Change position of sofa and the two chairs.

Here’s our family room sofa that I want to move to this living room instead. It’s gray (which I regret bc I learned the hard way that I prefer warmer colors) and i would like it slipcovered at some point.

Its an Ethan Allen “Retreat.” 93”.

I agree a nice console table (with an open bottom for shoes tray) would be a welcome addition at the bottom of the stairs. I would use the space where the guitars current live for some tall storage. I recently got PAX units from IKEA for our mud room and they work great. Use for books, blankets, school papers, etc.

Something is off in the second layout I uploaded. I must have calculated some scale incorrectly. . . Goin to try again.

Corrected! Well, that was embarrassing. Relieved, though, that the room is not so off-center as it looked in that first draft! I already have an extremely asymmetrical (not artfully!) family room to figure out, and was worrying that this room would have similar challenges! Thankful for erasers. :)

Should the rug be turned to mirror the dimensions of the room (In my photos of the space as it is right now, it’s perpendicular to the windows.)? Or maybe a 10x10 would work better?

And your grey sofa can be complemented with the colors you love and be a nice neutral! The throw is very nice and you just need some nice pillows to bring out the colors in the rug.

I would definitely remove the chair railings or if you must keep them, plaint the entire lower half of the wall and the rails in the same color and sheen as your other trim work. The green is chopping up the walls and really dating the space. As decoenthusiast suggested, paint all the trim in white (including your stairs (or at least the balusters) and the door frame.

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Thanks, @mnmamax3! I appreciate the encouragement. :)

And I know that some people discourage buying from IKEA, and I understand the warnings about quality, but I spent SO much money in our family room and have so very little to show for it, that I need to do this space on a tighter budget. So I appreciate that you shared being happy with an IKEA piece! I have friends who LOVE their IKEA couches and arm chairs too. Especially the washable slipcovers!

I just made little modes of the Ektorp, Gronlid and Farlov chairs, and though my Pinterest boards overfloweth with Ektorp ;) it looks like the smaller proportions of Gronlid would work best in my room.

(I wish I’d known to ask all of this and sketch everything out on the first room I tried to furnish!)

Here’s a layout with current rug, the EA couch from our family room, our piano, and a pair of Gronlids. Ideally the rug would extend beyond the ends of the sofa, but I think i could live with this for a while before springing for a longer rug.

Just a quick comment...my daughter's Ikea sofa is going on...maybe 10 years. We just bought another cover for it and it looks like new.

I also recently purchased the Ektorp and, while very lightweight, I love the ability to wash the slipcover (2 dogs that also call the sofa "home")

You can remove the chair rail and paint. That would be the cheapest things to do in this room and so very worth it...just get your tools and have at it....

As long as your chair legs are all on the rugs, you're good. Will you want a coffee table or ottoman or do you need that space open for performing? Large plants like Lb suggested. This is my Pax cabinet. They actually have even nicer flowered bins too. I bought BIGSO cubes which fit perfectly. I'm not done painting etc...

You're Welcome Teacher Mom!

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@pennydesign, thank you for that testimonial on The Ektorp line! And for the general encouragement. Much appreciated. :-)

And yes, I’ll want some kind of coffee table or maybe an ottoman. I definitely want some kind log table within reach of seating bc I hate not having a place to set down a cup of coffee. :)

And I absolutely want some non-toxic plants to green up the space. :)

When It's summer, roll up the rug; cool hardwood floors are nice under bare feet in hot weather. Get the piano and seating arranged. By your grid pix, I gather that you prefer things to be centered and balanced. Find a comfortable arrangement of furniture and then see if the rug can work or needs replacing. If you want the stairwell bench, guitars and piano to be the music area, then scooch the piano closer to the stairs and center the bench on that bit of wall. Move the chairs closer to each other and angle them with a round table and lamp between them for a more casual feeling. I noticed someone said they like the piano where it is, but you already know better than that. Move it as soon as possible.

A thought about 3 guitars - especially if trim is removed, seems good wall space for them... a triangle or whatever shape works....

If the piano needs to move, I would just flip the piano & 2 desks grouping with the large sofa arrangement I suggested above.

Or... the piano on the 13' wall flanked by the 2 desks, and Large sofa on 17' wall, 2 chairs & side table between ... at the windows.

Adding to my above post .... I prefer the piano on the 13' wall, purely for aesthetics, as this room is off the entry and is the Living Room. The 17' wall is the focal wall and would feel nicer if the sofa seating was on this wall. It is the First Impression upon entry which also includes the staircase area being focal .

