Maybe you could arrange the photos on the wall next to the stairs. You have a really nice open floor plan, and I think it has great potential. Will you be hanging curtain panels?

Amazing grey from Sherwin Williams is also a great color!

yes..plan to hang curtains but waiting for the paint and possibly a new couch be for committing to curtains. Would also love to do a stacked stone above the fireplace with possible white bookcases on each side. Have always had a hard time with the huge wall and trying to figure out what to do with it.

Completely agree with ritting28. A large bookcase would be nice so you can consolidate the smaller items to one area. I actually like the orange wall. A neutral grayish tan would look great next to it. I just think you need something above the fireplace to complement the paint. Ex:

A natural color that I could live with, but that's not the question! Showing my idea to stretch 'sister' art pieces to unify the wall / say 2 over fp, and 3 over dining. Could be many colors, but Large:

You mentioned replacing your sofa. Here's a couple combos:

Pretty much everything in the room is hung too high. Since it all has to come down to paint anyway, this will be a good chance to rearrange. Too much little stuff ends up looking like clutter, so pare all your groupings down. Choose one large piece over the fireplace. And anyplace you do a grouping, it shouldn't be so symmetrical. Yours looks static and has no movement to give it interest.

Is that the back door near the window? I think when you get new furniture you should go with a sofa/love seat etc... the sectional is not working for this room. Also, I think your fireplace is the focal point. I agree with groveaxle a large picture over the fireplace. If you were to put anything on the mantle make sure it is big and not small. Are you able to take pictures showing the sofa or rest of the space?

I want to bring ceiling down with ceiling's white at upper triangle of wall....or artist's huge drawing/ stencil in white, seriously.... Good, but still feel like I'm swimming in an ocean, and neutral paint makes it less so.

My large wall was only in a townhome, and I did try different arrangements, and found that "sister pieces" as I call them worked for me at outer areas. Then in center, entirely different something.

I assume carpet is staying so I would find curtains or sofa and 2 chairs you love for wall color inspiration. Nothing is harder than choosing a paint color and then try to find fabrics to coordinate. learned from experience Lol.

Thank you all for your suggestions! Love the renderings and how they look. So here is another pic of the sectional. Going to replace soon and was thinking of another sectional but now maybe not but don't know what a good other set up would be for that space. On side note have small kids so need it to be functional and family friendly. Also because the TV is in the corner it kinda has to face that way.

As founder of the Just-Say-No-to-Sectionals Society, I have to admit yours works. And I think it looks good, to boot, so unless it's in bad shape, I'd keep it. It looks to be a medium gray which could work well with Revere Pewter and the right accessories.

I have to say that you have way too much little stuff in the room. Keep only the stuff you can't live without. If you end up with some blank spots, let them be until you find the perfect piece..

Thanks! Good advice. Will try to pair down when we paint. The sectional is dark blue microfiber and about 13 years old so was looking at possibly a dark brown leather. I love the way the dark brown looks with the revere pewter and white accents.

Not every available wall space needs to be filled.

Brown is good. Go rich, not too dark.

I bet the pewter would work but I would just paint everything white and treat it as an architectural loft gem. You have a beautiful space that would be even more amazing with wood floors.
The trim of your mirrow is very wide and demanding for that space, same mirror works better leaning against the wall upright.

The photos were from your second level - so now morning I realize that's partly why wall's shape/size looms.... but lighter paint would lessen the contrast with ceiling, lessen "triangle wall."

i like the contrast, i dont like the GRAY over load. I think you could go blue with that wall.. a country blue if you will.

I don't know why Flair included bottom photo with trim separating lower blue from upper neutral, but it shows my idea to 'lower the ceiling'....I think.

Thanks again all.Gave me alot to think about. The space is so unique it is hard to look at pictures online and try and get an idea so I appreciate all your comments.

I've found that BM Edgecomb Gray is an all around neutral....works well in all kinds of light, and is a good backdrop for whatever types/colors of artwork you have. Works with both cool and warm furnishings. I want my art to catch the eye, not the wall color. We have a medium brown leather sofa too as well as West Elm chairs in a weird turquoise-pine green color and west elm honey colored leather chairs in dining area....everything works great together!!

