Seems that you like photography. I find it very uplifting. You might find you can still use a lot of your photography by having frames that are alike although some people like an eclectic collection as you have. They also make large collage frames that you can get at Michaels and Hobby lobby. Michaels frequently has a discount coupon on their internet site too that you can print.

If you truly have decided you have too many knickknacks and if they are old, you can photograph them and list them on Etsy.com or Ebay to sell (they dont have to be old on Ebay - my hubby said people can list 5 free now; but I would check the rules) Good luck with you redecoration!

Your best and most favorite photos can be set into the right hand section of your bookcase unit once the decorative things are removed temporarily. One decorator I heard interviewed said that he had collected a lot of stuff and had to rotate them in seasons. I have decorative things I only put out in the fall, winter, etc. You have such an elegant piano, I'd hate to see anything on it except for perhaps one photo in a gold metal frame or just the candlesticks. My cousin has her large collection of photos, some of which are quite large, in the hallway to her bedroom. Her photo frames are coordinated in mostly dark frames to go with her furniture. The frames are narrow, not wide, frames and do not overpower the viewer.

Haven't read the other comments yet, so probably repeating. You are a photoahollic! (It takes one to know one!), and you have great stuff, just WAY too much of it!

Start by taking all you can from room (except what is in the bookcase), take all from top of bookcase, all photos, lion, throws, and all photos. Do this also in the entryway.

Remember: "Room is done when there is nothing left to take away!" Divide your photos by 12 and rotate out monthly. Like the idea of photobooks. Remember: less, less, and less.

Wow! Thank you so much again. I love the ideas and am truly grateful for the advice. I was wondering what to do with the photos off the piano.The upstairs hallway is a great idea and so is a coffee table book. I really don't like the frames behind the couch (you're so right Stanton Designs) but they were a gift so I used them. I'll be happy to pack them away. I originally wanted the piano in the bay window but since it is so old, my husband thinks it will not do well there. Thank you Houzz family for your help!

Ok. Here is some progress. I took everything off the piano - except a couple candlesticks - which can go away or be updated and took a picture. Then took everything off the top off the bookshelves and took another picture. Any opinons. I kind of miss a little bit of stuff on top of the bookshelves, but don't trust myself 100%. How sad, huh. But I understand less, less. less. :)

WOW...what a transformation! I agreed with all of the before comments. I think you need to stop now and address the window coverings. if you plan to hang drapes on the outside of the bay (like in previous picture posted by michigammemom) then you will find the room balances out nicely afterwards. you are missing the stuff on top of the book case because there is nothing on the left of the room to provide visual balance. and dump the shears and go with a nice roller shade or a roman shade.

Desiners may have other/better suggestions, but i'm wondering if you can repurpose your burlap drapes from the DR in here with a dark wooden dowel rod. don't hand them as rod pockets, get ring clips and hand as high as you can. Others may suggest you need a darker or more opaque drape to really make this work - I'm not a drapery expert :-)

Thanks Cathy. The burlap curtains (from Ballard Designs) seem to look nice with my couch and I do have another set. I've never bought window coverings and it makes me a little nervous. Thanks for the comment. Now I have to figure out what to do with all the stuff I just moved into the dining room, lol.

LOL...boxes!! you may want to consider replacing the drapes inthe DR. they don't really go with your furniture or chandeleir, but they do go well with the country feel of the LR sofa/chair. I just had all the drapes in my home installed (and blinds). I went through a drapery company and OMG what a treat that was. you really do get a much better product when working with professionals - i was able to select the exact fabric i wanted and all of my drapes were custom made for my windows and properly hung. And if you have never had custom drapes...the difference is in the quality of the construction - they are hand finished and lined, made to measure, and little details are added to ensure they hang perfectly.

Here are a few idebooks about draperies:
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-get-your-window-treatment-right-stsetivw-vs~425405
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/dramatic-drapes-stsetivw-vs~51576
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/custom-draperies-101-stsetivw-vs~162146

The last photo is so much better! Good job! You could also get rid of one of the throws.

The brown one on the chair or the one on the couch? What do you think about ivory shears (to get rid of the shiney white ones) under some nice curtains? Thanks!

The House I'd like to name Treasure House , get it Insured , people are Eyeing it ! lol

The room looks great with all the extras under control. Can the throws fit inside your treasure chest or do you have another lovely box that can double as an end table by the sofa that will hold both the throws?

