HELP PLEASE too much green in dining room not working with living room
Had another thread but it got off track. I need help making the decor in the GREEN dining room and the decor in the adjacent CARAMEL living room more cohesive. I understand that the situation is not ideal, painting, by far the easiest solution, is not really an option right now. I KNOW what I want can be achieved with the right fabric, artwork, window treatments etc. Just have to find the right color scheme. This artwork has the green AND caramel in it, a little red and some blue, originally wanted this for my dining room but perhaps I can use it in my living room instead and work off that color scheme and feel? Please NOTE: the area rug in the living room photo is no longer there, just the wall to wall carpet is in there now. Apparently the furniture in the dining room is too dark "sucking in all the light" into the middle of the room, I believe that with the proper accessories on the table and with the right art, window treatments and accessories on the table, that can be downplayed. I am open to changing out window treatments, accessories, artwork, tables and lamps in the living room, as that is the last room downstairs that needs to be updated. Carpeting, sofa and chairs are staying for now, suggestions for area rug greatly appreciated.
Comments (6)
Itza Gonzalez
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Can I have a green living room AND dining room?
Comments (11)I'm a little confused. Is the first color you show in the LR, the one labeled 'before', is it the Olive Branch? It looks more blue green on my monitor. And the dining room is red right now? I don't think there's a thing wrong with having the two rooms that are connected by a single wall being the same color. And here's how I would play it out......If I'm not loving my DR anyway.......and want to change the color...........and already have the green paint..........then, all I've got to lose is a little time. Paint on into the DR, see how you like it after you live with it for a couple of weeks, then, if it's too much green, you can always go find something else. I do think getting rid of the sheers probably helps to de-formalize your LR. I finally went with plain jane chenille drapes a couple of shades darker than my wall to achieve some more comfortable feelings in my LR. I had fancy London shades in a yellow/blue toile on pale butter walls before. This is much more in tune with how we live. Your dining room set and antiques are very pretty, Cathrugg! Red Here is a link that might be useful: Wall color is BM Baby Turtle, and it doesn't look that golden in real life, more muted olive...See Moreliving room/dining room help please!!
Comments (6)A round or square end table big enough to provide useful space for both sofa and loveseat would work, with a large lamp. I have a couple of live plants under a similar mini-split ac unit and also near hear registers and they don’t seem bothered as long as i don’t let them dry out. Some pillows that pull the color from the very pretty rug would be nice, maybe the pink? Or green? Drapery panels can often make the difference between a comfortable room and a cozy room that feels finished IMO. You might want to check out curtains in linen or cotton from Ikea or Target, they’re quite inexpensive and look decent for the money. Mount the rods near the ceiling molding and have the drape just barely touch the floor. You may have to shorten, they make iron on tape that make it easy to hem without needing to sew. A cream color would look nice with your gold-beige walls. Mount the rods wide enough to push the drapes back off the glass for maximum light and views when they’re open. You may never need to close them as you have blind for light and privacy control. hope this helps....See MoreKitchen remodel (dining room & maybe living room too) - Ideas Wanted!
Comments (10)@ SapphireStitch While it would be nice to wave a magic wand with an unlimited checkbook - I don't have that. I do have access to some money (got a HELOC). If some of the changes need to be done in stages and can be done effectively - we can do that, because the more money I have to pull upfront from the HELOC, the more I'll end up paying in interest. (yuck). I'm also not averse to acting as my own general contractor/project manager, if needed; I've done that before (successfully) But I'd rather not have to overall manage the project, just because my current employment is a boatload more demanding than my previous employment. The nice thing is that we don't have a defined deadline where "this must be done by" - no one is getting married, boatloads of relatives aren't coming to visit, etc. However, the kitchen as it currently stands is a source of daily irritation. We're getting to the point that if anyone is already in the kitchen, we try to avoid going in there until that person has left the kitchen. Tempers flare....we've got my boyfriend (who was envisioning a quiet, child-free retirement), my teenager (while she's not as much of a drama queen as some teens - she's just starting the teenage years, LOL), and me - frustrated as the primary food purchaser, preparer, organizer, clean-up person. And if my boyfriend happens to suddenly realize his blood sugar has dropped - get the hell out of the way in the kitchen. He's not very good at listening to his body - he literally passed out one time when his blood sugar dropped too low - he dashed into the kitchen, grabbed a glucerna and the last thing he remembered was opening it up - but he woke up on the floor sitting in a puddle of the stuff. (I wasn't home at the time). When either I or my teen are in the kitchen and if boyfriend does the mad dash into the kitchen - we pretty much have to drop what we are doing so he can grab something and while he stands there and he starts shoveling whatever down his throat. And since the space is so tight - it can mean leaving stuff cooking on the stove, etc. One time he dashed in, grabbed a breakfast sandwich out of the refrigerator, yanked what was already cooking in the microwave out, and threw his sandwich in. Anyhow, I digress. I know that some of the things we want are going to be big-ticket items - new cabinets, granite or quartzite countertops, slide-in induction stove. That's why I'm also looking for cost-efficient plans, such as instead of moving the sink to the middle of the room, let's keep it on the same wall and just shorten the distance from the hot water heater to the new sink location. Let's not blow out any of the exterior walls, and we can keep the current windows, dishwasher, and refrigerator. If replacing the 10'x13' current laminate would be cheapest to match new hardwood to the existing hardwood, rather than ripping it all out and putting tile down in a 20'x13' space, I'm fine keeping hardwood. If a nice, medium-stain maple cabinet is cheaper than white painted cabinets, I'm find with the the stained version... I prefer it, personally. Rather than a huge pantry cabinet, if building a pantry closet with adjustable shelves is cheaper, I'm fine with that (plus with all the small appliances and bulk-purchases from Costco and BJ's - I think it would suit our storage needs better). If getting an island fits the layout, but is out of reach - I'm fine holding off on installing island cabinets and countertop and using a kitchen table in the meantime. And because we don't have a "get it done by" date... once I have a really solid design/layout... I have the time to shop different cabinet lines and stoves, wait for sales and then to be ready to capitalize on hopefully a decent deal. I don't know if it's true, but I did see some articles that indicate the best time to shop for kitchen cabinets is November to early January....See MoreHelp with making my living room work Please!
