I am stunned. I haven't been following your threads. I had to blink when I saw the room. I have the exact same couch and chair set. The exact same ceramic planter. Very similar parson tables. (I have been looking to replace them with glass top ones like I had before.) I even had purchased that exact same lamp but returned it as I found two I like better. I have some modern art by a local artist painted on flat cardboard that I put in frames. Even an arrangement of twigs from the yard I brought in. And three boxes stacked next to my chair. Hmmm.

OK, you asked for suggestions. On my monitor the walls are definately a pink. I am assuming the walls are white. Is that the color you used? I would go a deeper color. I would group the art close together. Maybe frame them with some inexpensive frames. Put up sheers or blinds in something natural with the drapes. The room needs an added third color. Right now everything is either blue or brown. Add another pop of color and maybe toss in a couple of things in a deeper blue too so that everything is not the same shade of blue. If you're getting a palm as you say, do not mix live plants and dried plants in the same room. It's one or the other. I would remove that little Grecian vase from the sofa table. It is too insignificant and is the same height as the photos. The art from that wall should go with the others in a grouping. You need to get another art piece for the walls then in another color besides light blue.

That is really a cute chair! It has solid lines and lots of detail. It really softens the room.

bud_wi, thanks for your input. I have to run out to get some stuff for my guest room, but do you have a photo or two of your room you can post?

That is so freaky - you have almost the same things - ok how about we chaulk it up to "like (brilliant) minds think alike" HA !

I wanted to group the art, but I painted the two smaller ones in the wrong direction. Maybe I can get two little canvases for beside the big one and add a different color to them. How could I group them all - put the two smaller ones together and then the bigger one over the loveseat?

I don't usually like deeper blue - will see how it looks - but what other color do you think would go? Coral - lime green ? - don't tell me I should have left my chair lime green. I didn't take the tags off the pillows - so I can return a couple of them and get something different.

I'll re-read your post when I get home and do some more thinking. Thanks so much.

Looks like you have done a lot of great work in this room. I too am doing blues and browns, but am going toward a more cottage-y but transitional room.

I agree with bud_wi that you're artwork needs some rearranging. What if you lower the larger rectangular piece and place the two smaller prints above to create a bolder art statement, or you can do that arrangement over the sofa table and place a mirror or some other piece of more textural art above the sofa. Here is a budget idea for you: You could get 4 of those wooden place mats or chargers at Target and just tack them with a little nails either in a straight line with about 2 inches in between, or hang 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom...just a thought (I tried to find a link for you so you could see what I'm talking about but was not successful). You should center the artwork with the couch, imho.

You've got great lines in the room, but I think you could soften it up a bit more with an area rug...something with an organic feel that mirrors the reeds/woody feel of your accessories.

Also, I would add to your window treatment...it looks a bit sparse. Perhaps a bamboo shade in a dark finish mounted at the same height as your curtains. This will make your window appear taller too.

I agree also with bud_wi that the room looks a bit pink. A cooler brown would look great.

Please keep us updated on your progress, and good luck. I always appreciate budget makeovers...us poor people have to get really creative...it's so easy just to go out and buy new stuff, but decorating on a limited budget, when every purchase or decision has to be scrutinized, now THAT takes talent! : )

Things are really coming together! Looks a lot different since the last time I saw it.

The blue chair, while a charming and unexpected addition to the room, is too light. The details are washed out by the pale blue, and it doesn't feel like it can hold its own against all the dark things in the room. I would think about trying to use an antiquing glaze on it, and adding a seat cushion in a blue/brown print fabric. Or go to a deeper blue.

I love the art you created, but it is fading away into the light walls. I would mount the larger piece on a piece of plywood about 2 inches larger than the canvas on all sides. Paint the wood in the espresso brown of your furniture, then mount the canvas on it. Cheaper than framing and it will give the piece more impact, plus bring the darker color that is concentrated on the lower half of the room, up to the wall.

