That's a nice, cozy space; the floors are beautiful!

I'd not use that mirror, I'd get something about four times the size of the mirror--either another mirror or an oil painting--for over the sofa.

Curious how you're using the actual living room. That sofa is almost too large for the space it's in.

Sorry for answering your questions with more questions, but how often do you use this room and what do you use it for?

Off the top of my head, I'd say that some sort of window treatment and a larger area rug would help to warm the room up and give it a more "finished" look.

imo, the sofa and coffee table are a tad too large for the room. And what are they facing - the stairs and front door/foyer area. Function is not good. I'm not fond of angling furniture in rooms, but I think it would work in yours and make it more inviting. To me, it appears to say "stop" instead of "come on in." Not sure why.

Angle the sofa slightly in front of window/corner. Leave floor lamp behind sofa. That wall needs a larger piece of art. Round table at right (facing) end of sofa and an upholstered chair next to it. The table lamp is too tiny for the sofa and should be replaced with one with a larger base - and some color.

Larger rug that is squared with the room, not the angled sofa.

Oops, just scrolled back up and saw the floor HVAC register under the window. If you don't want to put sofa over it, then reverse this suggestion.

The first thing that stuck out to me was the mirror. Since you said everything needs to stay I'd darken the existing mirror frame. I think the silver/pewter reads cold and sticks out.

I'd add some bamboo roman shades and stationary side panels to the windows.

I'd add a little more color. Maybe get a red or rust colored throw for the sofa to help tie in the art.

I really like all your furnishings. :)

If we stay within your constraints, I agree with Allison's plan (reversed) with angled sofa facing window. I can think of lots of reasons for your constraints, but for the sake of argument,let's pretend they do not apply. IMO you are fighting a losing battle with the too-large sofa. Better to bite the bullet and get furniture that fits the room.

Will the sofa fit against the kitchen wall? It would make for a better view, which is a plus for living spaces.

Overall, I'd say it needs additional seating. If you can move the couch, you could add two chairs against the window and place the side table between them. If not, adding one full-sized chair and something w/o a back could work.

First take down the mirror and the sconces (just for a moment or two) -- and just for fun -- try angling the sofa across the corner where the end table is now placed.

Then add a chair to face the sofa. Play with the angles. Just try another chair from around your house -- even a dining chair or kitchen chair -- just to see if the arrangement might work ....

I'm just trying to see how to give you a conversation area .... you really need another chair ..... to add to the sofa ....

Will the mirror fit vertically between the windows?

And yes -- try the painting between the sconces ....

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

Just wanted to add -- if the sofa does work on that angle -- then place a dark-wood screen (usually at shops like Pier One) behind it. Or possibly a tall plant.

Great idea about darkening the frame on the mirror!

Jan

Yes this room is to the left when you walk in our foyer.

I agree that the sofa is large for the room. It was originally in our "family room" but my DH thinks it's too formal so we ended up ordering a sectional for that room and moving this sofa here.

We never ever ever use this room. Maybe this year around the holidays we will (we've only been in this house 2 years).

It will not fit against the kitchen wall, unfortunately - it's massive. :(

I'd really like to replace the lamps, etc. but it's not in the budget right now since we are in the process of finishing our basement.

I can't take the sconces down, they're hardwired. I definitely agree about the mirror. It either needs to come down or be painted.

At least now with your suggestions I'm starting to get some ideas.

Any suggestions on what to put on the coffee/end tables?

I will move a chair in there and take another picture as soon as my camera battery charges!

I don't know if this photo helps at all, but I have a similar set up in our front room. We had a similar situation - couch didn't look right in our family room (color issue) so we moved the family room furniture into this room. My room may be a little bigger, but you might be able to angle a chair or two towards the couch.

If possible -- do try the angled arrangement -- and then add the chair .... and take pictures .... LOL!

And once the artwork is hung between the sconces -- take another picture .....

On the tables -- well -- how about a large very dark-woven tray -- which could hold a dark wood bowl (handy for wrapped candies! LOL! or perhaps pinecones in colder weather)

If you want some color (which may depend on how the artwork works in the room ....) then you add a lantern or candlestick that could hold colored candles. Or a large dark orange bowl -- that would work with the colors in the artwork. Maybe switch to a couple of orange pillows on the sofa? (just for a temporary change of pace ...)

I think angling the couch in the corner opposite the window wall is a nice idea, but I am wondering if it wonÂt eat up even more visual space and make the room feel more crowded? Definitely worth a try.

The first thing I would do is take down the chandelier - it hangs down in the middle of the space too low and visually makes the space feel more crowded. You can get a decorative cap to close off the box for now, since you arenÂt in a position to replace it with a close-to-the-ceiling fixture. Use the chandelier in another space- perhaps your bedroom, or over a game table in the family room?

Second, get rid of the little rug - it only makes the couch look even bigger. Leave the floor plain for now, but down the line look for a much bigger rug, something with a traditional feel and a red or warm beige background.

Here are some thoughts about arrangement:

Take the floor lamp out of the current spot, and put in the corner where the lamp/table are now.

