Mimi, Start with figuring out what you want to do in the space. Is a comfy lounge chair a must? Will you be reading, playing games, entertaining 10 people? Then create an idea book that has furniture and accessories that you love and use that help you figure out your personal style. Your home should reflect your lifestyle and the things that you love and nobody on Houzz can tell you what that is.

Mimi you've done an excellent job with updating/modernizing the layout. I feel you, I've done all my own updating to save money, due to also not being rich. I did end up hiring a designer briefly to help me with an issue I created when painting my open floor plan one color, which ended up being totally wrong for my kitchen.

She was surprisingly very helpful in not just solving my main issue, but helping with different design decisions throughout my condo. Some designers can be hired for an hour or two or just one afternoon, so it doesn't have to break the bank or be as costly as you might think. If you think of it this way, it's truly an invaluable service when you have a lot of different design decisions to make and run the chance of making costly and time consuming mistakes.

Starting with a complete blank slate may seem easy, but you may find that getting full design help online with lots of different people chiming in may become even more confusing and frustrating, than having just one person presenting a cohesive design. That is, unless you can provide solid pieces you are contemplating and someone could rearrange them in your room to give you a better idea of what you want, and what it will look like in the end.

Maybe make a list of all your requirement for the room, such as room seating and usage. You have some really good idea books already created. Is the problem just connecting the living room ideas with the kitchen?

Here are some rug suggestions:

https://www.eorc.us/

Thankyou Stephd for your response. Yes my biggest challenge is making sure the colors flow, and not look like 1 big jumbled mess...I would never go into a remodel the way I did this one. Make sure TO PLAN PLAN PLAN!!!!! I literally was tired of my small kitchen and took a hammer to a partial wall to make an open space and I just hated the outside of my home and needed the inside to be a place I loved. I had just got done fighting Stage 4 Lymphoma Cancer that had metastasized to my bones. My neighbors-2 families-with 6 kids total- our 3 homes were a backyard triangle..we loved them like family, well they literally turned their back on us. I had chemotherapy for 10 months and my only chance of cure was a stem cell transplant which required a 1month hospital stay. When I returned home, every time me and the kids went outside all the families and the children would go inside I was very sick but I tried to call them and talk to them but they would just ignore us, The hardest part was my kids asking me"Mommy why won't anyone play with me anymore" Anyways I wanted my inside of my home to be a place of solace a place that I loved and I wish I would have planned more because I thought I would just tear down the wall add a few cabinets, flooring but it turns out maple changes color over the years so I had to start over I absolutely love the dark floors the gray walls and the white cabinets but this remodel has turned out to be financially way more than we ever planned, and Time consuming!! I lost my job of 18 years, I have a son going to college in 3years, and have tons of bills. So don't enter into a remodel lightly. This has been extremely time and financially consuming, we have to get all new furniture because ironically I had 2 cats that were not declawed and both just passed of the same cancer as me..weird I know..so, getting back to the question is YES I need it to flow correctly with color and furniture. I have to get countertops, solid surface, something soft..prob white, curtain rods and curtains new bat
R stools and furniture. I'm trying to use the Houzz part that lets you use a pic and put the furniture in it, but haven't figured out I will keep trying to try and save on a decorator. Thanks and sorry I know this isn't a psych board, I just want people to understand what they are getting into!!