Start with the most limiting thing first. The sofa you like will probably be readily available in a few fabrics. There are hundreds or a thousand beiges paints out there.

Yes -- another vote to choose the sofa first -- and then the paint color.

Sofa first.

I agree, sofa first.

I have always done the major upholstery first....

Another vote for sofa first!

Sofa first. But more important your husband is "anxious" to look at paint chips ? Makes me warm all over .LOL

Palimpsest said, "Start with the most limiting thing first."

HELP!

Our budget is the most limiting thing. We have a hand-me down sofa/love seat set now that DOES NOT work in our living room.

The shape of our living/family room is the second-most-limiting thing. Its very small -- think "cottage" -- and sort of octagon shaped with bay windows, a fireplace and builtins.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

There is a new arched entryway going into the living room and the longest livingroom wall has a builtin library shelf going in, too.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

All the trim work will be white. The carpet will be replaced.

The bay windows face west so we get a lot of end-of-day sunshine, BUT we are in Canada and can get cold weather 8 months of the year. We need a color scheme that is "light and airy" without feeling cold. I think any bold colours will be limited to accents. We like traditional, Craftsman, country, Art Neuveau... but nothing formal.

We USE this room for watching tv, reading and being on our laptops. Two parents, two teens.

Thanks in advance for your ideas for furniture and color scheme.

...Pam
PS Forboystoo, if Mike Holmes, John Gidding (the architecht from "Curb Appeal") and Red Forman ("That 70's Show," jackass!) had a kid, that would be my hubby. He's got years of construction experience and is now in school to be an Engineering Design and Drafting Technologist. He's a redneck with an inner "Queer Guy". :-)

I'll post sets. Your feedback is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

SET #1

What style do these say to you? Ignore the coloured accents. Could these go post-Victorian or Art Neuveau? Shabby chic? Our house is a Neo-Victorian cottage.

Would a chair like this go?

...Pam

Here are the other pieces I've found. Do any of them work together in our room? What if we went in the direction of Craftsman or country? Can you tell I'm struggling to stay neutral?

This is putty coloured. I know I'd have to accessorize to make it work, but it might fit in our bay window.

...Pam

I've found a few Queen Ann chairs, too. They'd just need slip covers.

What about leather? Craftsman?

Deco?

...Pam

Do we dare go Victorian?

What style is this? It would go with our existing paint. So much for "light and airy". ;-)

I had posted that it might be the right room for a curved or angled sectional but the post got lost. I think if the furniture is too large in scale you may limit yourself.

This could be the right room for the curve sectional if it is the correct size.

LOVE that green curved sofa!

Our windows offer light, but not a view (suburban cul-de-sac), so sheers on the windows are a good idea. Hang curtains to the ceiling to heighten room.

Everyone who uses the room wants the opportunity to put their head back (taller chairs) and their feet up (ottomans).

We eat and play games/do homework in the room, so tabletops are important. I really like this configuration. Maybe two wing-back chairs would work.

We read in the room, so lighting is important. Floor or hanging lamps would keep tabletops free.

We watch tv in the room, so position of tv and furniture is important. Should it move?

COLOURS
Tan, taupe, beige, white
Blue accents -- blue willow

This would be an easy transition from the colour palette we have now.

I forgot to add pictures of this room

{{!gwi}}

I see from the HGTV site that the ottomans are actually stools with Schumacher -- nne of my faves! -- fabric on them.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Sarah's Cottage on HGTV

Wow-- you have SO done your homework! I like the first set you posted (the loveseat and chaise) and I LOVE that putty curved sofa! Can you measure to see if any of them fit?

Hi Loribee

I am in the process of measuring now. I still don't have measurements on the putty set (the seller is a retailer).

I've found a few more more pieces I like.

One is a true Victorian setee in pale blue.
{{!gwi}}

The other is a 1940s (I think) velvet love seat and chair in a pale olive colour. I don't like olive, but I think its neutral enough that I can make it work. This reminds me of furniture my great-granny had and I love it. Yes, these are supposed to be the same colour.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

The third set of bits I've found are light brown leathers if I want to go more Craftsman or lodge.

{{!gwi}}

I am thankful that Hubby is open to all looks. Comfort is his priority when it comes to seating.

All of the furniture I'm looking at is 2-3 hours away, so I'm waiting for a weekend with good roads and hoping this stuff stays available.

How important is it when a sofa fabric has a green or grey cast to use a beige or taupe paint that also has a green or grey tone to it? Is it possible, instead, to find an accent fabric that works with the upholstery and then choose a beige paint that will go with one of the other colours in it, maybe with a warmer tone? Which should be darker, the upholstery or the paint?

...Pam

"How important is it when a sofa fabric has a green or grey cast to use a beige or taupe paint that also has a green or grey tone to it? Is it possible, instead, to find an accent fabric that works with the upholstery and then choose a beige paint that will go with one of the other colours in it, maybe with a warmer tone? Which should be darker, the upholstery or the paint?"

We have a love seat in a velvet that has faded from its original 1940s turquoise to a pale olive-y green and a chair in a sort of dark olive green with bronze designs. I spent what seemed like an eternity trying to find a wall color to match the bronze in the fabric only to decide that the result would be too dark, not to mention sickly. In the end, I went in the opposite direction and painted the walls in Mythic's Honey Comb, a warm color that works with the bronze in the fabric, with dark wood, with gold picture frames and with an oriental carpet.

This is a long way of saying that I think green or grey tone to paint in a room containing greenish or greyish fabric has the potential to seem cold and to be depressingly colorless.

If I were you, I'd first buy furniture you love and then figure out paint, but without necessarily being stuck on a beige scheme for the walls. Live with the furniture first and then decide.

"The bay windows face west so we get a lot of end-of-day sunshine, BUT we are in Canada and can get cold weather 8 months of the year. We need a color scheme that is "light and airy" without feeling cold. I think any bold colours will be limited to accents. We like traditional, Craftsman, country, Art Neuveau... but nothing formal."

The room I described faces south, also with an east- and a west-facing window, and I love the way the sun seems to make the paint color glow with warmth and light. My opinion only of course, but I think you want to think carefully about greeny-beige or grey-beige colors given your location.

"We USE this room for watching tv, reading and being on our laptops. Two parents, two teens."

We gave away a Victorian or at least Victorian style sofa, much longer than but vaguely like that pale blue Victorian settee you like because it was so uncomfortable for lounging & reading.