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Blank slate LR-how should I decorate?

last month

We just bought a house and though we love most of it, the living room is a little small for my family of six. The living area is essentially a 11’2” by 13’4” square, as part of it serves as the entry way/walkway from front door to kitchen. All I have right now is a light grey sectional, a rug, and a TV console with TV and I would love some creative ideas and to have a good plan before I start buying more furniture and decor. You should know that:

We plan to mount on the wall directly above the console, just slightly higher than it currently is. (Ignore mount on wall from previous owner.)
I am on a limited budget and don’t want to paint.
I want the living room to feel very warm and full of earthy colors. (Brown/orange, cognac, dark green…) I also like natural, earthy materials. (Rattan, bamboo…)
As a large family, we need to fit in as much seating as possible into this small space.

That said, what ideas do you have for me? Window treatments? Can I fit in a chair under the window and if so what size/shape should I look for? Can you think of a better placement for the sectional? What would look good on the walls? Should I put sofa tables behind both sides of the sectional?

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Comments (12)

KraMa
Original Author
last month
My biggest questions are what I should do for the window treatment, and what shape size chair I can put under the window (and whether or not that would look good or if I should try a different layout.)
ffpalms
last month
There are many ways this room could be decorated, so you’ll be sure to get lots of different takes. Here’s a few ideas I like.

I love a gallery wall behind a TV, as it makes the TV less of a focal point.
Artwork · More Info

A hanging basket chair by the window would be lovely.

Furniture · More Info

I love the texture of woven wood blinds and the way they filter the light during the day, but they don’t offer privacy at night, so you may want to pair them with drapes.

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Now I understand where you are headed. My suggestions will not be matchy matchy and are pretty eclectic in nature. So, hopefully you will get some ideas you may not have thought about. Let's start with the DR. Drapes: I like dramatic so, if the rug has bronze that would be my first choice though there is nothing wrong with gold. I like plain simple drapes. I think drapes like blacksplashes should not be a focal point of a room when you have other beautiful things going. They should help frame the room like the color on the walls do. You may not need pinch pleated drapes. It would save you money not to have the pinch pleats. You need to decide if you want to run them from ceiling to floor or with a rod (I saw some beautiful rods at Calico Corner's. I think JCP carries Kirsch hardware also) above the window not from the ceiling. Dining table: I notice most people select wood to use with oriental rugs. I am working with a designer for my family room and breakfast nook and he just taught me a good lesson: Print rug-glass table, solid rug-wood table. He said you want to show off the beauty of the rug at all times from every direction. They do make some very large glass tables that you can use with 2 wooden pedestals for support or a great square base. If you are having a lot of guests for dinner like Christmas than you can add a folding table and use the same table cloth. This is just a suggestion. You can use wood but I always like to share new knowledge when I learn something. I still like crystal for chandeliers in dining rooms. In this case I would use crystal with some funky lamp shades to add a little fun into the room. You may find these at Home Goods or on line. I would try leopard for shades. It's hard to visualize if this will work without actually seeing it in person. Maybe someone will photoshop. Do you know the size of the table you want to use? I also think you may be able to find dining room chairs on ebay or a used furniture store that might be in decent condition or you can buy them new. Remember the chair wood does not need to match the wood of the table. There is more interest created when they don't. Here is another idea for chairs: you can used entirely different ones for the head of the table. Actually, I am pretty good at decorating eclectically. My friends are always looking for my eye. The designer I am working with always says to me "what do you need me for". Well, he is a great buffer between me and my BF whom I share my new home with. He has made my life so much more easier and is worth every penny. I am also learning alot about decorating from him.
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So I am going. to read through all of these suggestions afain! MIL is coming back in town so we want to just order something for the dining table so its already done and she doesnt try to talk my husband out of it (he is a pushover, lol) I actually saw some chairs at tuesday morning as a for now fix, do you a fhink the actual table is that bad,? because I guess we are just trying to find the right thing and dont want tocwaste tons of $$. do yall know if paint is expensive? have any of you done it by yourself.? I saw an article about how to save on smaller stuff like rugs and coffee tables I am going to look into! Dining table is a biggie. But I def want to keep the room so that it could match any paint color (like a white maybe, or grey) a coffee table and area rug. so whatever we bring in will work. i am going to re-look into ikea and post some pics too. I actually found a lot on pinterest too!
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Glad to be helpful. A credenza below the TV should be 25% wider than the physical width of the TV itself. Center the TV setup on that wall. Can't tell which of your sliders moves to give you access to the balcony, but I presume it is the one behind the cat tower. You might consider a track on the ceiling all the way across that end of the room. Use a semi-sheer linen curtain all the way across. Since you have no view and don't want neighbors seeing into your space, you could keep them closed most of the time, and still have light filtering in while able to slide them to access the balcony. Pic below shows how the track would look. For tables, I'd use a pair of "C" tables. They're handy for drinks, laptops and they can slide under the sofa to be out of the way. The one below is a cheap version, but they come in all styles and price ranges. I would wait and get them to work well with the TV credenza. Then use an arc floor lamp in the corner by the window. A rug should slip under the sofa to that first seam on the arm, and it should extend past the two ends of the sofa by a foot or more.
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elcieg
last month
last modified: last month
1. sideboard is too large for the walkway. Move it under the t v. Choose a long sofa console to go behind the sofa. On the now empty walkway wall, you can design for hanging coats, etc.

https://www.housebeautiful.com/shopping/home-accessories/g25589411/decorative-wall-hooks/

2. You could turn the sectional and wall hang the t v on the long entry wall using the t v console you have,

With the sectional turned, you would have room for an extra chair by the front door.

Again teeny photo...I lik this chair with your sectional, too.

https://www.wayfair.com/keyword.php?keyword=front+entrance+chair

Found ready-made drapery panels which match the chair.

https://jllhomestore.com/products/blue-grey-curtains-grey-white-curtains-light-blue-medallion-curtains-custom-curtain-panels-ogee-print-curtain-panels-linen-blue-white-drape
KraMa
Original Author
last month
Thank you for the ideas. I love the idea of the woven wood blinds. The hanging chair idea is a fun idea too, especially for the kids, but I’m inclined to go something more comfortable.

I really like this chair and with its smaller size I think it would fit opposite the sectional under the window. Thoughts?
KraMa
Original Author
last month
Elcieg, what seems too large about the sideboard? The height of the depth? I’d considered putting a long narrow (possibly glass to open lore space) sofa table like the one you posted, but would it be too much if I didn’t remove the sideboard?

I had never considered putting the tv on the wall of the entry. Thank you for that suggestion. But I don’t think that will work because besides the fact that the front door placement would mean the thru-way would cut right through the living room in front of the tv, the photo doesn’t show that that wall also becomes a hallway back to the bedrooms right where the sideboard ends. So it’s kind of a small wall to be the focal. I have considered making the wall opposite the window the focal with the tv, but then the sofa will block the window partly and it’s already a small window.
ffpalms
last month
Love the orange chair!
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
last month
You can create walking way from entry with this layout.
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
last month
HU-187528210
last month
I agree to flip the sofa.
I think that because you feel the space is small, I’d stick with lighter colored furniture…
Once you’ve flipped the sectional you may have more room for a chair.
Or two.
Test it out with two chairs from around the house…
KraMa
Original Author
last month
Good idea. I’ll give it a try and let you know if I think it feels better with the sofa flipped.
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
last month
Entryway needs in nice mirror or wall art above the sideboard and some décor ...may be couple lamps. I would go with oversized round mirror.
elcieg
last month
The chest is very nice, but it looks so bulky on that long wall and it looks like a dining room piece.

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