From the other side of the fireplace... Our little "library" is on the other side of the railing. There is a orange/red/yellow block area rug in that room.

The same room in a pic taken from the wall near the library. Kitchen (white cabinets, dark countertops) is behind the fireplace.

One last pic to show the other artwork in the room. This one has some sentimental value, and it would be wonderful if we could keep it. Suggestions for what to put on the mantle are also extremely welcome!!!!

Do you like quilts or tapestries. I would hang a big, colorful quilt there to tie in the other pic -new or old. I love your home!

Good luck. You have a lovely home. I would try not to lie awake worrying about it and enjoy the beautiful architecture, view and paint as the decor.

That's why I never looked at a house with similar ceilings. I knew I would never be able to sleep until I found the exact right solution and that might mean we were broken and financially bankrupt before I found exactly what I wanted. Plus my husband's idea of lowering utilities comes with lowering ceilings. In addition to my staying up all night trying to fathom a decor suitable and affordable, my husband would have been up all night, adjusting the thermostat.

This post was edited by patricia43 on Sun, Jun 15, 14 at 9:37

Wow! Beautiful home. I think the first thing I would do is remove the piano and put an interesting large/ tall piece of furniture in that spot. Maybe a uniquely painted piece. I get that maybe that isn't an option, but I would suggest going large at any rate. Anything small will be lost. I second that for the mantle. You have the space and the ceiling height to accommodate large accessories. Just don't put a bunch of little items on the mantle. I just think that would look silly (but I don't really know anything :) Have fun. Love the wall of windows.

I second sameboat. Quilt or tapestry would be perfect. Or along the same train of thought maybe hang a beautiful rug. I love that look.

I would put that sentimental artwork over the mantel, with a couple of TALL shiny candlesticks and pull colors from it for accents, such as pillows, mats for other artwork and even drapes.

The wall ... my, that is a big one. Some interesting, but perhaps not to your taste solutions could be:

Some attractive kites scattered across the wall, with strings all going to one spot, and a painted silhouette of a child holding them.

A stenciled tree, with birds in it and flying upwards to freedom.
More conservative:

A large fabric something ... rug, quilt or banner (or multiple skinny ones)) hung a few feet above the door frame's top height and extending to about hip-height. Crossing that line links the upper and lower halves of the wall, minimizes the vast empty feeling.

A gallery wall, centering it loosely just below the line I drew at the top of the doorframe, with the large works hanging mostly below the line ... use some gallery shelves like you show in one picture to corral the small stuff. A few shelves together = one larger picture.

Drag out ALL the artwork you can find - anything that can hang on a wall is "art".

Make some mock-ups of paper.

I would gather all the pics. I have and make a big wall arrangement such as on photo's, then worry about the smaller walls later, this one should be your focal wall like a gallery, it would be lovely.

Love lazygarden's idea of trying that large sentimental piece of art over the mantle and picking up that color in accents. You could try it and see if you like it! Free!

I would start by rearranging your furniture and then position a large graphic on the bare wall. Contemporary quilts are fine if the funds are there, or a series of 3 large or 9 coordinated posters, photos, etc. Make sure you work higher than the line of the door way.

What a lovely home! I also think you should try the poppies over the fireplace, I think it would look great there.

I always cringe when people post asking for specific help and then someone makes suggestions out of that boundary, but here I am going to do it! Is there any way at all the piano would fit under the floating shelves? If so (or another place in the library) it would open up so many possibilities for your living room.

If not, I really like Beverly's furniture and art suggestion. The multicolored one would be easy to replicate with fabric stretched on an art canvas (or look for a large - even ugly - piece in a thrift store or garage sale and stretch some fabulous fabric over it). You could also hang a large one vertically to the left of the piano with an arrangement of more pieces over the piano. I'd use the paper cutout suggestion and hang different sizes until you find an arrangement that suits you, then start filling it in with real pieces.

I would also start with rearranging the furniture -- bringing it in closer together at a minimum. Right now it looks uncomfortably far apart for conversation. The sofa and piano also look awkward together even though that wall is large. I'd keep playing with the layout because the art will follow furniture.

You could do a gallery wall that mimics the arrangement and proportions, on a smaller scale, of the wall of windows shown in your pic #3

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone! We actually did spend several hours trying different layouts when we arranged the furniture this way. I agree that it is not perfect, but the room is not long enough to have the piano centered on that large wall, and then also have chairs in front of it, and we didn't want to block the windows. The only other solution that worked was to put the piano in the library under the gallery shelves (as suggested by olychick). However, we sort of have our hearts set on a comfy reading chair in that spot, and the library is a pretty small room.

