I also agree that the drapery panels should have a bold pattern rather than the brown solid ones. Look at an Ikat pattern - an Ikat will balance the zebra pattern and carry the eye up from the floor to the back wall - and then use a mix of patterns in throw pillows, and drape a patterned throw on the back of the tan chair. This will bring the whole room together.

For an easy fix, push the sofa towards the window and move one of the chairs next to it so they are grouped more closely together for conversation and tv watching. Add a hanging light either between the two or towards the window. Find some pillows that tie the floral chair and leather sofa together, edging them with a print that matches your carpet.

Consider a round coffee table that's larger to create a more inviting space that is less rectinilear.

You need jewelry. A sunburst mirror above fireplace to add sparkle. Sisal may help under area rug. I do wish you had opted for larger rug as I love it but it is too small. Remove the ottoman as it is floating and replace it with larger rectangular glass and metal coffee table. Scape the coffee table and make it focal leading to fireplace. You have nice basics and are not afraid to use flair.

Look at these pillows...u need a mix like these..and something interesting over the fireplace would help also.

If I focus on rugs only at this point:

-Should I go larger zebra (which will cover as much floor space as the sisal is now)
or
-Should I go larger, but in a different color? If so, any ideas/pic suggestions on patterns?

I *really* love my zebra rug and have no problem getting a bigger one if that will help the space...just wondering if it's too much sameness with the fireplace colors.

The more I look at this room, the more I wonder if the tan walls are adding to the "brown" problem in the room. Could a simple paint job tie some things together and get rid of some of the brown and create more of a contrast? Perhaps a medium gray? This room does not get a lot of natural light.

I feel like I'm going backwards here. :-(

Love your sofa!! You have some wonderful ideas on how to fill in this room with very little financial impact.

I'm not sure about painting your mantel. With the tile being white you may just draw more attention to the smaller scale of the surround. I do love painted mantel surrounds, but just be careful that you don't make it look more skimpy by doing so.

Not usually a fan of fireplace mounted TV's, but this could work well in your room. You could turn the couch toward that wall and flank either side of the fireplace with your chairs. I am assuming there is enough space for your couch to face that direction, if not.... the idea of a larger tv console would help anchor the current wall.

The lamp on the mantel is definitely not working. If you like a lamp up there you need to find one that is much slimmer with a smaller shade. If you can find two to place on either side that would help give you some balance without risking over cluttering. The mirror is also not working. You need to hang rather than lean....also agree that something round would help to soften all the straight lines you currently have going on.

Honestly think that if you follow what most here have suggested you'll have a beautiful room. Fill in with accents like pillows, change out the lamps, angle the zebra rug, paint the walls the same color (like the current color), and change out those curtains.

I personally don't love gray in rooms that don't get much natural light. I have my living room a similar color to yours and after trying several different colors this one makes the room much more pleasant during the daytime. The problem you're having is that you don't have much in the way of accent colors. This will tone down the brown considerably. You need pattern and some texture to give interest...the brown is just a base to build from. Good thing about the brown is that you can change your accents for the seasons or your changing tastes easily. Honestly wouldn't go to the expense to buy a larger zebra print rug. Just angle the one you have as suggested, and focus on filling in with accessories and fabrics.

I think adjusting your wall color would make a dramatic change to the space. The color you have is not a bad color... but it doesn't add life to the room. I think if the color was less brown and brighter it would liven up the space. Otherwise, your dominant colors in the room are brown.

I would consider the straw colors... similar to the walls in the photos that I posted above. All three of the walls need to be the same color... because as it is right now the white wall is your accent wall. Of course you need to consider what is going on in the adjacent space... that we have not seen.

I think the white trim color is also too stark and needs to be an off white of the wall color.

As an example of colors and values for a color scheme could be:

Wall - B.M. Golden Straw 2152-50
Ceiling - B.M. Mannequin Cream 2152-60
Trim - B.M. Mayonnaise 2152-70

I understand what you are trying to accomplish with the zebra rug... but it is not working. Either get a real skin for under a different coffee table... or just eliminate the zebra all together.

The coffee table/ottoman does not work in scale or color. Something like the one below is kid friendly and provides lots of surface area.

Change the window treatments and raise the rods.

The comments about the lamp on the mantle are correct. A round mirror with either a symmetrical or asymmetrical arrangement of lighting or accessories will look best.

The floral chair still does not work in this space.

