Your first shot, not so much. I don't like the plywood ceiling, the light fixture that looks like a giant ping pong ball and the picture that's hung so high...yes it leaves room to lean against the wall, but it would bother me every time I walked in the room.

Annie, yes, from a personal taste view, I can imagine we'd all have a million different opinions of what works or doesn't. I was attempting to focus on the practical, if that makes sense. :)

Ok, re practicality- pictures hung on the book case make it difficult to remove books. Same with sofa and tabke in front of bookcase.

This is a great subject for a post. I struggle with this because I like French and Dutch antiques. Chairs and settees are never scaled for my family. The only one the least bit comfortable on them is moi. So, I stick to case goods, while I drool over upholstered items.

That lamp can be compressed toward the wall in the photo with the deep amber walls. Readers just have to remember to do it.

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Fri, Sep 19, 14 at 15:05

Here is an example of a room that works visually, but I do not think anyone in my family would be comfortable in any of the seating.

I think of it as a lady's parlor. Feminine, formal, pretty.

This one does:

1. It's a library/gathering room and it really has books in it.
2. There are options for seating, including chairs and a sofa with different sizes, scales, and pitches.
3. It's welcoming (why?).
4. The colors work.

One quibble: I think paintings and mirrors in front of bookcases is an affectation; I would never do that in my house because I want all the books to be readily accessible.

Coll and Kitchen, you know, I always planned on hanging art on my bookcases because I like the look . . .wah wah!!! You're right that it's impractical. :(

Kitchen, I love the look of settees and such, too. They are lovely. But yes, when I imagine sitting in them or stretching out? No. At least not the ones I've seen . . .and I'm the size of my not-especially tall 12 y.o. daughter. Those are great room comparisons. The first is lovely, but as you said, likely not that comfortable except perhaps for visitors. Even in that case, the sofa seems sort of far from the chairs. They may have to shout a bit. The room with the library is wonderful. I love all of the seating options-- the one chair is probably just for guests who won't sit long, but at least it's something. I think part of why it's welcoming is that the seating is really conversational. All close together. It has plants, which brings life. A little bit of sweet mess via the books. Big pillows, sink-in furniture. Plenty to DO in that room . . .talk, sleep, read . ..ahh . . .

Nosoccer, LOL, LOL!!!!! SO TRUE! That second sofa . . .well, I bet it is super comfy. I don't need a firm back but the first set would need a lot of laundering. Second? Looks indestructible.

anele, I find the daybed photo very appealing though I think I am getting too old for daybeds. My kids would love it though.

I don't think I would want a sofa or bed up against a bookcase as shown in some of these pictures. We have earthquakes here so just seeing that makes me uncomfortable :-(

I have multiple libraries in my house and still have too many books. I therefore have less wall space for pictures and the like. So, there are plenty of books that I would need "once a Purim", and since everything is organized by subject and alphabetically (old Dewey Decimal, not Library of Congress!) I know where things are. If I need something for reference, I just move the pictures over. Of course, I'm not permanently affixing major works of art, or mirrors, in front of the books. That's for people who don't really read, but buy books by the yard. Green ones, red ones....don't ask.

I do like the look of the large mirror over the bookcase, but, yes, indeed, it is silly. I also wonder how they did it securely. The mirror appears to be very large.

I love books/book cases, but am not impressed with these. The comfy couch just doesn't fit. But we don't really know what the rest of the room looks like. And perhaps I am too simple.

I have a down couch and it is a trial to decorate around it (my norm is changing out through the seasons). The darn couch is so comfortable though, cannot ever seeing it go away. Many Zzzzz'z happen there. And when the boys visit, the won't move to the guest bedroom, give them the couch. It is close to 5 years old and still looks, feels new.

I love down sofas. A distinct bias in my view of rooms.

Here is a room that I have shown elsewhere. Please discuss whether it works, and, if so, why.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bilhuber

Oh kitchen detective, I really want to be snarky about this room but if you love it I want to know so I can keep my mouth shut.

I like many of the individual elements in the Bilhuber room, I just don't like them all together. It looks like Jeffrey stiffed this client with mistakes or take backs from previous jobs, lol.

Love love love the library, except for the mirror. But love everything else about it!

The other rooms, meh.

I do love the Bilhuber room. In fact, I keep it blown up on my screen so I feel like I'm inside it. However, my question is more about why people like or dislike it than whether they do or don't. I don't want to say why I do just yet.

I dislike it because everything is disparate. The chairs are have a European country/Scandinavian vibe, as does the check wallpaper and the antler corbels. Then you upholster the chairs in red (leather, is it?), put lavender vases on the corbels, carpet in animal print and then use that awful chair with the 80's fringe....and that's all I can remember of it specifically. I don't dislike the light but I would like it much better in a less frenetically transitional setting. It is simply not pleasing to my eye.

