That's a great looking CL bargain you got! I also really like the aqua looking color with your furniture. I'm not much of a decorater but seems to me you've got too much business around the CL chair. I don't have anything to suggest though. LOL Walls decor is very intimidating to me too.

Thanks, mammie. I was lucky to get that chair on CL. I'm glad you mentioned it looking busy in the corner because I was thinking of adding a small table by the chair, but maybe it's the busyness of that corner that I don't like. (It was worse before.)

May I suggest a round all-glass coffee table with metal to open up the space and take away from the heaviness of the darker colors in the room? I also wonder if the room might not look more cohesive without the oval mirror over the chair. I'm sorry but I'm not fond of the wall color. How would you feel about a pale sage green, so that the walls aren't the first thing you notice in the room? Your focal point really should be that great brick wall and fireplace. I'd also replace the dark shade on the door with a white one and even put a white (or cream) one on the brick wall to make it look less conspicuous and to blend in better with the painting you've chosen over the fireplace.

Your room has a lot of potential. Good luck!

Ingrid

Thanks Ingrid. I think you have a good point about a glass table. Also, I have two nice metal barstools in the room, which I didn't show. The table could match them. The drawback would be that it wouldn't be as comfortable to put my feet on and my dogs couldn't lay on it.

I've had mixed feelings about the mirror; I'll try just putting a couple smaller pictures next to the large dog drawing and see if that helps.

I've considered replacing the brick-colored blind on the door, but thought a different color on the brick wall might stand out too much, so I'll have to think about replacing that one.

The blue, though nice for apparel or something, wasn't quite the sophisticated color I was hoping for on my walls. I have a feeling green may be a better color. Lately, I've gone from wanting burgundy in my house, to wanting blue, but I think green with blue is easier to work with because I did it in my bedroom recently. I've also started to like green more from seeing it when looking at other people's rooms.

Again, thanks, I really want to get this right.

You asked about thumbnails -- I'd like to the larger photos -- you can't see much in the thumbnails. And it's helpful to take photos from all the corners in the room so it's easier to picture the room in its entirety.

I agree that the color doesn't read as grey-blue, but it's pretty.

We have a glass coffee table in out TV room with metal trim around the edges and we put our feet on it all the time and our 15 lb. cat lies on it constantly, so I think it's just a matter of getting used to it.

I like your idea about grouping some more pictures with the dog painting to give visual unity to that area. Also, I agree about the torchere. For one thing, it's much too tall, and the color should be perhaps a brass or muted gold base with a light beige shade to tie in with the chair and brick colors.

I hope you don't think I'm being presumptuous or trying to force my ideas on you, but since I moved into our house and decorated not too long ago, I thought I'd include a few pictures. I was helped so much by looking at other people's houses in magazines and books and never could have done it on my own. (And still I made mistakes!)

Ingrid

Thanks mjlb, these should be easier to see.
{{gwi:1846114}}
{{gwi:1846115}}
This area is to the left of the tv. (I don't have a picture of the barstool area now.){{gwi:1846116}}
Please pardon the messiness.

Ingrid, I don't think you are presumptuous at all. I really do want advice because this doesn't come easily to me at all and your house came out great! :-) Also, I've lived here a while, somehow making it harder for me to judge things than it would be if it was someone else's house.

Just a bunch of random thoughts:

. Love the idea of lamps on your mantel. Would like even more if lamp shades were a little longer and that sort of Asian rectangular shape to complement the painting.

. To me, it looks odd that the paint color was not continued on the right side of the fireplace.

. What's the item on the right side of the fireplace ledge?

. A round coffee table would look great. Maybe a modern lightweight metal, or even wicker with cushion on top. I agree the leather ottoman would be too much for the room.

. Since furniture is pretty much covered, I'd concentrate on the lighting. As you mentioned, change the torchiere for something warmer. Maybe add wall sconces (with cord, not hard wired) at either end of your sectional sofa. Add a squat floor lamp (sort of like a ball or a cube) next to the TV stand.

