Hi E,

I think new paint and removing the chair rail will help with your end goal. Moving your rug and furniture to focus on the fireplace would be key. Add a coffee table/ ottoman for the middle. Minimizing the amount of pictures in the bookshelves will also help.

If you leave the rug as is, the couch should be near the end opposite the fireplace put your 2 chairs on one side and get 2 different but coordinating chairs for the other side if the coffee table.

Seeing the full room would help with the full room plan.

A new mirror river the fireplace would help as well.

What is this space used for mostly?

over not river the fireplace lok

You can make lots of changes without getting new furniture.

Shop your house. Rethink everything. What if you change all the art and mirror for different pieces from other rooms? Switch the lamp for a bigger one. Take all the pictures off the shelves and put them in a hallway or a different living room. Put books, your seven favorite pictures and a few special collectibles on the shelves. Find a coffee table or ottoman. Turn the rug so it fills the whole room in front of the fireplace. Put the couch facing the fireplace with the coffee table in front of the couch.

Thank you so much
Will post a pic of more of the room
It is a formal living room
I do have a coffee table
I had taken it out for the weekend because I had my grandchildren over

Entrance from center hall and walk through to study

Thats why i cant have the sofa across from the fireplace. The fireplace is definitely the focal point

Why are you hiding those beautiful floors under a rug! I’d turn the length of the rug to go in front of the fire place and move the sofa in front of the fireplace if you don’t use it. Also, could you pick a few photographs/artwork you want to showcase?

I really like this designer Parkyn Design. The before and after transformations are incredible. I hope it gives you some inspiration to try out different furniture arrangements.

The room, floor, and furniture are beautiful. Do you have another Oriental rug that you could trade in another room? Or would you prefer to work with this one? If so, please take another photo, close-up about a foot across, to show the colors. Include a piece of white paper for color balance and include a corner of one chair cushion to show its color, too.

Is that ok?

Or better?

Thanks for photos. You could pick up a smoky blue or a light green for paint.

What about quietening the walls (remove the chair rail) and paint the walls and built-in shelves all a soft white. Nice backdrop for your art. If you are willing to paint your fireplace, I'd do that with the same color but in gloss/satin like the molding . Or if you are up for it, change the mantle completely- something less ornate. Pull the jewel tones from the rug and get velvet and silk pillows for the sofa and chairs. And, I know it's your family room, but I think editing all the picture frames on the shelves and piano would go a long way. It looks overwhelming to me. No where for the eyes to rest.

I like your room except for the ornate stained mantle piece. If you can't get something more modern (not curvy), then I would at least paint the one you have, probably white like the fireplace. I like the idea of the two chairs facing the fireplace and the table in their place. or get a console for there. I agree that the shelves are too full....need to get rid of some of the things there,

Thank you so much to everyone for these amazing ideas!
Will try to declutter photos, reposition rug and furniture and remove chairrails. I would probably try a soft color paint for the walls and paint the fireplace and built-in shelves a soft white.
Any ideas for paint color?

Maureen has some great ideas and images to consider, and they don't include replacing furniture.

--Paint the room a warm white from the background of your rug and the ivory chairs. This will help the ornate chairs to blend a bit into the background so they don't overwhelm the room the way they do now as they are positioned side by side. Make sure the paint works well with the golden floors.

--Start with the layout Maureen suggests, i.e. float the sofa and chairs flanking the fireplace in a cozy conversation setting. Put the curvy table under the painting.

--cut down on the number of photos you have in so many locations. Consider a rotation of photos from time to time. When there are too many, after a while you can't really see them.

--The mirror, though very beautiful, doesn't seem to reflect much. Here's an out of the box suggestion: an art work in all your colors--the reds, green from rug, gold/ivory, golden floors, this pallette.

"Lakeside Trees" Fine Art Canvas Print, 48"x48" · More Info

Cloudy and rainy day today but when it’s sunny, mirror does actually reflect the incoming sunlight
Thank you so much for all your suggestions!

The rug is beautiful but it is an island in the middle of the room. I would turn it 90 degrees and move it to the conversation area by the fireplace and arrange the furniture as suggested. It appears you have art over the piano on the other side of the room. Could you switch it out with the mirror over the mantle? I agree with lightening the wall color to a creamy white. I don’t know what the trim color is in the rest of the house, but you could either do a lighter shade of white or use the same cream, using a matte on the walls, and a glossier sheen on the trim. You could then see if painting the mantle to match the trim is something you want to do or not. I think doing these small changes and decluttering the nooks would make it feel completely new without investing much money

Is door framing a bit darker than mantel? what about lightening that?

What a gorgeous floor, and rug. I agree with many comments. Especially turn the rug and put sofa centered on outside edge of rug. Replace large chairs with Bergere style chairs. Paint walls in flat off white. (Possibly SW Alabaster) and leave trim but paint it in same color as walls but in “satin” finish. It will give you a brighter, updated look. I would NOT replace fireplace surround at this point. The whole wall when reinvented will be great. We can paint backs of built ins for depth and texture which will pop for interest. The beautiful marquetry table can sit behind sofa possibly with lamp and a small chair. Maybe one from dining room. I would bring out some navy blue for accents to counterbalance the yellow of sofa. It can be enhanced with not much trouble.