Beautiful transformation!!! I would definitely take out the dark throw on that chair. It is such a beautiful chair and the throw kind of hides it! I love the pillow you have on that chair; it makes such a statement!!! I agree with the burlap curtains with a darker rod to pick up on the wood tones in your wall unit. Don't be afraid to spend a little money on the rods. I just bought some Kirsch dark wood rods to hang window treatments in my master bedroom; my furniture is the same dark wood. It really pulls the room together!!! If the burlap doesn't work, i do think getting custom drapes is the way to go! They can make or break a room. Keep up the good work!!!!

That is a beautiful chair! I didn't even notice it before.

I feel more calm in your space than when you started - bravo! I would suggest hanging the painting/art piece near the piano lower - right now it feels like the height is matched to the opening and I don't think it shows off as well as it could that way.

Another thought for your windows. You could take tension rods (one at the top and one at the bottom) and use sheer drapery panels like I did in my dining room. If you don't like shine, Ikea has some in a cotton voile. I plan on replacing the ones in the attached photo with ones I make from the Ikea panels. They're cheap and if you can sew a hem it's really easy. Just create a pocket at each end and make it tight to your window. Then you can do nice drapes over the whole window as you planned on doing. This is definitely cheaper than wood blinds (which would be nice - in white) or other custom options. Good luck!

Totally agree with lowering the picture by the piano. Place the top slightly below the top of the book case. And good idea about the panels on tension rods - my mom used to do that in the entry sidelight! You still need curtains though.

Totally agree with lowering the picture by the piano. Place the top slightly below the top of the book case. And good idea about the panels on tension rods - my mom used to do that in the entry sidelight! You still need curtains though.

Great job!

Next step: the windows: Custom, you can't beat what well designed treatments can add!

But for now: go ahead and hang the extra Ballard Design panels (I know exactly which ones you have and like them!) They will work, at least for now! And for the sheers, these have come a LONG way. You don't have to stay with white sheers. Look at JC Penney on line, Country Curtains on line, or look around in stores near you.

My own living room has a very wide window. In addition to my silk panels, I have added sheers to help fill in, in the same burlap/gold color as my panels, that have a nice, almost grass cloth texture. Sheers are very inexpensive, and , changing out your white ones will transform your room.

Keep posting pictures!

Just to know what it would look like - I did a quick flip of the furniture arrangement (had to vacume and clean anyway). I know the rug would need to move also but it is a lot of work to get it out from under the piano and not all in its perfect place. I really want to go with the curtain ideas but imagining the room with curtains to come - is this look any better or should i move it back? Almost done - I just wanted to see if this is a better look?

I really like the arrangement of the sofa and rug. There are so many legs showing at first glance. Can you switch one of the tables with a box or chest that will anchor the scene a little more?

Another furniture arrangement suggestion and have you thought of painting the bookcase white or fill it with more white objects. You could cover your book in white wrapping paper. Also, love to see the piano top raised....ready to play!

Hi Summer_night5. Yes the tables can go or be moved. :) The room would definitely need tweaking and I'm glad you mentioned "all the legs". I'm learning a lot here and tomorrow am probably going to have a sore back from moving stuff around! .

You are constructing a very elegant room and that takes time. How about taking a day off for good behavior (not to mention moving all that furniture)?

What a big difference!!! Your bookcases are such a great focal point in the room now. Very inviting.

I like the experimenting you are doing and love what you have done with the bookcase! The orientation of the placement of your furniture seems awkward. I wouldn't angle them. You have enough interest in the room that you don't need a diagonal line with furniture placement.

I like the original furniture placement better. i wasn't sure if the couch would look better in front of the window, but seeing it moved, personally, i like it better where it was. i think from the DR, looking towards the bay window, the chair and side table make a more interesting vignette than just having the couch there. the couch also creates a nice seperation from the entry, without blocking traffic flow. no breaks :-)...get your curtains mounted!! LOL and yes...don't skimp on the hardware - big wooden dowel and brackets are what you want.

I, too, prefer the original furniture placement.

I also give a vote to the original placement: at least from the pics we have seen. But what one do you like? And how does each look from dining room? Is one best for traffic flow?

I think you have a couple of choices here in arranging furniture. When you get tired of this arrangement, move everything back. It depends on how you move through the room and what is comfortable for you.

There is too much in the room and it feels very cluttered. Start by removing the pictures on the piano. The drapery would also be nicer with a contrasting fabric from the white wall color.

Way too much stuff in that room, no wonder you can't pull it together. I'd be getting rid of 50% of the contents of the book shelves and holy hell for things with legs. Would like to see that piano opened cause if nobody plays it, get rid of it too.

