Thank you for supporting my tables! :-) it's unfortunately that one thing I. The room is rather not change... All advice seekers have that one Achilles heel. I will get all this together and my new couch and repost pictures

I'm sorry for the typos I'm trying to keep up at a BBQ :-)

Yep, Katherine, I have quite a number of Achilles heel items when I post dilemmas:) I totally understand that!

Your lounge looks similar to mine and the layout looks pretty good. I just wanted to ask if you have problems watching the TV the way the seating is set out as that seems to be a main issue with mine.

The furniture placement on the rug was not addressed. The rule is 1 - put the front legs of all the furniture around the room on the rug, or 2 - put all the furniture on the rug leaving at least 8" to the back and sides around all the furniture, or 3 - if the space and rug are small (not your case) then float the rug in front of the furniture. From the picture the rug placement looks like it would work better by moving it to run the other direction. Then you would be able to put the feet of the furniture on the rug and it would connect the room. Regarding the color, they are all neutral colors and do go together. By keeping your furniture neutral it then allows you to put color in the room in the form of wall color, art work, pillows and throws. And, if you get tired of the added color it is easy to change.

Some good suggestions already! My first reaction was that the white coffee table does not work at all with the original rug - regardless of size. And then that the television was too big for the stand. If you love your white coffee table, then pick an area rug with some white in it - like this one that Groveraxle suggested. If you don't, then the coffee table will always look wrong. And yes, pull in your furniture as dk berge designs mentions above. Hope this helps. Good luck from Montreal!

Thanks Rebecca and dk berg! I appreciate your help. I am still having analysis paralysis on the final rug I am going to go with, but I have definitely decided to get a larger tv stand and a different rug. I just sent the old one back today. I will definitely try the next rug long ways or float it in the middle like in Groveraxel's pictures. I'll post my major rug options here and you can feel free to weigh in! This thread has helped me generate a lot of ideas and possibilities that I never thought of. Thanks again! P.s. My new sofa won't be here til the 20th (boohoo!!) but I can update my living room pictures then with better lighting.

@dtunes, I don't have any trouble watching the tv as it's usually just me and the husband. When we have people over we usually don't put a movie on either. My husband just loves video games so that why our tv is so enormous (70"). It's not really a theater room or anything. :-)

@Groveraxel, how do you swap out rugs and furniture like that? Special software? Photoshop? I imagine that's a lot of work to get everything layered like that.

I think Rebecca has a great point about the white furniture - a rug with some bright white would really help make the white furniture seem at home.

The rug is fine. The white tables need to be replaced or painted black.

@tomkazarian, yes, I Photoshop. Yes, it's a lot of work. But once you've got the layers, it's a snap to switch out rugs.

Grover,You look just like the little dog that lives next door,just wish he had your skills Lol

LOL. Grover is actually a big dog, we're guessing a Bassemute.

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to go with the last rug that Groveraxel helped me with. I have really fallen in love with rugs that have crazy geometric patterns as I've been searching, but I haven't really found one that's the right color and price. I also really like the blue and yellow one, but I think the brown ikat fits better. :-)

The new rug is here! The pillows and TV stand are still in progress, but I'm in love with the rug! Any new tips? I'm hunting for the perfect linen curtains right now. I'm pretty sure I've pegged my tv stand at IKEA. :-)

Just remember your TV cabinet needs to be at least 25% longer than your TV. If you look back at my renderings, I chose (or made) your console nearly fill the space from the chair to the sofa.

Grover, I measured and did the math and it is! Would there be anything wrong with getting a white TV stand?

Also I love the picture I have and I'm glad it matches, but is it too small? It's not expensive or difficult to get a larger size.

honestly, I don't love groveraxle's suggested TV stand, but a way to help your coffee table hold its own would be to get a white TV stand in similar proportions.



I think you can get a way-cheaper version of a similar thing from (ahem) Ikea.

oh! like the new rug too. gives you some new color possibilites too, most notably olive...

That's what I was thinking about the TV stand - table relationship acm! And I have no snobbishness about shopping at IKEA! :-)

Katherine, I almost mentioned the art--had it all typed and then erased it, LOL--but I think the colors are perfect and the piece is too small. So yes, get a bigger one.

Here's what a white Ikea console will look like. I personally prefer the wood; think it gives a warmer look.

Get a piece of art that is about as big as shown in the rendering below. Then you need something to balance it on the other side. A lamp or tall palm would work.

