How do you watch the TV with the furniture arrange like that? Maybe it is an perspective problem so it would help us out if you could post a to-scale drawing showing dimensions, furniture and doorways and windows.

What stands out to me is the layout for watching tv. The only furniture facing the tv is the ottoman and it's on the far wall. All other pieces require watching sideways.

Everything in your room looks fine as far as style! It isn't bla. I think the problem is the way it is arranged. I'd rather see the tv on a stand on wall where the short sofa is instead of the tv over the fireplace. Then put the 2 chairs on either side of the fireplace. You have quite a bit of furniture (sofa, short sofa, 2 large chairs) in the room making it crowded but understand you probably want the seating. Is the part of the kitchen we can see an eating area or cooking area?

Is that a short sofa, or is it an ottoman with pillow propped up? I thought it was a short sofa. But still think the furniture arrangement is the biggest dilemma to figure out.

People tend to criticize that because you don’t see the same as other interior designers you don’t know how to decorate. I as well tend to think that way when I see too much of the colors in a room the same shade you to be blah but that’s the way we see it. I would change your curtain to to a shade darker than your wall or go for a blue or black if that’s the color of your rug. Pick up the colors that’s on your rug than you can use red and green with gold as an accent color with the throw pillows.

Not sure if this is helpful to you but my house is similar. You walk right into what should have been the living room. I ended up converting it into a dining room instead. And now have a small kitchen table, dining room, family room and used an open area next to the dining room just as a sitting area with one small couch. Not sure if you have the room to do something like that.

I agree with Steve; it is a cozy room!

Maybe consider some lush green plants. They always help create an inviting atmosphere and should even help tie the room to the beautiful fireplace marble. Good luck!

Hi powermuffin, Lisa, Steve & mjconti. We do have to sit diagonal to see the television unfortunately but it was the only way we could figure arranging the room to get optimal space. It is the only room we have as a living & entertaining area. We tried moving the bigger couch sideways so one of them would be looking straight at it. However, they are extra deep couches and the longer one is 102" so it made the room too choppy and gave us barely any room to walk through to the kitchen. Regarding the kitchen question, it is an eating area when you walk in but we are unable to have a larger table because the door to go outside opens in to the kitchen. All the things you don't consider when buying a home!!

I agree with rearranging the furniture. I think you could make the room be both more comfortable and more functional. I also agree with the cozy comments. And I think that is what traditional leans towards -- comfortable, cozy, more predictable than surprising. I think your idea of a breath of fresh air might be a bit at odds with the style you seem to prefer. Maybe you can explain that a bit more so we can know what it is you are trying to accomplish.

I'm not sure what it is you are after, so take this for what it's worth -- one idea might be to replace the rug with one that has the lighter blue that we see in the kitchen or room in the background and replace the drapes with something lighter -- maybe white or natural linen. You could also use Roman shades -- layered with linen curtains or on their own. Is that anything like the direction you would like to go?

Just saw your post above -- 102" is an extra long sofa. Is this new furniture? Do you have a diagram of the room with measurements?

Meanwhile, another approach to arranging the furniture might be to move the TV to the wall opposite the sofa and bring one of the chairs to the side opposite the fireplace. You might need to replace the ottoman with a shallow console, bookcase or cabinet to keep the aisle from closing up. Try the ottoman near the fireplace.

Keep playing with options and try to look at things with a different eye. You may find that you have at least one too many pieces of large furniture for the room. I think at least your sofa is out of scale with the room and your home -- possibly your other pieces too. That may have a lot to do with why you aren't happy with the way the room has come together -- so far. You will figure it out.

The first thing that strikes me is that dark carpet. I can hardly see beyond it. That, combined with the light border, chops up the room terribly. I would choose one where the border is the same value as the middle, and I would get a larger one so that all the furniture sits on it, at least the front legs. Make it a warm color; the traditional Orientals of red with some blue would be perfect. I can promise you that the whole room will be transformed by that one change. The red curtains also chop up the space. They should be close to the color of the wall so that they give you softness without hitting you in the eye. Once you've solved those two issues, I would find new pillows that have patterns instead of that dark red and stark white, something in softer but also livelier colors, and at least some should have patterns. You have a nice home but it just needs to be made to feel softer and yet more spacious, which translates into cozy and comfortable.

