How to arrange & furnish open room/library?
Struggling with how to arrange this open room. Want it to function as a reading & game room so comfortable seating and a table is needed. Plan on putting a large/fitting piece of artwork above the mantel.
If I keep the current chairs & rug, I think they look better in front of the built-in bookcase, but then the area with the bay window is empty and tough to determine what furniture would work there given the chair arrangement.
If the chairs go in the bay window, everything is shifted to the right/window side a bit (if there were to be a coffee table in front of the chairs), and the chairs are a bit too big for the space from the side view/depth of the room.
Don't have to keep the chairs. Pictures read a bit warmer than the room; wall color is white/off-white, chairs are dark teal, rug is accurate.
Grateful for your advice and ideas!
Comments (18)
User
5 years agoleelee
5 years agoRelated Discussions
How to furnish the 'library' of our 1750's house?
Comments (24)Wow thanks everyone! Lots of things to try out here. Trailrunner, I didn't know the term for Morris chairs but I'd been admiring similar ones on LLBean. A quick search on CL plus an email negotiation and I've just snagged a clawfoot pair for $150 (pick up tomorrow). If I don't like them in the space I'm thinking I can just re-sell. I have tons of old floor lamps, some adjustable, mostly iron and brass. MIL was a collector and serial re-wirer. ;) I'll see what I can dig out. The curtains - yes, they're messy, and the pic makes them look worse than they are. They're Company Store velvet panels, moved from my last house. The windows have heavy wooden rods and rod-holders (technical term? lol) and these keep in heat, which is nice. What's the "right" way to hold them back? They're currently tied with IKEA ribbon so there's nowhere to go but up. ;) Teacats, I am the person who milk paints with a glass of red wine nearby so you KNOW that as soon as I can plane the oven door so it does not scrape against the floor, I will stash some liquor in there! DH already uses the built in cabinet above the DR fireplace for his Scotch collection. LOL. eandhl, we are in Woodbury - where are you? There are TONS of houses from this era in Litchfield County. newdawn, the floors are chestnut! I thought they were pine too at first. We have an addition (FR and kitchen) that was done with reclaimed wide/random pine flooring, and it's great, but the chestnut is like nothing I've ever seen. It's incredibly hard and impervious to scratches, has virtually no poly or other treatment on it (I assume it has been oiled periodically over the years), and it has worn to this patina that's just amazing. I'll post again once I move some things around and pick up the chairs - thanks again! Mary...See MoreHelp with Reading room / Library decor and furniture arrangement?
Comments (36)First of all, your color scheme is perfect for a reading room. I say that because that is almost exactly the color scheme in DH's man cave, and it's cozy and inviting. Have you considered shelving on brackets for the walls flanking the fireplace and the short walls perpendicular to those walls? That will give you plenty of bookshelf space without conflicting with the mantel or heating vents. You could put a door stop on the French door to limit the swing. How often do you use the French doors to the living room? Can they be blocked with easily movable furniture so that you can make use of the space in front of the doors but allow for the doors to be opened without too much of a hassle when needed? Here's a suggested layout. I included two Leathercraft chairs and ottomans that are comfortable and small scale enough so that you can fit two in the room. They're not cheap, though. But fhey do have wheels, so they are movable.The H&M reading chair and ottoman are much larger, and you could only fit one ottoman with two chairs. Here is a link that might be useful: Leathercraft chair and ottoman This post was edited by suero on Fri, Feb 21, 14 at 12:12...See MoreArranging the furniture in a rectangular open plan living room
Comments (209)So hard to please everyone. My husband asked me not to put the wooden table in the garage because there is no place to put it upstairs. He says the wooden table is an expensive one. why throw it in the garage. I bought a glass table for the lounge. what am I going to do now! He tells me to make two living parts and use both of the coffee tables :)) Goodness me ! :) Now I have two coffee tables. What am I going to do now ?...See MoreFurnishing L Shaped Open Living and Dining Room
Comments (2)A couple of chairs and a table to make a small reading nookor better yet use that space for the DR and put a coat closet and a bench in the space where you now have the table because that space looks to small and is in the way of the entry....See MoreJ.B. H.
5 years agoUser
5 years ago
groveraxle
5 years ago
J J
5 years ago
Manon Floreat
5 years agoI tend to agree with baileysr that a game table and four upholstered chairs may work best. If you float them, you may have room for a petite demi-lune bench or settee in the bay as well.
everdebz
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoeverdebz
5 years ago
Susan Davis
5 years agoThe room is small, the rugs look choppy. Consider having an interesting broadloom carpet cut and bound to fit the exact dimensions of the room you wish to furnish with a 6 inch border of wood showing all around the rug.....it will open up the seating area and give the room an expanded area....also consider roman shades that are all the same for the windows, again for unity and a feeling of expansion.
LIke this shown below; monochromatic colors on everything except for a touch of purple.
Roman shades on all the windows in a pattern for interest.
Rug bound from broadloom with small amount of flooring shows all around.
Central Park West Apartment · More Info
PROHolly Anderson Fine Art
5 years agoloobab
5 years ago
Allison0704
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
PROVRA Interiors, LLC
5 years agoWe think the chairs work much better in the bay. Maybe consider a round rug or a special order rug that will fit the space exactly.
Sophisticated Master Suite · More Info
leelee
5 years agoSo this is like a landing at the top of the staircase?
Seems like you're trying too hard to make an awkward space be useful but the built-ins are just causing the room/alcove to be more difficult.
I understand you probably don't want to remove the shelves/fireplace.
Maybe a single chair with ottoman with its back against the left wall facing the windows. Add a floor lamp for reading behind the chair.
Move the pair of blue chairs to your living room. Move the rug too.
PROShoa Gallery
5 years ago
baileysr