Terri,

I absolutely love the colors presented in the pic below. It's neutral without being too brown and/or yellow. And it looks like it would "play well" with my brown leather couch and wood furniture. And the green accent shows me how a burst of color could bring energy to the room. I imagine that even my sisal rug might look good with this wall as a backdrop.

Now I just need to figure out what color this is....
[houzz=]

That is an attractive color. It seems to have a green undertone to it similar to B.M.'s "Mellowed Ivory" 2149-50. Love the green accent.

Thanks, Terri. That does indeed look like a good match. I think I'm going to go in and try out some paint samples.

I feel like the room is going to stall unless I make a wall color change, because I'm going to be in a fight to downplay the brown. And while I love grey, I think it might leave me with a room that's either too cold or too formal looking.

This is much harder than I thought it would be when I first posted my room!

I agree... as much as I love greys... I don't think it is the right choice for this room.

Keep in mind when you do your samples that the intensity (or lack of it) may fool you.

love the neutrals. cover that floral chair in a lemon yellow. weed out the little doo-dads, and line that rug up with the fire place. definitely add some kind of extra large painting over the sofa and redo the mantle with more mirrors stacked on top of one another in front of the large mirror place a ornate frame without anything inside it. add white candles POW!

Is the ceiling white? It needs to match your cornicing regardless of your wall colour. Agree that your walls should also match each other and a larger (hung) mirror is needed, plus accent colour and texture as previously noted.

The room does have a lot of brown..I agree a different wall color would be beneficial.

Sherwin Williams "Nebulous White" paint...I chose this color because I think it would work well with the brights you have said you want to add into the room.

Here is another room with Nebulous White and bright accessories, also some brown

Benjamin-Moore camouglage 2143-40 is a fabulous soft sage that works well with almost any color - I've used it with lavendar accents; brick red accents; soft silver blue accents. Although it may read green it changes slightly as the day light changes - believe it or not, it works as a neutral.

Thanks for the tips, Jayme/PGA/Terri. Going to get some paint samples and do a test of what works best. I'm going to get this right if it kills me! :-)

Lekia - Relax - decorating your home shouldn't be torcher - absorb the advice yu receive and take what feels comfortable to you - We would hate to see you kill yourself over paint and decorating solutions!!!! lol, lol,

try this piece of art work

Very true PGA...just going to take it one step at a time. :-)

Pillows with texture and pattern. I love greenery, vine plant on the fireplace. Greenery makes a room feel healthy.

Remove clutter off mantel. Get large mirror. Change out fabric on chair and replace with a throw of some modern print to pop that zebra rug. Throw pillows that coordinate with the room. Maybe different curtains. With the two windows/doors I would go with a roman shade or blind in golden wood tone.

Wow, a million people and a million ideas! you poor thing, I'm a zebra rug and monochromatic browns.. person and I love your room You have done a great job, and you don't need tons of bright colors, that's not what it appears you were going for. Your room is earthy and organic. I do feel you need to paint the walls behind and across from your sofa and you need complimenting art work, maybe something organic and with texture. You could also go for a black framed mirror above the fireplace with two black metal sconces to anchor it! Don't change too much... but your favorite floral chair needs it's own room, it doesn't work in your living room. Good luck!

I would remove the sheers and mount Roman shades on the doors . Its more modern and you can add alot of texture and color to the room . It will also give you more light control and privacy when needed.

You might want to check out BMW Bleeker Beige.

Benjamin Moore Bleeker Beige

Lekia... I wanted to show you these photos of a project that I worked on because your situation reminded me of it where I was dealing with "a very brown room". These photos are not great as the client took them and some of her "styling" is off. (The white throw is definitely not part of the design) But I wanted you to see how the addition of color and pattern tempered the brown. I layered the windows with woven woods and patterned drapes. The one photo of the living area shows the drapes in a sepia, but the color in that area was added with lots of kilim pillows, and the ottoman shown in the library in front of the red chair actually goes in the living area. The point is...the right amount of color can save a space.

For your space... I still think the wall color needs that extra amount of yellow to keep it from looking too brown or beige.

the other photos

Terri,

Thank you so much for taking the time to research and post these pics. It's much appreciated. I think it's so interesting to see how well your natural rug goes with the wall color instead of blending into one like in my room. I think, as we discussed, the paint color is key in tying everything together.

I've since taken up the sisal rug, removed the white mirror, removed the floral chair and put the beige armchair back to the right of the TV. I'm keeping the ottoman just for comfort until I figure out what else I'm doing in the room, but I like the covered one in your pic.

