My living room needs personality. Help.
This is my living room, in an American Foursquare house. What I won't change: the rugs, the original woodowork, the sofa, and the coffee table. As for the rest...help! What needs to change: (1) The chairs. The black/white chairs will be replaced for sure. I am envisioning a large chaise or chair & ottoman (navy, possibly velvet) and an armchair with a pattern (maybe Ikat?). (2) The paint color is pale grey (it used to be chartreuse, which glowed at night). I would love a jewel tone. I had a bunch of peonies last week that were a deep purple/burgundy and looked amazing in the space. It got me thinking about jewel-toned walls...but I worry it will clash with the "more pure red" in the rug. Ideas? (3) Art work -need something above the fireplace (4) Fireplace - it's painted black because the woodwork was not original and it did not match the wall trim. But the mantle is pretty skinny and the black is harsh against the wall. Ideas? Oh also - the adjacent rooms are Benjamin Moore Hale Navy. Ceiling lights are black iron. I WOULD LOVE YOUR IDEAS!!!
Have at it!! Brutal honesty is fine. Thank you so much!
Comments (17)
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need help with my dining room color/ceiling color in living room
Comments (1)Are you saying light comes from the north until late in the day, or are you saying there is a window facing north and a window facing west.? The reason I ask is that light that enters from a north-facing window is bluer and lacks intensity. Subtle color is washed out to gray. The Inchyra Blue is very dark, looking more charcoal with a green tone to me. I would choose the Cooks Blue. Here is a comparison I put together of those two colors with some blues from your rug.While the actual colors may be off due to how color can vary from monitor to monitor Cooks Blue is brighter and won't fade as much in northern light. Also, having a brighter blue on the walls should bring out the blue in your rug. The only way to know how it looks in your room is to buy a sample and paint a board as you did for other colors. Keep in mind that the color temperature of light bulbs you use will also affect the colors of your walls and furnishings. Color Temperature is expressed as Kelvin but is not a measure of heat. Warm-white bulbs have a color temp of 2700K which is kind to skin tones but gives a yellow light. Daylight bulbs have color temperature of 5000K to 6500K, but are harsh to skin tones and emit a blue-white light. Both CFL and LED bulbs come in various color temperatures. I recommend you choose bulbs with color temperature between 3500K and 4500K for a more neutral result. HERE is a photo of how different K-value lighting affects the appearance of color. You might have to visit a lighting store or light bulb specialty store to find neutral white bulbs. As to ceiling colors, people seldom look up. Unless your light fixtures are dramatic or the ceiling color is distinct I doubt anyone will notice if two adjacent rooms have different ceiling colors as long as there is a Framed Passageway between them....See MoreHelp....Need help choosing accent chair for my living room....
Comments (11)I think a rich cream color would look very nice with the rest of the room. I am thinking something very much as the pillows in the left of your photo appear. Then if you're not totally wed to the mirror above the fireplace you can bring in artwork and some candles to pick up the cream of the chair. I assume the recliner you mentioned is in the upper right hand side (where for some reason another commenter moved a television into place.). A pillow or small throw placed on the chair can correlate to the rich cognac color of your sofa and love seat. Good luck....See MoreUpdated: "Help me decorate my living room - Desperate help needed!"
Comments (1)I see a few things that aren’t horrible, by any means, but could be changed. Mirror and sideboard, for instance, as mirror is too large for the sideboard and it overwhelms the room, reflecting the t v. Try the art over the sideboard and add a floor lamp where the plant is, as it will do double duty for the sofa and the art. Have you ever thought about adding a floor to ceiling strip of trim to separate the dining area from the living area and painting that wall a color? Something like this with a couple of white shelves on that wall?...See Morehelp!!! I need to choose a colour to go in my living-room /dining-room
Comments (25)Sounds like a fireplace re-do might be a longer-term fix. In the meantime, I'd paint the mantle a dark brown, a similar colour to your end tables. It's not trim and shouldn't be white. It pops out too much in the white colour. Another idea that doesn't involve any ripping-out is to go right over the existing mantle using a mantle slipcover in wood. Here's one of many how-to's on the internet. If you stained your brick as well, you could have a whole new look. https://www.fwmadebycarli.com/2011/01/making-of-slip-covered-mantel.html...See More
schecchia
10 months agoKendrah
10 months agoI'm swooning over your home. Put the coffee table you love with the blue sofa over the contemporary diamond rug. Then get a glass coffee table for in front of your fireplace.
I agree those chairs have got to go. I think a chaise is going to leave you with a room full of 3 rectangles. I think good armchairs are the way to go, perhaps a small ottoman. I'd go for a really plush deep pile upholstery fabric to add some textural umph to the room and dimension - easier than finding a pattern that goes with the rug.
I love Benjamin Moore racoon fur paint. However, any paint you use, you need to think about how it looks together with the dining room paint since the walls are open to each other. I'd love to see a super high gloss on the color on the ceiling - like the pic below.
Your narrow arched doorway is fantastic. I'd love to see a deep color on the walls but the inside of the arch in a neutral color to really highlight the shape.
How do you see in this place at night? Do you need a more considered lighting scheme. Have you considered a cool mirror above your fireplace? It will be a welcome way to bounce light around the room if you do go with a dark wall color.
West Pond House · More Infoschecchia thanked Kendrah
ilikefriday
10 months agolast modified: 10 months agoYour space is fabulous!
I would paint the fireplace bump out a deep red. Not the entire wall. Btw I love the black fireplace.
Replace the coffee table with something wood and round.
Add curtains.
Replace the chairs with either navy or periwinkle blue chairs
Do you not like the art that is currently above the fireplace? Imo it is the perfect size.
Or put periwinkle blue on the fireplace bump out and add deep red chairs, and periwinkle and burgundy striped curtains.schecchia thanked ilikefridayschecchia
10 months ago
thinkdesignlive
10 months ago
PROAnnette Jaffe Interiors
6 months agoYou might consider really using the rugs as your base for colors and inspiration. If you're wanting to keep some of the striking colors, go with bolder colored chairs and a bolder coffee table. Maybe try some artwork with blue and red in it, instead of individual pieces that don't always work together. Below is some inspiration for you.
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doods