I think you have a nice neutral room that you can now finish off with drapes and accessories to give it some color. There is nothing wrong with what you have so far.

I would be interested to see the sofa and loveseat with the pattern showing. From the pic of the small cushion the pattern looks nice and not really that floral.....and I really do not like florals(I am a guy..lol).

As far as the drapes go....brown would prob be kind of drab. How about something in a burgundy or crimson stripe? Something in the red tones...whatever your personal taste. A nice wooden rod for the drapes would add interest as well. I would prob try to match the drapes in the lr and dr at least in color if you don't want them to match completely.

If you are not a fan of strong colors you will have to look at adding a lot of different textures in neutral earth-tones for your drapes and other fabrics in order to get visual interest.

I would not worry about adding more black into the room as the elements that you desribed as black are pretty minimal and neutral. More black in the accessories and even in the pattern of the drapes will help to ground the room.

Another element you could consider is a colorful area-rug in your living room over the berber carpet.

How about a pic of your kitchen and a view from the kitchen into the lr?

I don't think enough of the pillow backs show to be a decorating stumbling block. Does seem to be an unusual treatment, but I've not been in the market to look at upholstered furniture for quite a few years now. Have you considered just switching the positions of the two love seats so the patterned pillow backs face the dining area? Or are they a pair with the same upholstery treatment? You can certainly change the throw pillows to other colored solids, tapestry, even a wide stripe might work - stripes and twining leaves are not uncommon.

I like beige too, but the rich feeling you're trying for will be difficult to achieve by adding more layers of brown or black. And I'd treat all the windows the same for a coordinated look. The array of drapery fabrics and window treatment styles will make you dizzy and might be something you need a little professional assistance with. No one can tell you what to like so you kind of have to decide if you want tab curtains on decorative rods, plain center close patio drapes, tie backs, valences, cornices, sheers, a swag and jabot treatment, solid color, bold pattern (Jacobean print fabrics can be stunning), toiles...... I really think it's going to be the drapes that make or break your space for you.

If you like the idea of rugs over rugs, an Oriental, contemporary, or Aubusson will add color and warmth to a room. A rug would be nice for under your dining table too - big enough to extend 3-4 feet beyond the table sides to accommodate the chairs.

It would be very easy to take those pillows apart and replace the patterned fabric with something else. Something you like.

Would it be possible to angle that sofa so that it faces the fireplace? right now it faces the window, which is disturbingly blank.

I think the seating area would be improved with the addition of a coffee table and an area rug. A nice oriental carpet would give the area definition and color.

Threw up beige indeed. Funny guy.

If you really hate the fabric, you might consider having the cushions re-done on the one side at some point to just a deeper shade of the couch color, or a print that you love more. For now, tho, I really don't think they show enough to be a decorating issue. The darker pattern ties in with the dark wood trim on the pieces, and that is sufficicent.

The first thing I am looking at is the angles in the room versus the placement of the furniture. It seems that the TV wall, carpeting, railing, etc are all angled, and you have placed the furniture so that it is working against those angles. Any chance of seeing another pix, taken from the table or counter?

I would be inclined to rotate those pieces so that they reflect the angle of the room in which they are sitting. I think that will immediately make the area seem more friendly.

The couch also seems pushed to the outer edges of the carpeting, so that you have a huge blank field in front of the furniture.

Chocolate brown window treatments will work, but will only be more of the same neutral feeling. I see that you have a vase with red florals in the niche in the hall. Do you like red (or a warmer rusty red, perhaps). You could bring touches of that into the room easily. Window treaments could be something like this paisley - it has the golds and beiges, but touches of the red and green to warm up the space, and the overall pattern is not 'in your face'.

paisley print

I could see full drapery panels on a black rod in the family room, and just the coordinating valance on the same black rods in the dining area.

Then bring in touches of the red in pillows, art on the wall, etc.

You have no tables of any kind in the room - are you adding some? If you angle the seating, you could do a sofa table behind the couch, you might want a table between the two pieces (round would be nice). What about lamps - if you are relying on overhead lighting the room will always feel kind of washed out and sterile.

YOu have a nice space and a good start. Just need to fill in the gaps, bring in some touches of color in accents, and you are set!

I think a red tone would be great to add to this room. There are some really pretty drapes that are striped reds and golds with maybe a tiny stipe of green in them. I see them at Lowes and Linens N Things all of the time. This would bring a pattern to the room.