Thank you lascatx. You are right in that the furniture may be too large for the space but it is what we have for now. When we originally moved in, we brought our large wooden wall unit with us that sat on the smaller sofa wall but it blocked part of the hallway which was the reasoning for moving the tv over the fireplace. All of the comments here are inspiring and helping me see the room in a different light. I am going to draw the room on graph paper and sketch where the furniture can be rearranged. It still won't solve my 'beige' issue but perhaps the different layout will make me feel differently.

Hi Jacqui,

Greetings from a fellow New Yorker!

Fun puzzle!

Agree with everyone saying your furniture is a bit too large/too much for your room and absolutely needs to be rearranged.

Really don't see the blah beige issue, more of a function issue.

Can't wait to see what you do!

Not blah at all. Agree, a lighter colored rug would help. For me, a confirmed minimalist, there is just too much “stuff.” Three sofas, two chairs, lots of wall decor. Perhaps delete the curio cabinet and the two pieces of metal (?) wall art along side of the painting? Lighter colored drapes? I like cozy, but not crowded. Doesn’t hurt to try some simplification, and it’s free. Keep us posted.

Jacqui, it can take a while to get the furniture to fit the house. Even when it isn't size, it may be color or style or function. Using what you have can help you figure out what you really want when it is time to do something new.

You didn't say anything about trying a lighter rug. The big impact changes are floor/rug, upholstered furniture (sofa, esp) and walls. Is painting the walls and or ceiling something you would consider?

How much liquor is in that curio cabinet? I'd arrange it on a tray on top of the chest by the FP and eliminate the curio. Next, I'd eliminate that little armless settee (try it in the master) and the oversized mirror above it. Move the new liquor/bar cabinet to that wall, and hang one of your art pieces 5" above it. Pick art that is no wider than 75% of the cabinet's width. Wall mount the TV on the wall where you have the big art and sconces. Put a low credenza under it to hold the gear. Again, it should be 25% wider than the TV. Turn your rug the other direction, centered with the windows, and put the 3-seat sofa opposite the FP/TV with a walkway behind it for traffic and access to the bar. Put the loveseat on the window end of the rug. Center the coffee table with the firebox and make sure both sofas are 18" or less from it. If you use your end tables, they should be brought forward so the person sitting by them can use them without having to reach behind their seat. Rethink you art. Try the pieces by the FP flanking the windows instead. Center them 5' above the floor, or hang one 5" above the demi-lune table and the other to match it on the opposite side. If you have or can get a second demi-lune (and big enough) a pair would work flanking the FP. A piece of art hung 5" above the mantel should be no wider than the firebox opening. Lastly, you should eliminate about 50-75% of the throw pillows so the seating can be useful.

Agree with Steve about floating the couch facing the TV. I would also consider a more neutral curtain fabric, perhaps similar to the wall color. I'd treat the windows as one with floor to generous ceiling panels on each side but not in the middle sections. The dark curtains seem as if they are a distraction now. Beautiful room; can't wait to follow along and see what you do!

To reiterate what's already been said, your furnishings are lovely, it's the arrangement of them that is off. Ideally, you want the largest piece of furniture to face the focal point (tv/fireplace) and have all other pieces play a supporting role. How much seating do you want/need in this room? Would you be willing to let some of the pieces go to other areas of the home?

I just wanted to add that I feel the pain of the charming yet difficult layouts that Cape's create. I have a very similar room the only difference is I have a wall that separates an entry hall to the main living room with an arched opening. That wall allows us optimal couch placement, facing the TV, fireplace & built-ins. I think your decor is great, but I agree with others that you just need a better flow with furniture placement and maybe remove a few excess pieces of furniture to give a more overall open feeling.