. For artwork, I'd don't know if this will work, but it might be interesting to try to stack the two round mirrors vertically over the sofa where the large print now is. If they fit, it would make the room look taller. Move the large print to the console table. Remove rectangular mirror over sofa (since it reflects kitchen). Remove two artificial planters from above sofa so you have one calm wall in the room. Love the dog painting. It's silly, but try hanging it at doggie level next to entertainment center. (Not my idea, but I loved it and stole it.)

. Since the room is small, it probably would seem bigger with an area rug that covers most of the floor area. A remnant with a bound edge would be inexpensive.

. Didn't give any thought to color. Maybe when new sofa is in, you could post updated photos.

coffee table

squat floor lamp {{gwi:1846118}}

Ingris VC: Please share your wall color in kitchen dining area. I love it. What is the color of living room walls also. Thank you. Your house is a dream. Char

It looks to me like you are transitioning the room away from a traditional style (Queen Anne style coffee table) to more of a warm, clubby, contemporary feel.

If that is the case, then maybe you need to reconsider some of the artwork and decorative items, such as what you have over the sofa. They have a generic look of "I got a good deal on these at Homegoods" rather than I'm NHBT and this is artwork that says something about ME. (I personally like the one over the fireplace - bit of an Asian flare.)

But, first things first. Sofas and chairs need side tables to go with them, and you need more lighting in the room. Take an hour and walk through a good lamp store and see what is out there. Look beyond the mass retailers for lamps.

The glass lamp on the TV stand is pretty, but goes better with the Queen Anne style. I love the light that those halogen pole lamps add to a room, and I like a pole lamp there, but not THAT one.

Similarly, I like the idea of lighting on the fireplace, but maybe something more stylish? Maybe pin-up sconces? And take a minute to move the cord on the left side so that it goes around the corner and out of sight before it drops. You can tack it down or even just use some duct tape in the corner near the blind.

Finally, I like the idea of the blue walls, but I would shoot for a blue gray. It you are up for repainting, roll up that rug and take it to a paint store and get that tone of blue.

I love golden retrievers! If that is a painting of your dog, have it reframed, give it some prominence with matting and make it a showpiece of the room.

Here's how a few wall color choices would look (excuse my poor photoshop skills):

blue/gray: {{gwi:1846119}}
sagey green: {{gwi:1846120}}
grayed lilac:

for me, the biggest problem in the room is the wall color. On my monitor, it looks turquoisy & I think if you want to stick with blue tones, you need a very subtle, sophisticated blue-gray to correspond with the color in the rug & the mortar on the brick wall. If you switch rugs like you mentioned, then many colors would work with the neutral furnishings & brick. I would lose the faux plants - again, a personal opinion.

NHBT, would you consider painting the brick an off-white and changing the blinds to match? Then you'd have a calmer and more expansive feel to that end of the room. If that appeals, I'd probably paint the mantle also. Pick a warm white, even as dark as BM Bone White, to balance your CL's find dark leather. Bone White will also pick up the warm tone of the new sectional and should work well with your tile floor and your 2 goldies :-). Even if you don't paint the brick, Bone White is an easy tone to live with so may work on the other walls and then you can bring in colors with your accents.

The aqua doesn't work IMO nor does the rug. Look for a new rug first, then pick an accent color if you go that route. I think you need to really look at finished rooms on decorating sites or in magazines and determine what style makes you happiest. Then find a rug that replicates the look you're going for.

You've gotten good advice about the tables, mirrors, art & lighting. Got to a site like art.com or grandpa's art and pour over posters to see what you like before buying anything new.

I'd also ditch those candles in a heartbeat as they are a real fire hazard. The console wall will look better without them and you can add tall buffet lamps on the table. I don't see an outlet there but consider having one installed. If not in the budget, then add two tall hurricaine candle holders instead of the buffet lamps so that the candles will not pose as much of a hazard.

abundant blessings, I didn't have the courage to suggest this myself, but I do think painting the brick an off white is a great idea. In the photos of my LR above that's exactly what I did. The fireplace was originally painted in two colors, beige and brown, and looked really dated. I painted it the same color as the walls and it made the room look so much larger and pulled together, and I think it would work beautifully here too, especially if the blinds are integrated into the scheme. I also agree about the rug. A wonderful rug can set the tone for the whole room and help with accessories such as pillows for a pulled-together look.