If the fabric bugs you that much, change it. It will be worth it to pay or do yourself. Otherwise, I like it and think I have actually seen drapes with that kind of pattern that would look really nice.

I too was thinking the sofa arrangement could be turned, add a rug and some end or coffee tables.

I think they make curtain rods that will match your stairs. That could look nice even though you don't want much more black.

Thank you so much for the replies.
Yes, I do sort of feel like I'm working against a bunch of angles. The carpet line is angled, which is making everything a challenge for me. I didn't think there was really any other way to arrange the furniture. I'm easily challenged when it comes to decorating.

The carpet is actually a "shag" type carpet, rather than berber. Would a rug still be appropriate?

I thought of adding a coffee table, but I wasn't sure if that would be too much furniture. I was thinking that it would anchor the room a little bit.

If I went with panels for the windows, would I treat the living room windows as one large window, with a panel on the left and the right. Or would I treat it as 3 seperate windows? Which would be more pleasing to the eye?

I like the idea of lamps. But I would need to decide on some end tables for them. Where would the end tables go?

Would someone be willing to photoshop some drapery panels for me?

The couches are a matching pair, so the pillows are the same on both. I never thought of having the one side of the pillows reupholstered. That could be the answer to my problem, as far as the couches go.

Here is the view from the kitchen

And here is the kitchen

Speaking of the kitchen, we've been considering a paint job for the bar stools. What do you think about that? Maybe more of a neutral color.

You could easily slip cover the couch cushions with something that you can toss in the washer -- always a good idea with children in the house anyway. Or, could you be happy with tossing a few colorful pillows and maybe a pretty throw on the couch?

The room is a lovely neutral and now you can go a little crazy adding some color in draperies, pillows, throws, vases, etc. So later if you change your mind it would be easy to change those things. My personal choice would be to add some red in whatever shade you like best.

I also think live plants would look good in there, especially something tall like a ficus tree.

Your space is lovely. What type of wood are the cabinets in the kitchen?

The minute I saw that vase in the niche I thought of some red in the room which would take away that overall beige feeling. Doesn't your dining table have some red in it too? And you could add something decorative and colorful on your peninsula (or island - can't tell which it is).

I am so glad you mentioned the bar stools when I saw them in the first set of photos, I felt they needed to be changed. I know you said no more black, but I would paint them black, if not something a few shades darker than your cabinet color stain.

I like the clock on the wall but not in that space, it is competing with the fireplace and TV for attention. Some other type of art on that wall would be better.

I actually liked the pattern on the pillows, but if you don't by all means change it because there are many other patterns and colors that will go in your room. Sometimes its nice to have pillows with two different sides as you can change the room occasionally to a different look just by flipping the pillows.

Please keep us posted on your progress with your great room.

The color you are seeing in the niche is fall leaves. I was planning to switch them out with the different seasons. But I do love the way they look in there, and I would leave them all year round if I didn't think it would look strange.
I do love red, thought it kind of scares me. I realize I will have to take the plunge and buy something in a "bold" color if I want to get rid of the drab feeling.

I am looking at some drapes in the JCPenny catalog. Are their drapes pretty nice?

Springvillegardens....do you live in UT? We have a springville, UT :) My cabinets are knotty alder with pecan glaze. I love them.
OK, so that settles it about the barstools. They do kind of stick out like a sore thumb in their current color of ivory. My original thought was that they would look good because of our moulding and window sills/doors/etc. But they just look a bit too bright for the middle of the room.

Thanks for the idea about moving the clock. That was the first thing we put on the wall when we moved in. It just seemed like the only place to put it. I'll have to relook at things and see where else it might go.

robin2007, I live in CA. But I have been to Utah on several trips; it is a beautiful state especially the red rock sections.

I know what you mean about red, it can seem daring, but you can pick reds that aren't so bright too and still have that contrast of color. I was thinking of possibly some red and gold pillows - then the red wouldn't be so stark. See the link below for an example. Maybe a piece of art with some red it in but not a huge amount of red.

Your cabinets are just beautiful and so unusual. If you could match one of the colors in your cabinets on your bar stools and possibly have cushions with some red fabric on them - maybe not - might be too much and it might bring them up too high to sit on.

What type of drapes are you looking at - post a few links so we can see what you are thinking of. I haven't ordered from Penny's but some have and said they are nice.

