I'm having some difficulty figuring out the relationship between some of the pictures you posted. Do you have a color scheme you're working with? Do you have an inspiration object (artwork? rug?) that you are working with? Is the leather sectional open to the eating area where the chairs will be? If so perhaps you could incorporate the color of the sofa into the chair fabric?

The pictures have all the art work and colors that are used in the space, which to be more clear, is my great room.

Pictures 4, 5, and 6 are just swatches that I was trying out. The second picture is the art over the fireplace. The table with no chairs is the breakfast room, which is right near the kitchen island with the metal stool. The close-up with the black tweedy fabric is the recliner, which is across from the red sofa. Its all one giant space.

I think you need to use a muted fabric in the tan family and one that has a soft muted tone. Your main colors seem to be the red from the couch and the blues plus some black. I would reserve some of the fabric from the chairs and have pillow made to place on the black tweedy looking chair and then get two large pillows for the sectional in a very similar color and fabric, again with texture. If you plan on using drapes, then again I would stick to the same color value and add the drapes, texture again. All of the textures will warm the room whereas more pattern could make it less relaxing. Make sure you use scotch guard on the chairs, saves lots of problems later.

Thanks. I was thinking of the beige/ yellowish family but I would like to find something that has a very small amount of red in it. Maybe. Or maybe not. : )

Any other votes?

Uh... I sure am stuck. Anyone else?

I think your pictures might be confusing us. If there were only the relevant ones (around the great space), and in the post itself, it might help. I agree with yayagal, and you, about the muted tan/yellow, and maybe a bit of red. That said, there is no substitute for getting swatches and seeing what they look like in person. Then you'll know whether you want to move the art. There seem to be too many variables here.

I've brought home a trillion swatches, but I guess I suck at this.

Does this shot give more reality where everything is? The red sectional is across from the black recliner. Its all one very large space. The cabinet run that you saw in the earlier picture is across from my son. He is facing it.

The fabrics that you see in my photobucket are just some of the swatches I've tried. I labeled the pictures now. In this picture, you can see the pendants over the island. When not lit, they are orangey/rust.

{{!gwi}}

I think that artwork might be limiting your choices. Maybe you can try taking it down for a day or so and see what colors come to mind.

Also, the table color seems fairly close to the floor color - how about looking for a rug to break up the colors and define the area, then choose the chair fabric (the patterns you're looking at are really great)? A rug can also lighten the area. Finally, bringing red and cream/beige into the breakfast nook is a great way to tie everything together - have fun!

Chinchette,

I love your red sofa.

Whether you use a print or a solid depends on you. You have to ask yourself, will I get tired of the chairs in a print? Since you want parson chairs, that's a lot of print.

My vote is for the tweed fabric. I would suggest you look for a tweed that may have some color added to the neutrals.

So far your choices for furnishings are all working great and are very functional with style for your room. Nice job.

It's great you guys are comfortable with texture and bolder prints (that do reflect the artwork.) I might be a minority that looks at architecture, room flow and function first, then style. So, I'd suggest a non-pattern option which might mute the rest and single-out the b'fast area in your open floor plan. I'm a fan of Mitchell Gold (kinda Palm Springs in the 50s with a 21st century turn). They have bold colors and modest textures but tend to stay solid in their parson style chairs. Anyhow, to each his own!

Hi there design friends. Thanks so much for weighing in! It is very helpful. I've been trying patterns for a long time and none of them make me feel good about the project. Its my mother who's been trying to get me to use pattern but none that I've brought home have felt right. They all seem busy even without the art work. She is 86 and very vocal about my choices which she doesn't like. "You like that?"

I can see maybe a tone on tone pattern, but I think we are liking tweed type fabrics as jerseygirl suggested. I think I would rather let the art and accessories have "pattern" and change out pillows from time to time. You are right- 4 chairs could be TOO much in real life.

Bepeace- I have actually been wanting to get a cream cowhide rug for under the table because of exactly what you said. I might also want to use a table cloth because the table isn't very contemporary. I might change the art to something with a white background. I'm due for a switch up.

westvillager- I appreciate what you are saying.

I know this is a different question, but what do you all think about a table cloth? How about under glass? Is that a pain?

Oh, I just read some design blogs hating on cowhide rugs...and they curl up too.
Sigh.

What color or granite is that? It's gorgeous!

I love your home!

I guess I would be the odd man out here, because I do think some pattern would be great in fabric on the chairs. All the upholstered pieces you currently have are nice, but all solids, or solid in feel. I think having some pattern on the chair fabric would pull all of it together in a way. One advantage to doing that with DR chairs is that a lot of the fabric isnÂt always visible with the chairs pushed under the solid table.

Fabric like this, perhaps:

doeskin multi

I would also move the art from the dining area onto a larger wall space in the living room. That piece feels like it needs much more wall space around it to be appreciated. Instead, you might bring the calla lily piece that is in the LR to the left of the entertainment center. It feels lost there, and like it is fighting with the window and the entertainment center for attention.

Finally, I know you didnÂt ask, but down the road I would be looking for a much larger rug for the sectional area. The rug there is great for the pattern and color, but too small,imo. It feels as if it were cut to fit the opening in the sectional, like a puzzle piece.