Thank you so much Char. The color in the living room is Cozy Cottage in egg shell from Behr at Home Depot. The dining room color was a special mix with much trial and error. It's Behr eggshell and the ingredients are red oxide (main color), raw umber and magenta. I just had the poor salesperson mix and remix until it looked right to me. My main focus was to have a warm color, more on the rust than magenta side, and I'm very happy with the result.

Ingrid

This is just a note on picture size....
if you use Photobucket you can make each picture a "clickable thumbnail" so they load quickly in the thread because they are small but you can click on them to enlarge them....

Hope that makes sense. I don't know about any of the other online photo storage sites but I'd have to imagine there are others out there that do something similar. Photobucket is free though.

Just a thought!

P.S. love your CL chair!!!!
Kristy :)

Ingrid, sorry had to paint our front door while the weather was good so didn't see your note until now. Your lovely home seems welcoming, calm and comfortable, and is a great example of how a good off-white can visually expand an area. Tone on tone is not everyone's look, granted, but for me it's the easiest to live with in the main rooms. I love color also, but for the most part confine it to our bedrooms. That just works best with our things, but I really enjoy my3dogs vibrant and eclectic mix too, for example.

NHBT, any thoughts after so much input? It's always hard to step back and figure out which way you'd be happiest living with, but you'll get there. Best of luck!

Hi all, thanks so much for the help! It's very kind of you to take the time. I've taken some time to absorb everyone's ideas and it's interesting to see my room through other's eyes. I've decided on a few things.

The look I was aiming for was transitional, sort of casual traditional with maybe a little eclecticism. I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull that off. I was sort of surprised to discover it was starting to look contemporary. Although I've suddenly started liking more contemporary things, that's not what I usually prefer. Btw, if the rug is part of the contemporary look, I did have a more busy, sort of persian-looking rug in the room, but I didn't think it looked too good, so I went for something more graphic.

In any event, I'll get a round, glass table to replace the traditional coffee table. I've removed the torciere lamp and the mirror above the leather chair. Does the plant behind the chair look ok?

I will get a nice matte and frame for my dog drawing in chalk pastel, done by my brother. What color frame do you think I should get, goldish? I'm thinking of pairing it with two other pictures of my dogs in similar frames above the chair. I hope that works. I've tried many arrangements there.

Another issue is the leather chair. Although I think it's probably too big for the room, I would like to make it work somehow. I love leather. Or I can move it to my living room, which is more Queen Anne, and it may look too masculine there. I'm not sure.

I think I will start looking at rugs and see if I can find one that works better, probably more expensive. The problem might be that my current rug is an inexpensive one I got at Target. Most of the accessories are inexpensive. I have to say I rarely feel the urge to buy accessories; I don't see things and think oh, that would look nice in my house, so I just bought some stuff on the cheap. I will remove the candle sconces and maybe put sconces by the mirror.

I thought light sconces might be a good solution above the sectional at one time, but when I used my planter things (holding my artificial plants) to sort of help me get an idea where they should go and how they might look, it never seemed right. But maybe I should just put one on the far right and far left end of the sectional, like MJLB said if I understood.

I haven't decided whether to repaint gray-blue or sage green. Thanks for photoshopping those pictures! I like the first one best. The lilac/mauve color is surprisingly nice, but I could never live with that because I don't care for pink or lilac walls. I must repaint. The color probably depends on the rug. I will paint the area to the right of the door when I find the right color. I will also replace that blind with a white one to match the door.

About the mirror over the sectional, it often reflects the Asian picture above the mantel, so sometimes it looks ok. I also think that mirror is small, but a big mirror will reflect even more things I don't want reflected (the kitchen).

Although I'm not sold on the artificial plants, I'm not sure what to do there because it looked so plain with nothing. I tried so many arrangements of pictures. Oddly, though the plants are obviously fake, they did immediately add a softness that the room lacks. I didn't think the Oval and round mirrors looked too good above the sectional; I had them there at one time. I'lll see if I can find a picture.