I saw an open house photo with a cathedral ceiling like yours, and they painted the top half of the gable-end wall white to match the ceiling, and added a crown molding on the line between the white and colored paint.

We have almost an identical space with living room and dining room combo and kitchen in same spot. The problem with our space is there is no demarcation between the living and dining areas. I previously had a bookshelf that I converted into a bar with cheap, wine glass holders that screwed into the underside of the shelves. It worked great, but we really don't drink and have small kids. It was useless, so we got rid of it. Now we are back to a huge open space. I'm considering a room divider of some sort like an IKEA shelf set with tall vases. Its so hard to delineate the living from the dining with wall artwork alone. In your space, you could add a sofa table behind the sectional and put tall stuff on it.

Anyhow, I love all these suggestions above (fewer small things, clock above the fireplace, move mirror to another space or stand on its side, rich brown leather sectional). My only addition: please don't do grey in this space. It is so boring and won't go with the carpet. Go with something more interesting and inviting. I love all the Restoration Hardware colors and they'd all go with beige carpet and a leather couch, but Shore or Silver Sage would be absolutely lovely. I agree about the hardwood floors, too, but if you're like us, it has to be one thing at a time. Best of luck!

I have a similar dilemma - BM Stonington gray HC-170 is a go to neutral I used in my dad's living room on atip from sister-in-law - it was a bit of a leap of faith out of my comfort zone that turned out very nice (it works great for much more than grays - in my case, we had gold sofa (trying to tone the gold factor down) and rich brown hardwood - it coordinated beautifully). I understand now why it is so versatile - still working on the basics.. but at some point might like to tackle some artwork for the walls.

I am also in the just say no to sectional club, but yours does work. You could go with some overstuffed overscaled furniture if you really wanted to replace - something with scale. I would also think about creating a separate space for the kids to have their own area - something like a bookshelf or a screen... would be great for them to have a fort like feeling of sorts and still be right there with you.

Heidi...love love the silver sage color.

Heidi..would love to see pics if you ever do Ikea shelves. I did have the sofa table behind the couch at one point but moved it to the wall by the stairs so we could plug in a lamp there. Do you think the silver sage would look good on all the walls? Also repainting the kitchen and was going to bring the same color in to make the space more unifying since you can see the kitchen from the living room and vice versa. Included a pic of the kitchen below. Currently it is yellow.

May I suggest going to your local art societies and summer art shows and/or juried art shows(juried more during the Spring Fall Winter) where emerging artists are showing and choose something ORIGINAL for reasonable prices. Look on Facebook Art pages. There are a lot of artists in the world working for the love of the doing and selling for much less than you would think. Your paintings/collages/prints (not reprints or giclees) will look wonderful instead of generic reproductions.

I so agree with bluebird2488 about art. There are truly amazing artists in every community. Senior centers are another source. The one near me showcases local artists, many of whom are seniors, and the work is outstanding.

Ditto on the art. Over the years we have collected lovely original pieces from local juried shows. Universities often host them, too. Our collection was quite affordable and it's meaningful rather than generic. A nice bonus, 2 of the artists have become locally prominent, so their pieces now sell for more than I could afford.

I went fairly neutral with color in my new home, but it is color. It's open plan as well, and I went for an accent wall of bold color, a deep winey red. Looks perfect, especially with the art work hanging on it. The red color brings out things in the painting I never knew were there. It's an interior wall so it does not suck light from the room either.

I agree with your idea of toning down the area with a more neutral paint color. You could also do individual walls in progressively darker or lighter colors to add more character to your very large room, using a darker color above your loft next to the stairway would add some interest. I would use some larger pics over the fireplace or larger artwork. Some architectural prints of your family mod podged onto large canvas's would be a cheap way of using photos on a large wall. Large letters and numbers in various sizes in a composition would also be interesting, you could add gears etc to the art piece. Good luck.

I would pick the curtains first and then choose the paint. I've found that I love lots of paint colors but picking curtains is much harder.

