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Home Decorating Furniture living room

Formal Living Room Design Help

3 years ago

Hello,

Fist off, you all give amazing advice so thank you kindly in advance :)

My family just moved to a new house and luckily all of our existing furniture fit perfectly in all the spaces. The one spot we didn't have any furniture to put is in what we are calling the 'piano room.'

There's a perfect piano nook that's been spoken for in the room, but the rest of the room we will need to fill with new furniture. Since we will be using this room primarily as a formal sitting/talking area, we wanted to have seating for 4 people to comfortably sit and talk and have a drink. The space is right off the front door and does lead into the dining room and and then the main living room, so there needs to be enough room to walk through this room too. How would you design this room in terms of furniture and where would you put any artwork?

Layout of the room (does not include the front door / entrance. From the pillar over)

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Comments (3)

macd27988
Original Author
3 years ago
Any help would be much appreciated! We are clueless when it comes to spacial and design stuff. Thanks!
remodeling1840
3 years ago
Two quick thoughts... One: if you would add dimensions to your sketch it would be helpful. It wasn’t apparent to me where the piano fit on your floor plan. Seeing the photo of your room is helpful, but still doesn’t give accurate information about wall space, doorways, and the size of the window. Two: I don’t play but that looks like a cramped, uncomfortable place for the piano. It seems to me to be the least likely place for listening and playing. If I understand you, you want four really comfortable chairs arranged in a circle around a beautiful cocktail table. I’m sure the pros here can suggest upholstery, a stunning rug, and a table to give you a beautiful space. Just please, please go to a furniture store and sit in any chair you are considering. I will never understand buying chairs, sofas, and mattresses online. Of course we have back issues in our family so I take a long time to purchase these items so we can sit in comfort. I also have a SIL who is a tall and muscular size so I buy dining room chairs for his comfort, not dainty darling chairs for looks. The secret to entertaining is comfort, personally, I would pick the upholstery first because the four chairs will be the big expense, then pick a wonderful rug to anchor your space. The piano needs to be moved to space where some cabinets or shelves can anchor and enhance it. My DD has a beautiful antique jelly cupboard in original blue paint by her baby grand to give height to the space and serve to store her music. In your case, it could also house cocktail napkins, trays, etc for your evening entertaining.
macd27988 thanked remodeling1840
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Without knowing any of the answers to the above-asked questions, I would first get a very large and beautiful rug to ground the whole space. If you want the fireplace to be the focal point, I would get a large sofa to face it (but no bulky, outdated leather monster, a chesterfield would be nice) and then on one side a smaller sofa and two comfortable chairs on the other. Glass and metal coffee table, end tables that don't match the coffee table, books on the shelves in the wall, a lamp that is close to an outlet, and that would be a good beginning. This is a beautiful room and I wouldn't choose the usual generic beige/brown couches and chairs. You can get your inspiration from the rug. With such a large area and all those white walls, you need something with color and pattern to give this room personality.
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I am not an expert, but imo, I like the chairs--
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I have this, also off the entry. I’m not into “formal” rooms in houses considering I actually live there! I’ve designated mine as the “casual room”. My house is still being painted right now but this room will have a daybed, some casual chairs, all of my plants and possibly a bar car or cabinet when finished. My style is more boho/eclectic though so my dining room furniture is not formal whatsoever. Your room looks like a good candidate for a sitting/conversation area. You could put a large bookshelf or bar cabinet on that back wall. Depends on your lifestyle. Do you have another eating area? Will you actually be using the dining room? If not, I would eliminate the idea that a dining table has to go there and look at the two spaces as one big space and find a purpose for it that way. Of course, this is lifestyle dependent and needs to function the best for your family. I will say, however, that carpet in a dining room is not ideal in the slightest.
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Candid! The first thing I saw in both rooms were the window treatments. The living room valances, although formal in design, are a dated look even for kitchens. The dining room drapes and swag should be framing the stage in a theater; they're just too heavy and dark. The red art in the dining room and the blue art in the living room are "off" elements in contrast to you furniture. The red ones might work in your kitchen, and the blue could theme another space. Dried floral arrangements and sticks as decor faded a long time ago. The living room rug should be as large as the one in the dining room. What to do... Here's a favorite house of mine and you have the furniture to pull off a similar look if you just simplify and get a larger rug and some side tables and a coffee table that are in scale with your other pieces. Click through the link with the photo to see other rooms in this lovely home. Brighten up your space by painting both rooms as below (believed to be Navajo White walls and White Dove Trim.) Consider wainscot for the dining room and a new chandelier. Updated window treatments that match in both rooms, larger rugs and less clutter would improve things. If you do paint, then removing all the tchotkes will happen anyway. Pack them up and only put them back judiciously.
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macd27988
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you for your input! I agree, we bought a bunch of stuff online in our first house and ended up replacing them a couple years later because they were just not comfortable.

In terms of the seating arrangements, you would do 4 chairs in a circle over a loveseat and 2 chairs? We're definitely most concerned with function over style. With a couple of small kids, we've found it's nice to have an adult room with no toys and that is really what this room is for us :)

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