And going back to the chair, I had originally planned to put a small, soft chenille chair (not picked out) in the corner there to add some softness. The hard corner of the brick wall meeting the other wall did not look good. Btw, Ingrid, I'm in love with your sofas and chairs. I love the arms on the chairs. That's what I had in mind for my chair, but a more compact back due to size limitations. (But instead I bought something much bigger, lol.)

I'll look at lamps at a lamp store. Perhaps I'll buy a lamp on a pole by the leather chair. And maybe add a tiny table? Or a pole lamp with a little table built in?

It's funny, I was looking for squarish looking lampshades the other day, thinking they would look good above my mantle. Instead, I got the two lamps you see on the mantel. It's not too late to return them; they even still have the plastic on the shades.

Now the big issue of whether to paint the fireplace wall I think I will settle when I get the rest of the room looking better. I'm afraid to take such a big step because I can't go back. In an ideal world though, I would have a big white fireplace surround. I picture beautiful Christmas stockings and lights in garland, that kind of thing.... What I visualize is probably too formal to work in my house though.

What does NHBT mean?

The little statue on the right side of my mantle is a dog doing his zen meditation. :-)

I wonder if I'm overthinking things.

Well, I've covered most of the issues for now. Again, thank you all so much!

NHBT = nappyhairbigteeth :)

No, you are not overthinking things. You are correctly analyzing the elements of your room.

I'll be back later when I have had time to read over your response more closely.

nappyhairbigteeth, I noticed that you mentioned the possibility of the lamps with the table built in. I found one that I liked online at www.lampsplus.com. (I love their sales and free shipping.) We had little room to work with in our family room, so this solved the problem. Here's a picture of it (although I notice that it needs to be straightened up a bit?!:

{{gwi:1846125}}

There is a lot of great advice here. I am going to suggest that painting your fireplace will make a huge impact and will provide a neutral backdrop to your room. You would then go about making it a focal point with a larger mantle, accessories, etc.

I am reading a book about decorating, and they suggest that you take EVERYTHING out of the room and then decorate it by slowly putting things back in. They say that's how the decorators do it, so that you get a "fresh" view.

Just an idea, the other thing that stands out for me is "Edit, Edit, Edit"....meaning most of us usually have too much stuff in the room, and that we should rotate it rather than have it all out in the room at once. It was useful for me because when I took everything out, I only put about less than half of the "stuff" back in and it looks WAY better.

The look I was aiming for was transitional, sort of casual traditional with maybe a little eclecticism. I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull that off.
Yes, you can, and are well on the way. But, IMO, it is hard to fit the Queen Anne furniture pieces in. And you need to move the accessories from formal to contemporary.

Btw, if the rug is part of the contemporary look, I did have a more busy, sort of persian-looking rug in the room, but I didn't think it looked too good, so I went for something more graphic.
I like the rug a lot. But since it is going to set the stage for the room, if you dont like it, then make that the next thing to switch out, because it is going to drive the color scheme.

Does the plant behind the chair look ok?
I like it, and I think fake plants are just fine as long as they are clean and not covered with dust. Buy an uplight ($15) and set it in the pot shooting the light up at and through the leaves. Use a timer so it comes on automatically. You might raise the plant slightly so more of the greenery shows - try placing it on some books or a box.

I will get a nice matte and frame for my dog drawing in chalk pastel, done by my brother. What color frame do you think I should get, goldish? I'm thinking of pairing it with two other pictures of my dogs in similar frames above the chair.
I like the idea of pairing with two other pictures. I would stay away from gold. You could do three identical black frames.

Another issue is the leather chair. I think the leather chair looks great.

I will remove the candle sconces and maybe put sconces by the mirror.
Maybe hold off on this area until you do some other things. In a perfect world, I would replace the Queen Anne console with something more in the style of the TV cabinet. For now, I would remove the sconces and try a couple things. Move the rectangular mirror over there, or just for the heck of it, see what the oval mirror would look like turned on its side. To me, a mirror + sconces is a formal look you are moving away from. However, if that is in a hallway to the dining room and not really part of this room, then maybe keep it formal.