Thanks for looking. The granite is typhoon green. Its green but on the grey side.

Les, if you were doing a rug there, how big are you thinking? Were you thinking solid or a pattern? Would seagrass be horrible with the black and red?

I've tried the colorful art behind the sectional but its too much color for me. It might move to my home office. I like the flower one where it is.

Still not sure about those chairs! : )

Chinchete, I think its always difficult to advise when one's style is unknown. Its easy for us to say what we'd do but it may not be what you like. Do you know what you like? Can you share photos?

Spiceislands, I don't mean to be rude, and I do appreciate all input, but I am trying to figure out what you mean. I posted pictures of the entire space and close-ups of the furniture so one can see the colors and textures and art already there. Are you suggesting a different sort of photography or angle? ( I did remove one picture just now that showed the view from the island into the great room, because I was working on my photobucket account). So I'm not sure what you mean by my style is unknown. I think with the kitchen that I showed, the metal barstools with purple blue fabric, modern pendants, the large red sectional with a zebra rug, the EA Radius recliner with mensware fabric, the brazillian cherry floors, the art work with black frames, one could say my style is soft contemporary/transitional with bold colors and a love of animal prints. However, one animal print per space is enough for me. We would like the dinette area to not feel very solid.

I also like the look of a glass table with modern chairs with a traditional rug, but DH doesn't like traditional rugs very much. I don't like glass unless there is a warm feeling coming from a great warm rug anchoring it. We could use another rug because of echos. I sort of like the idea of a very large cream colored rug in the livingroom part, but not the maintenance.

Finally. After several years, I made a choice. I am getting a this set from Saloon Skyline collection. It will be the Nova ellipse table and the bow tie chair. The base will be black, and the top will be honey.

Question: would you get 6 chairs, or 4? We only need 4, but in the dining area, I only have 6 chairs, for a total of 10 when having holidays...if I don't get 6, I could get two other chairs for the ends, but not sure that would be easy to get a style that did not look clean with this set. Opinions?

Here is a link that might be useful: This table but in an ellipse shape

Wow, what a great set. We have Saloom chairs in our breakfast area. You'll be pleased with the quality of Saloom furniture.

I think I would opt for 4 Bow tie chairs and something different for the ends. Maybe chairs with a higher back and arms.

Thanks Jerseygirl, I recall your Saloom set. Its nice. I really like the quality and look forward to it.

I am thinking you are right on the 4 chairs. I may not want to use another chair on the end permanently, because of the look- a bit busy. But I might when I need to pull over another chair from somewhere else. I tried a ghost chair with no arms next to the set at the store and it looked busy.

I love what you chose! If it were me, I probably would get all 6 matching chairs as it would be another 2 years before I would be able to figure out what chairs to put on the ends that would complement the table and chairs.

Ah, I agree, it would take forever to find something to complement. SInce there are also barstools right near and they are metal, my sales girl said it would probably be too busy to mix in this situation. I agree. Now it is a matter of springing for the extra chairs or not.

Thoughts: I don't entertain a lot. If there are more than 4, we would eat in the dining room nearby. BUT, what if some day I down size and only have the dinette. Then I would want six chairs available. I could put them somewhere else in the house. At a desk. And use them at the table as needed. Okay. Did I tallk myself into bumping up for two more chairs?

Because it's your breakfast nook, you have stools nearby and a DR...I'd be more apt to only get the 4 chairs.
Looks like a beautiful set- can't wait to see!

Thanks. I will start a new thread related to extra chairs when entertaining.

For me, it would depend on the price per chair. If I were definitely getting 6 chairs, I would get all six of the bowtie, unless they were much more expensive then what I expected to pay for 2 different chairs.

If I didn't care about the 6 for now, and the price per chair was expensive, I would get the 4--knowing that I could take my time looking for something that would complement the 4 chairs and table and be more in my price range.

Or, if I only needed 4, I would just stick with the 4 as that's all I really need. Do you ever eat in the bfast nook when guests are there--what about kid's friends-casual company. If not, sounds like you don't need the 6 now.

What about space--would you put all 6 chairs around the table if you had them. Would it look better with just 4 chairs. If so, I wouldn't bother paying extra for matching chairs that will not regularly be at the table.

I shouldn't be giving advice--my kitchen table and dining room table are falling apart and I have been looking for years to replace them--with no luck.

I like the Saloom furniture--I am going to have to see if any stores near me carry it.

Thanks Kristine. I can't believe how much deliberation goes into these decisions! But its fun.
I am thinking that I really only need four, and that I like the look of four. Its so hard to say without seeing them in the room, but I think four will look good. And we do from time to time need more at that table, but the dining room is so close. My dining room is pretty casual. We are casual overall. So moving a chair from one room to another on certain occasions is not a bit deal. Or moving an Aeron chair from the home office to the kitchen for a day. My aesthetics don't demand perfect matching or complementing when its just for an occasional extra person.

I am just hoping it doesn't actually look TOO minimalistic in the space. I guess if it does, I can add a rug with the left over money I didn't spend on the chairs. Then I'll still have something to work on....