I would take out every piece of art, every accessory and all small pieces of furniture. Then I would put back one piece at a time. Each piece you put back needs to be something you love. Also, I would leave the top of your bookcase completely free of accessories.

Beautiful room...pluckygirl..I think that separating the 2 heavy pieces..the bookcase and the piano might help...is there place enough in the corner where you have the easel with painting to move piano there..just a thought

I read all the comments, looked at all the pics and prefer the original placement for the sofa. You edited items very well and love what you have done. I did like one suggestion and would love to see the piano and chair reversed. I think the piano in the bay window alcove would look nice. One suggestion I have is the white walls are too stark. The room is so warm and inviting - a nice cream color would compliment everything and add to the warmth. I also think the reason you liked the burlap drapes is the color was right for the rooms. Look for different material, but something in that color.

I prefer the new arrangement with the sofa, it gives more airy feel to the whole space! Also because when you walk into the room you don't bump into the big chunky sofa anymore and you have a better perspective view on the room itself. And now you can see properly and enjoy all what you have there (before it was partly hidden behind this massive sofa) and I agree, less is more... You had to much things displayed & concentrated in one area of the room so one couldn't appreciate them properly, one didn't know where to look...and it is much easier to clean I think. The curtains would look good (the same as in the dining room) but then you would need to clear the area next to the window from all hanging pictures, as the curtains need space to be put aside, not to obstruct the natural light during the day.

Thank you to EVERYONE who took the time to offer advice. I wanted to post some updated pictures because the difference to me is great. I know that it's not perfect and I still need to tweak some things, but I'm so much happier when I walk in the house than I was before. It was a mess! :) I bought new shears to replace the glossy white but they were too long so I am still shopping for those. And I know I need to lower the picture by the piano. Good advice. I think I will edit the bookcase a little more as I have more time. I opened the piano top a little (it does get played) but because it is very-very old my husband doesn't want it in the window. Moving it would have been my first choice but not a option. There is still a little clutter in the room so it is not finished yet but I want to sincerely thank everyone for your ideas and imput. You all are amazing! Next big project will be the dining room. :)

woo hoo...thanks to YOU!! this was a hoot watching an almost "real-time" transformation of your room! should anyone ask, tell them it was "crowdsource design" - LOL.

Absolutely fabulous transformation. With so much gone you most likely feel at least 20 lbs lighter. You should be so proud of yourself. That must have taken super human strength to "purge". Congratulations on such a beautiful transformation.

Lovely to see your room emerge. One thing I would add is an arrangement or fresh flowers or a blooming plant. Congrats!

I agree with Cathy's comments. The transformation looks great. Have one more small suggestion. There is a console behind the sofa and what appears to be a shelf above it. I think it would look better with a nice, fairly good size piece of artwork or even a mirror over it. There might be a place for the shelf in your dining room. Hmmmm, where ever will you find something for the console. ;-)

Lol....ya know....that console would make a nice home for a MODEST collection of family photos. :-). Keep frames similar and varied in size/orientation. Perhaps limit it to 3 or 5. And I agree with boochic - remove the shelf. If you did replace with art, keep whatever is on the console small or tall/narrow.

Looks much better...did you give any more thought to lowering the picture on wall next to the piano as suggested before? I think it still needs to be lower to follow the line of the room. And just one other thing that's bothering me, the new curtain rod (great byw) should be higher up close to the ceiling or lower, close to the ledge opening. In the middle without being anchored to something is just not right.

I just looked at your picture again and noticed the floor lamp in front of the drapes on the left. If you need more lighting, do as Cathy suggested and put something tall and narrow - I recommend a lamp on the right hand side of the console to replace the floor lamp. Also, if you have enough seating, I would find another home for the wood chair. It is dwarfed by the wing chair and remove the table on the right side of the wing chair. The octagonal table next to the wing chair is plenty. :-D

I think we are addicted to your room.....

Off topic: I noticed that welcome board in your hallway:" Love laughter & friendship
Always Welcom Here" What a nice idea to welcome guests & make ppl feel at home right away...

Looking really good!

:You dit it! And if you could deal with the paring down of so many treasures, then anyone can. Good encouragement pics to show others who are having trouble letting go!

Really nice job! Comments and implementation. I'm inspired to make some changes in my own home myself. This is why I really like this site! Thanks for sharing and putting yourself out there.

Yes! Now add a couple of smallest green plants. One on the table between the chairs by the window, and another on the console behind the sofa. Put them in a great container, don't over water, and don't feel guilty to replace, if and when they start to not look their best!