table

i love the corners they have this cool metal hardware and the wheels are so cool looking to they also lock

I like the 1st look with the blues and greens as well. I think a nice BIG light rug will help the room out alot, also hang your drapery higher than the window, and I think a taller TV stand that is not dark would help balance that side of the room. Right now your room is heavy on one side, so I think balancing the scale of the huge soda will help a lot, then adding color with accessories and your done!

Also have you thought about trying the sofa on the wall where the TV is now and putting the TV console on the narrower wall by the window? I think it could make the space feel larger and more fitting for that size sofa.....and it's a free thing to try! :) If you do it, post a picture!

moving the sofa isn't an option, hubby will say that the light affects the tv, its hard to see it, also the back of my sofa helps to enclose my sons play area which we have gated off. Someone else had a cool idea about doing a picture frame collage around the tv that might help to balance it looks like this

Grover, whenever you post I feel like I'm walking through an expertly curated art gallery. :D Natalie, Grover is spot on - good luck with the room! :) (Having a "blank canvas" is actually easier to work with than trying to fit in pieces after most of it is established.)

A tray will work well on the table, Natalie. Start with the rug, though, as Grover suggested, and then pull colors from there. Can't wait to see how this turns out! :)

Ok I guess I will be rug shopping this weekend! Yay! I'm excited and nervous, as I've said before I have difficulty in committing to anything, I will have to do some digging to try and find something cheap

just looked at area rugs online at ikea and home depot, thoughts on any of these?

cont

Great baby play area, plenty of color there!

Natalie, there are some tools online to help you visualize how things will work. Try Pinterest or Polyvore, and then just pull images from web sites to see them all at once. Start with the rug you love (in lighter colors), then you can add pillows, lamps, and items like Grover pictured once you know where you want to head with the color palette. So much fun! :)

Natalie, stay away from the black rugs! I *love* that IKEA rug and pattern, but the black will be too dark for your space, I feel. I like that blue and green watercolor rug you posted in the same 3. Make sure you choose the right size, though - maybe someone can offer suggestions about that? (I'm no good at rug sizing!)

ok that rug is actually navy blue but I do like the "watercolor" looking rug, I have no clue about sixe either ugh

Natalie, now that I see the coffee table, I think it's fine. It just needs a lighter, more colorful rug as a backdrop. I think some of the rugs you posted above will work, but...DO NOT BUY ANYTHING until you've chosen EVERYTHING. Nothing is quite so discouraging as getting a rug you love, and then finding nothing in your price range to go with it.

Of all the rugs you've posted, I think the 6th one is most versatile. It's light and airy, and has several colors you can key on. You'll be able to use light and dark blues, light and dark olives, and ivory and it will all coordinate.

Oh! It's navy? Huh. (See how monitors can skew color??) Well, I still think it's too dark for the giant brown sectional. (But :swoon: over the pattern!)

As for sizing, check out Grover's images above for reference, then measure your space as it corresponds to those images. The rug should go just under the front feet of the sectional, and I think just outside the boundaries of the sofa edges - but not quite to the TV.

The rug should be at least large enough to put the front legs of all your seating on the edge. Look at my rendering above and you can see it goes under the sofa and protrudes about a foot on each end. Mark out that space on your floor and measure.

holy hell that's going to be a big rug!

Here is a mood board using the rug I think is most versatile. Everything here is sourced from Ikea:

Big sectional requires a big rug.

groveraxle how did you make that?

The largest size this rug comes in is 7 ft 9 in by 10 ft 10 in so I will have to measure when I get home from work, but the price is right at $129!! Fingers crossed

All this talk about rugs and my coworker found this in a magazine! My question is could I just do an accent rug under the coffee table to save money? Or do you think the area rug is important?

Natalie, I copied each image from the website and pasted each one into my imaging program (Photoshop Elements).

I think the blue tone accents will definitely do a good job at breaking up the brown

Groveraxle those ikea curtains, are those kind of just for decoration where they stay open like that? Or would they actually be wide enough to close shut? Or would I have to buy a few panels if I wanted them to close shut? Or should they just always be open?

