I need help decorating my family room into a warm space.
ckinchen
6 years ago
Hi! I just finished remodeling my kitchen and floors and now need to finish my family room. The space looks modern but I like modern farmhouse, I need to warm it up.
My kitchen overlooks my family room. I have a big family so had to get a large sectional, I can't return it. The ottoman is being chucked once I find something new. The drapes are not returnable either, they are a bit too dark with the couch, but I have to work with it. I am almost finished painting the built in entertainment center, I was thinking fake green plants would warm it up, but not sure how to fill it up. The family room is 9ft wide and 16ft long, so its narrow. I want to buy a light gray rug, I think 5x8 would be best, but not sure. Or gray with blue, I want to put different shades of blue accent pilllows. I would like blue/turquoise to be the accent color. Please let me know what you would do? What color rug and size? How would you fill the entertainment unit and warm up the space? Thank you in advance!!
My kitchen overlooks my family room. I have a big family so had to get a large sectional, I can't return it. The ottoman is being chucked once I find something new. The drapes are not returnable either, they are a bit too dark with the couch, but I have to work with it. I am almost finished painting the built in entertainment center, I was thinking fake green plants would warm it up, but not sure how to fill it up. The family room is 9ft wide and 16ft long, so its narrow. I want to buy a light gray rug, I think 5x8 would be best, but not sure. Or gray with blue, I want to put different shades of blue accent pilllows. I would like blue/turquoise to be the accent color. Please let me know what you would do? What color rug and size? How would you fill the entertainment unit and warm up the space? Thank you in advance!!
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grapefruit1_ar
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Decorating challenged: Family Room help needed.
Comments (16)I wrote a long post last night and lost it, as I'm still getting used to my laptop (grrrr!) One of my ideas was to possible float the loveseat , as kmg, suggested, placing the tv on that wall. If the room can take it, it would give you seating while watching tv; seating facing the fireplace and a good arrangement for chatting with company. You've mentioned your budget. With that in mind, you can always put off purchasing a tall entertainment piece that would hold, not only the tv, but with bookcases on either side to display books and art pieces, etc. And when I say "art pieces", this can mean anything from a 5x7" card of a nice picture displayed in an inexpensive-but-bulky wood easel frame to a boldly colored large bowl; a basket of silk or real greenery, etc. The possibilities are endless, as long as they're not delicate or too busy. When shopping for an EC, I'd look for a piece with closed door storage along the bottom, as everyone needs more storage these days! But, figure out the best seating arrangement BEFORE buying any tables. This way you can get tables that work with the space you have left. And, look for pieces with some closed storage. Being a mom myself, I know how much clutter they can generate ;^D One way to bring in extra seating and not add too much bulk would be to use two small cubes with storage compartments in place of one large coffee table. I'm not sure how long trays balanced on top of cubes would last with small kids, but even two low, round, sturdy wood tables there might work. But, you first have to come up with some color to add. What colors come to mind when you think of your favorites? Colors that you enjoy seeing and having around you? Use one as your main color and one or two others for your accent colors. Your main color is NOT brown; that's your neutral color. For instance, my family room has a brown leather sofa and chair. I love red, so I've added it (in a more rusty hue) along with green. I've added green via another leather chair and in pops of it in our art and accessories. Red in my throw pillows, a large chunky candle arrangement on my coffee table, and in my art. In Spring through Summer, I add pillow covers in a mellow yellow (my third accent color)with red and green print. The bottom line is to pick colors that YOU like, as you're the one who has to live there. As My3dogs, suggested, add color. You can do this with throw pillows, art, throws, pottery, candles, etc. My own added advice would be to think BIG. You have big pieces of furniture and you need large accessories to balance these. For example, look at your fireplace mantel now. Your accessories there add nothing because they're too small. Think chunky, big, bold, colorful. You can save money by getting large chunky lamps at a second-hand or discount store and repainting them a bold accent color. Add new shades and you've added a great piece to the room that's also child-resistant ;^D This way, you can save some money for big artwork. What kind? Art is so, so, so personal . . . or it should be! Again, you're going to have to live with it day in and day out. What do YOU like? Landscapes?Contemporary still-life? Whatever you like, you can find many with brighter colors that work with your room. A print can be fairly inexpensively double-matted and framed. Spending the extra to have it double-matted really makes a huge difference. I do have to mention your fireplace, though. Everyone loves a fireplace. They're warm, welcoming, cozy and a great architectural feature. But, the way yours is at the moment, it's the wallflower of the room . . . fading into the background. You've furnished the room with big, bold dark brown leather pieces and you have this delicate white and gray marble fireplace that's blending into the light wall. Is there anyway that you might consider giving it a face-lift? My first thought was a beefier mantel in a wood or stone and some glass or ceramic tile on the surround and hearth. These are just quick pics I found online googling "tile fireplace surrounds). If you want or need to stay with the fireplace as it is now, I think you need to repaint the walls a darker, deeper color to make that fireplace stand out. I don't have time to address the drape issue, but you're getting some great ideas here already, Lynn...See MoreFamily room in need of decorating help!