I am not very articulate in designeese so here is my first thought. UGLY.

So, I looked at it very closely and for a long time. UGLY.

This, on the other hand I find beautiful. Totally ridiculous but still beautiful.

About that Bilhuber room:

There are only a few elements that do not appeal to me. (Antlers, artwork, the squiggle fabric). Usually, when I look at a room there is way more that I would change.
The floor covering, the walls, the curtains, the backs of the dining chairs are all taupe and white. White is is repeated on the ceiling and crown molding, on the black squiggle fabric on the upholstered chairs, and in the Kime silk print on the same chairs, the bullion fringe, and on the dining chairs. Taupe-or sort of-is repeated in the Rose Tarlow Jupe dining table and on the antlers (an "off" reference to the antelope print below?). I love that table and the Louis VI chairs combined. Surprising, but I like it. Red is in the Kime silk print and on the dining chairs. Lavender is on the vases and, I suspect in the gingham coverings as well, although that only shows up in certain versions of the room and I cannot tell whether that's an artifact or really there. Green shows up n the Kime print and on the bombe sideboard. Black shows up on sideboard, the door trim and the upholstered chairs. So, in other words, there is a careful color continuity. I think the Kime print and the gingham work well together despite being somewhat the same scale. Interesting. Bombe chests, Louis chairs, jupe tables, bullion fringe, some of my favorite things. Lots for me to love here.
The door trim is the opposite of the crown trim; I wouldn't have had the nerve, but I think it's attractive.
That little floor lamp is great.
Must go work on making brunch. . .

Yes kitchen you are right. It all goes together. This UGLY thing matches that UGLY thing. But it's all UGLY?

I do hope you are laughing along with me and not taking offense.

I know we've gotten off track from what the OP wanted to talk about, but since we are now discussing what works aesthetically....it seems like one of the current trends is to be as eclectic as possible- to throw in all kinds of mismatching patterns and colors and styles. No rules, unless the rule is to NOT match as much as possible. It reminds meof the age old debate about modern abstract art. One person can look at a modern art painting and say "brilliant" or "masterpiece". Another would look at the same painting and say "my four year old could paint that".

This post was edited by coll_123 on Sun, Sep 21, 14 at 11:23

Yes , we got off track. I'm back to defend my ridiculous Manhattan Grand Delux from my above post. First of all it is decades old and I've continued to admire it over the decades. So, not trendy. It is very rich without being heavy. The colors are very soothing to me. Each thing in the room is interesting in and of itself.
I like a cluttered look but hate clutter. In this room the clutter I love comes from the wallpaper, not tchotchkes. The ceiling is very decorative with out being oppressive. I would love it without the wallpaper also. It would work would plainer walls, esp if you kept the screen. The arched mirror over the fireplace, over the big painting and over the windows ( seen in the reflection) provide a beautiful repetition of elements I find pleasing. The big painting is to die for. A real work of art IMHO, if not a bit sappy, and not just what "goes with the sofa".

Granted it isn't a room where my buckeroos would sit for a spell after shoveling llama poop but they can clean up real purdy and join me in there for finger sandwiches after showering.

Are we off topic? I guess it can be difficult to differentiate what "works" from what we like. I agree that the room has disparate elements, but I would argue that some rooms like that appeal and others don't, and I can't get at the crux of why. I do love that room, but I am not at all offended by others who hate it and think it's a failure.

The Denning/Fourcade room. I think it's magnificent. Would I want to emulate it? Probably not. Too grand and not enough contrast for me. Beautiful pieces, though, and I agree that it has a soothing effect.

I find it funny that so many find settees and smaller scaled furniture uncomfortable. I need a tight back, firm and not very deep chair or sofa to feel comfy and I am a taller woman. So for me the more formal posted rooms all work on a more pratical level than the comfy ones. I feel that since I am more comfortable in more formal furniture my ascetic preferences are now dictated to preferring formal rooms to todays more casual trends. I also love color , pattern and texture which the more formal rooms in this post seem to have more of than the casual one that nosoccormom posted at 13:48, which is my least favorite of all rooms here due to its very open plan, large and soft furniture and white pallet. The room that works best for me out of the examples posted is kitchen's post at 14:29. Color, symmetry and scale fel right and peaceful to me.

roarah,
I'm with you: My DH is very tall, but we find that smaller European designed, very firm, not very deep couches and chairs are much more comfortable for our backs.

And yet, I do like the look of casual, non-cluttered, relatively minimalistic rooms, with lots of white, simple or no curtains, light wood, but also Oriental rugs.