@deco, you are right that I seek out balance, and usually thru symmetry. I’m having to accept that symmetry is just not always possible—especially not from every angle! :)

I moved the couch in from our family room to get a more real

life view of things. I like it best on this wall; and this is kind of the only option since my husband doesn’t want a couch blocking the windows, and the piano really needs to be on that one wall without baseboard heat or the overhead air conditioning unit.

I moved the piano and then spent too long sliding it back and forth along the wall—center it with windows across the room? Center it with the wall it’s on? Center it with the rug?? Agghhhh! Ended up centering it with rug bc this looked the most balanced in real life.

I brought in some second hand Poang chairs just to see a rough idea of what chairs will look like here. I‘m realizing that big stuffed arm chairs like the Ektorp might end up moving me from cozy to claustrophobic. Thinking I need something lighter/smaller, but not these Poangs—the lumbar bend is not comfortable for my kids.

I still need to add end tables, lamps and probably a storage ottoman in the center. Any more than that will feel

crowded to me. :)

Thanks all for your continued encouragement and insight!

I think this set up looks great! And with stuff you already have, which is a bonus. I agree that you need "lighter" chairs. Maybe look around and don't rush to buy since you have these fill-ins for now. What is on the wall between the windows? Kids' art? If you are hoping to keep their art there, maybe buy a bunch of matted frames (from Ikea or the like) and frame the kids' work (in rotation) and then you'll have a nice looking gallery at least. If that is temporary, then finding a nice big piece of art would be good (though I think you need a big piece behind your sofa...). If there's no overhead lighting, I'd get an arc lamp to put where you current lamp is and add side tables. Don't add too much furniture now. Live with it and see what is needed. Awesome job!

I just wanted to let you that our experience with IKEA furniture has been awesome! Most of what we have in our house is from IKEA. We've had our couch for over six years now. The fabric is still tight (not sagging) the cushions are not sagging AT ALL and it is heavily used on a daily basis, (dog, 2 kids who walk all over it and 2 adults). This is not the case for my inlaws couch that's barely a year old and all the cushions are saggy and they spent twice as much on it at a reputable furniture store.

We've had our bed (not mattress) for over 10 years and it's amazing. I've never once thrown out a piece of furniture from IKEA because it was broken or worn out. I think it's a great option if you are on a budget, and I hardly doubt you will regret it.

I would say, clean any upholstery regularly or put some sort of stain guard on it, as our couch has gotten a little dingy. But, like I said, we are very hard on it and I have sort of given up keeping it clean with the kids and dogs...

Glad you moved the couch in there - on screen it looks like it works well with your rug. I would look for some armchairs that aren't as deep. I have these and I love them - they are about 3" less deep than the poang plus they have the wood arms to coordinate with your piano. I know it's more gray but the tweed pattern has cream and taupe tones too.

https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/scott-living-armchair-sctl1294.html

The other thing I'd like you to try is moving the chairs to opposite the couch and bring everything in a little and move the couch and rug down just a bit. Angle them just a little. Since there is no TV, it might be nice to have a more conversational grouping.

Following. :)

How do you plan on schooling the children in this room? I know you want minimal furnishings.

Hi LB, I don’t need formal schooling set-ups in here, though maybe my original post gave that impression? :) I mentioned it to convey that the kids and I are home—and doing kid-friendly stuff!—more often than a family whose kids go to school for several hours M-F. So like the whole home to feel welcoming and casual for that kind of lifestyle. :-) I appreciate all your suggestions and advice!

Mnmamax3, thanks for that suggestion. I’ll check it out. I prefer the softness of upholstered arm rests, but I might need to be more open minded. We’ll see. . . :-)

Oh Teacher Mom..... I interpreted your needs wrong. Sorry I was off the tangent. My suggestions were based on schooling in that room. Ooops.

Groveraxle, I would like that, except that a baseboard heater runs from the window corner of that wall, to about a third in. So if I place the piano against the part without the heat, it’s not centered, and ends up feeling a little crowded where it’s bench comes

close to the couch. :/

I‘m struggling to incorporate that couch even though it’s bigger than I would now choose for that room—and certainly too big for the even smaller family room. :(

Aha, in that case, Mom, you have the best arrangement. Carry on. ;-)

I think your arrangement looks light and fresh. If you can remove the chair rail and paint the entire room one unifying color (pull a color from your rug or go with the beige/oatmeal background) and the trim white, it would look really "new." And then take your time and add 2 square ottomans that can double as coffee tables/extra seating. I would add Arc lamp and drink table (small/simple) on piano side of sofa so as to not crowd it, a little bigger table on other side of sofa (maybe with a basket under/cabinet to store throws/books, etc), and another drink table (slightly bigger) in between the 2 chairs. Drink tables have small footprints and take up very little visual space, but do the job for coffee cups, etc. Then a big art piece (maybe music inspired) above the sofa.

