Here's Design Assistant --- take a look through the categories and check out lots of photos of rooms in homes from favorite decor magazines .......

Literally print out ones that "work" for you -- and circle or note things like "great rug" or "lamps on tables" etc. Could even be a paint color!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Design Assistant -- Lots of Inspiration Photos

Very nice home!

Is that the couch in question in the first pix? Why can't you turn it to run the other direction in the room - seems like it would fit?

Does your DH like that couch? If he had a choice, would he buy the same one?

The best thing you could do is to go to a furniture store and walk around and figure out what appeals to him. Looking at pix is going to cause his eyes to glaze over, where being able to flop down on furniture and see if it fits is much more fun. That doesn't mean you have to buy anything from that store, or at least not at that moment. Just wander around and see what appeals.

Before you go, be sure and measure your room and think about how you use it and what kind of furniture you want in there, too, including tables for lamps, etc.. Will you be painting the walls in a particular color or color family? That might give you a clue as far as choosing upholstery on pieces, tho you should wait on the paint to match to the specific fabric, rather than vice versa.

Seems like you are drawn to lighter woods and lighter colors, simple traditional lines, oak. Maybe take a look at some things with Mission styling.

susanka, I love the way your house looks in the photos. You have a great space to work with. I am not clear on the meaning of your request. Do you want to go furniture shopping tonight and need to know what to look at? For me, it's hard to derive 'style' from your photos. What you have as a starting point, i.e. kitchen cabinets, railing style, bookshelves, beige carpet, flat contemporary slab fireplace surround, could be pushed into several different directions.

I can see you like books and have traditional accessories on your bookshelves (horse sculptures, blue willow plate, small glazed pottery pieces) you could go that way. Or you could go contemporary, like your fireplace surround. Your shelves are rather plain and could be bulked up with crown moldings and trim across the fronts of each shelf. I had a carpenter do that to mine for very little $$$. It would really increase their decorative impact and bring them into scale with the height of the room.

By the way, that blue willow plate really jumped out at me because it's the only speck of deep color in your place. I saw from one photo you are someplace open and dry, and you have a great view. I really think you need color, and I don't know where you are, but can you pull in some deeper richer colors from outdoors and bring them into your interior? The only think I know, what ever style you ultimately arrive at, is that you need color in these rooms.

I think a backsplash in the kitchen would help. It could be wallpaper with a piece of clear lexi screwed over it. It could be painted -- if this is not a rental and if you can paint. I like your cabinets but not the little bits of clutter-y things on top of them. I think you counter stools are kind of pale and blend in to the cabinetry. They are too country, I think, for the space, but if you must re-use them, why not paint them another color?

Let me tell you something about husbands and decorating: they may surprise you. My husband was adamantly opposed to counter stools with backs for our kitchen island. "I hate them," was about all I could get from him. Well, I was out and saw a great deal on two very comfortable counter stools with backs last weekend. I hemmed and hawed, knowing his feelings about this sort of stool. They were too good to pass up. Lo and behold, the man comes home and sees them and LOVES THEM. Yes, that's right. LOVES THEM.

So, let your husband vent about what he does and doesn't like. Don't fight with him. I think I'd go out shopping but not plan to buy. I'd make it a fishing expedition. Or tire kicking, if that analogy works better for you. Let him sit in some things, feel some things, play around with various fabric swatches. SOMETHING is going to appeal to him. He might be the kind of guy who responds more to the tactile qualities of wood and fabric instead of photos.

Oh, and you might consider making a rough sketch of your spaces, with dimensions that include traffic lanes so you get the right sized things. When you go shopping, bring the rough sketch. Also, bring photos of your room to show the sales people at the stores. Some sales people are excellent at helping you establish a design direction and you can really get some good on the spot advice.

And remember, have fun. Decorating and making a home are something you and your husband do together. My husband and I long ago decided that if one of us really doesn't like something, the other will not pester or nag. The other will simply accept and back off. It's never worth starting a war over material objects. Sometimes this policy means things take a little longer, but that's okay.

If you want to do something on line, google either Stanley or Lexington furniture sites. You can click on the different collections to narrow down or throw out this look or that. NEVER MIND, I'm thinking case goods. Try the Basset site,,,they deal mostly with couches and taking that arm and putting with with that couch back,,,also at their stores and maybe on their site, you can see what a fabric they offer will look on the couch you design and pick out. Kind of a try before you buy (at least the look of it).
My first thought from your pictures would be what you have now is transitional in nature, as far as putting a name to it. Very nice!

Also on Bassett furniture's website, you can design your own rooms by using your measurements on their furniture planner. It helped me a lot with our selection. We ended up going with two love seats facing each other, and two accent chairs and a bunching table (Bassett has great ones.) Good luck!

Evolution. Not revolution.

Don't rush. Let your style unfold over time. Live with what you have and the right things will find you if you just keep at it. If you rush, you'll invariable make mistakes. Mistakes are expensive. Cheap furniture you don't love is expensive.

