A few other pictrures

Hi, just wanted to say you have a lovely room, and could be Tuscan in style. Here is a photo I wanted to share with you. It's very large and over the top for my tastes, but hopefully you can take something from it to style your room.

Nice room - lots of opportunity. Here is a big idea for wall decor that would look absolutely amazing. See more at http://www.luxewaterwalls.com/

Something like this media console

Mounting the TV to wall or even over the fireplace frees up valuable floor space and could shift the seating in the space.

Have the electronics moved to a remote location. You can use a RF remote to control the gear while it is hidden in a closet or the basement.

Looking at your idea book for living rooms you have a variety of styles that appeal to you. I like the Laura Martin Bovard room. Let's play with that. Assuming you are going to get a different rug, narrow down what you like best. From that you can consider what furniture complements the rug. Wall color is the last thing to pick. Posting some rugs you like will help others guide you to other elements in the room.

Thank you for all your great suggestions. @carolins – Great ideas! Agree, the media console doesn’t fit in with the overall look. Will need to find one like the one you recommended in the picture. A patterned rug didn’t occur to me, but I think it would look really nice, however, husband wants to know your thoughts on a bigger solid rug (bigger than the one in the picture) to help with acoustics.

@rainymorning – Great advice. As you can tell, I’m not sure about my taste on rugs yet. I’ll have to look at more pictures and see what jumps out at me and go from there. Here is an example of a room that I keep going back to "".

A couple other questions if you don’t mind; what do you think of getting a beige or cream color couch and chair? If the walls were painted a cream color, would that conflict?
We plan to put in a 5in baseboard and paint it the current white color of the window trim. If we painted the trim a dark color to match the window frame like you suggest, what would we do with the color of the baseboard?

Thanks again!!

Here are some ideas. Hope it helps to inspire you

Depending on what wall color you go with, you could Paint the new baseboards that same color of the wall, possibly going a a shade or two darker (look at the paint strip). Beautiful room and as Carolin suggested painting the window frames darker will really look great.

As for sound absorption, you could add a couple of more upholstered chairs and drapery panels on the windows and glass door, they don't have to close unless you need to block light for tv viewing. Also add some end tables with lamps.

Agree with RosemaryR, curtains, if only panels to the sides of the windows and patio doors will help with acoustics too. It would be a shame if you'd get an even bigger rug than the one you have now, you wouldn't see the newly refinished floors.

So, looking at your inspiration pic, you'd better keep the rug you have now :-) That room is fairly contemporary, and what softens the look are the natural materials (bamboo chairs, roller blinds, wood).

The TV console I showed you is from Pottery Barn (everything I picked is from PB in fact). If you choose your furniture first and get a sample of the fabric that you've chosen, you can use that to find a paint colour that goes with it. You can have cream furniture and cream walls, but paint is easier to match to upholstery fabric than the other way around. Some creams are more yellow, some have a pink undertone...

I really don't work for PB ;-), but the sofas in your inspiration room remind me of their Hampton sofa.

See how lovely those dark window frames are?

I like the lighter wall idea, smaller rug, darker trim around the windows and lose the sofa, loveseat combo. Go for more chairs and only one sofa.

I'd suggest pairing drapery panels with some nice wooden or roller shades to take care of the acoustic problem while also providing a good solution for privacy.

Let the photo of the Classic and Relaxed Beach Condo "that you keep coming back to" be your inspiration. The room is mono-chromatic which is soothing and clean-looking and natural and warmed up with the darker pieces of furniture and bright accents. You already have a simple carpet which maybe you can keep or use until you find a similar one. You've established your style. Now get busy and trust your own instincts and taste. Keep us posted as you progress. Oh and do keep baseboards and trim in white. It's classic, goes with anything and will serve you well down the years if you ever change your décor.