apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I don't see the corner of the room opposite the fireplace, but assuming there's nothing unusual there, I would put a large (say 8x10) rug in the corner where the fireplace is and arrange the sofa and chairs on that, to make a conversation area. Or does a staircase from the lower level end up there? Don't feel the furniture has to be pushed up against the walls - float the pieces, anchoring by placing the front feet of each piece on the rug.

I would keep the ottoman to the side to use as extra seating, or use it as a coffee table until you find the right one. Light wood is a good choice, and I'm seeing an oval/surboard shape. Move the mirror out of the room.

I would keep the large picture where it is, and put some kind of cabinet/bookcase underneath it.

I would pull colors from the picture and from your throw pillows (assuming you like them). Use those colors as a guide to a rug purchase, and a light version of one of the colors for the walls - blue or tan would be good.

I really need to see a floor plan to figure this one out. What is going on at the other end of the room near the fireplace? What are you completely ignoring it with your furniture? I feel like you have three disjointed areas in this one room. 1. fireplace area, 2. sofa area, 3. chair grouping. Try moving things around to get a cohesive arrangement. Then you can worry about rugs and accents.

A pale grey-blue might look nice with the floor color. That might be a bit sterile without more artwork and rugs though. I would find a rug that you love first and use that as an inspiration source.

This room has so much potential, but I am just confused! I think a floorplan would help too. Bottom right of the second photo - Is that a stairwell into a basement, or a crib?

Hi Yelena,

Totally agree that the room seems very disjointed - like people walk through it en route to somewhere else rather than a place to linger. Don't know if the sectional is where it is to maximize a view out of a window? Or just b/c the wall is there?

You totally need to paint the room - even a pale sand/beige/taupe would calm it down a little, and make the sofa and chairs look so much better! I am also against a pale wood table, given the wooden railing and hardwood floors. Go with glass/metal, or a dark wood.

You have a great space and nice couch - but I recommend you check out some magazines and books to really study spatial relationships and colors to figure out what you want to do! :)

As the others have stated, I think the key here is rearranging the furniture - it appears that the OP has a modular sofa and that the "chairs" are a part of this and could be incorporated to make a sectional...

...but it's really hard to make suggestions without dimensioned floorplans. It should be a requirement just like the contest entries.

Yeah, I have a similar room in my house that's used 95% of the time as a "pass-through" room on your way to someplace else, and I found the key being to group your furniture together to create a defined space (almost like a room within a room), while providing enough room in the perimeter for walking through easily.

So if I were you, based on the photo above, swing the sofa out from the wall and place it flush-left with the two chairs directly across to form a seating area. Then you could walk around the area on the right.

You have what Maxwell calls the bowling alley layout. You've turned your room into a hallway. You should rethink your layout before buying more. The pieces you do have are good-looking, so you're off to a good start.

You have a fireplace which you can use to your advantage. Make it the focal point in the living room and rearrange your furniture around it.

arrange the sofa and chairs by the fireplace, keeping them off of the walls and around an area rug.
Create another area where the sofa is now with use of a side board under your painting, perhaps a reading chair and an Arco floor lamp.

I love white, so I like the white walls and fireplace with the white furniture and colorful art and accessories. If you really like the painting above the sofa, I agree to take your cue from it with the rest of the accessories.

Try pulling your sofa out from the wall - maybe facing towards the fireplace and place the chairs to the side of the fireplace towards the sofa and get a coffee table to place between them.

Your floors are gorgeous! Have fun with it!

Firstly, may I compliment that you have a good open space to work with, and a few good starter pieces to work around. Bravo on making a good start.

FOUR THINGS WOULD BRING YOUR SPACE TO THE NEXT LEVEL:

1.) Bring bright color in with a modern rug.
sample 1
sample 2
sample 3

2.) Move your sectional over towards the window and arrange it out into the room, not all against the walls -- Let the fireplace be the anchor. Then move the two chairs back into the corner where the sectional is now. This will create two separate seating areas. One more social around the fireplace, one more intimate, with the two chairs.

3.) Lose the lincoln-log stair-railing, and install some modern architectural railing.
sample 1
sample 2
sample 3

4.) Invest in at least one big plant.


Good luck with your new space.

cheers,
Chris

Your livingroom is bigger than my entire apartment. Where the hell do you live?

Why is the seating clustered under the stair railing instead of grouped around the fireplace? It looks like there is a mirror by the fireplace (at first it looked like a door, now it really looks like a mirror instead.

I am the author of the original post...

Here are some facts that people have been wondering...
1800 sq ft total
9X21 sq ft room in question (it is a dinning room and living room together, My kitchen is also very large so I have a table for 6 in it which extends to a table of 10-12 comfortably?). Although the condo is large, it is designed to appear much larger then it actually is. The rooms are huge, however, there is few of them (2 bdr, 3bath, kitchen and living room (no dinning or family room)

I live 40 min outside of boston and no I am not extraordinary rich. My husband is a high school math teacher and I am a software developer. We are 24 and just lucky to have started our careers very well.

The problem and blessing of this room is that there is only one wall (where the couch is) the rest is staircases and windows. The windows are out to a small wetland area so I absolutely love the view and hate the idea of facing the couch against the railing of the staircase. The staircase stays this is a brand new condo which I have worked very hard for. I don't have the desire or money to take out the staircase. We have no curtains etc. and I am not currently in the rush to change this. I have moved the chairs near the fire place, however, did not like that they are facing their back to the rest of the room. I will probably try this again as soon as I get out of work. I am looking for small changes to make this room a more unified.

Thank you to those that have given advice and especially to those that have complemented on my efforts so far, I am anxiouly awaiting other responces.

There's no way that room is 9' wide - if the sofa modules are 3" square, that room is at least 12' wide.

And despite the fact that the OP has a great view, not every piece of furniture has to face the view or lined up against the walls.

Floating the furniture in the middle of the room focusing on the fireplace on a nice large rug is the best bet.

bepsf,

You're right...its 13X21

your home looks like what a movie would represent heaven to look like. that's a lot of white. it's clear you like a clean crisp aesthetic. I would recommend a soft grey for the walls. I painted my walls "Eurpean gray" (I don't know the company), and love them - they compliment the white trim very well, and maybe could do the same for your white furniture?

amt230

lol ... I don't think it was completely intended this way, but I love your comment! Is it wrong if I like that image?

I'll echo the advice given by others: move that sofa away from the wall! Create a comfortable seating arrangement in the middle of the room, with some seats facing out the window and others towards the fireplace.

yelena

i think it's a great idea that you love the idea of your home space being your own little slice of heaven, if you will.

i was actually doing some redecorating and repainting last night, and was falling in love with european grey all over again. give a look, it may not be for you (no storm clouds in heaven), but it's worth a look.