I have a hard time ordering without seeing things in person. For lots of things like pillows, comforters, drapes and rugs, I buy them and save the receipt. Then I put them out, and see what they look like, then if I don't like them, I can return them and start over again. I also found that if I take photo of new items in my rooms, I can look at the rooms with a more objective eye. I can also get the opinion of DH and the wonderful people on this forum too. Anyway these techniques have been working for me.

Good luck with your room, keep us posted on your progress.

Here is a link that might be useful: gold and red

do you have other colors you love or would like to work into your decor? Since you don't like the scroll...what kind of patterns do you gravitate to? I def. think you should recover one side of the pillows...that shouldn't be hard to do at all. Would you want the gold main fabric to show on the larger pillows as you have them, or are you open to the new patterned fabric showing if you recover that side?

If you answer these questions I might be able to play in photoshop and show you something visually :D

OK I had to play. :) I don't know what outside of that window looks like...but I tried to find a window with similar lines to yours to mock this up.

{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

Here is the link to the fabric that I put on the couch:

http://www.fabricguru.com/cart/index.php?target=products&product_id=21866

And here are the drapes:

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p6819/index.cfm?pkey=cprwwinsol

Also...I think I would paint your barstools brown and add a reddish colored pad to the top :)

just some fun playing. :) Hope you don't mind! :D

Okay, that helps seeing the other angle. Now, remember that doing this on a monitor is kind of tricky, because perspective and proportion can be hard to judge. Here is what I would try.

The first thing I would do is paint the small wall that the fireplace is on (just the little angled one) in a rich rusty fall red.

Take the "H" and mount it above the tv, centered, and then add a wood curlique appliques on either side, painted black. Something like this, that will pick up on the shape of the arms of the couch and loveseat. You can get them at most home centers and some of the larger craft stores. Or, iron ones will work if you can find those.

first ones on the page

Take the couch and put it directly across from the fireplace, at the same angle. Put the loveseat to the left of the couch, at a right angle. Get a table between them to anchor the arrangement, with a lamp if you can.

Once you do that, your little black chest may have to move. You could try it under the window, and add a colorful bench cushion on top.

A fabric or leather ottoman, maybe round, would be a nice addition to work as a table and additional seating when you need it and would pick up on the curves of the furniture.

I don't mind the clock being on that wall, and in fact I think you need some taller things there to balance the fireplace and the windows with the drapery when you get it. What I would do is once you move the furniture, take a look at that wall. You might add some floating shelving that is arranged in some kind of staggered fashion with the clock as a part of the grouping. That would be a place to add some touches of color with vases, art leaning on the shelves, etc. If there is room below that, you could add a console table and lamp there.

As for your counter stools, I would do them in a brown-black, that would bring out the colors in the cabinetry but not be as strong as a solid black. Colorful cushions would be a nice addition if you like.

Then bring in the drapery/window treatments in the dining area. Add a throw and a few pillows. Maybe a runner on the dining table with some red.

If you are worried about the fall leaves feeling out of place year 'round, look for some berry stems in the reddish color, or some tall orchid stems in that color (oncidiums or cymbidiums would be nice). Mix in some grassy stems and a couple of larger green leaves, and it will work for you.

Wow you guys!! This is great information. I already feel so much better about this project. I thought that I wouldn't get any responses and that my room would be a lost cause. Thank you so much for all of your time responding to my post.
rhapsdy....THANK YOU for sticking some drapes up there for me. I've been trying to do that for weeks on my home computer, but I can't for the life of me get it to look "real". Just seeing something there is great to see.
Since I'm sort of a chicken on color....I wonder how would it look to do some neutral drapes, like the mock-up above, and then do a "pop" of color panels that peek out a little bit from behind the neutrals. Would that be silly?

I love the idea about putting the "H" above the TV. I've been thinking that I need something up there, since the TV is so low. We put the TV low so that it would be easy to view....and it left that huge blank space up there.

Another vote for painting the stools.....lol. Looks like that is a for sure project for the near future.

I wonder how expensive it will be to have the cushions reupholstered on that one side. I'm going to make some phone calls.

I really love a rich cranberry color....more on the red side rather than the purple side. I like a mustard color, a warm olive color....

Here is a pic of part of our guest bath. I love these colors-

Here are some accessories that I really like:
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p9110/index.cfm?pkey=caccauthma

Darling children!