Brighten and improve drab rental living room
Comments (18)
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will white ceilings and trim improve this room?
Comments (45)Thanks again for so many thoughtful comments! Here is our plan for now: Paint the ceilings and crown molding white (not the same white) but wait on changing the wall paint to a lighter color. The reason is this...we are having the ceiling and some of the bedrooms professionally painted. While the painter is there he said it would be simple for him to paint the crown since the wall will already be taped. IF we later decide that with the white trim that the wall color is TOO dark (which I think it might be but my husband thinks he will like it) then at a future date we can paint the walls a lighter beige. The bedrooms upstairs really need painting and we just can't afford to do it all right off the bat. If we had the painter come back later to do the crown (and there is a lot of it all downstairs...in the dining and living room that you can't see) it would be much more expensive then if he just does it while there. We have 2 small kids and not a ton of time to do all the painting ourselves. Through the arched doorway in the family room is a bathroom straight ahead and a bedroom to the left and the laundry room/garage to the right. The big dark wood entertainment center in the family room belongs to the current owners so it won't be staying. We will need to buy something to put on that wall. I thought posting my original question would HELP me decide but now I am more confused then ever and just praying we are making the right decision about the paint situation! :)...See MoreAdvice on livening up a drab living room?
Comments (32)Definitely choose end tables first, then lamps. Target's Project 62 and Opalhouse collections have lots of great, reasonably priced options for both, as you can see! The pale blue, cream, and rusty red would be great colors to work with to brighten things up. Don't forget a lumbar pillow for your chair as well! If you look back at your first posting, you can see how nice the camel color pouf works with the furniture and rug. It brings warmth into the space. I think if you add some wood in a coffee table to the space, it will do the same thing. Maybe something like this, which also adds a bit of texture. A floor lamp added to the end of the sofa by the book case as suggested is also a good idea. You have the bones of a great room-it just needs a bit of finishing!...See MoreFinally want to redo a DRAB dining room to perk it up !!! HELP
Comments (59)YES! You want to do the top blue...get on that asap. We'll all look around for ridiculously low priced chandeliers so that you have some funny money for extra goodies... As usual, I adore chinoiserie, so I would do that kind of fabric for the seats... Someone posted drapes that I thought were SO fabulous...I'll see if I can find them. ETA: it was these..https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Exclusive-Fabrics-Mecca-Printed-Cotton-Single-Curtain-Panel/8285937/product.html?refccid=FGOEJLVFQFSINKKKWWFWGKXSAE&searchidx=29 However, they may be too full for the window closest to the door. If you have an Ikea near you, they have very nice drapes (I would do white) that you can add a trim to? And they would be well within your budget......See MoreMy home rental improvements
Comments (40)Thank you, thank you all for your support. I have not done much else since last pictures. A little test under the dinning room windows. I think I like it. See pictures. The shelf is too low like this but I have a good idea of how it will be once I fix it properly as a stand-up desk/lounge counter. I really like that I have a look at the forest and the trees from that stand point. I also spend too much time sitting at my desk. This will give me a nice alternative. Let me know what you think. kazzh, thank you for your good thoughts (also thank you Laura Hill and Gcubed). Yes, I also think that the full wall curtain is striking. I like your green curtains idea. If I change them, I will look for the right fabric. You are also right, it does start to feel like my own place. I will get rid of a lot of the living room seating. I plan to sell what I have on Craig's List and then wait a while before getting anything to replace it. I want to find the right things, grown up things. I have been living too long as a student. I haven't sat on university chairs for more than 30 years and I sometimes feels like I never learned how to live otherwise. I like your idea of bringing the outside table in. It is smaller than the one I have but square and with a more classic look. I made it myself using an old bistro table foot my dad had in his garage and left over wood from the deconstruction of the house I sold a couple years ago. The table top does need a refinish after a couple years outside exposed to the elements. I can do that pretty easily. Good idea to swap the foldable chairs for the outside ones. Eclectic and most likely more comfortable. With snow coming soon, I did not know what to do with the furniture outdoor. I can actually take apart the Ikea cheap table and put it at the back of one of the closets. I still need to think about it but it gives me alternatives. I will just sell the canopy. I won't need it for a long while. I like the underbed storage ideas olychick and apple_pie_order. Thank you. My bed is already 12 inches above ground ( I designed it with storage in mind and never used it for that purpose, I liked the vast emptyness. However, now, I need the storage space). apple_pie_order, thank you for the list of ideas. The framing of my big art pieces has become one of my priority. I also found about 20 frames of odd sizes in which I will put some of my photographes. I also asked my daughter to produce some original art pieces for me. I will hang them over next weekend. Well, again, I have written a long, long response. I like this writing. It is helping organize my mind. Have a good evening. I so want to get rid of this wall of bins. Under the bed it goes. Soon. It stands now at 36 inches. It is 43.5 inches right bellow the window frame. Perfect! The view will be spectacular. What do you think? The dinning table there or I leave it where it is and install this standing desk/bistro bar? I took a little break from work this afternoon. Right across the street from where I live....See Morejulietgtraub
5 years ago
miss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years agojulietgtraub
5 years ago@graywings123, my dad likes the natural light but I think feels like it could be cheerier. Here's a couple more photos.
Angel 18432
5 years agoI would center the bookcase on that wall and maybe put the grandfather clock on the wall where the guitar/amp is (hard to tell without seeing if there is actually room).
The blue and white chairs need to be pulled together and put that small table inbetween so it can be reach from both chairs. The lamp may have to go.
Or put the small table between the blue chair and sofa.
Home office · More Infodrapery something like this - just a plain off white
julietgtraub thanked Angel 18432User
5 years agomiss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years agojulietgtraub
5 years ago@lindsey, here is a floor plan that I put together guestimating- not to scale.
julietgtraub
5 years agojulietgtraub
5 years agomiss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agohollybar
5 years ago
decoenthusiaste
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoI think it is just a matter of striving for better balance in the room. The two bookcases counter balance the fireplace nicely, but they could use a coat of happy paint. I'd like to see the fireplace focal point clearly visible from the entrance. I'm thinking I'd change the cherry red pillows and 80's lamps for new ones. The right color for the pillows and bookcases could add a lot more happy to the space. You have two tables that seem pretty useless and too tall to work with any of the seating. Do I see a bench in the foyer? I'm thinking the tall writing table would look good there, unless the bench is needed for removing shoes and boots. It may be a winter thing and you can change it out in summer. I'd want to see the clock on the wall where the tall table and art are. Hang a piece of art centered 5' above the floor right of the bookcases. Would the cedar chest work as a bench at the foot of his bed? TV is too wide for the TV stand, but putting it on the chest looks "make do" and doesn't enhance anything. Looks like his chair is a swivel rocker, so it can be moved and still view the TV from almost anywhere. If it fits, I'd try the sofa floating out in front of that wall behind his chair and move the two chairs. Pink one right of the FP and blue one directly between the bookcases and FP. Of course, it will have to clear the coffee table. If you replace any tables use the chart below to get the height right for the seating.
julietgtraub thanked decoenthusiaste
Denita