Agree with the others who suggest removing or painting out that chair rail, to me it really dates the room, not a pro but I would also want the window frames painted white.

Thanks, all. I will be contacting our painter about a quote on removing the chair rail and repainting the room. I realize that needs to be done. :) To be continued!

Good choice to move the sofa here. New chairs, of course. Keep going...

Teacher Mom, I wouldn't remove the chair rail. It is within a traditional and farmhouse design style and fits well with your home, your tastes of furniture and style.

You could paint the rail white and paint both upper and lower walls, the same color. That alone will feel new and be a big change. Adding to that, a chair rail makes the room seem longer and wider. I think the rail gives your home character and interesting architectural features. Remove chair rail if you are just tired of it or want a less detailed style.

Yeah, I actually agree with LB Interiors. Those rails don't work everywhere, but they do work here. (I totally surprised myself by liking them haha.) I'd just paint them and the portion of the wall underneath them white, off-white, or a greige. I mean, if YOU don't like them, then feel free to get rid of them, but don't feel like you have to if they're something you do like.

Thank you for the continued comments and suggestions. :)

I realized that I couldn’t make that Ethan Allen sofa work in a way that I liked for the room. I moved it back into our family room and went ahead and bought an Ektorp sofa and two arm chairs (for less than half the price of that one EA sofa), and am working on making the room look/feel more like the rooms I’m most drawn to on Pinterest. Obviously I need to add some color in pillows/throws. :)

Seems I love something like coastal/farmhouse/transitional, with a neutral palate and some natural and antique elements sprinkled in too.

Painter is coming this week to go I er options, but I do want the chair rail removed, and the walls painted a light creamy white.

To be continued. . .

There are many white toned paints. You need the paint chips to compare to the sofa for the undertones of the whites .

If the undertones are not the same, the walls or sofa colors can make the other white look dirty,. or won't complement each other. Whites also have yellow, green, blue, pink, orange or gray undertones.

Inspiration for Farmhouse and Coastal vibes: Adding soft ice blues or sea glass colors will be soothing and simple also. Maybe wall paint in soft blue or sea glass palettes.

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Walls move away from being too white and offer a subtle contrast to the white furniture.

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Be careful with the "creamy" white; it can lean too warm for the cool fabric on the seating. Maybe just my monitor though.

Thanks. I‘d most like to spend time in that Greenwich estate room, LB. :)

The sofa/chairs don’t look as cool in real life, but I will be sure to see how different whites look against them before settling on one. Thank you both for the tip. :)

You're welcome. Yes, I like the Greenwich room also. I thought it might appeal to you. The walls will give you that soft warmth that you mentioned at onset and are wanting for the room.

Maybe this will help in your decision to keep or nix the chair rail. Visuals seem to help.

Coastal Living Room · More Info

Without Chair Rail - is simpler, less detail.

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With Chair Rail - will also stretch the room in both length and width and becomes a little more interest. Dividing the walls with a chair rail will also allow options for two wall colors.

What color Ektorp did you buy?

If you decide to keep the chair rail, I would paint it white, as mentioned before, including the window trim and door trim, white. That alone, will be less busy, and a cleaner simpler design.

Your staicase railing can remain stained.

Small thing but I posted about the 3 guitars - I meant on wall under the stairway... btw, I don't know why you have to decide on trim and paint before finishing the room...

I’d put my dining room in that space and turn your old dining room into an office and add some glass doors to your new office (old dining room). That way you can set up a dedicated space for your homeschooling. You don’t need two living rooms back to back. Put your piano against the stair wall where the guitars currently are. Put your dining room hutch on the 13’4” wall and hang the guitars on the other wall space (opposite the front windows). Hang your guitars so they are like artwork....big one in the middle and smaller ones on either side.

Paint the chair rail white and all the wall space below the same white as well. This will help to blend your heaters. Paint above the chair rail a warm grey colour. Benjamin Moore Collingwood is one example and a google search will come up with other popular colors.

One last suggestion is to get some full length curtains to frame those windows. Black and white check curtains will give that room a farmhouse feel.

Black and White Curtains

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