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Moving to a new apartment-design/color ideas?

14 years ago
I am moving to a new apartment in New York next month. I am a little new when it comes to decorating. Attached is my floor plan and a picture of one of the walls in the living room. I do have come furniture from my current apartment (2 dark brown sofas, a bed) but would like some advice on how to make this apartment a home. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

Comments (7)

  • PRO
    14 years ago
    last modified: 14 years ago
    Nice view! You're going to have a blast ! I would keep one sofa and get a great, comfortable chair. Here are some renderings of the idea made with your dimensions.

    I put the tv on the wall between the living and dining windows. keep it low, that way it'll keep it out of eye level while standing but it'll be perfect when seated.

    Anchor the living room group with an area rug and leave plenty of space to come into the area.
  • 14 years ago
    HI -- Great apt. You may have to get rid of one sofa and where are you planing on puting your TV. I doesn't look like there is much of any wall space to hang a TV . AS for a color scheme I would just have a warm white on the walls , unless that has already been desided. If you have to put the TV ( hang it if it's flat) on the long wall , then you will have to float the sofa in the room angled so you can see both your TV and the view.A lot of storage and display can be put on that long wall with the systems they have now. I think it would be better to have - one sofa and two matching swivel lounge chairs. Then you will need some side tables ,coffee table , table lamps . Invest in a ajustable floor lamp. The bigger the items the less you will need for your place to look good. Like big art etc. And furniture that is ajustable or changes for more than one use. Small dining expandable table and chairs that stack so you can store the extra away . Have a bed that comes with storage under or get some drawers that roll under the bed. A furniture store in house designer can give you some direction for decor and color. Or just save some pictures that you like on houzz for inspiration.
  • 14 years ago
    Thanks so much for the advice! I'm not sure about the TV at this point, but I want everyone sitting to be able to see it. Any advice on how big of a dining table I can get with the dimensions from the floorplan? What about the size of the area rug?

    Also, with a dark brown couch, is it OK to have any black furniture around? I am thinking of doing a brown and light blue theme, so I want to get some blue throw pillows and maybe a brown and blue area rug. I'm not great with figuring out color schemes.
  • 14 years ago
    Lefty47--thanks for your help. What do you mean by "float the sofa?"
  • PRO
    14 years ago
    last modified: 14 years ago
    Wow! For New York, that's a big apartment, and with a great view too! Let's start with the basic furniture you'll need and then we'll get to the personalization.

    I'd definitely leave one of those brown sofas behind because you'll want to use the only living room wall you have for a combination bookshelves/entertainment center. Then if you place your brown sofa perpendicular to the living room wall (facing the view) and out 3 or 4' from that wall, there's not a good place for the other sofa.We don't want to cover up the beautiful curve of the window wall with a sofa.

    What I think would look better is a couple of chairs (try to keep them not too big, say 30 to 32" wide) with a round table between them (20-28" diam). Place a rectangular cocktail table in front of your sofa. Now take a look at how much space is left for your dining table and chairs. Think about how you like to entertain and how much of it you'll be doing before you determine what size table to get.

    In fact, before you do any of this, it would be wise to involve an interior designer. I know Bloomingdales has a big furniture department and I believe they probably offer interior design services too. Or there are plenty of independent designers in the area and you could look at some of their work on Houzz.

    To personalize your new home, bring with you from your present home some of the things you love. Then with the help of a NY designer, you can select other pieces that speak to you and that will fit with your new lifestyle in New York. Having help will make it fun for you. And remember that a good designer can actually save you money by preventing expensive mistakes from being made.
  • 14 years ago
    Living Room · More Info

    Love the colors you are going for. You may want to only take one sofa and add in chairs to give you some flex furniture that can be moved for the view or tv.
    The barcelona chairs shown in the pix are great.
    Good luck!
  • PRO
    14 years ago
    last modified: 14 years ago
    Hi Amanda, an urban apartment like in New York might be better with a monochromic 'high-end' style with clean lines and some sparkles from the chrome accessories.

    Michelle Salz-Smith, ASID, CID · More Info