You have some beautiful furniture to work with, some new throw pillows it will make those sofa's pop and what a beautiful rug. Paint and re accessorizing will do wonders in this room.

Can't wait to see the transformation.

I’m coming over to Maureen’s plan. Sometimes a little flexibility is called for regarding the walkway to the study 😉. Edit of bookcases and turning rug will be big change for a little work. Beautiful home for sure.

Your home is beautiful and has so much character; I’d embrace it. I’m not a pro, but FWIW the fireplace, mantle and chair rail are my favorite parts of the room:) If your home is an older home, I’d say you’re very fortunate! I hope you decide to keep the original details.
With all due respect, the upholstered furniture looks quite dated; reupholstering is often as expensive as buying new furniture... I do like the rug.
Paint, of course. Upholstered furniture that isn’t matching would freshen the look. Go for something a bit eclectic, a mix of (more) vintage and modern pieces/ art that work with the traditional architectural details.
I think that removing some photos and knickknacks and giving the space more breathing room will help. Try taking everything off the shelves, cull, and then put fewer of your favorites back.

Just to give you inspiration, I did this little mock up bring blues into your room. Also, you can add abstract art to bring a fresh look to your room.

Love it! Thank you

This is better.
Started working on decluttering. Havent gotten to the left built in bookcase yet..
Comments??

Another pic

Looking good! :)

Thank you Maureen and all

I do still have to paint!

I like it. Much cozier. And suddenly, the detail on your beautiful floor is more prominent.

This furniture arrangement is much better. Can you swap the tables? The one with the tiffany style lamp that's on the left hand side of the fireplace seems to encroach on the doorway opening. Would swapping it with the other table work better? Is the other table a bit smaller? Getting rid of the yellow paint and chair rail will help as well. Paint the room a nice creamy white. I think you still need to declutter the bookcases. Even the one you worked on still has too many pictures/stuff on it. I know it's hard to edit but it's necessary. Furniture placement is much better this way, however it's still a VERY formal room. When paint and decluttering are done, see if you're happy. You may need to select different and less formal furniture pieces. They can still be traditional, just not so formal and ornate.

Could you bring the sofa further onto the rug, and then move that table currently beside the chair to behind the sofa? I think they may preserve the entryway into the other room better

Its not that wide a room and the table is quite wide so it would not fit properly behind the sofa (I even tried!)

Looks so much better. I was going to recommend switching the tables.

"Sorry" -- 1 big thing [mirror] and little things [photos] seem to overwhelm the fireplace area...

Thinking choice cream rather than alabaster for walls.
Agree?
Other options?

I would chose from your rug for the paint. Here are a few if the matches I got from the picture.

I think the Alabster is a better choice - The cream is reading peach/orange on my monitor.

Thx so much
Agree but worried alabaster will be too light for flow with the rest of the house.
Looking at benjamin moore:
Manchester tan, feather down, winter wheat or cream fleece.
Dont want to look too old fashioned but greiges not good here

The cream fleece is creamier than in the picture

Can you put the samples next to your rug? It would be nice to make sure the tones don’t clash with any creams or beiges in the rug

I think Flo was on to some good points if you truly want to update this space! I know it is hard to make some choices that you may not want to make but if you really want to change the look of this room the editing some things is your best bet. It’s a very pretty space and I love your floor and rug. I think you have too much furniture; actually I think your furniture is too big. I would retire the two chairs. As they are so matchy with the sofa it would be nice to get a pair of completely different style chairs. A bergere style with a higher back in a contrasting color that is smaller in scale. I would find another spot for that larger table and lamp. This room needs to breath. I think the molding around the bookcases should be simpler. Finally a gold mirror would accent and balance the dark fireplace better IMO. Try to edit the bookshelves if possible.

Winter wheat lighter
Cream fleece darker

More of a view

You can then paint the inside of the cases a nice blue. I find BM palace white to be a very nice cream.

I think either of those samples look good. You could buy a sample pot of each and do some large swatches and see what speaks to you. Also check the tones in the sofa if you are keeping it. It is hard to see the sofa color accurately on a monitor

Thank you so much rtpaige and lynartist!

Lovely space with beautiful bones and furnishings! The new seating arrangement looks good. Colours are the trickiest to judge online. We're all seeing different colours because monitors and phone screens render colours differently. You can always try a paint matching app from a paint company if you're looking to match the cream in your rug and can't trust your eye. But in any case, as others have said, test two or three colours before committing.

You've gotten great advice. Not a pro but I agree the chairs look a bit big for the space and it might be a good idea to consider something with leaner lines. If you're keen on keeping a mirror above the fireplace, a gold mirror with contemporary lines that juxtapose the traditional mantel would be an "update". Right now, everything has ornate lines. Have you thought of switching the art and the mirror? I'm wondering if a mirror on the left wall and an art grouping above the fireplace might be a good idea.

Here's a slideshow from BHG on how to style bookshelves. The trick is playing around with a mix of elements (books, objects, greenery, pictures). Right now, the shelves are pic-heavy and the pictures end up getting lost in the forest so to speak. You can probably shop your home for vases and decor. :)

Thank you!