Lighten it up! Paint it your color,maybe add large stripes of a pearlized really close to same color going horizontally (this would be your wow punch). Change the fireplace mantle to a more inviting area by using a stacked rock, light color, around it going up to ceiling and then put a super large,tall, maybe custom built bookcase between the living and dinning area to give that 2 separate areas. Also add large rug, light color, to living room with a little color for accent. Accent colors maybe teal or even cobalt blue to punch it up. Add 1 large paint or clock over fireplace pull the stuff by front door off wall and add maybe 2 pictures with light frames and black and white photos or your accent color pictures. Make sure they are same size one under the other to make elongated rectangle. Put your cluster of pictures in the dinning area wall, be sure to have frames that are complimenting to your decor but different such as some dark, some silver, some light color and spread them around to make a large area but looking like a large square or rectangle when completely done.

I would run chair mold or crown mold mid way in your vaulted cieling. Paint the top half a lighter toned grey and a darker tone below. Put some bead board and chair rail in your dining are to create a more Seperation dining room feel. A window would look great on that wall 48"x58". It would give a stoping point for your dining room bead board and chair rail.

I agree that little picture frames can make it appear cluttered. Try a larger frame and have a cusom mat made to acomidate the photos.

When looking at your photos the first thing that struck me was the contrast of walls to ceiling. It is quite severe, and the pitch of the ceiling is also very steep. To my eyes it makes the room look smaller. I agree that a nice lighter color is needed and would help to minimize this. Paint will change the whole atmosphere and allow the room to breathe.

We just painted our kitchen, dining room, great room combo the most gorgeous blue from Sherwin Williams. The color is Interesting Aqua. The wall not painted is going to be an accent wall in Moody Blue.

Install the TV over the fireplace. This will free up both sides to build in bookcases and cupboards for collections and hidden storage. This will also add bulk to the room. The color change will give the space fresh contemporary look. Furniture comes last. Decorators will give one time free advice if you want on the spot help.

Just painted my entire LR, stairwell and hallways with Revere Pewter. Love this color choice. Depending on lighting - daylight it looks more taupe. At night with low level lighting it takes on a more gray color. Highly recommended!

Be sure to check your paint options carefully against the carpet if you are planning to keep it. You don't want the wall color to make the carpet look grungy, or vice versa.

I have the same great room as you and did paint my accent wall from my foyer through the great room wall with revere pewter. It looks awesome. I paired it with pale oak in the joining walls and they complement one another well as well.

I have painted my great room/kitchen with Restoration Hardware light siver sage & I love it. You should buy your sectional replacement piece first, then drapes, then paint. The best way to choose a color for a room is to buy sample cans to paint on 2 foot by 2 foot poster boards & observe at different times of the day. Do not rush it.

You have a very large area to paint. Please avoid using grey unless it is very, very light & again it must be good with your carpet.

Whatever color you choose for the room, add a bit to the ceiling color as ceilings should not ever be white. Yours seems quite white to me, however it could just be because your accent wall is so prominant. I do not think you can do the separation of the gable wall with a crown as some have suggested as your adjoining ceilings are not that high.

I would go with a linen color for the drapes. Close to the same as the carpeting. Check Ikea for grommet top or rings with clips drapes to hang from the top of your wall down to the floor. They are easy to open & close & Ikea sells by the pair not as most stores do selling by the panel. When painting the walls take the metal air returns down & paint them the same color as your walls. They will try to disappear. I love your choice of a medium brown leather for the sectional & I feel your room happens to be just right for this type of seating.

Don't puddle the drapes though.

Thank you all. the painters can't come till the beginning of September so I guess I have some time to think over final color choices. As soon as it is done I will post with hopefully new sectional and curtains.

Sue Moncrief..if you have pictures I would LOVE to see what it looks like.

We have a large TV over our fireplace and love it....

I found out today that sw would let me borrow a fan deck but it was 9.99 so bought it instead. Best ten dollars I have spent in a while. You can really tell what the undertones are on the samples. I have been looking at Greyson for three months know and was able to make a choice today. Good luck

Just looked at revere pewter and it is brown based. Beautiful color with your carpet a navy sofa.