I would take those chairs away, and find one chair with arms to put on the left side (left, looking at the picture you posted) ... angled a bit towards the room, not facing head-on. Or, not have chairs there at all. I do like the pictures, either as you have them, or variations people have posted.

Thanks everyone. This is a tough area to work with and that's probably why I've procrastinated and left it alone for so long!

I've tried a few different things.

I I thought I might like it better with nothing there, but the room really looks off balance to me since the other walls have a fireplace/shelves, and the window. Is that just me being used to more stuff there? Fresh eyes are so helpful!

The TV isn't likely to move since DH had it installed there for the optimal viewing angle. Anele, you are right in noticing that now the chair on the right is very cliose to the edge and that is not ideal. It also exposes the outlets there, but those could probably be moved without too much trouble. So it may be a question of finding the least offensive option!

The fireplace space is framed - and perhaps framing the tv space would work.

Played a bit (and have to stop now): (I think I left the sconces too big)

I think I like that. Would it work to have the pictures that close to the ceiling? If so, I may steal this idea.

So, the tv can't move, which kind of squeezes the chair on the right. But does the console unit HAVE to be centered under the TV? If you moved that over a few inches to the left, would it look weird? What if you added a tall vase next to the tv to make it look intentionally off centered?

I really don't like it with nothing. It looks unfinished, especially since the rest of the room doesn't have a sparse, minimalism look going on. My favourite so far is the darker prints, but they look like they're all at different heights, which is kinda bugging me.

I like it with one picture using the ones you have up there, the darker frame competes too much with the tv to my eye. Beautiful room btw.

I would try MizGG's idea of using only one chair, slightly angled. It feels static with the chairs flat against the wall and the art so precise. Not relaxing for a TV room.

I liked the idea of the sconces to get away from all framed art on every wall. But you have can lights so it's an unnecessary expense to wire for them. What about using candle sconces or some different type of art? We have some wall pottery because DH has a lot of potter friends, so they're a nice break from framed art.

Of the last group of 3 that you posted, I vote for the first one. The dark frames are too similar to the dark tv and the bare wall looks well.....too bare.

I like the first one in the recent pictures...the lighter picture, one picture each side, the frames subordinate to the TV.

What a beautiful room! I think it looks great as-is! A slight change might be to angle-in the chairs. I have a cabinet in my FR and with the chairs angeled, it doesn't look so 'contrieved' it that makes any sense. ;)

Someone else asked this ---- what is to the left? would two chairs fit there? As in a tiny conversation spot?

Justerrilynn - thanks (for a vote of confidence). I do wonder how they'd work out so close to the ceiling. I do think it may work though the subjects would have to lend themselves to being seen from a distance. Maybe with a horizontal orientation?

My mom had a large vase with some fake roses in them in a corner of our house. It was a very beautiful vase and the roses are a significant flower for our family, so it didn't look too kitschy. You might try that to the right of the tv console, something similar, a large pottery piece or something on a pedestal stand. I happen to love metallic wall sculptures, particularly ones with natural themes, but that may just be me, but it could work on that wall. I have a candle wall piece which is fantastic but I had it in the bedroom and we used to have just candle lights in there some nights when we wanted to decompress, very relaxing but not really what I would do around the TV I think.

Annie and meanmom, thanks so much for the photoshop help. They both show some possibilities. I like something over the tv but think my prints are too tall. If I find something with a more horizontal look I will give it a try. And seeing chairs with arms there is so helpful. I didn't think I had room for them especially on the right side, but I can see that they could work.

i shifted the tv and cabinet slightly to the left and it does look more balanced. Here is a shot of the corner that some of you have asked about:

I doubt this will ever be my favorite spot in my home but if I can at least keep it from looking odd I'll be happy. The problem for me is that I really love the rest of the room, and then the TV wall just looks like it's not connected to the rest of it. The long and narrow shape of the room doesn't help either!

As always, appreciate your thoughts:)

In the third of your original pics (showing the fireplace), is there room along the wall to its left for a chair (angled towards the room/sofa)? I was thinking if so, you could put one there and one to the left of the TV cabinet closer to the corner but angled towards the sofa. I can't see how much wall there is on that (right) side of the doorway but it seems like it would balance that side of the room and not have the awkwardness of the chairs on either side of the cabinet.

I haven't read every posting but of all the photos you've posted I like the one with the dark frames the best. You have a lot of brown tones on that wall and IMO the black tv stands out among it all. Since you have black lamp shades and other dark pieces on the fireplace wall, it seems adding more of the same tones on the tv wall would balance it.