Put the lamp/table in the corner by the window, and slide the couch down toward the table - yes, the couch will be off-center a bit on the long wall.

Take down the sconces, and cap them off - you can get a plate to do that at the home center. Then find three pieces of poster sized art or mirror panels or fabric panels (which you can create yourself) to hang on the wall, so that the sconce spots are covered and the three panels are equally spaced from one another. It may mean, because you donÂt want the panels too far apart, that the side panels wonÂt be centered over the space where the sconces were, but rather will be moved toward the center of the wall a bit, but will still cover the capped openings.

Use the painting you have on the Âkitchen wall. Below that, put the coffee table. It is only creating an obstacle sitting in the middle of the room, and in this type of room you donÂt need all that table space. Measure and see if a piano bench cushion or two separate seat cushions, will fit on the top of the table, turning it into additional seating in the room. See if you can match the cushion(s) in color to the pillows you have, to create connection. Better yet, bring out the red tones in your art by bringing in cushions and pillows with red in them. Tuck magazines on the bottom shelf of the table if you like, tho I would leave it plain.

Move the piece of art between the windows lower - it is hung too high.

Can the mirror that is currently over the couch be hung vertically? If so, that might work on the stairway wall. Only do that, tho, if you donÂt hang mirror panels over the couch.

You definitely need to add texture to the room when budget allows. For now, go shopping in your home/closets and see what you can find. What about things relatives are no longer using (Mom, MIL, SIL, etc).

I would try to not bring in anything dark or hard. The surfaces in the room now are mostly hard - the sofa, tables, lamp bases, chandelier, sconces, frames, even the mirror. The only soft things are the rug (too small) and the pillows (too similar in color to the sofa).

Think texture, and lighter/brighter --> Wicker, but medium to light in color. Pillows, a throw, larger rug, bamboo shades or curtains would help soften the room. Cloth, paper, plants, flowers, artwork that are not heavy or dark. Painted items; a bowl or tray. Candles. Color, like the bowl suggested above, in your favorites.

Adding shades to your sconces and chandelier would be something I would try as well.

Just to add another thought: Is the entry to the kitchen the only way through the home? I ask because if you could close off that kitchen door space that would give you a nice long wall for the sofa, allow you to use the coffee table, and to add at least one chair facing the sofa.

Perhaps if you don't want to change the architecture drastically, you could use drapes on the kitchen wall end or standing panels or a screen of some type.

First, I think there is way too much contrast between the color of the sofa and the walls. I would paint the walls and the ceiling in a much warmer color. I like the chandelier and would keep it. I would take out the lamps, the rug and the mirror, the scale is way, way too small. You also need to add ceiling to floor length drapes. With a much larger rug, paint and drapes, the room will come together and then you can add larger scale accessories. The sofa is large and dark but I think it will work if you keep color and scale in mind. I would not angle the sofa. Wish I could do your room.

If you go back and read my post, I suggested to angle it slightly. Nothing drastic to eat up/waste an entire corner. I think it will help soften the room.

Here is an example, before:

After:

I don't think the wall color needs to be changed at all. If you had not said you were going to keep the things in the room, I would have suggested to change out or remove the chandelier. It's just too large for the space. I would also remove the coffee table and use nothing or add something smaller/round.

Lipton

I enjoyed reading/resp to your kit post.

I'll take a totally different view here - Please take it with a grain of salt.

Do you have a dinning room elsewhere? The reason I inquire is this room was intended as DR and right now, it is not used & appears you are trying to make it work - a small scale dinning set and a buffet are what the room is calling for & would be well suited. My DR is similar location to yours & we use it often for family dinners

I would suggest selling the sofa to try to recoup your purchase price, unless it can be used elsewhere. It is just too large for the room -

If that is truly not an option - this room has similar issues as your kitchen - your fear of color - drapes, a large rug, different pillow covers, remove chandy, remove mirror - tall plants in nice pottery - try the couch in different locations/angles

best of luck

Allison: Beautiful room -- and really wonderful example!! Exactly the angle I did have in mind!

Jan

It seems like you're trying to ignore the elephant in the room and it's not going to work. The room's just too small. Allison's room is much bigger.

You said you're working on the basement ... could the sofa eventually go down there? Where do you eat meals? If you have no need for a formal or informal dining room what about using the space as an office/study/library?

I like jejvtr's suggestion. Would you consider using it as a dining room? If not, although I like the chandy, I don't think it is working with your furniture. If you must keep the sofa in this room, I agree with trying a smaller coffee table - or not using one at all.

Homersmom has given you a good example, although her room may be a bit larger.

Good luck!

tina

Sorry if I missed this in the follow on posts, does it need to be a "formal" room? If it were me, I would probably try to make it in to some kind of study. I would put shelves around the walls, either in a dark brown or white to match the trim, and keep the sofa as the comfy place to curl up with a book.

I just clicked on your album and looked at your home. It's gorgeous, but I'm curious how much it's changed since you took the pics. The room that really caught me by surprise was the nursery and it's lack of color. That would be a great place to let go of your fear and have some fun. If not for you for the baby. Visual stimulation is very important for a developing infant.

