After hearing so many of your suggestions, I now know that my concerns about the dreaded wall in my living room were legitimate. I really appreciate all the comments, ideas and helpful suggestions. This site is like having your own private staff of decorators at your disposal. Parma is right, the space was supposed to be for a fireplace, but we decided that we wanted the fireplace in the family room in the basement. Couldn't afford both. Probably was a mistake. I read your suggestions and looked again at my pictures and could see exactly what each of you meant. Things I had never noticed before. 1. The backs of the shelves do need color to make the display pop. Right now everything just fades into the background. 2. There's no cohesiveness to what's on the shelves and there is way too many things. 3. I have already taken down the two small prints on the sides of the mirror. What was I thinking? 4. The jobots are too long. I had never noticed that. Do they need to go to bottom of the window trim? 5. The mirror does not do justice to the space. It may be too small, wrong shape, something's not right. First of all, I really want the upper ledge gone. The problem is talking my DH into letting me find someone to close it in. I love the idea of finishing out the shelves as a bookcase. I think that would look wonderful. Do you think old books would look better in the space rather than newer books? I am a book collector and have many shelves full of novels in various areas of the house. Les917: I really like your idea of the Sunburst Pediment and would like to find a way to incorporate it into the redesign of the space. Any other suggestions or pics would still be appreciated because this project will take place slowly in the spring. Thanks so much in advance.

OK..............The contingencies are that the bed cannot be moved from it's current location, not that that would matter being that there is only one other wall that could take it and the result would not yield a greater benefit especially taking into account the cost of moving the switches. The other is that you like the TV in that exact spot since it can be viewed from the bathroom and the bed. So.........basically the answer is, you need 'more stuff'. I try to never suggest ideas that cost money unless the OP has indicated they are going shopping for new items. Most of the time a room just needs decluttering or to be put on a diet by removing furniture that is not serving any purpose to solve decorating dilemmas. In this case I would suggest an amoire for the TV. Make sure you get one with a pull-out and swivel so the sides don't block viewing with the amoire angled in the corner. Don't worry about matching woods. In a larger room you can mix different wood tones and/or painted pieces. (Smaller rooms run the risk of looking junky with mismatched pieces.) One of the first and more inexpensive fixes is to add a dust ruffle to the bed and maybe fluffier bedding so that it does not look skimpy. Due to the Contemporary styling of the bed don't actually get a "ruffle" but something box pleated. A bench at the foot of the bed will be functional and help fill in the room. Some art over the bed. Curtains on the windows will help with the emptiness the room has now. How about a trunk placed under the window? Great for storage of out of season items too. Is that chaise actually used for sitting? It's diminutive size emphasizes the vastness of the room. Can it be put elsewhere? A large room needs large pieces of furniture. If it is in the budget I would get larger nightstands. You can use small dressers or tables next to a big bed. Larger lamps would have added impact. Over time can the current furniture in this room be moved to be used in a guest room and larger pieces be purchased? A larger dresser and chest of drawers would fill in the room and increase storage options. Avoid the tendency to try to fill in the room with a lot more little pieces of furniture to fill in any "holes". Spend the money in the budget on getting one or two beefy substantial pieces. Trying to fill in the room with decorative tea carts and fake plants will just make the room look cluttered without solving the original problem of the vastness the room has. Only buy furniture pieces that have a real function. Don't fall into the trap of buying a lot of shin bangers. Leave walls blank until you find art that you love. Buying art as mere 'fillers' won't make your heart sing when you look at them, they will only bring your spirits down. Adding crown molding at the wall level and in the pan would soften the harsh lines it has and make the ceiling not seem so vast. Note how some of the wall color is brought up to break up the 'sea of white'. Just bring up some blue. Don't do the cloud pattern. Right now the only real color in the room is Blue and there need to be another color or two to break things up. The color can be in the new bedding or bench cushion with a few pieces of wall art or things set on surfaces. Take your cue from the painting you love with the touches of Rust, Faded Yellow and Dusty Pink. Use Muted colors. Blues and Yellows are very intense and can be screaming when put together. Believe me, a 'dirtied' Yellow color will still look very intense in a room with a Blue background.

Here is a shot of the other side of the room - I have some art above the long sofa now - its one of those gallery frames with the frames hanging from the bar - But now I am in need of some help with end tables. here is a pic of the other side: (ignore the computer table on the one side. I also want to get a rectangular ottoman and there is some art ont he wall now) The problem I am having with side tables is that the sofa arm is really tall. To the top of the arm is about 31" and on either side of the sofa is about 32" of space on either side. I am thinking something on the darker side b/c of the desk and leaning shelves that are staying. Bookshelf as table: 34"H and 32"W Round side table - this is 30"H and 17" diameter. Half Moon Table/Shelves: 32"H and 32"W Round Table (could be painted - this is black)This is 27"H and 20"diameter Any other suggestions... Thanks, Ruth

sperez: Have you considered getting wooden or metal bin and paint it in coordinating colors? You can paint stripes and dots and designs on them and they are sturdier than baskets. If you don't want to paint, you can also cover it with decorative paper. I got some wooden bins for my DD (age 4) bookcase, add a crystal knobs & chalkboard paint label and voila. You can also use old bin pull for handles & add trim, decorative designs, etc. Maybe using toile wallpaper or fabric & cover the outside, add some cute knobs where you can tie a label to it..there are so many things you can do to decorate a bin / bucket. Personally I'm not crazy a/b the basket because they always fall apart so fast (especially w/ the kids). The liner got dirty & needed to be washed. The bottom always scrape the paint of the shelving. With the wooden or metal bins, you can always clean it with a wet wipe, and add little felt circles on the bottom to protect the shelving. It's easier for the kids to grab & carry the wooden bin too. I got mine wooden bins from Target. The new ones come with chalkboard label on them already. They only have pink so you would have to paint them lavender to match. I use spray paint and it works great. Homegoods, marshall & TXmaxx sometimes got cute bins/buckets as well. If you want to use metal bucket, Target has those metal drink bucket that would work as well. My DD likes pink & lavender and I normally find plenty of storage bin/basket in Lavender during Easter (especially at Michaels). However, if you wanna be creative, here is a site with some ideas: Here is a link that might be useful: laylagrace