The Ikea curtains are just for decoration--color and softness--and would stay open all the time. You have the blinds to control the light. Closed curtain panels tend to really close up a room, so generally we hang them so they look like they can be closed.

You already have an accent rug and it's dwarfed by your behemoth couch. If you want to make the room lighter and more welcoming, I do think you need to go with an area rug.

If the 7 ft 9 in by 10 ft 10 in rug is tad small, you might cheat a little by putting it just in front of the sectional feet. But you really need a large expanse of color to counter that light-sucking couch and media cabinet.

I just measured and it's about 7 feet wide and 14 feet long in order to go a bit under the couch and put past the couch! Do they even make rugs in such a weird size? Help!

No, they do not. Unless you get one custom made, and that is definitely not doable on a budget.

Flor tiles would work, but that won't be budget friendly either. Let me think on this a bit.

I tried to size the rug according to your information and this is about what it would look like. What if you don't put the legs of the sofa on it, and place it just in the corner of the sectional so no floor shows?

I also added the curtains and lamp and pillows from the mood board above.

Thank you so much for your help, I can't even believe you have taken do much time to help me, a complete stranger! It's just amazing

1 more question you only show the curtains on 1 window, but I should put curtains on both windows right?

Yes, curtains on both windows. I couldn't really see the second window. I guess it's behind the couch? You'll have to move the sofa out a bit to keep them from being squished.

...And be sure to post "after" pix! :D

Ok I will definitely post after photos!!

Okay everybody I have a question about the curtains. It was mentioned that the curtains should be hung higher than the windows. How high above the windows should I put the curtain rod?

Natalie, what is the distance between the top of the window and ceiling? If it's more than a foot you could hang the rod halfway between the window top and ceiling. However, bear in mind that placing the rod close to the ceiling will give an illusion of more height, as you can see in groveraxle's pics. That would be my choice.

Ok I just measured and it is 17.5 inches from the top of the window to the ceiling

Any thoughts on type of curtain rod I should buy? Needs to be really inexpensive

M

Thoughts on doing something like this for rod? This is a DIY which could be a disaster for me, or anything like this I can buy cheap? Anyone know of anyplace?

The dark brown microfibre is actually great for wiping off goo (I have one in a rental that, astonishingly, still looks new after seven years) but I break up the brown with throw pillows (as suggested) but also I have a variety of throws that I lay out on the seat cushions and tuck in at the back and the front. This breaks up the expanse of brown, looks neat and tidy, and also looks inviting. Plus you can just chuck them in the washing machine. I have a textured cream one, a tartan one, and a stripey one and I change them out with the seasons ... or when I'm bored. Overstock.com have loads that are inexpensive.

And that gallery wall is lovely but if the landlord won't let you paint, he/she will probably also make you fill in all the holes before you leave and then paint over them, so that is a bit of a nightmare.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/Textiles/18891/?sorting=price

Ikea has curtain rods (and curtains) for less than it would cost you to make.

groveraxle I'm definitely going to buy the curtains you showed at Ikea, but I really like the look of that short rod on each end. Also just an FYI I am so excited I just went to homedepot.com to buy the rug we all liked and it was on sale for $109 and free shipping yippee!!

Ok so something like this? Silver? Or white?

Any thoughts/suggestions on the curtain rods I showed?

Curtain rods: I think silver. Since they're just functional, not really decorative, silver will disappear more into the wall.

Natalie, I'm going through the same decision for our master bedroom. If you go for silver, a brushed nickel might be a little softer and nice.

Super excitedly rug came in the mail today, unfortunately I had to order my curtains online bc they didn't have them in stock and I have to take a trip to the ikea in Miami to get the striped cushion covers bc my store didn't have any in stock and they can't be ordered online I can't wait to put it all together already

Finally put the living room together, curtains, rug and pillows!! Now I need to figure out what to put on these walls!! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated