Hi, such a pretty room! My first thought when seeing it was wondering if the mirror on console would look better switched with the art over sofa? I'm sure you'll get more advise from the experts on the decorating side!

Thanks! I never thought of moving the mirror above the sofa. I will move during the week and see how it looks.

I doubt that mirror over sofa will work, but I bet the black and white artwork over the black credenza will look great.

My worry with moving the black and white art over the console is that I have a matching console on the other side of the fireplace. Not sure I know how to balance them out.

Here's what I would recommend, based on your pictures:

(1) Move the two blue and white lamps to the console. They'll echo the curves of the mirror and break up the gold a bit.

(2) Move the two pieces of tall art you currently have on either side of the window and hang side-by-side over the other console. Move the gold lamp there. Now you've echoed the blue and white and gold on the consoles, but in non-matchy ways.

(3) The picture you currently have above your couch is far too large. If you're sourcing different art, then you need smaller.

(4) Larger, more substantial lamps on either side of your sofa. Avoid gold or mercury glass, as that will be too much with the coffee and end tables you currently have.

(5) I don't see the gold framed pictures still in the packaging fitting anywhere in this living room. Not only do they not fit the room, but you also need to leave some bare areas on the walls for visual "breathing space." You've got some very nice pieces and the start of a very pretty room, resist the urge to decorate every available space.

Can you show a pic of the 2 matching console wall? I agree with moving the 2 prints on the window wall. They may work over the sofa, and art over one console, with mirror staying over one. I don't think they have to match in decor. Curtains on the window wall would be enough for that space.

kulrn- The room is very long so I took 3 pictures from the entryway to the back.

Open House Home Staging- Thank you! I will move things around. I've purchased and returned a few side lamps already because none seemed to be proportioned. Any specific lamps you can suggest? Would an all blue base work? I also have another piece of artwork attached that might fit in somewhere?

Also, with regard to art above sofa, should I consider something along these lines or am I going in the wrong direction?

I'm a HOUZZ lover and not a designer LOL! So hopefully this post will draw in the experts! Are you planning anything over the fireplace? I love the mirrors, but maybe it's a little matchy? If no tv, this space could possibly be arranged into 2 seating areas. This layout also comes to mind.

50+ Best Home Decorating Ideas - How To Design A Room · More Info

Love the last two! Middle because of the navy, the last just because it colorful and fun! Agree with mjlb on doing something different on each console. Your on the right track though!

What about doing floating shelves over each console table? Like this, but with your consoles under, not the wood. Bottom shelf would have to be higher than these as well.

kulrn -I have a 2nd smaller seating area at the front of the room. Love the layout you sent along and the idea of leaning pictures above the consoles but my problem is finding pictures or objects that coordinate with each other. My other problem is knowing how much of each color to use and where. For example, my chairs are a dark blue so should the table lamp bases be blue? Should my rug have more blue? Blue pillows? Where and when do I stop adding blue... or gold. Also, my room is very narrow, only 12 feet so layout has been a challenge as well.

I love the navy floral and am leaning toward buying. I prefer muted color palettes.

I have 2 consoles and 2 mirrors at the recommendation of Ethan Allen. Because my room is so long they suggested I give a bit of symmetry. I wish I had thought about it for a bit but... my 1st time buying a room of furniture and I honestly felt a bit pressured. I'm hoping to make the best of what I have. Live and Learn!

tenamarie123 -My only hesitation with the shelving is having to accessorize. I already have a bookcase in the room (across from a console) and would like to keep knick-knacks at a minimum.

I moved a few things around... I didn't hang the art above console yet. Does anyone know how to photo shop (or what software I would use)? I'd love to see how different art would look above the sofa.

I would try to work with what you have. keep the mirrors over the consoles, but vary the decor. I would change the art over the sofa to add more navy, so the floral may work. I don't think you need to add a bunch of navy, maybe a trio of vases on one console with navy and whites. A little greenery on a console... I'd like to see what your console lamps would look like by your sofa. You can also try to throw in a third color also in small amounts. I'm a super neutral person, so I understand your desire for muted. Just thinking out loud and trying to keep your thread at the top :-)

(154) Pinterest · More Info

Thank you kulrn. Some more moving around...

Many thanks Beth H. Yes, I think the blue floral is the winner! By simple lamps do you mean with white bases? I've already moved the blue lamps to the console.