I love your room...everything looks elegant.

where ever did you find that beautiful rug...please

tell me, I'm looking for a rug for my LR, yours would be perfect.

Can you PM me with the name and model number.

Again, gorgeous room.

I don't think I'd make the tv wall a feature wall with lots of art work around it.

cliffandjoann, I don't know how to PM someone. Can you tell me how to do that?

I'm looking at wall sconces and find myself kind of intrigued with these from PB;

pottery barn wall sconces

The more I look at this the more I think that the whole wall just looks so one dimensional. The other walls in the room have some depth and that's one thing that makes them more interesting. Anyone have any experience with the ones I posted?

ghostlyvision, your observations are great and so is your idea, except that there is an opening in the wall in the area you mentioned. We've debated putting a chair there but it would block the entry to the LR, and somehow I think it's better to leave that area open. Just another drawback to opening up your walls, in a way. This photo shows it a little:

This room is long and narrow, as you can see, and because of the open concept, serves as a pass though the the LR. That, plus the desire to facilitate comfortable TV watching, puts some constraints on what we can do to make it visually pleasing and balanced. Hence, the title of this thread; my goal is to make it look "better", not necessarily gorgeous!

I just tested the link and the PB site takes you to a grouping of sconces; I was thinking of the tall one in the middle.

How wide is the wall to the right of the doorway (before the fireplace wall begins)? I can see some of it in your Friday morning pic post but not enough to see if a chair will fit there without blocking the built-in to the left of the fireplace. That's the area I was thinking of having the other chair, angled towards the sofa, with another chair to the far left of the TV cabinet near the corner.

Your tv room and living room are so beautiful! I love the two chairs you have with 1 picture on either side of the tv. Just lovely!

wow, there's no private messages on Houz...

here's my email addy.

cliffandjoann@hotmail.com

I would love to hear from you.

Thanks

You have a warm and inviting home, from what I can see of your LR and TV room. You have various ways of balancing features - and there is very little of matching on opposite parts. By this I'm trying to say that you using a pair of chairs to surround the TV doesn't seem to be typical of the styling in your home. Is there a comfortable side chair you can borrow from elsewhere to place to the left of the TV. Maybe a small table or hassock to the right? See if that feels like a right step or a mis-step.

Color: I think I see some black (or a very dark other color) here and there in your rooms - as in your drapes. Some of the furniture is very dark brown. Colors vary yet balance each other. Yet, on the TV wall, The TV is black, everything else is of a similar medium tone, and the wainscoting, which is very visible in this part of the room (unlike the other end), is a very light color. I think a pop of a red something may help. A red scarf on the cabinet? Huge red floor vase?

(I hope someday my LR reaches a similar level of style and comfort as yours!)

I think the PB sconces are too casual with the chairs and your other furnishings. I'd look for a traditional style and think they need to be something special as they will be your only decor on that wall.

I think the arrangement is perfect in this photo:

As has been pointed out to me by folks in this forum, your eye NEEDS a place to take a visual rest in the room, and I think this is where you should allow that to happen. Definitely don't fill the wall with stuff. You really don't "need" anything else here besides the TV, but I understand that it feels too bare to you that way. A print on either side is the perfect compromise between not enough and too much, IMO. Let the space BREATHE. You have enough going on elsewhere in your gorgeous rooms, and (as I've learned) the eye needs a place to "rest."

I also don't think the PB sconces complement your elegant furnishings at all.

If you were to keep a single framed piece over the chairs, you might go a little bigger, but I like the square shape. I'd also remove one of the sets of stacked prints elsewhere in the room as there's a lot of sameness in the "art from a distance"--what we see in a photo. You had three stacked arrangements originally and several single framed pieces. I'd take away the ones to the right of the bookcases for the breathing room and to allow the focus to be on the interesting items on the bookcases and on the window.

Or try lightening the frames there. The leaf prints might look nice, and you could possibly use both pairs to flank the bookcases on the short walls. But then you'll need to remove stacked ones elsewhere. See how complicated this gets? ;) And all you wanted was new chairs.

Jam, I agree the wall would look best and jive with the rest (made a rhyme) if it had another dimension .

Hi all, so many of you make such astute observations. I really appreciate your attention to this.

