jansgirl The dark gray panels! They look good w/ your new mirror, too. and by the way-nice job on the headboard!!!

carolins A couple of different ideas for you:

Black X-legs table from Overstock:
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Napa-Black-1-drawer-Bedside-Table/5701025/product.html

The brown one is from Target (link posted somewhere above).

Blue/grey lamp (could be too tall though?): http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Meena_Table_Lamp/310/
Silver/beige lamp: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/leera-mercury-glass-candlestick-table-lamp-base/?pkey=ctable-floor-lamps&

http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Tufted_Chaise/610/

Mark I especially like the silver/beige lamps rom pottery barn, those tie in with the tufted headboard very nice carolins.

jansgirl Hope you share your changes. Looks great now but a few tweeks and it wll be killer!

pcoletta Thanks jansgirl! I will work on it and repost as the new and improved!

jansgirl I agree with robandallyson, I'd like to tsee the curtain rods hung straight (at the top of the curve in the window (?) of maybe half way up. Not sure. If you want to "keep the room open and bright", then yes, draw the panels to the sides. I also like the suggestion for a longer console for the TV. When you get new furniture, lean toward lighter solid pieces. I like your idea of the built in's but...I like the TV on that wall (not competing w/ the fireplace) Would you be willing to incorporate it into your built ins?

JMittman Designs ...but..but...if you raise the outside brackets on the curtain rods to match the inside ones, any hole would be covered up by the curtain panel...and it would look soooo much nicer to have the rods even... :)

blrussell Move the love seat and add poster size art on both sides if the TV. The drapes should be straight. Sorry, they just look weird now.

jansgirl You have a gorgeous room! The furniture on an angle doesn't bother me one bit and I think once you changed the direction of your rug & coffee table, as you mentioned, you'd have room for a console.

jansgirl Opps, meant to mention though--I sure noticed your grill outside! Any plans to hide all that?!!

Design Inside - Chicago That's a great question! If you need to keep the furniture in its current location due to the television, then we wouldn't recommend a sofa table. If a sofa table is added, it will make the walkway too narrow and throw off your traffic pattern. Hope this helps!

Isaac Smith Instead of something being added on the floor how about leaded glass panels being suspended from the divided section, not too low, multiple panels with a design that ties them all together. The transom windows could also have a design tied in. www.isaacdsmith.com

jansgirl Who wouldn't love this perfect little getaway? What a serene view.

kathleen MK Where can I get those folding French door(cheap?) for my backyard studio? I'd Like old metal ones like industrial salvage since it's for a studio to house lots of hot things- kilns, torches and Such. Also don't want termite fodder.

Alan Zimmerman What a great little retreat

handymam Ok mforr, you know where to find me!

mforr Painting house for daughter? :) yes I know just where you'll be.

Mark Something like this but let the drapes hang, not pulled back. This example is not for color but to show how drapes would look in front of your verticals.

Erika Jade I too love small spaces. Smaller houses take less energy heat and cool, have a smaller footprint and use less material. Plus if you are on a budget you can use better materials. Likewise with fewer, better furnishings. And how cute are built-ins? I don't think I could live in one of those "tiny houses" but I always find them, along with boats and trailers, so inspirational in terms of how to use space intelligently and efficiently. Combine all those space saving and visual tricks with a very human-scaled house, and not only can it be cozy and inviting as you said, but much more functional than a larger home.

Just think how many ideabooks are devoted to the problems of too-large homes: second sinks- for when your kitchen island is too large to cook around, furniture arrangements to make your cavernous living room look inviting, how to get natural light into the inner sanctum of your labyrinth .... ok, ok I jest. Large homes can be beautiful too. But in my experience, more space attracts more stuff (ask anyone with a garage!), and unless the space and the stuff in it is being used daily, it creates more problems than it solves, for your budget, for your layout, and for the environment.

mohlu Very useful ideas thank you for sharing it with us

bunny_foofoo Practical and helpful ideas-great article!

noreaster88 Excellent article! So refreshing to see an ideabook that's more reality based as to how most people live. I see articles about empty nesters "downsizing to 5000 square feet" and I get a tad...snarky.
That third photo is a terrific example of how to really use a mirror to expand the space, as well. I had to look three times to figure out if that was really a staircase between those two windows or just a reflection. Brilliant!
Great read, especially on the third rainy day in a row. Thanks!

Millspaugh Furniture Love it all, personally I have a 600sq foot vacation cabin & am currently downsizing to a 1200 sq. ft house! Great ideas in here.. Professionally, we offer a great line of murphy beds ;) !

JMittman Designs I would like to see you lose the valance on the current treatment, and let the panels hang down straight. Use a bronze wrought iron rod. The valance is a little dated looking--especially with that cool looking chair.
I would also think about woven wood shades--there are some really pretty patterns at www.horizonshades.com.

felixgrantham Nice bones to start - SMART move w/ a neutral couch which will serve you well for many years. you can switch throw pillows out as your taste changes & to keep it fresh looking. Find a large rug with colors you like . Get some art you like (doesn't have to match the rug) - any thing with some COLOR! Key throw pillows & accessories off of colors in the art & rug.