I thought light sconces might be a good solution above the sectional at one time, but when I used my planter things (holding my artificial plants) to sort of help me get an idea where they should go and how they might look, it never seemed right. But maybe I should just put one on the far right and far left end of the sectional, like MJLB said if I understood.

Decorating above a sofa or sectional is difficult. You might consider this: Leave one of the two walls above the sofa empty. Decorate only the wall above the longer end of the sofa and use one large picture. Measure the length of the longer section lets say it is 80 inches long. Find one picture that measures in width somewhere between 3/4 and 7/8 of that length. Using the 80 inch example, the width of your picture would be between 60 and 70 inches. Now, go shopping for artwork with that width. You could even do that as you think about a new area rug, and whichever comes along first becomes the building block for the other.

I'll look at lamps at a lamp store. Perhaps I'll buy a lamp on a pole by the leather chair. And maybe add a tiny table? Or a pole lamp with a little table built in?
Pole lamps with built in tables are so practical, but I never see them in the better stores. Wodkas is really nice.

It's funny, I was looking for squarish looking lampshades the other day, thinking they would look good above my mantle. Instead, I got the two lamps you see on the mantel. It's not too late to return them; they even still have the plastic on the shades.
Personally, yes, I would return them and look for something more interesting. I like the idea of lamps on the fireplace, but another option would be to offset the picture to one side and put a blue vase or one lamp or something else next to it.

Now the big issue of whether to paint the fireplace wall . . . what I visualize is probably too formal to work in my house though.
The painted fireplace and all the other items in Ingrids room are gorgeous. But that is a more formal style than you seem to be going for. I would leave the brick alone, but give a good cleaning to the brass surround and then spray paint it with black paint (we can give you more info on how to do that - it is easy and cheap). It looks like you use the fireplace, so maybe shop the internet for new fireplace tools that are more showy. Down the road, replace the mantle with something a little bigger, and replace the country looking corbels with something more striking.

It is all in the details.

graywings, what great advice you gave (and thanks for the compliment on the tray lamp.) I was hesitant, at first, to buy one, but there's a lot more to choose from these days.

I googled floor lamps with trays, and here is a deal, if it looks as good in person. Linen's n Things:

Another vote to paint out the brick AND the mantel on the fireplace wall to blend in with the door area (either white OR do the whole room in the soft gray-blue) ..... the whole wall would then present a co-hesive view in the room!

Excellent idea to paint out the brass -- and add some nice fireplace tools. Perhaps a nice fireplace screen too? A simple style that would work well in the room.

Yes -- I do agree that there is too much around the lovely leather chair. Just a nice standing lamp and a small basket beside the chair for magazines or newspapers would work well. Above the chair -- just hang the dog artwork -- and remove the mirror (try it in another place in your home)

Also -- try removing the wall baskets with the greenery. I would LOVE to see four smaller artworks over that sofa that co-ordinate with the larger artwork.

As for wall color -- I vote for a softer grayed-blue to match the one in the rug.

Just some thoughts! Hope you don't mind!

I agree with everything, except perhaps painting the brick. I love it in ingrid's room, but agree that it is a look for more formal rooms.

I think with the right wall color (deep gray, or olive, or terra cotta, or dark tan), and a heavier mantle and/or surround, the brick could really accent the room. Of course, as you can tell from my pics, I love brick, so perhaps I'm a tad biased.

You have so many great suggestions! Good luck. I can't wait to see your results!

wodka, your lighter brick arch makes a lovely frame to the dining area and beautiful view. NHBT doesn't have those wonderful features to work with, unfortunately. One can find many examples of painted brick with very causal decor, so I can't agree that it trends to formal. I think furniture choices and accessories will determine the look in this instance rather than architectural features. While I'd be inclined to paint the brick and NHBT holds it as her ideal, she also likes the look of mjib's blue-gray with the unpainted brick. That certainly works in favor of leaving it unpainted. (Thanks, mjib, and all you other great photoshoppers.)