I'm not sure the sconces work either, but I was thinking that something with some depth would be nice next to the tv. I also thought those had some size and a little heft to them but were kind of neutral design wise, so wouldn't be screaming for attention. I'll keep looking and may try them, or some other style, as an alternative to more square shapes, (the prints) as the room is already full of them.

And auntjen, you are so right. The eye does need a place to rest, and this is the perfect place. IRL, it just seems odd to have so much bare wall space around the TV since the rest of the room has a lot going on. So the answer will be in having just the right amount of "something" there.

mayflowers, I think I agree that the prints are just a little too small, but they are at least close to the right size. It's interesting that you noticed so many stacked prints, and the two near the bookcase have been on and off the walls many times. I just took them off again and agree that it's an improvement! Thank you for noticing that. And of course you are correct, one thing leads to another.....if you move one thing, it sets off a chain reaction. But sometimes it needs to be done.

I'd love a new set of chairs but now think I may keep what I have since I'm not sure this is ever going to be a gorgeous spot. While I'd like something more comfortable, the chairs themselves don't seem to be the problem visually. If I get the wall space right, then I can make a better decision about some chairs. I will keep working on that first.

Sometimes throwing $$$ at an area you don't really like isn't the answer. This may just have to be a "function before form" area in the house, at least for now, and hope the rest of the room, which I do like, is enough of a distraction that it's not terribly noticeable!

Are these too flipityflu? 7"w x 8.5d x 30"h

I like those, I think. Hard to tell what the dimensions could be. Where did you find them?

They are Uttermost Joselyn candle wall scones, found on Hayneedle . Com. Edited to add: here they are on Amazon with reviews. http://www.amazon.com/Uttermost-2-Inch-30-Inch-7-Inch-Joselyn/dp/B002R59G7Y. More reviews here... Not sure if these are too big. They do have a smaller set , same brand and name but different model# http://www.wayfair.com/Uttermost-Joselyn-Glass-and-Metal-Wall-Sconce-19150-UM5901.html.

The more I think about it the more I think a couple of sconces may be a good addition. They would add a little depth, and if I got the type with candles, I could use the flameless type without any expensive wiring. That cold soften the look of the space, especially when the TV isn't on.

I'm clueless about the scale, other than I don't think a pair of small sconces like you would see in a bathroom would look good. They'd have to have some presence but not so much that they look like they are framing something I want to draw attention to.

I like the larger uttermost pair, and they would have the quality look that I would want. The only thing that would stop me from trying them is that I'm afraid they might draw more attention to the TV. If you have sconces that are grand, it usually means they are framing something important. Or is it? I'm so confused now! I've never bought sconces before!!

I may check at World Market or Homegoods to see if they have anything similar in scale. That would allow me to at least try them first.

Everyone will have their own take on the "framing" aspect but I look at it more as a nice distraction. When the TV is not on its so big and dark, blank and ...we all have that problem grrr. Someday we will just be able to project in air for viewing and not have the big black thing.

When I posted earlier, I went looking for sconces and saw a similar sconce on Bellacor with a clear shade. The strap feels a little Texas/Southwest-style decor to me, and I think you need a wider backplate. You need to use up some of that space over the chairs. I also thought you could accomplish that with a double sconce on each wall. I think I'd be looking for a shaded style.

I would take my cue from the chairs, so you might want to wait until you decide on those. Uttermost has a large selection of mirrors so maybe they have a good selection of candle sconces too.

Yes, but when we project in air we'll have to have a blank wall space, right? EEeeek! I think I'd almost rather have the black box. People will go nuts trying to leave a big blank space alone.

Thank you so much for finding those sconces. They are the best I've seen so far, and I looked for awhile last night.

I'm going to mull this one over a little and see if I can find something locally that is similar, or maybe even find that exact sconce. I think I'll either do a sconce or two prints slightly larger than what I have now. I might even try a couple of photos there with large mats. Then when I get the wall to look good I'll move on to some chairs. Stay tuned!

thanks mayflowers, I think we must have cross posted!

With the faux candles - now you can get them on a remote control (though I've heard the 'off' setting drains the battery - but that doesn't make sense to me - would need others to chime in.

Yes, I have some and they are wonderful. That's what is leading me to think some candle sconces could be very nice; adding light without the expense of wiring. We don't need task lighting or anything strong there anyway, so the candles would be enough.

I just checked Uttermost's website and found a couple of other sconces. They have a very nice selection!

