Could you describe what direction or style you want to use in the room? (Country, cottage, funky eclectic, casual traditional, etc.)

I guess that is part of the problem.. I don't really know! This is our first house so we aren't sure what we like yet but we bought the couch thinking it would be a cool conversation piece and now we have to stick with it :)

I guess we are going for a casual traditional look. We'd like to keep it simple and elegant but we are young and the house itself isn't very grand so we don't want it to look too formal or fancy, either.

Another problem is that the dining room is in the same room as the living room. So the dining set will also have to coordinate somehow..

Since you will probably have a mix of styles, I would suggest going for a funky eclectic look. I'll give you my opinion of one way that you might achieve this look. However, it might not sound like something you would like. Just say that. Don't worry about hurting my feelings.

So, here goes...Don't put beaded board on the wall. I think that's too country/cottage/traditional. Then, break up the set of sofa and chairs. Together, they are too much unless you had a very formal room. Use the sofa in the living room and use the chairs in a bedroom (or sell them). Paint the frame of the sofa either glossy black or glossy white. I would love to see it recovered in a bright, graphic print, but I assume that's not in the budget. So, cover it with some bright throws or paint the fabric in a solid or stripes. Here's an article that tells you how. You don't have to use their product. http://www.fabricspraypaint.com/page/How_To_Paint_a_Sofa.html

Then, mix in two modernist chairs. Here are some that I quickly sourced new just to give you an idea of what I was thinking, but any sleek modern chair would work.

Add a couple of garden stools for a coffee table and a fuzzy rug and you've got a room.

For the dining room, I would stay with simple lines, either transitional (Pottery Barn look) or modern. If you find dining chairs you really like, you could use the arm chairs for now until you are ready to invest more money.

If you don't like funky, I would suggest you sell the sofa and chairs that you referenced in your original post and look at the Ektorp line at Ikea. They are great products with a wide range of slip covers so that the furniture can change as your tastes change. Having your anchor pieces in a transitional style will widen your decor possibilities.

I think your sofa would go well with this type of furniture. I think this look is eclectic, young, and hip. I also like the idea of painting the wood and fabric of the sofa. I think if you painted the wood a hot pink and the fabric baby blue it would look really cool. But I do understand that my tastes are not exactly mainstream!

I love the idea of including a zebra rug!
I've included a link of a rug that has black and ivory, not white.
Yes to gray walls...but add pillows, maybe a large plaid (?) to tie the gray in.
No to white wainscoting, but picture framing would be pretty, again, as pictured above-painted all the same color.
Good luck, this will be a lovely room!

Here is a link that might be useful: zebra rug

I have to agree with everyone about painting the wood of the sofa and reupholstering. If you want a look that will last a long time and not be trendy, paint the frame black, use plain neutral fabric and add some bright throw pillows. A zebra rug would be grogeous.

I would not add picture framing but I would add crown molding more modern/transitional curves (not colonial).

How about a lucite table?

I agree with eclectic me, with that couch I think you could go for a fun bohemian type look. Spruce up the wood on the couch, avoid the wainscoating, invest in a animal print rug, paint the walls an energetic color, accent with unique pieces and have fun.

Vampire -- I love that pic. Its so much fun!

OMG...you ladies are wonderful!! I love all the ideas here. I constantly see these old couches at antique sales and just love them, but have no idea how to make them work in my home. The next house will much larger than the one we're selling and I can't wait to buy one of these sofas to make a funky, cool room. Hope joytotheworld has fun!!

...of your sofa and a lucite table.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here you go!

Wow! Thank you so much everyone! There are so many good ideas here that I don't know what to do :) I am definitely going to be doing a lot of thinking and planning.. and shopping :)

Thanks!

Ok.. so i ran these ideas by my husband and he is very opposed to anything "weird" (his words). He thinks adding anything too modern won't look right.
So, I came up with a compromise (although he still doesn't like parts of it..)

How does this sound? I guess I would like to go for a "transitional" type of look.

-Walls: dark taupe or a warm gray with white chair railing (he won't give that up), trim, and crown molding
-Windows: floor length panels in light cream/beige
-Floor: matching light cream/beige rug on the dark hardwood (hopefully something with a unique shape or texture if we can find it)
-Coffee table: blackish brown leather ottoman
-Couch/Chairs: stain the wood a dark espresso almost black color and add dark gray throws and pillows
-Dining table: dark espresso counter-height table with leather chairs to match the ottoman

OR

because my husband doesn't like the leather ottoman idea:
everything the same except a dark wood coffee table instead of the ottoman (and no leather on the dining table)

OR

Just go shabby chic with white painted furniture

Any thoughts on all that?