Comments (6)I think it is a shame that so much of your seating ignores the lovely fireplace! I would try moving the sectional so that the corner of the sectional is down in the far right corner of the room, away from the windows. The back of the couch appears lower, so I would have that in front of the windows. Put the tv in the other corner, by the windows, angled. Bring back the chair and angle it in front of the fireplace, on the left side so it faces the windows. Bring the tree branch art down, as it is currently hung way too high, and move it so that it is hanging over the part of the sectional on that end wall. Space the panels a few inches further apart for a more interesting feel. I think the coffee table is unique, but it does have a rather commanding presence in the space. Plus, as the baby starts to crawl and toddle, you are likely to want more open floor space. Have you considered bringing in a warm shade as an accent color? Some touches of orange or coral could be very pretty. You have a very pretty and friendly space. The little tweaks will make it feel finished....See MoreI need help decorating my living room!
Comments (20)avesmor - thanks so much for your detailed response. I'll talk to DH about the rug! In the last photos the chair is facing the tv and I agree that this set up works better. The ottoman takes up a lot of room and we really don't use it so maybe that will find another room to live in. I can't keep any plants alive either (not even cacti survive my erratic over and under watering!) but maybe I'll look into getting some plants there. I have my eye on a large antique green glass fishing ball, and I might bring the color in that way. Bronze or metal sculptures are a great idea and I really like Allison's bookends. We have horse property (no horses yet) and a rustic ranch style house so that's more of our style. I'm going to keep my eye out for these during my flea market/antique shopping. Unfortunately, the sofa can't go back farther to accomodate the fireplace or even be turned toward it because there are walkways right behind both couches that connect the great room, the living room and the dining room. The footprint of this house doesn't work well so I'm a bit limited with furniture placement. It's an older house that's been added onto over time without any great master plan in mind! Our front doors used to open right into the great room so we included a foyer in our addition to address that, but it would have been just too much money if we were to change the whole footprint of the house. As an afterthought I wondered if we should have put the entertainment wall right next to the fireplace, which would have been much better for seating, but we would have lost a lot of light if we eliminated the large window. The fireplace isn't done yet and it's just a bit of a dumping ground right now! Nothing except maybe the floor candles will stay. I may try a mirror but it could just reflect the pillar between the couches. I like the idea of a basket with kindling although we are going to install the gas logs (my house smells like a campfire for days after a real wood fire, for some reason). We don't need window coverings for privacy reasons, but I was thinking about using linen panels - until we installed the trim. Now that I see the craftsman style details on top of the windows that I love so much I'm having a change of heart about covering them. The media unit does come in separate pieces but the three sections aren't intended to be separated. The crown molding on top of each section fits together like a puzzle and the sides of the bases are constructed in a way that you can clearly see each is meant to be connected to the other. Maybe we could put something on each side of the unit like plants or sculpture to break up the wood instead. Whew - that was a lot of detail - thank you!...See MorePlease help with my family room decorating!
Comments (31)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....See More
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6 years agograpefruit1_ar
6 years agoer612
6 years agoMrsM
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6 years agockinchen
6 years ago
PROJudyG Designs
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoGreat start….here is a gray tufted ottoman with brass (instead of silver…warmer) from Overstock.com. Do a rug in your grays…similar to photo. Now you have warm (fabrics).
It is the sectional (which is nice) that is not warm. Add great throw pillows with a heavily textured material…like these: a rough fabric is better on leather as well.
erinsean
6 years ago
girlnamedgalez8a
6 years agockinchen
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6 years ago
maddielee
6 years agockinchen
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6 years ago
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
6 years agosableincal
6 years ago
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6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoI think warm color is better.
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6 years agoForgot a throw, it brings coziness and warmness all the time
ckinchen
6 years agoWhat is funny is those are the same colors I had for 10 years. I had espresso sofas and I got tired of it. I pulled up the floors and put the tile all the way. This was the rug and I still have the curtains.
ckinchen
6 years ago
nutsaboutplants
6 years ago
Eileen Zeigler
6 years agockinchen
6 years ago
lawsonch19
6 years agoblfenton
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
groveraxle
6 years agockinchen
6 years agoblfenton
6 years agoKim KP
6 years ago
laughablemoments
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoWhat a great space to have for you and your family! Unfortunately, I don’t think the current blue throw pillows are doing anything beneficial. To warm up the space, it would help to actually add in some warm colors. Think fire: red, yellow, orange, or a variation thereof. Try googling images such as “gray couch peach accents”, “gray couch green accents” (green can lean warm, too.) Find an image that really resonates with the feel that you want your space to convey. This can give you a better idea of what to look for when you do go shopping. You have a fantastic neutral base to build on, so don’t be afraid to add some bold colors, pattern, or textures. I realize these images don’t lean very “Farmhouse”, but hopefully they’ll give you some ideas of just how much you can add to your space and bring it to life. Have fun!
ETA: Link to google pictures of Farmhouse, gray couch, turquoise accents.
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