Uttermost Rajane

Uttermost Garvin Twist

Uttermost Joselyn

The last one on the list is the one justerrilyn posted. Any ideas about these? Should I keep looking??

They're nicer than any I saw. The photos are so clear I wonder if someone could photoshop them on your wall.

Do you have a preference?

Your home is beautiful...looks so inviting & cosy:)

I understand the struggles of trying to decorate around a TV...

Like you, I think a TV on the the wall on its own just looks a tad bare. I do like the simplicity of the 2 prints beside it. Sconces could be a good option as well. I ended up with 2 decorative mirrors on each side (modified starburst) Adds a little something on the wall without adding too much visually next to the TV.

I agree with Auntjen. I like the simplicity of having one piece of art on either side. It looks nice and simple and helps balance the wall. I think having the two on top of one another on either side of the tv makes it look as if you need more on top of the tv for balance.

I adore your home! It is so beautifully decorated and yet looks super cozy!

We have a rainy day here so I've been playing....beginning to think maybe less IS more:

I moved the other two prints and put them on the walls beside the FP.

I am warming up to this now; maybe I was used to having four prints, and now that they are still in the room, it maintains the continuity I was used to.

And......back to the chairs; a pair of these PB chairs has been hiding in the recesses of our CL:

Pottery Barn Calais chair in leather

They are almost brand new so not exactly a fire sale price; they are asking $500 for the pair. I think that's a little high, but assuming the price was right, do you think they would finish things off well? Or should I leave well enough alone? I'd purchase them only if they are more comfortable than what I have, and I won't know that until I see them. I can't test the link until I post, but in case it doesn't show the right one, the CL chairs are brown leather with espresso stain legs.

I still really like the sconces but wonder if this is just as nice in some ways. I am now looking at my FP and wondering if the sconces would look good on either side of my mirror! But, no worries, that will have to wait for another day, lol!

The fireplace area looks better. I like the jars and sticks on the FP and wouldn't touch those. That wall is well-lit and not needing sconces.

If you want to go with sconces on the TV wall because you like the idea of some light, I did find these which come in a pair. I don't know if it'd be too much to put a pair over each chair. But that's about all I saw that I liked for your room.

The only other suggestion I have to relax the room is to move the heavy gold framed art to a more formal area, such as a dining or living room. They've jumped out at me from the first post. BTW, I love how you did your drapes. I have a matching fabric valance on mine and would love to take it off. Is that a Roman shade of some type of woven material?

Thanks, mayflowers. I do like the jars and sticks too, and that arrangement has stood the test of time; like forever! So I'd best not mess with it.

We used to have a valance over the window, too. We took it down and put woven wood shades there. They were inexpensive; from Lowes. We rarely lower them but when we do it really looks nice, especially at night.

That is a nice pair of sconces, but I will probably just stick with the prints there for now. I still haven't ruled out the larger ones, and if I used those, they would be by themselves.

The gold framed art looks nice in a corner, so that's how it ended up there. I may relocate it before long. I have several framed black and white pieces that could go there instead. Like so many people, I don't have much wall space, and more art than I have walls to hang it! So I rotate things around as best I can.

Thanks. I'll show DH the photo of your wood shades. They'd go great with my drapes color but he'll be resistant since our drapes were custom, though ten years old. A lifetime in design years!

If you have side panels like mine, just keep those in place. The shades were VERY inexpensive; surprisingly so.

They don't go to the ceiling--they're 9" short-- but I think if I added rings and a decorative rod it might work. The valance is a box type so I'd need to CL it, and that's what would bother him. If it was just a valance, I could store it easily.

On the chairs ---- who uses them? Maybe they can comment on what would work. I ask / suggest as I rarely find armless chairs to be comfortable unless it's at a dining table.

they are used when we have the whole family together, which happens maybe 2X a year, or if we were to have a party, luncheon, or something. So not often, but when the family is together, for holidays, we will watch TV, open presents, etc., and someone will be sitting in these side chairs for awhile. The PB chairs (or the original ones I posted from Carrington Court) have an upholstered back which I thought could be a little more comfortable. Also, one of the chairs I have has a slight crack in it that makes me a little nervous when a big person sits down in it!

90% of the time, the room has two, maybe three adults sitting in the two chairs and couch facing the tv, whether we are watching tv or not.

Any thoughts on the PB chairs? Main reason I'm attracted to them is the leather, which is generally pretty good from PB, and the lines mimic my green chair somewhat. The footprint is nearly identical to what I have now.