Do you have pictures of the furniture you are bringing with you?

I have a chocolate brown couch and chair for basement. Everything else would be new.

Do you have favorite colors? When you are working with an open floor plan, you need to coordinate adjacent rooms with the color of your kitchen cabinets and counters. Therefore, taking the lead from your black counter tops, and since you are a single guy who likes modern, black leather sofas would be a great choice for you to consider.

When I look at your kitchen , I am craving a back splash to add interest and tie your counters to your cabinets. There are many choices to chose from. Do you have definite likes and dislikes? Take a picture of your kitchen to tile stores and ask them to help you select tiles which would tie in your counters and cabinets - stick with a modern feel and don't go traditional if that is your style.

This is a start.

When I see all the beams in the condo, I am tempted to paint each plane a different color but you have to like that look. It is very dramatic.

Right now, ask yourself how do you want to feel when you enter your new home. Zen? Modern? Edgy? Cool? Serene? Graphic? Stylistic?

It is important to have insight on what style and colors make you feel the way you want to feel when you are home. Look at tons of images on HOUZZ and when your immediate reaction is WOW or GREAT or PLEASURE, then listen to your gut reaction and copy it!

Hope this helps!?

Agreed -- browse HOUZZ and collect what you like in an idea book -- you can then work with a furniture store's staff to help you settle on overall cohesiveness once you find a few pieces you like. I was told (when I started) to find a fabric I loved, and pull wall color, rug colors, accessories from that. With the reddish tone in your woods be careful of too much yellow -- when some colors get next to each other they morph a bit --- that doesn't mean avoid yellow -- but just be wary. Have someone show you what it means for colors to 'pop' --- anyone at a furniture store, drapery store, or fabric store can help you see this.

I was thinking of putting a couch or something in the area at the entrance where the rocking chair is located. I am open to putting a table in the kitchen again, but a much smaller one. There is not an overhang on the counter, but I suppose you could still do stools there. The basement will end up being my main living area. I was going to put a tv on the wall across from the rocking char location on the main level, but I see that as more of a guest sitting area.

Dear dear. Did you buy this space yet? It really is a bit awkward. I'm realizing there is no real seating area when you have company unless you all congregate downstairs, correct? However, if you do not plan to entertain much, it may work for your needs?

The front entry area is a bit of a dead zone - I originally thought it would be suitable for a desk/office area? Does this interest you?

OR it might be desirable to replace the iron railing with a wall and then place a low profile narrow sofa along that wall. TV would then hang on wall opposite sofa perhaps with a faux wall modern fireplace. All very low profile.

I do want to have a TV upstairs, so could a love seat work at the entrance?

A loveseat REALLY only seats 1 person. Unless the 2 are REALLY in love. Please reconsider!

I actually want a couch, but everyone is saying that the space is a dead zone.

When you have access to your new place, please draw a floor plan, even a rudimentary one, with measurements, door and window openings. You can cut out to-scale little templates for furniture, shuffle them around the floor plan drawing to see how things would fit. Definitely do this before purchasing anything large, like a sofa. Taking the time to do this will save you and everyone here a lot of time, effort and headaches.

I did measure, and a full size couch could actually fit with room for the door to open. I have 110" of space.

The kitchen table in the picture is 36"x48".

Look into hiring an interior designer. Take a Saturday and check out a few model homes or condos in your area to get a feel for the trends in your area and a look you love. Decide on a budget. Whether you decide on a designer or going it alone you will have an idea of the scope involved in doing a complete home.

Don't buy anything until you do this. You will not regret hiring a designer, even if you only hire he/she for the living room area, you will get a fabulous area and will learn how to finish off the rest of the house.

You will be investing money and time doing it yourself and if you are heavy into a demanding job, a designer will save you time, money, and give you a professional result. It isn't rocket science but it is detail oriented.

I agree w/ most houzzers to move in, place your existing furniture downstairs & try to get a feel for your particular style wanted. Look at drop leaf or gateleg dining tables which will fit your kitchen space. Make this the 1st purchase perhaps.

Buy the chairs to be used with the table separately from the table. Buy two & try them out to make sure they will be most comfortable. After if those work for you, only then do you need to buy additional chairs for company. Please do not follow the style of the current owners (unless this is the style you like).

Table ideas:

Garrison Drop Leaf Table · More Info

Consigned 5Ft Vintage Oak Barley Twist Drawleaf Dining Pub Table · More Info

Please do not put a couch of any size or configuration in your entry way. It is awkward and does not make sense to walk into a home and walk smack into a seating arrangement. It is disturbing.

I want to do something with the front space though. I have 146" of space in that front area up to the star rails.

You said you have two levels, however I see a stairway going up & one going down. I guess the one going up is a photo taken from the basement & the one going down is in the main level going down to the basement. Is this right? Am thinking the wall next to the stairs in the basement could be opened up so you will have more visual space, but this can come much later after moving in.

Starting with the kitchen eating area is a good place to start.