I would frame the two smaller canvases in dark frames and hang them both above the sofa table. Start them low, just a couple of inches over the table and hang them one over the other, on the right end of the table. On the left side I would add a lamp, something with a rounder feel to it to counter all the strong angles in the room and furnishings. A ceramic piece would be good, and then do another one on the side table by the couch to get more ambient lighting in the room. Perhaps something like this from JCP:

cole table lamp

Not crazy about the floral piece. I think it is the blue filler flowers. I would pull that out, and replace it with some green grasses that would feel less rigid, as well as drop over the edges of the vase to break the line of the container for a more interesting look. I would also get rid of all the small things on the table - you just don't need them, and they look lost there.

I would take those two boxes that are by the chair and use them under the console table instead. I would look for something round to put by the chair, again to break up some of the hard lines in the room.
The manzanita branch would be more effective if it were stained a bit darker, and perhaps stood up a bit more so the people on the couch don't feel like they are at risk of attack! LOL Maybe add the other piece that you have as well, for more volume in the corner. I would add the nest and eggs, and also consider twining in some of the little tiny white lights they have now - I think they call them rice lights, or use one of the inexpensive uplights on the floor behind it to add light there and also throw interesting shadows up onto the walls. Once you get the manzanita in the pot, be sure to cover the plaster with some moss and stones.

You are doing a great job in the space, and I love the slate floor. I wouldn't add a rug.

My completely unprofessional, 100% free opinion; I like the art, you did a nice job. I'd put them all on one wall, lower down, and then print up about four favorite photos in sepia tones (minimum 5X7, framed as 8X10, bigger would be better) for the other wall.

I agree with Bud, the Grecian urn is lost. I think the floral arrangement would look better "mussed up" a bit and put in a smaller ceramic pot similar to the one the big branch is in, only perhaps in a darker shade of that smokey blue. Also, an area rug would be an easy way to add color. The right rug could really play up the wonderful colors of the floorin addition to the blues and browns.

I don't know if I'd put anything else dark at the window, but a tortoise shell colored bamboo shade might be nice, pulled down about 1/4 of the way. The white chair is interesting, but to me, (and this is just me) it doesn't "fit" with the modern furniture; maybe it wants to be black or smokey blue, or a really dark brown? Then again, that's what I do to all the odd furniture at my house - paint it. (Hey, I said I wasn't a professional)

Is this a formal sitting room, or is there a television or something else in the corner that serves as a focal point? If so, you could hang the two smaller art works in that corner, and use larger photographic prints over the table.

WOW!

I didn't see the room before (I don't think?) but I want your sofa and matching chairs, your drapery, your white chair, definitely your tree branch and of course your flooring!

They are still available Amity. Target has them.

I got mine at HOBO already put together. I read reviews on this furniture and it sounds like a bear to put together. I was lucky. I am guessing they were a return from Target and unloaded at HOBO. I have the couch, not the love seat, and one chair. The couch was $199 and so was the chair. They are comfortable and stain resistant. They haven't shown any wear at all and I use them a lot. The cushions are held in place with Velcro and are one sided so you can't extend the life of the couch by flipping the cushions. Hobo also had these in a light colored wood and a more of a Terracotta cushion too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Milano Loveseat

Thanks to all who have commented so far. More ideas are welcome too.

amity, thank you for your comments. I am so glad you like my try at decorating this room. This room has been a little mini-brainstorming project on my part.

littledog, thanks for taking the time to critique. I have lots of photographs I can utilize as art and have done so in other parts of our home, so I may consider that in this room as well. As for the cane chair, I wanted something else in the room besides modern - to break up the stiffness of the modern style - I am working at how to accomplish that in this room. Actually my chair is very pale blue, but I think I need to darken it a bit for the room. Several folks have mentioned a shade of some type - and I might just try that in this room (Every time I mention something to DH about what our decorating needs, I can see his eyes saying isn't the room done yet, i.e. you have to buy more stuff?). I have another floral arrangement - I'll repost when I get the smaller art pieces framed or other pieces of art. There really is nothing that serves as a focal point in this room other than the view or the art on the walls. This room is more of a conversation or formal sitting area. Our home has a great room adjacent the living room. The great room has a fireplace, sofa, TV, bookcase, a dining table, and a kitchen with a peninsula with bar stools - all of which are open to one another in one big room - so we pretty much live in that room, but happen to have this living room too. I am having the most fun decorating the living room though.