I especially like the canvas and/or tapestry ideas! Additional suggestions would be very welcome!

This post was edited by kariwb on Sun, Jun 15, 14 at 17:10

First of all, art should be what you like, so if you like the flowers, then definitely keep them. In fact, if they have meaning to you, you might try hanging them over the mantel and then adding accessories. It's easy to break up the brown with a few more throw pillows. Pull the colors from the art...I see some orange, green and yellow in there too.

As for the big wall, you can imagine an invisible waterline around the room as if the ceiling from the kitchen continued and just treat it as such. Or you can try to go big...really big in scale to treat the wall above too. If you do that, then you will need something of substantial scale on the fireplace too to balance it out.

Waterline:

[Contemporary Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by San Diego Interior Designers & Decorators James Patrick Walters

Or not...

[Contemporary Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Coral Gables Interior Designers & Decorators poggi design

Beverly,
Could you try one more room arrangement? Put the sofa in the middle of the room facing the window. Add the two chairs across from it. Chairs would not block the window as much as the sofa. If you have the length, the chairs could go on either side of the piano.

Annie ... Waterline or not!

Yes ! Either give the upper part to the ceiling and let it be airy and up "there" or tie it to the lower area.

Karenseb, It's not my home, but here are alternate options for the layout. Hard to to this exactly when I am not working with any actual measurements.

I do think any of these arrangements would go a long way to making the room more conducive for conversation.

Thanks Beverly,
Those look great. It is hard without measurements.
I meant to address Kari as far as trying a new layout. :)

Hi Kari,

You have a gorgeous home!

I think a large wall hanging with some nature elements which compliment the color scheme of the room and are arranged symmetrically might look awesome. I uploaded an example, I hope it gives you some creative ideas!

Peaceful

dd has similar walls in her home, she put wrought iron porch posts from the 40's on one of them along with other large scale objects and
shutters and an antique 10 ft screen door placed horizontally on the other one
turned out beautifully.....

dd has similar walls in her home, she put wrought iron porch posts from the 40's on one of them along with other large scale objects and
shutters and an antique 10 ft screen door placed horizontally on the other one
turned out beautifully.....

We had those huge walls. Our house had them in the living, dining and kitchen. I filled the walls with art work.

This photo was taken when we put the house on the market. It is staged so it looks pretty bare. But the posters and photos were always there.

Jane

I second the idea of a "waterline"--the space is there to be --space! it doesn't require, I think, anything to fill it out. Choose an imaginary line and work within that line...I like what Jane NY did just above this post....
Piano perhaps could go on the other side--near your bookshelves? And I agree that you need to re-position your furniture into a more comfortable grouping.

Buy a fabric and frame kit for these guys. You can fill that wall up for about $100. I bought one for per my fireplace with a cathedral ceiling and it was great.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fabric and frame kits

I saw a beautiful large framed print in the Ballard Design catalog - it was a large crane type bird. It could work above your fireplace or the large wall with some small pics off to the side of it or some pretty candle scones. It had a "soft" look to it..
Your room is very, very pretty...

Do you have a hobby or special interest?
Personally, I can see something that is more free form rather than one big rectangle.

{{!gwi}}

A large map

Large copy of framed sheet music --- copy at Staples as blueprint/engineer's print

You can also do that with photos or post cards, etc.

Or a bunch of related prints/copies

Or something more sculptural, like this:

Just wanted to say I love your space! The colors, furnishings, etc have a lot of potential! I do like someone's idea of moving your sentimental artwork to the mantel, to give it more attention. You could pull the artwork colors in with pillows, accessories.

Do you sew? I made a tapestry-looking wall hanging with a preprinted old world scene and "framed" it with two different fabrics (like artwork with a double mat). The Staples "blueprint" option is a good one for inexpensive artwork, too!

Thank you all for your feedback, and I'm sorry to say we are still working on this arrangement >6 months later! The current plan is to move the piano over to the library underneath the floating shelves as suggested. We are going to move the couch so that it is directly facing the fireplace and the front 2/3 of the couch will be on the area rug. Then.... what to do behind the couch. On the verge of ordering this painting (see link below) for the big wall, which we will center on the fireplace/couch. And then we were thinking of a sofa table behind the couch and maybe a small chair and ottoman in a solid color to complement the painting in the empty corner.

What do you guys think? I would really value your expert feedback and opinions. In particular, not sure about the sofa table and, if we get one, should it go against the wall or directly behind the couch? I think there will be about 2-3 feet behind the couch once we get it where I mentioned.

Thanks very much!!!
Kari

Here is a link that might be useful: painting for big wall!

I like the painting in the link. It is hard for me to imagine it without seeing the new furniture lay out.