center find out if the seller has access to the end tables.
Bring in a photo with you. And negotiate a deal. In this
economy they should be thrilled to work with you and give
you a deal.

Truly don't feel you have to get the large console. If it
is too expensive, shelves on the wall could work to create
the illusion of a large console. The wall feels huge to
you because there is nothing on it but once shelves,
pictures etc.. are up there it might work. I only suggest
this if your budget is too tight to splurge on a
entertainment console.

Check out Calico corners for ideas on fabric etc...I love
that place especially if you are making your own curtains.
It can't hurt to get a catalog and borrow the ideas for
your own room. You can visit on line. And getting fabric
at JoAnn's is far cheaper. Calico does have an annual sale
in April or May.

I too love that green Aganthus color and especially with
the wood trim you have in that room. It will look stunning.

There are other greens too that could work. A soft green
will really add to the glory of your huge room. I know you
are waiting to do this later. I just can't help myself.
I love colors.

Hancock Green Benjamin Moore

Vert De Terrre Farrow and Ball paints

Soft Fern BM

This color below looks too light but it reflects wonderfully.
It is one of those soft green with a hint of blue that
really makes tan browns look gorgeous. In a room that does
not have a lot of light this creates it but softly.

Sage Tint by Benjamin Moore

If I see anything else for ideas I will post.
Looking forward to the transformation.
~boxerpups

Before you make any new purchases, I'd really advise you to at least try your furniture with the tv to the left of the fireplace with the sofa facing the fireplace. The way you have it arranged now, it doesn't feel very warm and cozy because you have your furniture pieces basically lined up on all walls of the room with a big empty space in the middle. The wall where you now have your tv really shouldn't be considered part of the family room set up. Just my 2 cents.