I think you have too much furniture in that room, and you should remove either the lounge chair or the small love seat (the one under the mirror). Remove both temporarily to start. Then move one sofa in front of the TV (preferably the larger one), and move the smaller one to the window wall. Put a small table under the mirror, leaving enough room between the table and the sofa for traffic. The area behind the long sofa and in front of the mirror should now be considered a traffic path (like a hall) and not part of the living room, which will become more intimate when the seating is not so spread out. This may or may not work, as I do not have all the dimensions.

I have a house that is a similar size in Westchester, California (part of Los Angeles), but mine has three bedrooms and a dining room and is one one level.

I like your carpet and drapes!

The cape I the same layout originally but where the opening to your kitchen was closed off to make traffic to the kitchen a lot easier than having to cross the living area. The opening to kitchen was opposite from the entrance door.

I agree with the previous comments that it looks like you need to rearrange furniture. You have some really nice pieces that can work if you edit it a bit. What I notice most about the room that is distracting to me is that your art appears to all be really big and/or tall and close to the ceiling. There is no blank wall space for a visual reprieve. The result is that the eye is bouncing around without a clear focal point. The fireplace with the TV over it is not reading as a focal point because everything else in the room is the same height or higher and is competing with it. Smaller art hung at eye level could make the room more inviting. Try removing your two largest pieces-- the arched mirror and the painting between the sconces directly across from the large couch. Then lower or move the rest of your art around in the room until you find new locations. Everything in the room has a similar traditional style and could come together beautifully with some rearranging.

I haven't read your entire thread. But, I also agree to facing t.v. with sofa; two chairs with round table on window. I do think you have too much in there and it is not blah, it is just overwhelming and not peaceful for you.

I agree that your dark carpet is dominating the room. And there seems to be too many decorative items and the space looks cluttered.

I would take everything out of the room and off the walls and leave the upholstered pieces. Arrange the furniture in a pleasing way and then start adding things back, only choosing things that you love and that work with your furniture arrangement.

I generally start these types of comments by saying, "if it were my house . . ." because there is nothing wrong with what I am seeing, but my tastes are different than yours.

On three of the four walls of the room, you have a pattern of one large thing in the middle and then two matching things on the side: above the loveseat, around the TV, and the two pictures flanking the windows. As well as the arrangement of things on the mantel - two things on each end with something in the middle. It is a common placement to make, and many people here suggest that pattern. And for some reason I hate it. Do it once, yes. Do it three times in a room, meh.

I would change the curtains to some sort of textured pattern close in color to the walls, more substantial fabric than what's there, just have them on the window edges, not in the middle, and have them go to the floor (about 1/2 inch short of the floor). Or you could do them in a light gold with a foot-high red border of the same fabric at the top if you want to keep the red in the room.

I would like to sit there and have my eyes dance around the room looking at the spots of red. And not just pillows. I'm thinking artwork with some red in it, a large but low red glass bowl on the coffee table, maybe a lamp with a red shade, maybe something on the mantel made of red metal. I would move all the personal pictures to a grouping on a wall, but that really is personal taste.

You have gotten some really good ideas in this thread. A different rug, an oriental that is large enough to get the front feet of the sofa and loveseat on it. A shallow liquor cabinet under the mirror to replace the curio cabinet.

And if you do none of the above, you still have a lovely room.

Graywings just expressed something I was thinking but more clearly than I was thinking it - it is everything placed and balanced -- not bad or wrong, but not very interesting when repeated across a room. Some folks need this kind of balance, but if you find it blah, perhaps that is part of the reason.

Having furniture that is large for the room limits your options for rearranging, but keep trying. I do think the suggestion of clearing the room and working just on the furniture placement is a good one. Also, don't be too quick to rule out an option because it feel different. Look at whether it is just different or a problem and if a problem, can you do anything to make it better before moving on to another option.

Please please please get rid of the beige paint. Look at Benjamin Moore Classic Gray!

If you float the furniture, which I think will make the space look more finished, you'll have to consider a smaller coffee table and a larger rug.

Can you use any of the upholstered pieces in other parts of the house?