I’m laughing at the thought of my squishy, comfy pillows being called forbidding or them fighting with anyone. I took a couple of more pictures, including the chairs without the pillows and I think you’ll agree that the cushions make them look more inviting, not less. Also rearranged so that people can see that the sofa facing the fireplace, chair at each side will not work in the space. I tried it as the most obvious answer and discarded it. It’s awkward to me, like the sofa is turning it’s back on everyone. Also, due to the placement of the fireplace, the sofa and chairs cannot be centered on the fireplace or the bedroom will be blocked completely. I can’t pull the sofa back much more without blocking the walkway. The fact is, space for the ‘living room” is much smaller than you think. I also pulled the rug away, to demonstrate that the rug and sofa not going together is kind of the least of this room’s problems. I wish I could get a good angle that shows just how off center the couch and chairs are.

These are my new inspiration photos. I definitely want to get a rug with some black in it for the dining room. I want some contrast in that area. Then i plan on getting a large art piece, something that pops. Eventually, i want to get a black and cane credenza, but i might look into DIYing it

Well the green rug arrived and we unwrapped it and put it in place today, and.... Sigh... I'm not in love with it. I'm trying to love it, but it's just okay. It's darker and drabber than it appeared in the listing photos, and is not as soft as I had hoped. I've ordered rugs online before and usually been pleased with the quality, but this one is a reproduction antique (which I realized after ordering it) and seems to be lacking in quality. It's not awful, it's just kind of blah. My husband feels the same way... He doesn't dislike it but doesn't love it either. I like that it's monochromatic and has a subtle pattern, but don't like that it looks kind of heavy and dark in the space. If the quality/feel were better I might be able to get over the color being darker than I'd hoped, and if it was super cheap I'd probably just make do. But it is returnable, and as much as I dread the idea of repackaging an almost 10x13 rug to send back I'm kind of leaning toward returning it. I guess I'll sleep on it, but would love your honest opinions. I think it might look better in the pictures than it does in real life. Here's the runner in the adjoining hallway that has a similar green in it. If I return this one, I'm not even sure what to look for color-wise. As much as I love green, it feels like too much in a large rug. I would love to find a neutral-ish wool rug that's soft and not difficult to clean. We have an Oriental Weavers wool rug in my husband's office that used to be in our living room that has stood up to a lot of abuse over the years from pets, so I'm open to non-antique rugs too. If anyone has any suggestions for brands or places to look, please let me know. Or maybe I should just look locally as now I'm nervous to order another large rug online.

So the sofa, rug and table are here! I just have to put the table and sofa together this weekend. I chose art that I decided on and a few throws that I'm choosing between. I'm starting to look at curtains since my goal is to get everything ready be New Years (hopefully!) But I'm really stuck on what kind of curtains to get. With these art and throw choices, I guess the room is more....eclectic. I'm not sure whether to get solid curtains or patterned ones since the rug is pretty patterned already. Here is the art/throws I picked out. I will have these two art side by side behind the sofa. I'm still deciding whether to get 15x21 or 20x26 for the art. I guess I'll have a better idea once the sofa/table is set up. For the throws, I'm getting two of the beige ones for the back pieces and the black/white floral and red one for the 2 front pieces. Now for the curtains.....it's the hardest to really decide. I don't even know where to start!