meltnaz, my room does have a pinkish tone - it is my standard color for homes till I decide what to paint. I have had a fear of color in the past and am learning to bring that into my home. I actually used color in my two bathrooms with pretty good results - those two will be posted soon. I am having a hard time picturing the chargers on the wall - but I am thinking I might be able to utilize them - perhaps only two - somewhere in the room. I think sometimes art should be three dimensional rather than one dimensional and the chargers would accomplish that. The artwork is supposed to be centered above the loveseat, but I had moved the end table to the other side and when I did that I had to move the loveseat down which threw it all off - but I will definitely center whatever ends up going above the loveseat.

les917, thank you so much for taking the time to look at my living room in detail. I have been reading your suggestions on other threads and I really admire your expertise. You always have such great suggestions. I showed DH the drapes you had orginally suggested and I think they would be better in this room, but he said - why do they have two different colors? Also I was afraid the blue color would have been too dark for what I was wanting - but now I am seeing that shades of the same color are sometimes better - I am learning as I go along. I love the lamp you picked out - I actually saw something similar at Pier I recently and liked it. I am now thinking along the same lines as you that the white shaded lamp isn't correct in the space. Now that you mention it I see what you mean about the floral, I will post the other one in the space tomorrow and if not a go, I will try to adjust this one. Thank you so much for your idea about mounting the large art piece on plywood with a darker frame - that is a great idea and would improve its stance on that wall tremendously. I almost put those boxes under the sofa table - but wanted something by the chair too. I have been looking for something round but not sure quite what style to put there - most round tables are either gate leg with splayed legs that don't seem right or a ultra modern boxey looking side table that isn't what I want either. I actually thought about stringing some of those lights on the manzanita branch - not familiar with the rice lights you mentioned, but I will research them - I like the idea of them being very small. The ceramic vase has holes in the bottom to string the cord up through. I was going to put sand in the vase to increase the weight to hold up the manzanita rather than plaster - so I can change it later if I want - I will just tape the holes off so the sand doesn't spill out. I had planned on placing black stones or moss on the top as you have suggested, once I am sure I am finished with the arrangement. I will definitely edit out some of the items in the room. I am seeing that sometimes less is more. Again thank you so much for your suggestions.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and suggestions. Believe it or not I had several other renditions before I posted this one. The curtains were supposed to be the blue ones shown in my daybed room posting (but they were too short for a sunken room - boo hoo). The light chair was originally on the other side. I also had five large reddish brown bamboo poles in the vase - but their lines were too hard and stark for the space so I substituted the manzanita branch.

I will post rearrangements and adjustments later. I might not get to it till after the weekend, because I have a tour tomorrow and a party here on Saturday, so I have much to prepare for both. But I will post soon with some more photos. Thanks again to all.

bud_wi - I am jealous, you got yours for less dollars than me - do you have photos of yours to post - I am sooo curious.

amity - I got mine at Target, their photo shows them in a lighter tone, but the are actually as shown in my photos above. They aren't that hard to put together, just have to turn a little provided screw driver multiple times to tighten it down. The cushions do have a zipper so they could be removed and recovered at some point in the future. We don't plan on sitting on them much, since we have the family room, so they should last - unless the cats get to them.

I saw Walmart has a chair similar but more Mission style - they all must be made at the same place.

That slate floor is fabulous! I can see why you don't want to cover it. And I like the fabrics of the pillows. They echo the grid lines of the flooring.

kim2007, thank you about the slate floor, we almost put a light colored tile in that room and I am so glad we didn't. I never even noticed that about the pillows - what a good eye you have.