Yes, the pictures are of the main level and the basement. I guess the kitchen is a good start, and some sort of dining plan.

It's going to take a lot of work to scrub the old-lady out of that place. Look at that railing! The only thing missing is geese with blue checkered bonnets (but maybe I didn't look at the pics closely enough). ;-)

The first thing that I notice is that the basement is white (as is the rest). When I see white in a basement, I think utility room. White makes a basement look like an afterthought. Get a warm, light/medium color on the walls and it will boost that room's attractiveness 100%.

Where the previous owners was. Get a dropleaf or a gateleg table as I suggested earlier. Start with only two comfortable dining chairs.

Shop for apartment sized seating and plan on a 3-seater couch and one or two chairs in basement. Don't skimp on area rug size. If you want one it should slip under the front 1/3 of the sofa and extend past the ends by a foot or so. I wouldn't put a kitchen table inside the kitchen footprint, but get a dining table that is expandable or is a long trestle with drop leaves and benches that can slip under it. Put it outside the kitchen area by the stair railing, so you have a place to entertain and allow guests to migrate from the table to a small sitting area just past the stairwell. There I'd simply have a grouping of three or four small scale chairs for intimate drinks before or after dinner. You can migrate to the basement for more conversation and lounging about in a more open setting.

One like this could be pushed against the stair rail and pulled out to open for more guests.

Lulu Dining Room · More Info

My Houzz: Revamped Flea Market Finds add personality to a Dutch home · More Info

Cocktail bar where the black chair is in your photo...

Marble Cove Project · More Info

Chairs:

Ernie Dining Side Chair, Walnut · More Info

Tracy Dining Chair in Black · More Info

Louis Ghost Arm Chair, Set of 2, Clear · More Info

Lamar Dark Brown Modern Dining Chairs, Set of 2 · More Info

Classical Ava Stripe Cotton Side Chair - Set of 2 · More Info

GDF Studio Script Printed Linen Dining Chairs, Set of 2 · More Info

Cooper Dining Chairs, Walnut, Set of 2 · More Info

Four Hands Stella Dining Chair, Bespoke Natural · More Info

Buying any of the pairs you can pull them into the living area when needed.

Sorry the 1st pair are no longer available,

What color table and chairs should I look for? Glass? Is the place where the current table is at totally out of the question? I am not sure about painting the cabinets. If I paint the walls can't the cabinets still look modern?

Don't paint the cabs. Place the folded up gateleg or dropleaf table where the previous owners has theirs. Did you see the chairs I posted.?

To answer your questions:

Do not put your new table where the current table is in the kitchen!

Decide if you want to take several Houzzers suggestions for a drop leaf table along the long wall facing the long railing. A glass table is not a bad idea at all in a small space but then you have to abandon the drop leaf idea.

Why would you paint the cabinets? They are in good shape. Do you dislike them? Do you think the color is not modern enough? What do want/like/desire?

You CAN modernize the kitchen with the right back splash.

Do you like this back splash?

https://www.houzz.com/photos/marietta-kitchen-and-hall-bathroom-traditional-kitchen-atlanta-phvw-vp~5005342

I just looked at your pictures again: Your kitchen table should DEFINITELY go in that L shaped area under your kitchen window next to the peninsula! Lose the long curtains.

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Fuji-5-Piece-Modern-Stainless-Steel-Dining-Set/8355701/product.html?refccid=CXP53EOB6WJKNBCPEANAIHNYW4&searchidx=111

For the most part you will be eating at the table by yourself or with one other person. Placing a drop leaf w/ a chair at each end will not eat up any of the useful space in the kitchen.

Then just pull the table into the adjacent area outside the kitchen when you have more quests. I have a dropleaf that when closed it seats two & when opened seats ten comfortable & 12 in a pinch.

Glass tables are very hard to keep looking clean & you can't add leaves to them.

for wall add large wall art will gives your wall new look and interest .......for more original artwork check my shop too...

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PooArtGallery?ref=profile_shopname

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PooArtGallery?ref=profile_shopname

Dear lamarons: I agree with tedbixby above. Take some time to explore your likes and dislikes. You say you like blue. What shade of blue? How much blue? Do you want all your walls blue or just below or above your chair rail? Do you just neutral walls as exist now and then you can do a blue back splash and perhaps a modern blue sofa? Or a blue chair ? Or just some blue pillows and wall art with a lot of blues in it?

See the kitchen in the link below. It answers your question as to whether or not your cabinets and floors limit you from using blue and other colors.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/case-design-remodeling-inc-contemporary-kitchen-dc-metro-phvw-vp~87240

If you want to have a modern touch in your space, then I
would suggest metallic colors such as silver grey.

I like grey, I think that could look good.

I went shopping this weekend and was looking for kitchen tables with nesting stools that you can move underneath to save space. I really did not see too many.

If you're still feeling stuck, feel free to look through our Houzz profile. We're a local interior design studio and would love to help. You can also contact us directly: info@rethinkdesignstudio.com.