Here's our previous living room...cream painted paneling & ceiling, cream cotton damask armchairs, camel herringbone sofa, two Chinese-style bamboo side chairs, cream sheer drapery with deep hem-stitched hems at windows, brass lamps, a few pieces of neutral green pottery, small oriental rug, bare medium cherry-stained oak floors, and that's it. And this is our current (very different!) front parlor about two minutes after we moved in...haven't photographed it as it is now, but not a lot different. Yellow-toned cream walls (BMoore Linen White), same armchairs, same coffee table with different top, different oriental rug in shades of camel, rust, palest steel blue, and a wee bit of black. Added color with copper silk Roman shades in tops of windows.

Well to begin with, let me say how much I dislike working with a "decorator from a furniture store". His or her focus will be using items sold by her store, and unless you want it to look like a furniture store display room, you need to branch out. My family room is a big box...it's 24 by 22 with a 1950's "picture window" on one wall, 3 double hung windows on another wall and a 3rd wall covered with built in cabinets with shelves above and 2 smaller windows in the middle of the built in's. The 4th wall is pretty well solid wall but for a doorway into the den. I have chosen to decorate with an eclectic, collected, early farmhouse, for want of a better word, style. What I have learned is that with a room that big you can' just line up furniture along the walls. At one point we divided it into 2 spaces with 2 back to back sofas, then at one point we discarded one sofa in favor of 2 over stuffed chairs and 2 wooden rockers. The space has always been the TV room....and home work and craft table room....so it always has included a good sized table and chairs and a TV and all it's add ons. Because it's also the "rehearsal space" for some sort of production that one or another members of the family have been involved in, it also has a piano. Currently it has a leather sofa, love seat, matching ottoman and a different color leather arm chair and 2 antique wooden rockers, an antique round oak table and 4 signed Hitchock chairs. The piano....an old Baldwin spinnet, an old walnut very primitive dry sink, an oak commode, and the coffee table is an old square oak table cut down to coffee table height. There is a blanket chest behind the love seat which serves to bring it more into the middle of the room and as a place for a few plants and a spot for the dog's perching pillow. The shelves on the one wall house books on plants and gardening, my cook books and various books on other subjects that are of interest. In between the books are my "stuff"...mugs, pitchers, bowls, plates, Indian baskets and pottery, sculptures....things I have collected over the years. I can't imagine putting together a room all at once, for me a space has to evolve. By the way this room contains 7 lamps LOL! One which I am currently trying to replace...it's always something! Linda C

I like the idea of the TV being on the wall opposite the window and the couch up against the window, but I wonder if it will be a problem since that is sort of a hallway area. I guess the other problem I would run into is where to put the cable box etc. I will do a little mock up of it today or do a computer drawing to see how it will all look. Painting the trim around the window can be done, I will have to fight with DH, since he loves it and says that it mirrors the window trim in the kitchen. @loribee and @oceanna I have taken a look at the gallery. Lots of great ideas with colors etc. I just keep thinking 'if only I had an extra 2 feet of living room space . . . ' Of course that would be too easy :-) @loribee, I was able to open the link that you sent me and something along those lines is what I was thinking for the chair. I prefer the ones with arms, though so I was thinking something small like that one, with open arms like the one in @chickadee2's link. I also like these chairs quite a lot. I have also toyed with @luckygal's idea of moving the living room to the office. The office is 9'x11'. I agree with the idea of at the very least painting the trim. I have seen some pics of it done, and it looks great. I was scared about doing it, but now I think I will. I also like the idea of a creamy color that was suggested for the walls and trim. If I work up the courage, I will remove the trim all together. Thanks again for all the wonderful thoughtful suggestions.

Thanks maple and kay. Kay the counters are 7 year old polished( all they offered in my area then) Carrara marble. They have never stained and have etches only I seem to see. My kitchen is small and has 5 doors to other rooms:( and is very hard to photograph this is not a great pic but it shows the wood more. I can not wait for our redo. I will salvage my counters but might have them honed and i have not decided on my next cabs I think walnut or mahagony tho with all lower drawers. And we will rome at least on doorway when we do it.