When I moved here, I had nothing except for artwork, rugs and books. Every piece of furniture in my home (3000 sq ft) has been acquired over the last five years. In my experience, it is better to live without a chair (or whatever you feel you need this month) than to live for years with something you rushed into and don't really like.

I also agree that you should take some colors out of that spectacular landscape (wow!!) and bring them into your home, either through upholstery or paint. The things in my home are a mish mosh of styles, we call that "eclectic" ;-), but everything is tied together more or less through color.

Slow down. Have fun. :-)

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You guys, thank you so much!

teacats, my workload is light today (I have a business at home), can't wait to try your link!

les917 and judithn, we bought that couch (I like the fabric a lot, but that's about all) to fit into the last house we had. No, DH wouldn't buy the same one, but he's not clear on what he would do. He has a bunch of very traditional prints (Da Vinci Annunciation, etc.) beautifully framed that he bought many years ago, and we want to blend them in somehow with something more modern. This morning he said maybe he would like black sofas with chrome after all, so he's really undecided. But this is all in the context of him not wanting to spend any time sorting it out. His forte is more of commenting on things I choose!

I think furniture stores sounds like a good idea also. We will certainly measure first. And Mission might be a very nice choice for us.

Our plan was that I'd go looking around tomorrow and first, tonight, we'd try to arrive at a style direction. I think we both would like something more contemporary, but of course the bookshelves stay. Many of our traditional accessories are very old things from China -- we also have a couple of old scrolls hanging elsewhere that we both enjoy. I know what I like -- colors and textures from nature, mostly warm colors, simple sculptural lines but comfortable without being overstuffed, asymmetry, not a lot of things sitting around except on the bookcase. DH likes symmetry but he thinks he's pretty avant-garde (I think he's pretty traditional.) We've been married 23 years, so you'd think I'd have him pegged as to style, but I don't really. In the past we had to buy what we could find without much cost.

Out the back windows we have a gorgeous close-up view of mountains, valley, and lake -- out the front window it's the plains and a distant mountain-- so we'd like to face the sofa toward the back windows but it's too big; our LR is only 13 feet wide at the entry side and it just won't fit. I think we're going to try to sell the sofa, or I've wondered about having it cut down somehow if DH decides he'd like it in a different style. Maybe that's ridiculously expensive.

We know we need color, and are trying to decide on that too. We went with Aspen white everywhere because it was less expensive and we just couldn't make Decision 42,398 with this new house, which would have been what color the rooms would be!

I found a backsplash I love in a picture called "Red Granite, anyone?" in the kitchens gallery, by krislrob. I'm going ahead with it, tumbled slate. DH says he will feel like he's living in a cave with all that slate, but he finally agreed. I love slate and wanted it for the floors, but he couldn't do it.

I know the cab tops are a mess. I don't know what to do with them. The cabs are 2 feet from the ceilings. I thought painting the chairs would make them look more country, which I don't want. I wanted a warm, homey kitchen, but not country really.

We're light years away from arguing about this, we both want something we can enjoy together. DH has a bit of a commute and I want him to come home in the evenings to a place he loves. I have a home business, so I'm lucky to be here all day.

Thanks again, friends.

Thank you, all, for your links and your sage advice.

koidom, Wow! That would wake us up, all right. I'll show DH this one just for an idea of what we could do with our bookcases.

I'm attaching some pix of our view. Our house is high enough up --the back yard slopes very quickly down -- that we see all kinds of birds flying below us. There's a lake off to our right that is a visiting-place for bald eagles, but it's just out of the picture.

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With views like these, who needs furniture!!! How lucky are you to wake up to that every day. Absolutely beautiful.

Hi susanka,
That's a view to die for! Absolutely gorgeous! You are so lucky to be able to enjoy it everyday!
As for the living room, I don't have any design advice. But I second amyrsq's advice to take it slow. We lived for almost a year with no living room..just comforters and pillows on the floor! But it helped us take our time and find things we liked to put together.
One thing I learnt while furniture shopping is don't do too many stores at once. You get all confused and have to start all over again. Also as another poster mentioned, carry measurements of your space and your entry doors everywhere around. You never know where you will find the perfect piece!

What a great home to work with! There are a couple of things I'd suggest. One is for each of you to scout around the house--on your own--and pick out a couple of items that you really love. Could be a piece of furniture, a lamp, a piece of art, even a plate or a piece of clothing. Maybe jewelry or a book! Bring all of your items into one room, and just mull it over together. Enjoy of glass or two of wine if that suits you. Just talk about what you're discovering about textures and colors, and what says comfort to you both. IMO, that will get you a lot further than spending time in a furniture store, where you're more likely to be led by what's available than by what speaks to you. Then, when you do shop, keep the items and feelings that you discovered right at the front of your minds.

Second idea is to work entirely off of the wonderful views, selecting colors, furniture placement, lighting, etc., that really works with the view. Make it all about the view!