The one area of the room not shown clearly is the end with the desk, desk chair, leather chair, and tall bookcase. Is there another doorway on that end of the room?

If you post a measured drawing of your room, you may get a lot of alternative furniture arrangement suggestions. Just as a start, I would place the sofa at a right angle to the fireplace, with blue chairs facing the sofa. Depending on relative sizes, I might use one of the dark credenzas as a sofa table behind the sofa. I might use the upholstered bench in front of the fireplace, or shift the sofa and chairs closer to the fireplace, and use the upholstered bench on the wall across from the fireplace.

I think Ethan Allen went overboard with their symmetry recommendation. Too much symmetry looks quite static. I would go slow with your acquistion of artwork to acquire more original and less commercially available pieces.

"I think Ethan Allen went overboard with their symmetry recommendation. Too much symmetry looks quite static. I would go slow with your acquisition of artwork to acquire more original and less commercially available pieces."

I completely agree with this. What struck me about your first set of pictures and your early comments was how much matching stuff and symmetry there is--and, frankly, how uninviting it is. Please do not get me wrong; the pieces are nice but I don't sense "you" in there at all. In looking at it I see intentional design, I see boring symmetry, I see determined coordination, and ultimately I see a shelter magazine interior--bland.

What I don't sense, and I think this is where you might be going wrong, is that it is missing you. Who are you? What is your personality? What do you love? What do I learn about you from your home? Right now, I get almost nothing. And I miss that.

What can you do? First, stop. Stop buying things and moving things and worrying. I would suggest maybe thinking about what you really love. Don't think about whether something works or not. What do you REALLY love? What colors? What themes? What are your most treasured possessions and what memories do they have that they mean so much. In other words, try to discover and bring to your consciousness what makes "you" you. That one piece of artwork over the sofa is gorgeous! I love it, but do you?

As part of the entryway to my home, defined more by visual hints than any architectural definitions, there is a wall that goes to the ceiling but only part way in. It was two or three years while living here that the first piece (of what has become a beloved gallery wall) went up. During that time I thought seriously about how to decorate it, but it stayed blank. Eventually. I realized that a gallery wall would be perfect for me. I already had one original pen drawing of the booksellers on the Seine that I found a gorgeous frame for on CraigsList. I put that up--and it stayed up there alone for at least one year. Then slowly, very slowly, I added things as I found them, only things I loved. One was an expensive piece of art, others not. They include photographs, drawings, maps, canvas prints, a huge oversized iron "key," and a small, silly but beloved repro of a teardrop trailer next to a canvas reprint of Jerry Bywaters' Oil Field Girls. There is no theme (such as birds, or a certain frame or any consistent idea) but there is consistency: each piece is very much loved for its own reason. I can see that wall from anywhere in my living room and it makes me so happy to see it. But it took, as I said earlier, five years to come together, a bit at a time. I was willing to wait as I have done as I did my home.

I think it might help you to do that too. Take your time. Keep what you love, truly love, and get rid of the rest. Be willing to go slow, be patient. Discover you and make your home into what you discover.

Aphaea --Very well said. Thank you for your insight. The suggestions of others are very helpful. They also provide a sort of wake up call when overthinking a situation.

It has taken 15 years to furnish the room. It was sparsely furnished with an eclectic mix of pieces, which I liked, and not much in way of accessories.

I haven't accumulated much during my life. When I finally had the opportunity to purchase furniture, I relied on the expertise of the store personnel.

The blue floral is a picture I feel in love with last year but was waiting to furnish the room. Then the EA salesperson steered me in a different direction. Since then I have been second guessing myself.

I love art, books, and flowers... moody, muted colors, classical fiction, and peonies and cotton stems.

I waited so long for a furnished room and I'm almost there but the little details are holding me back.

Mjlb --There is only one entry into the room. The bench is too big given the narrow space. I've tried rearranging the furniture, even at an angle, but it's a very tight squeeze to maneuver to the back of the room. I will try to post a drawing tomorrow.

Love the blue floral over the sofa and the black and white over the console. I don't know about the shorter lamps by the sofa, but I love them. Don't stress, this should be the fun part! I hope you keep at least one of those mirrors somewhere, they're great too!

In person, the black and white print over the console is much too big. I will leave the mirror and blue lamps there. The art I moved over to the other console is ok. Maybe a tad big but it does help with a pop of color on that end of the room. I will look for new lamps for the end tables.

Finally... a room layout attached. Any suggestions appreciated.