P.S. The house is a very small 1930's bungalow type house in southern california if that changes anything..

It sounds like your husband wants to achieve a contemporary look. Everything you are describing fits that aesthetic. I think you should sell the sofa and chairs and head to Ikea for the Ektorp.

Joy, the white trim will make the sofa look dirty. I learned that the hard way - painted the house before the furniture arrived from the old house. My sofa was off-white - very expensive, but with white trim in the room, it looked awful. I ended up giving it to my GF.

Paint a board or even a stick and put it near your sofa so you can see how it looks.

You might want to try posting a new thread to ask if anyone has pix of their cream colored sofa and walls - that would give you some ideas.

Good luck! The sofa has lovely lines.

Joy is there any way you can post photos of your sofa and chairs and the room in question? The more we know, the more we can really help you.

It sounds okay. Maybe think about adding a little warmth by injecting yellow or orange somewhere in the room. I would rethink the dark leather chairs and go with something that contrasts. I think it would be too dark with the dark hardwood floor (if that's what is there).
That's all I can say without a pic.

I have a sofa and chair that are identical to that...a little off topic but any idea if they are worth any money?

How about this color on the walls? A little too dark?

I love that 1960 sofa that you have. What you can do with that sofa and look are endless.

I am one who loves white wainscotting but in this case I agree the sofa might look dingy, and you don't want that.

Cardwellave most of those sofa's sell for about $125.00 in the deep south in good condition.

.....Jane

I know this is not the look you are shooting for but I am talking about color here.

{{!gwi}}

OMG if that room above doesn't scream traditional I'll eat my hat, sorry I know your not looking for this style. But actually that dark gray could be used in a contempory setting just as well. I need some sleep, I didn't sleep well last night my creative juices are not flowing, sorry.

....Jane

But you know a white waincotting with a black wall would look great provided you have lots of white crown molding and windows or light. Throw in a zebra rug and a shabby chic weathered coffee table all chipped up and your styling. But again, the white waincotting would make your sofa look dingy. Can you recover?

The first piece of furniture I ever bought was a Duncan Phyfe sofa. It never would have caught my eye(my taste is modern) if the antique dealer hadn't stripped off the seat cushions and reupholstered in a bold black and white striped print. That sofa, despite its old-fashioned shape, would work in a modern or traditional decor, but it's all about the upholstery and the streamlining. If the lines are old fashioned you should go with contemporary fabric to update it. If I were to recover my sofa again, it would be with something equally bold--apple green or coral linen, polka dots, ikat, suzani, etc, something to keep it looking fresh and current. The very formal, shiny material of the sofa you linked to dates it just as much as the lines of the sofa.

here's a link to a sofa similar to mine...

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/images/uploads/1-11-couch.jpg

I think you should reupholster in white(nothing shiny), and update the look with colorful, contemporary pillows, similar to the picture I've linked to below. I think the look is very contemporary and pretty even though the sofa is antique.

Here is a link that might be useful:

First....I "love" your sofa. I'd reupholster it in white. Go from there and anything would work....

So the sofa is in storage right now. I went to go look at it again and it is not even close to how dirty the one in my link was. It is completely white just kind of grayish (probably nothing a little cleaning couldnt fix) so I don't THINK the white trim will be a problem. Also, I am not going to do the full on wainscoting and instead just the chair rail and picture framing.

Newdawn, that is actually the exact color I wanted. I found that same picture online!

However, we decided to just go for a shabby chic look so the color will probably be a light gray (similar to the color in the link below).

I will post pictures (when I learn how) when we have the room all together. So far all we have done is take out the old carpeting and popcorn ceiling so it will be a while..

Now I have another problem. We were planning on redoing the kitchen in a contemporary dark brown with stainless steel appliances. We already bought the appliances and i don't think a shabby chic look will go well with that.. will it be really awkward to have a vintage shabby chic living room leading into a contemporary kitchen?? what to do?

Thanks for everyones imput!! THis has been incredibly helpful :)

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

Your shabby chic living room can work with your kitchen if you throw some modern accessories into it. A modern vase or modern lamp etc. making it more eclectic.

Or change your kitchen cabinet color to pale gray .... which would work very very well with the stainless appliances ....