To illustrate: we have a vacation home with a view of a beautiful, peaceful lake. At first, I planned to locate the sofa front and center, so you are looking at the lake whenever you are seated. Over time, I found that I cared more about the wonderful view and feeling I got when I first walked into the house. So now the furniture is arranged and the house is lit and decorated (or in the process of)so that the beauty of the view grabs you when you first walk in the door. That really thrills me in a weekend home, and it may be similarly wonderful for your DH when he resturns from his long commute.

Good luck and enjoy!

OMG, Susanka! I am green with envy over your view!

Beautiful!
My first thought was two loveseats on either side of the fireplace--maybe a nice leather?

More great advice, and thanks to every one of you. I'm so glad you enjoyed the views. You are all so generous with your help. I like the relaxing-with-wine idea while we talk about what makes us comfortable, I think that's a good place to start.

Thanks again. Some of you wrote such long emails I was blown away by your generosity; others of you got a great idea across in a few words. What a great forum!

Hello again, everyone!

We had a great evening, thanks to your suggestions. We had a great talk, a good time looking together at things we really like, and have settled on going somewhat more contemporary with our living room. DH was able to stand a full 45 minutes of talk about our decor; didn't have to do it in 15.

Next step is to print out all your ideas and take them with us to a paint store and furniture stores. We've come up with the idea of getting a sectional sofa in a more contemporary look and putting the shorter part of it facing the back windows toward the view, which will give us room to come in the entry and go on to the kitchen/DR, and will help with conversational-type seating.

First we'll go to a paint store; we're thinking of a light silvery-green or maybe a soft gold for the walls in the LR.

Thanks again, so much. I know I'll be back. In fact, I think I already know what my next question is going to be.

Susanka

So glad to hear your evening went so well!

Question for you: I see that you have at least 3 statues of horses on your LR shelves. Do they have a lot of meaning for you? You mentioned how stuck you are around the tops of the cabinets, and I thought it would look wonderful to have a parade of horses traveling along the tops, rather than a random array of pottery. Your counters are powerful enough to ground the kitchen, and the parade of horses would add drama, whimsey, rhythm, and warmth. You'd have to paint a stronger color in the kitchen, of course, but I think you're on your way there anyway. Just another thought to put in the hopper. Keep working from what you love!

Hi, lynnski -- Yes, the horses are favorites of ours. They are Chinese tomb figures and are very old. The problem is that they were all made with a large hole in their bellies so they don't look good from below, what you mainly see is the hole. Otherwise, I think you're right, they would look great on the cabs.

You're already working on my next question, what the heck to do on the cab tops. The cabs are a full 2 feet from the ceiling, which is a lot. I don't understand the principle of arrangement, I guess. I don't like artificial plants, so that's out. I'm actually going to try the horses when DH gets home just in case they somehow don't show their bellies as much as I think they will.

Much depends on how you use your kitchen, and whether it's open to the rest of the house. Do you need more storage space for seldom-used items? You could remove the trim molding from the tops of your cabinets and add another row of cabinets above what's there. Do you want more drama? You could wallpaper the kitchen with a strongly colored print, perhaps something reminiscent of the tomb figures, and place the tomb figures above the cabinets. You could have shadow boxes of some other special display built for the tomb figures so that the big holes are less obvious. You could line the entire space above the cabinets with cookbooks (assuming that you don't actually need to use a whole bunch of them every day). If you did that, you'd want to prop them up a bit from underneath so that the books don't get stuck/partly hidden behind the cabinet trim.

Lots of ideas out there--this is a subject that comes up a lot in the kitchen forum. Artificial plants aren't always the answer!

Foret about decorating style! Look at that view!!! I'd incorporate that view and make it feel like the house just continues along with it. Leather seating, warm earth tones etc.

lynnski, you've given me a great idea. Our kitchen, dining area, and LR are essentially one big room except for the pantry wall that separates the kitchen from the LR. If you look at the third pic from the top you'll see a little bookcase built into my cabs where I keep cookbooks. This end of the cabs faces, and is only a few feet from, the dining area. I've thought those cookbooks don't look right; DH says they look "junky." Anyway, I put the biggest Chinese horse in there all by himself, with the blue Chinese box you see in the cookbook photo underneath him, with only one very low shelf. He looks great, and carries on the living room feeling into the dining area. Only questions I have are that there's not much contrast between him and the oak bookcase, and also it might look a little stark. I'll post a pic on a new thread when I can get one.

I'm thinking the cookbooks (I keep them neatly) will transfer their "junkiness" to the top of the cabs if I put them there, and they're also not tall enough. Don't think we can afford to put an extra row of cabs up there though.

Thanks for your ideas. The Chinese horse looks very much at home.

summiebee, you're right about the view. I wanted the house to have as little demarcation between the inside and outside as possible, with a glass wall. Didn't turn out that way -- builder convinced us that with our high winds we'd never be comfortable -- but he also put the windows higher than we wanted, and one expense we're going to undertake is to find a way to make the view windows bigger. They're 8x5 now, but we're going to put in non-operating glass doors or something instead.

Thanks again, all.

I'm with summiebee, bring the outside in, for sure!!