Comments (7)1. The answer to your question regarding the dining table depends upon where the kitchen is located. If the kitchen is behind the double doors, then the dining area needs to stay where it is. 2. Should you keep the TV over the fireplace or move it to the area to the right? I am concerned about the possibility of damaging the TV by too much exposure to heat. Is that a functioning fireplace? Does heat from the fireplace affect the TV? Is that an air register above the TV? 3. Should you offset the sofa from the wall and make a passage behind it? I don’t know. What are your measurements? 4. Should you remove the furniture and go all minimalist? I don’t know. How good are your knees and back? Going all minimalist could be hard on both. 5. What is your budget for new furniture? 6. How many people live in the home? How many guests do you need to plan for, after the pandemic?...See More
PROOpen House Home Staging & Redesign, LLC
4 years agoHere's a quick idea board.
I think you have too much going on with the wall color and the red sofa to have colored/patterned drapes. I'd recommend a soft neutral with just a hint of a pattern in them, and put them in both rooms (source: Ballard Designs).
In the dining room, turn your buffet so it's centered against the window. Also turn your table and center it. Either use just four chairs (two on each side) or two chairs (buffet side) and the bench. Add two lamps to your buffet in red, to echo the couch color, maybe a large floral on the table. You can hang the tree picture in here, also.
In the living room, get rid of The Golden Girls end tables and lamps, haha. Find a simpler style, in a darker color, to echo the dining room furniture. Use classic white lamps on the end tables, to help tame the caramel walls a bit. Above the couch (which seems more like a love seat), I'd put a starburst mirror, with more star than mirror, to add a little interest.
Finally, I'd tie in all the colors with a really fantastic throw pillow fabric. This designer fabric is a bit of a splurge, but I think it works with the overall plan.
Itza Gonzalez thanked Open House Home Staging & Redesign, LLCItza Gonzalez
4 years ago- PRO
Open House Home Staging & Redesign, LLC
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoIt's the scale of the lamps that you need to concentrate on the most. I've found that most homeowners tend to purchase lamps that are too short/small. I use 28"-30" as my guide. I rarely use shorter than 28" unless maybe in a bedroom or for an occasional table, and over 30" starts to look odd in most homes. If you're looking at a lamp in person, rather than online (which has the measurements) just measure from the top of the shade down to the table.
Also, purchasing inexpensive end tables and lamps first can really help change the look of a room, while you're saving up for the more expensive items (sofa, nice coffee table). Here's a before/after of a living room I did for a homeowner, where all I added were lamps, end tables and throw pillows (just reworked her other items). The end tables I used are really great, they work with a lot of furniture styles, plus they have a shelf and they're less than $100. I use them with a lot of clients! Since end tables don't get a lot of abuse, a "cheaper" one is a real budget saver.As you can see in the Before, this furniture is large and overstuffed. A too small lamp would look silly.
Using the above linked end tables and 30" lamps:
You can use an end table like those (they're 24" high) and the proper size lamp, and it will work with just about any sofa you choose. Also, when choosing throw cushions I would get rid of the two red cushions on your sofa, and replace with a neutral. Maybe throw in a lumbar on one of your two chairs.
And here's a room (while we were rearranging furniture) where the homeowner's furniture was not oversized/overstuffed. As you can see, these same end tables come up higher on her sofa, but still work. I can't remember how tall these lamps were, probably around 27"-28".
Itza Gonzalez thanked Open House Home Staging & Redesign, LLC Itza Gonzalez
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
JudyG Designs