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vanillafields

Living room...work in progress :)

14 years ago

Hello All, I posted a while back about furniture placement in our living area. The room is rectangular, long and has either windows or fireplace or the entry door on each wall. That leaves us with a trouble in figuring out how to place our furniture. Furthermore, the longish room is divided into 2 areas, visible in the trim and the two-colored floor (we're renting, so no improvements possible here). We made the first area into a playspace for my toddler, while the area with the FP is more adult-oriented. Originally, the sofa was backing to the entry door and the TV was on the short wall where the poster now hangs. We decided to put the couch along the window and not divide the room more than necessary, the bookcase fit in perfectly between the trim and the window (used to be on the opposite wall). The console table went on the (ONLY) full wall next to entrance (used to be behind the floating sofa). I'm planning to make it into a frame wall, am collecting B&W photos of my family right now, and black frames. I think the setup is much better now..

My questions:

1. What do I put in the corners? The corner between the sofa and the poster is empty.Does it look weird that way or it needs something? The other side of the couch, there's a round table that will be going out - it seems too clustered there already to me..

2. I'm thinking to put a tall white cubby bookcase type unit on the other side of the bookcase, to hold the toys better. Thought of Ikea Expedit 5x1?

3. Introducing more color? I'd love to put some orange into the room as it's basically white and black/brown right now.. Pulling the orange (or dark blue) from the poster.. How (I hate pillows on the couch.. ours is not deep enough and they all slide down :((. Would an accent table in a bright color too much?

4. Don't like the look of the TV stand.. Too much happening there. Thought of a plain white cabinet with doors or such to hide the clutter... Thanks in advance! (Was trying to find my old post with the previous setup but it was too far back).

Comments (7)

  • 14 years ago

    The only thing I see is that I would put the TV where the white chair is and the chair with its back to the entry. A TV cabinet that hides the components would be good but if you put the TV back in the corner it will looks better. As for the toy room....you can never have enough storage for toys....think storage benches, toy boxes and maybe an armour for covered storage. A floor lamp in the corner of the sofa would be good.

  • 14 years ago

    Wow! I remember your original post, and agree the sofa looks much better that way than it did previously.

    1) How about a floor lamp between the sofa and the wall in the corner?
    2) The Expidit book case is perfect for the toy area. I almost purchased one a while back because I love that each cubby holds a basket making the brightly colored toys in each basket out of sight. Just make sure you secure it to the wall if you do get it.
    3) To introduce more color into the room, I love the idea for orange. How about orange roman shades on the windows, with orange accents, on the mantel? I agree about throw pillows on the sofa, but how about one for the chair, or an orange throw blanket on the chair?
    4) I agree about the TV, but do think it looks better there than the way you had it before. Is there any way you can mount it on the wall a bit higher and angled down and towards the couch? And then have a smaller cabinet for all the other stuff below?

    Great job so far.

  • 14 years ago

    In the entry can you move the console table so it is perpendicular to the wall? I think it would delineate the entry.

  • 14 years ago

    First of all, your space is really lovely. I absolutely adore your zig zag rug and coffee table.

    I like where you have the sofa and agree with grandmaof3 that the chair should be where the TV is (back to the entry) and the TV where the chair is now (in the corner). I would move the lamp that's behind the chair into the corner between the sofa and the poster. I like the round table next to the sofa. I think it could use a lamp maybe.

    As for adding color, you could add colorful (and maybe even patterned) curtains. Also, your accessories are fairly neutral, but you could add color with some bright accessories on the mantle, coffee table, and/or side table. You could replace the zig zag rug with a colorful rug, but I really like the zig zags so I think you should keep it.

  • 14 years ago

    I say a side table with lamp or a plant. Also, your place looks great!!

    Did you get your rug from overstock by chance? I have been eyeing the one on overstock but kept getting different opinions from the site.

    Thanks!

  • 14 years ago

    Thank you All :)
    grandmaof3: wow what a great idea, didn't cross my mind at all, but I'd need a different TV stand, this one is 2" too wide (but that gives me an excuse to look for a closed one that will fit perfectly (LOL), the TV itself will fit right in .
    polly929: the Expedit is a bit deeper than the bookcase I have right now , but the possibility of hiding toys in bigger boxes is thrilling :) The bookcase is secured to the wall, we'll do the same with the tall cubbies, no worries!
    Glad to hear orange will look OK here, if I decide to do curtains, do I put the same exact ones on all windows though? Thought of orange Ikat print, not sure if that would be to much? I think mounting TV would be too much, but moving it to the corner is easier and more doable :)
    dedtired: that would be perfect for separating the entrance, as we have no entry area whatsoever, but I'd be very afraid of my toddler running into it :(
    pricklypearcactus: Thank you, the older rug didn't match the space too well, was to light, and after I put the coffee table on it, it looked even more off..I fell in love with the chevron, it definitely is staying for a while! I'll work on getting the TV cabinet that fits in the space and move the TV (the two walls are not even, as one would expect... The lamp looks very lonely and off in the corner next to the sofa, I think it's too flimsy, it looks way better tucked behind the chair (a new lamp in the works? :))
    aktillery: Thanks :), I was thinking of making this table and painting it orange (cinnabar which is deep reddish orange), not sure it would be too much though
    http://ana-white.com/2010/11/step-side-table
    The rug is from rugsusa.com, I suspect it's the same rug though, similar price. The reviews on their website were either really good or bad, I'm very happy with it and got it for half price, they have 50% off sales fairly often :).

  • 14 years ago

    I found some orange velvet curtains on Urban Outfitters. They look yummy!