I see what you mean about warmer now. Glad we're on the same page about the art! I'm getting the hang of things! I love plants. :-) thanks again!

To me first rug was good and the new one is very nice too. But the bright white tables need to be replaced.

I know you plan to keep the white tables, but just in case you change your mind down the line, I would go with a wood TV console. I don't think the white tables are bad at all, but they might be my least favorite thing in the room, so I'm not sure it makes sense to "support" them with more white furniture. I agree with grover about the warmer look of wood. I think that's a better choice with the nice warm colors of the new rug (nice rug choice!).

Or least beige :)
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/20239717/#/20239717

Love the new rug! I hope you are up for a few more suggestions. The comments about the picture being too small for the wall are dead on. 1. I would suggest moving it to the left on the staircase wall above the light colored chairs and lower it a bit so it relates to the light and chairs. 2. The furniture might work better in a different configuration. However, I would need to see the entire staircase wall and a picture of the 4th wall/area where you are taking the picture from. 3. My first thought on seeing the new rug was to paint the living room the rust color from the rug, just a shade lighter (yes, all three walls). This will help to "hide" the TV as the darker shade and the black TV will start to blend in. Then get two art pieces for either side of the TV that are lighter in color and larger. They will then pop out (because they are light) which in turn will visually cause the TV to recede. If you like this idea, a white TV stand is not the way to go. I would just hang the TV and put any equipment in an end table with storage to the side of the sofa. This option would also let the coffee table work in the space. 4. Don't select the drapes until the rest of the room is in place. Post pictures of the two missing spaces and I would be happy to suggest optional furniture arrangements.

You might want to consider painting or one focal wall (television wall) - this will pull everything together nicely. Take your colour/pattern cue from your beautiful new rug.

Thanks for the additional suggestions. I'm much more likely to paint one wall. We have a very open floorplan so it'd be pretty tricky to do more than that. I'm not ready for that step though. I do think that I've decided on the warm tan TV stand color though! I agree that the white isn't he best fit. I still love my white table and there's no artistic reason or interior desig defensable reason, but I love them!

How do we feel about the grey-brown Hemnes stand from ikea? It's the exact perfect length and affordable. http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/10250965/

I like the Hemnes tv stand and it will work well with your colour palette. I really think you should seriously consider relocating the white coffee table elsewhere. It's just not working with anything else :(

I know you do, but it works for me right now. I'm going to start with the TV stand and see how I feel! A lot of people have told me that but I really like the shapes of the tables. I'd actually be happy to paint the table a color if you have a fun suggestion! It's the table itself and the shape that I like, and I can always paint it back if I don't like it. I could also have it refinished as a last resort. Refinishing isn't as easy.

Apologies if you are repeating yourself - I haven't kept up with everything posted on this long thread! Why don't you spray the tables a metallic bronze? They would look exotic and tie in with the rug and overall palette of the room.

Cool idea! It's ok :-)

I appreciate the help!

Do you think that it will be silly painted bronze and not actually bronze? I think the idea is cool, just want to cover my bases and think before jumping in.

There is a spray paint sold at the big box stores that is made to look like hammered metal. That might be an option for the bronze.

It won't be silly to paint it bronze. Fyi blues would work great as an accent color in pillows, artwork, throws, accessories. Just keep it to a minimum.

Get a couple of colours and spray some cardboard - place them on the coffee table and get a feel for how they each work in the room.

Good idea! I'll visit Home Depot soon

Post the cardboard tests in the space... maybe something like this finish?

I definitely will!

Are these lamps better? I switched them with out bedroom lamps. Is this the kind of bronze direction you want the tables to go? Anyone have accessory suggestions for the tables? I also took away the moss green pillows and got some orangey-er ones to try.

Here's the pictures

And one more

I like the orange pillows!

I can send a picture later but I also added some books on an empty table with blue covers and the blue really made everything seem less matchy matchy! Good tip!

Happy to help. The reason the blue works is that all the colors in the room are warm colors. Adding a cool color (blue) gives your eyes a visual relief.

Still think that the furniture should be moved into a completely different layout. Most often when working with clients we end up floating at least one piece of furniture in the room instead of putting all the furniture along the walls. This ends up defining the space as a room separate from the rest of the space and works well with open floor plans. If you have your entrance in the area from which you took the picture, placing your sofa there with a sofa table behind it (with lamps) creates the 4th wall in your living room. It also helps define the foyer and living room and helps the foyer feel like a separate space. The living room space then will feel warm and inviting and not closed off as many fear.