What chairs and rug should we get for this living room?

4 years ago

Recently moved into a new house. Excuse the moving blanket on the floor!

This is the living room. (We’ll have a TV in a separate room.) This room will be primarily used for piano lessons (one of us is a teacher), and we want to also create a reading space by the bay window.

We’re currently thinking two chairs by the bay window, something to put your feet on in front of the chairs, possibly a side table between the chairs, and a rug that goes from the piano to the seating area (a 6 x 9 rug would fit). The room is about 18ft long, 14 and 1/2 ft wide.

We also will add some art on the walls so it doesn’t feel so empty!

As the room is mostly white, we’d love some interesting color in the furniture and rugs to lighten it up. We like mid century and contemporary style, not a fan of super traditional furniture.

What rugs and chairs would you get?

Featured Answer

decoenthusiaste

4 years ago

I would use a chaise, tete-a-tete, or backless settee and floor lamp for a reading nook in that bay.

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Comments (13)

tfitz1006
4 years ago
No great advice on the furniture but what is the story with those openings or niches?
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Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
No real story! The two arches just open up to the hallway behind it. It's a little bizarre but to me it gives the house character! At some point, we probably want to put a small bench under the arches for additional seating area, and then to the left of the arches, add artwork and possibly a small table or ladder shelf. (The entrance to the house is over there to the left.)

To the right of fireplace is a built-in shelf/cabinet of sorts. I think it's probably not original to the house (because it has a different visual style to the deco-ish arches, and because that whole right side of the wall is a wooden construction that makes the wall asymmetrical). I don't particularly love it, but it's staying for now.
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JudyG Designs
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I see red in the room. Something like this art from west elm over the fireplace?

With proper sunblock draperies (with rod installed on the wall), can you turn the piano so it fits with the bay window behind it?
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Original Author
4 years ago
The piano placement will stay for practical reasons (regarding how lessons and small performances will work) but otherwise putting it in the nook would be a great idea.

I'm struck that you spotted red in the room! The room was painted a deep red before we moved in, which we didn't like. Apparently primer and multiple coats of swiss coffee doesn't hide it! Do you mind if I ask where you see the red? In person I personally don't see it.

The chaise idea is an interesting one that I wouldn't have thought of. To be honest those inspiration pictures look rather more formal and traditional than what we are thinking of (we're thinking more sleek and MCM) but those examples are good food for thought for us, particularly the San Francisco one. Thank you!
decoenthusiaste
4 years ago
I think JudyG just meant that red was the color she sees as your accent here. MCM chaises are available.

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groveraxle
4 years ago
Much as I love MCM, I wouldn't do it here. This room has more of a cottage feel. I don't think you need to go traditional, but I wouldn't go too modern either. I think two chairs, an ottoman, side table and lamp in the bay would be perfect. I'd look for something more transitional...
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Design Girl
4 years ago
I agree - this room is not modern in any way. I think it's important to decorate keeping in mind the style of the home.
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Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
So the style of the house is Art Deco, as seen in the archways, the tray ceiling, and elements of the outside. As a comparison, here is a historic-designated house down the road from us which has very similar elements in the ceiling and archways (though it's specifically the Streamline subset of art deco, which ours is not): https://www.redfin.com/CA/Long-Beach/2642-Chestnut-Ave-90806/home/7571389

The houses are similar enough and physically close enough, built 2 years apart, that I actually wonder if they were built by the same developer.

(The built-in cabinet around the fireplace doesn't have that design of course.)

We don't want to go overboard with art deco -- obviously, this is not the Chrysler building. Or even a historic-designated house. And obviously art deco is not MCM either. But I do think there are some broadly-speaking "modernism" elements to the room, and I think some of the clean lines of MCM or contemporary furniture could fit into a modern vibe of the room. (For example, decoenthusiast's kidney bean chaise reads very MCM to me but wrong for the room because of the smooth curves, but the more geometric chaise, to me fits very well!) Very loosely speaking, I think the black piano with gold accents fits into the deco idea as well as well.
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Original Author
4 years ago
That link is not going through, but you can google 2642 chestnut and Redfin and you’d see what I mean.
Theresa Janssen
4 years ago
What a fun room to decorate. I think a couple very sculptural looking chairs in a bold velvet fabric would be fabulous. fun for sitting in during a recital. as for a rug, I think a thick shag would look great. here's a few inspiration pics of some sculptural chairs. I would also consider a bar cart that gives the vibe of an intimate gathering.
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groveraxle
4 years ago
Is this your house?

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Long-Beach/2642-Chestnut-Ave-90806/home/7571389
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Original Author
4 years ago
Grover, no, that is the house that is near my house, and built around the same time, which has similar architectural details, but it's a different house.

Theresa, I love these pictures and ideas! Thank you!