Get a couple of nice comfy chairs to face the couch & provide more seating. The wrought iron piece seems more appropriate above cabinets on a tall kitchen wall or somewhere else that is less of a focal point than directly across from couch in LR. Be sure to get a large enough piece of art to replace it that in in scale w/ the fireplace piece.

The 80's called, they want your drapes back! (Sorry, that was rude, I couldn't help it).
You need side panel drapes. Get some neutral or subtlely-patterned drapes (like the couch, I tend to stay away from too-trendy choices, since these are rather expensive & will need to last many years). Get larger rods & hang about 3 -4 inches from the top of the ceiling & they should extend about 5-6 inches beyond the window-casing so that, when curtains are open, almost the full window is visible.

The clock is too large for the wall it's on. Your current tables are a little too matchy matchy - but that's my opinion.
It would bring more warmth to the room to drape one or both of your end tables.

caseymck90 .

Jennifer Coon Swap out two of the three matchy-matchy tables for something a bit more ecclectic. And the work to divide that front (?) door from the living space. Use a runner rug and then line up several 5 gallon plants to create a visual foyer. Pop in a little color--maybe a rug or on that wall behind the couch. More impact in the art work above the couch too.

jansgirl Try a sample on the wall first and check in different lighing. That should help you decide.

lonecouleeranch This is a beautiful room. I don't feel that it is a baby blue at all. I think it is the white accents that helps keep it from being to childish.

murphydp Btw, Dominick, I think you hit the nail. In the first pic, theres more contrast, with the coffee table and the rug. My room will have something similar, with pieces of driftwood and some wooden furniture, possibly touches of wicker and some window blinds in a light oak, like the houzz pic attached. Ultimately, what jansgirl said is true, I just have to try a sample on the wall first.

eztia I would look into the possibility of using a shade sail.

Katie Miodonski First, don't add traditional ceiling molding, look at the fire place, this is a contemporary house.
Keep it contemporary with white wooden shades or white light filtering custom shades.
Just pick one accent color, keep the room looking simple, clean & larger.
Find very tall white wall units that look like built-ins for the TV wall.
Paint that mantle white, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Round coffee table. Artwork featuring your accent color.

Genevieve This one is my choice

LB Interiors This is a nice transition to your sofa. Not too patterned or colorful. Brings an updated elegance to the room as I liked Genevieve's script example.
www.joann.com


http://www.joann.com/home-decor-8-x-8-swatch-waverly-pen-pal-ivory/zprd_11301462a/

dawnjclaek I love the Waverly script too! I think I need to get myself samples of both the stripe and the script. Thank you so much ... this has been a great help.

sharonanable Oh and when the room is finished, I will post a before and after pic in the B & A section of HOUZZ

gotchaz45 I think I would check into why all the houses in the village are yellow. Going against the flow in a town in the US is not the same as doing it in a small Greek town. If you want to get along with the locals, you may to start by respecting their traditions so I would at least find out what's with all the yellow.

handymam Well I am surprised that they aren't all white. My friend 's family has a home in Greece and everything in her town is white. Because of all of her pictures, I always think of white and cobalt blue when I think of Greece. The colors of their flag also!

LB Interiors You could use a storage cabinet above the toilet. Maybe need to organize and reduce the bath products. You probably have your favorites. Find another place for the cleaning supplies, don't need to store them here.

LB Interiors What about something like this sink Maybe storage underneath it but leave enough room for your feet.

decoenthusiaste No, these fabrics are not right. Take the painting with you to the fabric store. Something will make the room sing!

judyg



Love the Suzani, Barnhart. Maybe with a more of the border colors?

rinqreation By the way, your room does have a classic and early 20th century feel to it. I'd say embrace the wood, add caramel/gold and champagne color and bronze, paint the ceiling pale seablue to cool it all down a little, some dovegrey. Black, eggplant and magenta accents. Leave no spot untouched/white. Wish you the best.

jansgirl Yes, the "budget" was high for my area, but the results are perfect!!

DE'COR'EM HOME IMPROVEMENT LLC. I agree Sue...I have done lots of wallpaper in my 30+ years in the trade. If the correct product is used and installed properly, it will last for many years without issue (and can be removed if need be with little fuss). I also like the idea of utilizing that niche' in the kitchen with some sort of sheet pan cabinet. Also, I must say, after a much closer look at the appliances, this job was very well done on this budget (however, if I made a mistake like that with the cabinets, it would be on my dime...not my customer's...after all I'm supposed to be the professional). Regardless...Cudos Sabbe!

4043516883 What is the name of the kitchen tile? It looks like square tile cut in half for the rectangular shape

Angela Pascoe So my handy man had broke my lamp the other day and so far Home Goods do not seem to have the same lamp found this one at Lowes and I am trying to figure out if the lamp has to match the pillows on the sofa. Cannot seem to find any information to say yes or no...

Nancy Walton Angela, I think it goes well enough, but it is wa-a-y too large for that little table.

studio10001 (You can take the tags off, now) :))

Angela Pascoe Only you wood see that Studio1001

Angela Pascoe Forgot to finish turning got so happy .