I can already tell that those sofas don't work....and I don't like empty shelves.

In a former house, I had a small breakfast nook. We ate all our meals at the dining room table, so I added bookshelves on one wall with a tiny television (pre-flat screen days) and a French settee with down cushions to the nook. That little settee was the most comfortable place to lounge, watch television or read a book. Granted, I am only five feet tall, but I found that piece to be far more comfortable than my larger sofa and love seat. Something about the proportions worked perfectly for me.

I'm a retro junkie and I love this room! (If anyone can tell me how to get the photo in the post, I'd be grateful.) I absolutely love the couch, the chairs (that cut-off chair in the right hand corner is a Selig "Z" chair), the windows, the ceiling, the cork floor... just the whole thing. It's peaceful, uncluttered and, imho, classic.

Here is a link that might be useful: [1950's living room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-houzz-a-mid-century-marvel-revived-in-long-beach-midcentury-living-room-orange-county-phvw-vp~2798163)

I'm on a mac and do a ctrl click to get the embed link, then copy and paste it as is.

[Midcentury Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/midcentury-modern-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2115) by Portland Closet & Home Storage Designers Tara Bussema - Neat Organization and Design

Bilhuber room

nosoccermom -- it's funny because I LOVE that last room you posted. I wish my family room looked exactly like that. I love how it looks like my whole ten member book club could cozy up, eat comfortable snacks and be close to each other as we discussed our latest book (Life After Life by Kate Atkinson btw). So this room looks super functional for me. Aesthetically I also love the combo of light blue, white and the rugs. Perfect mix of light (like 90%) and dark for me.

I have those sofas (IKEA kivik) and they're comfortable but the back pillows tend to collapse and look schlumpy. So I would say in reality they don't work that well.

This post was edited by robotropolis on Mon, Sep 22, 14 at 9:05

I also love the room nosoccermom posted but what the hell is up with using a bunch of folded up spare orientals as a side table. Dumb.

Vedazu, I envy your organizational commitment. Our books are arranged by subject and size. But they are overflowing and we are in need of more libraries, too. I would love to see your libraries. I do not post pictures of our place, at DH's behest, but I do love to see photos.

Oh, I didn't notice the stacked carpets...yes, very impractical for holding a wine glass!

Also, when you have so many pillows on a sofa, that doesn't seem to allow enough room to even sit down.

I have to admit, the bilhuber room actually gives me the jitters. I could not be mentally comfortable in there!

My contribution is the layout of the Southern Living Idea House 2014 that AnnieDeighnaugh posted last month.

I dislike the layout of both the main seating area, which seems pinched up against the kitchen and doesn't seem to take advantage of the view out the back, and the auxiliary sofas to the back which to me have kind of a waiting room look. I don't like the idea of six guests all lined up in a row against that back wall.

I also question the skeletal side chairs which don't look optimal for a fireside chat.

They did have a decorating challenge as the living room is quite long (31') and relatively narrow at 16'6".

kitchendetective, you did a great job analyzing the Bilhuber room. At first glance, it looked somewhat jumbly to me. I think the Jackie picture ruins it- just, why? Could be worse, could be a Marilyn picture.

I was wondering whether the picture I posted was from an IKEA ad and they showed the other carpets they are selling ......

I'd need arm rests to snuggle in.

I don,t like the flow of the southern living home. Anyone in the kitchen or at the island is looking at the back of peoples heads in the livingroom. The overly big pillows would make you either have to find a place off the couch to place the pillow on sit on the edge of the couch. I would have put a round game table with chairs in the corner where one of the couchs areand maybe a piece of low wood furnature to hold games in the middle with a two chairs with a small table with a lamp on it on the other side of that wall. i would turn the couch that has its back the kitchen to face the window view and put several comfy chairs on the opposite side of it. All in all I think that room looks good at first glance but is full of holes when you really examine it

"I think the Jackie picture ruins it- just, why?"

For me, too; because it shows her weeping in her widow's weeds, on one the saddest days in our nation's history. To me the room is meant to deliver a jolt and that picture tops it off. Might as well have a painting of the casualties at Gettysburg.

I actually love Robotropolis's room. My favorite colors! It looks so cozy; I love the loveseats under the window - perfect for reading while waiting for the kitchen timer to go off!

@ robo
The room reminds me of a pediatrician's waiting room. The two sofas next to each other and the little stools.

sable, I didn't notice that the photo was of her at that sad time. That makes it worse!

Although I have nothing against Jackie, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn, I am tired of seeing pictures of them as art.

Reviving and old thread as I try to figure out my next steps for my family room. Do you think this room works?

Grrr. I can't figure out how to show it with full color!

I would add a small end table between those two cream chairs.