I think the sofa is fine.

1. I would switch the end table with lamp with the floor lamp.
2. I like the color of the mirror-too much of dark is too matchy-matchy, but move in the sconces so the mirror and sconces look like a "set". Also center the sconces with the mirror.
3. Oil pic is too small to go over the sofa. I would put it up a little, behind the table lamp. Alot lower than the mirror since it is on the same wall.
4. Good size rug to go under your sofa and coffee table.
5. TALL plant to go between the windows.
6. Cafe-type curtains to go in your windows.
7. Bright pilows to go on the couch, and brighter accessories for coffee table and end table. Don't know the colors in the rest of the house, so not sure what brighter color, red, gold, etc. Go with colors in your new rug-HA!

Since you have some light in there from windows, I would try to find a fat, wide pot with real plants in it, not fake.

Anyway, to work with what you've got, those are my suggestions.

If it were me, I would probably paint the walls a little darker, but, the color they are now, is fine. The accessories will do A LOT!

I agree with natal, the sofa should go to the finished basement. Then make the room into the dining room it was intended to be. Think you would be happier with the space then.
D

Can you take some basement money and put it towards an area rug? I think once you get an area rug, especially with reds in it, you'll start using the room a whole lot more and accessorizing the room will come naturally.

Trying to stay in the boundaries of keeping everything that's there... and I'm just thinking out loud here...

Agree with previous poster on "feel" of the mirror frame. It looks silver, and silver isn't going to work in that room. It also seems a little small for something above that massive couch. At the same time, the sconces seem to be spaced too far from the mirror. Could you reframe the mirror with a more substantial & darker trim?

I would try to add some visual weight to the sconces. How to do this without being cheesy... not a strength of mine. :) Maybe some "formal" feeling greenery (e.g. ivy) tucked around the sconces? Mayeb trim out & paint "accent" squares on the wall to sort of emphasize them?

I would angle the couch slightly (making the "unused" corner where the side table is). I would move the taller lamp behind the sofa. Then I would add 1 or 2 chairs, maybe one between the windows, and another on the stair wall, angled in toward each other & facing the sofa. Is that even doable? I get no sense of your avaialble space...

I would do something to add some color. The monochromatic bronze tones are (IMO) really contributing to a sense of stark formality.

How do you see using this room? To me, the space feels a little odd because the sofa is just sitting there facing the stairs with no clear purpose to the room.

I would agree that it seems like there needs to be additional seating to make it feel more like a conversation space or perhaps a flat screen TV on the stairway wall to give the room a purpose. Can you fit one or two chairs on either side of the sofa? If not, maybe you can angle the sofa against the kitchen wall (however it will fit) and put a chair against the windows. Typically I do not like angled furniture, but it might work in your space. Otherwise maybe you could put in some book shelves and books and make it feel like a cozy room for reading.

I also agree that a larger rug that fits under at least the front legs of the sofa might help anchor the room together.

I must say that I think your sofa is really lovely. And I love the colors in the room: the deep espresso leather with the wood tones of the floor and the crisp trim with the soothing wall color. I look forward to seeing what you do with the room.

Think intimate salon. Smokey, old mirror, large or large and segmented. Striped, taupey gray slubby silky curtains or romans, a coffee table with fairly geometric, fine, muted, metal lines instead of hulking ones, more negative space and reflective surfaces to blur edges and offer an illusion of more space. A faded or pale, neutral rug with little to no discernible pattern, like a very pale apricot/beige Oushak-type. I could see using no rug, also. A tall, fluted pedestal in the far corner with a marble bust on top or a draping fern, something to draw the eye upward and to add depth, but that does so without actually taking up much room. Keep the colors very neutral and concentrate on varying the textures instead. Sort of a soft focus, tactile room.

What does this room need?

It needs a dining room table. ;)

Since you already have a family room and a keeping room and you're in the process of creating a media room in your basement I think the space would be best served as it was originally intended.

Only if that is what the OP wants/needs. I don't believe she's answered yet re the dining room. I must have missed where she said the basement would become a media room.

Wow kitchendetective - GREAT description - I can almost *see* the room you are describing . . .

tina

Tina, she mentioned it in another thread.

Doesn't one end of your kitchen have a fireplace? I would be tempted to put dining set in the dining rm and the couch in that end of the kit with another chair if it fits.

Thank you all for the kind responses and help. I have been discussing it with my husband and we are thinking about doing this:

Moving the leather couch into the family room.

Moving the current dining room set that's in the "breakfast area" into the true "dining room"

Ordering a new set for the breakfast area.

Moving the sectional that's in our family room into our basement when it's finished.

I definitely realize the leather sofa is too big for the room and that the mirror and lamps are too small - I was just trying to use what we had. We built this house 2 years ago and many things from our small, modest townhouse came with us. We are gradually replacing these smaller scale items with ones that are more appropriate for the size of our new house.

If money was not an object, this would be easy :) Right now our priority is our basement since we have a 7 month old baby who needs a place to play!

Again, thank you so much for the help and I know I will be back asking for more advice as we go! This forum is amazing.