It makes me wonder if I should replace or recover what I now have. One the one hand, a wooden round table would probably look best; on the other, I like the comfort of the soft ottoman. But, I do agree that I need to introduced more shapes (other than square/rectangle) in the room. Perhaps if I find the round mirror that will be enough and I can keep the ottoman I now have and just recover it in something bright.

My immediate plan is to repaint the room. I love the color in the room you posted, so that's an idea. But I *really* like the wall color in the room I posted above (with the green throw), so I'm going to get some samples and see how it all looks. Will also get something in a soft yellow to see if that translates better.

I'm also thinking of painting my cornice the same color as my wall so that it "disappears".

I actually think the rug is great. Is it possible to move your sofa to face the fireplace. Put a sofa table behind it. Turn the rug to run crosswise to fireplace. Chairs on either side of fireplace. Throw in some colorful pillows and a throw. Pull the colors from them foe accessories on sofa table. Some baskets unpnder sofa table for storage. Just a thought. Moving furniture costs nothing .

I have the opportunity to buy this chair for little cost. Thoughts? It's white/cream, so I'm thinking a neutral background that I can put some colorful pillows against. (Getting rid of the other chair I have; it's microfiber and the texture is too "heavy" for the room, IMO).

Like the chair; just not sure if any furniture I get should have visible legs.

I like this chair and ottoman a lot. You can add a throw and pillows for color.

Thanks for the quick feedback. I like it too and think it will be a big improvement over the neutral chair I have now..it leans brown too much and the texture doesn't provide a good backdrop for adding colorful pillows. Thanks again, Terri!

Get the chair if you haven't already. Turn your zebra rug on the diagonal. Put a light throw on the sofa. Get some of those fun colored pillows like the ones you pictured early in the post of the 3 rooms you like. Paint the walls white/light. Raise the curtain rods.
Then see how you feel about the room.
Judging from your inspiration rooms, yours lacked light furniture and bright pillows most.

Oh... Don't paint the fireplace. Please leave it white!!!

I like the chair and ottoman. will brighten the room, colorful pillows would look great! Agree, don't paint the fireplace.

I like the accent wall in this picture.

Hi. I know I'm in the minority here about the zebra rug but it's the first thing that strikes me as wrong. If you want color I'd buy a larger rug in a colorful design (which will hide a lot with kids) and pull colors from it for pillows, throws,curtains or shades and accessories around the room. You could add some art work using some of those colors. The mirror you have over your mantle is just all wrong. You need to go larger and I don't think white is the way to go. I'd pick something interesting or either just a larger mirror then with a few larger sized items such as tall chunky candle holders,etc..to add interest. Or even a large colorful picture. It is your focal point so put something there to draw the eye. I'd look for pictures of mantles and use that as a guide. I use a long narrow upholstered ottoman for a coffee table also in the family room because we lounge there and want to put our feet up so I understand. Maybe a more streamlined and longer one would look better. And if you get the style with legs it won't look too heavy. Definitely put something on the wall over the couch that is size appropriate. Also, unless you put a table behind it maybe with two matching lamps, one at each end with some artwork on the wall between, I'd push it back against the wall and add end tables with lamps. Plants always add a lot. I like the look of the picture posted above where the fireplace wall is painted a different color. Really makes that fireplace pop. I know you want to get rid of the brown but your brown couch is a large part of the room and I really like it so be sure you do keep brown around in the room or it's gonna end up sticking out instead of blending in with the room. Good luck.

I Concur with all the others;
1. Remove clutter from Fireplace
2. Remove Doll House
3. Put up wall Art
4. Get a Larger Rug
5. Add Cushions

Voila!

You definitely need some art work on your walls. Grouping of smaller, or a few larger.

Hi ! you already have your rug selected? a cowhide patchwork rug might be a choice, maybe a bigger cowhide zebra . let me know if i can help you!

Do you a final result- picture? I'd love to see it!

I agree with 'maryjanemyers'. Paint all the walls the same color. The room will feel larger and you will not have any visual separation of cutting the walls. A smoother feeling. If you still prefer an accent wall, it is the fireplace wall in this room.

I'd change the brown molding

Add large artwork as focal point and bring in some greenery

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your room could look more synchronized if it would have a proper sitting and a chandelier which could make your room pulled together and that is what i think is missing a proper lighting .the space has not been properly used .more things could be brought in .

this are options for chendlier as the room gives a traditional touch .looking at the leather sofas the area rug could b changed.

rug options are:

there are too much colours going on so it can be all set up to few and cordinate it.also remove some furniture could b a good option

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