Before deciding on this or any other change, it would be a good exercise for NHBT to list the elements she wants (yes, Christmas stockings is just the sort of thing I'm suggesting) AND find pictures which support her vision. Then she can begin to identify her style and develop a cohesive vision. I'm also a big proponent of leaving expanses for the eye to rest, going larger scale for impact, and acquiring only those pieces which make your heart sing. The down side for those of us without a huge budget is that putting together your look takes time. I've been able to buy @ net cost, but it still has taken a few years to build a collection which makes us happy. These days, CL, Ebay and high-end consignment shops are wonderful resources, so NHBT can achieve her look once she knows what it is she wants. There's no better example I'm aware of than my3dogs who reigns supreme IMO using just those resources. My3dogs has a great eye for quality, knows her style and tremendous luck, but she really puts a lot of effort into getting high value pieces for peanuts.

So, NHBT, have you checked any websites for rugs and found a picture of what you like? If not, that might be a good starting point. Best!

Hi all, I went to a few places to look at lamps today. I didn't know Linens and Things had closed it's doors already. Oh well. I also went to Lamps Plus, a tiny, local place called Prickly Pear Home Decor and another store called Home Decor. At Prickly Pear I saw two lamps that could go on my mantle. They had a curvy rectangular shade and the base was sort of similar in shape to the top. They looked like wood with some decorative carving. (That's not very descriptive, I know.)

At Lamps Plus, I liked this lamp, but thought it might be too formal at the base particularly. Click on the thumbnail:{{gwi:1846128}}

Here's the link to the website's photo: http://www.lampsplus.com/Products/Kathy-Ireland-Buckingham-Glass-Tray-Floor-Lamp__62732.html

This one is less formal, but it doesn't have the swing-arm I like and it has bars on the tray, making me likely to spill my drink. I really feel like one needs a place to put a drink when relaxing{{gwi:1846129}}
Here's the link to the website's photo: http://www.lampsplus.com/Products/Beveled-Glass-Tray-Floor-Lamp__90522.html
Three months ago, I got an email from Tuesday Morning with a rug I liked, so I copied the picture. It's not in the two Tuesday Morning stores by my house because I checked today. It's indoor/outdoor though. Click on the thumbnail to see larger:{{gwi:1846130}}
I still like the rug I have, btw. I just think I might want one with some green in there, or maybe not.
I have an uplight in my big plant behind the chair, btw. :-)
I'm fairly sure I have pictures of my room with the rectangular mirror above the console and the oval mirror above the sectional, but my external hard drive, which has them, is at work, so I'll post them tomorrow. I have saved some pictures of rooms I like, but they're not necessarily rooms I want, so I will check them out too. I know I have a lamp picture on my external hard drive that I like too.
I really appreciate the advice; all is welcome. I finally feel like I may be moving forward due to some great advice. :-)
I've been wondering though, was it the torchiere blocking the picture on the wall that made that corner look cluttered? Also, is it the television and the stand it's on that makes the room look contemporary?

Well, our dinner is ready, so I will sign on tomorrow or later.

Thanks again!
NHBT

FWIW, the rug you saved a picture of is available at rugsdirect.com.

You mentioned that your brother did the great pastel drawing of your dog -- any chance you could commission him to do something else for you? Large, or a series that could be combined for a large grouping?

Hello,

First, another big thank you for all the ideas, which are helping me come up with a plan. :-)

Just a quick update and question. Not much has changed, but I've been looking at accessories and furniture some and thinking about what to do.

I've discovered that with occasional exceptions, often with tables, rugs and lamps, I usually prefer traditional things, so I may be leaning less toward transitional than I thought.

Also, I tried photoshopping floor lamps with a tray/table next to my leather chair, and so far, I don't think it looks good to have a floor lamp there. So right now, I'm leaning more toward finding a very small glass end table to put next to the chair and perhaps putting a mini lamp and plant on top.

Most importantly, I have a question. I have been looking at glass tables and I found this one, which I like. I'm waiting to hear back what the dimensions are. Do you think it would make a good replacement for my coffee table? {{gwi:1846131}}

I'm holding off on asking my brother for more art. I'm not sure he'll want to do it or that I need it. He did say he'd try to come up with ideas for my fireplace.

Thanks SO much for the advice and help!
grateful NHBT

Yes, I like the table a lot, and think it will fit with the transitional look, without being too modern.l