Would be more helpful once all the furniture are in place.

I will definitely post once we have the furniture moved in, but here a photo for now sshowing the couch, coffee table and 2 chairs.... we are not using the side tables, lamps, or anything else in the photo.

more photos...

Wow! How could you ever leave such a beautiful place. The views from the windows look gorgeous! I'm sure you will soon make the new home just as welcoming.

It is actually my parents place in Smithville, TN - they are selling it if anyone is interested! As for my new place, I am trying to figure out my color scheme with the gray walls, wood floors, and brown furniture. I was thinking ivory/cream curtains with a matching area rug, but wanted everyone else's opinion. I will probably put the couch so that the back of it is facing the eating area. I am pretty much starting with a blank canvas so please feel free to comment!

Add small table in entry with mirror.

A big silk palm palm in big pot in front if ugly intake vent. What wall is TV. On long one? You will have to float furn. Not sure how wide it is?

The living room is 16x12 and the dining room is 11x10. I was going to mount the TV on the long wall. Would you put the small table with mirror between the front window and front door? It wouldn't work in the rest of the entryway because of the closet door and garage door....the only other option would be to put it on the wall with the vent - but on the other side of that bathroom door. I love the idea of the silk plant in front of the vent. And for the round 60" table, I like the idea of glass to keep the room airy and open. Would a light-colored wood round farm table be too much? I don't think we can part with the recliners for now, but maybe adding in light pillows and area rug?

What do you mean by not covering the windows? Keeping the furniture away from the windows, right? How would you place the furniture pieces in the living room?

Kristal - One of the most successful solutions for you is going to be to find a fabric with gray and brown and your accent color. Ideally it has some other colors in it in a print that you can use as your color inspiration. It will give the eye a color story that will automatically tie things together.

I looked and found a few things for you to consider. I went looking for a fresh orangey-red because it is modern but also works great with both gray and brown. You guys will want to make the room young and fun.

Here is a suzani with black, gray, brown and the fresh persimmon tone. If you love it too, it's an upholstery fabric, and I think it is perfect to cover another hand me down accent chair - unless Mom is very understanding when you want to cover one or both of the recliners to be "yours." This will anchor the room's color story, lower the quantity of matching brown. The modern suzani is really fresh (also practical - will hide all kinds of trouble). Not inexpensive, but will wear like iron. It is generally so much less expensive to cover a chair than to buy one - so take a photo by an upholstery shop and ask "how many yards" how much to recover . .
http://calicohome.com/product/designer+fabrics+for+the+home/shop+fabrics+by+color/orange/marley+henna.do

Then, look at this pretty persimmon and cream print for curtains - easy to make yourself even if you don't sew http://beautifulfabric.com/asccustompages/products.asp?fav=0&fpage=1&page=1&categoryID=51&productID=5878&pStart=0&recNum=42

These patterns will be great together - the black print is small enough where the cream is large scale and they both have the same kind of vine-y natural thing going on - black has more colors, the simplicity of the curtain fabric is also really charming. If you recover, have them save you some of the leather, because if you make leather backed pillows for the sofa, they won't slide off - here's a simple stripe that would work there - http://beautifulfabric.com/asccustompages/products.asp?fpage=1&productid=5904&storeid=39 or to cover dining chair seats. Here's another fun print that would work on a pillow for the leather / in the same room with the first two - all neutral http://beautifulfabric.com/asccustompages/products.asp?fav=0&fpage=1&page=1&categoryID=62&productID=8832&pStart=0&recNum=184

Think about a rug in rust tones - something basic to help bring color in. Overstock has good selection if you keep watching, especially in the colored rugs. This is inexpensive polypropolene, gives you the idea. http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Rust-Floral-Rug-79-x-99/6359896/product.html

Now, add and layer, taupe and black and white. You might add some of the rustic industrial elements when you buy media furniture - they often combine wood and galvinized metal to help connect the brown leather elements to the gray and repeat the layering of gray to black in the room. Hope this helps - these fabrics may not be your perfect thing, but I hope they help you see how you can use the brown but make it your own.

You just bought this house, so I am thinking money is tight right now. Blue goes great with brown, try some blue curtains. Ice blue would go great with the walls and help the room look airy and then the brown furniture would serve as an anchor to such an ethereal space. Silk is expensive and hard to maintain, try a"bengaline" an inexpensive artificial fiber fabric that takes the sun well. You can get it in a moire pattern for a formal look, or just plain, which has subtle ribbing like a grosgrain ribbon or some mens ties. Make sure the curtains go from ceiling to floor so the room does not look "chopped off". A few pillows in different shades of blue and ivory and you are done. If you get new lamps, go toward glass or silvered/nickel-finish ones, to keep the elegant grey and ice blue theme. Art can be any color and need not match the room color, though the picture frame should be well thought out. A bold modern graphic, even in black and white with some blue would give the room the shot in the arm the brown furniture needs as contrast. Good luck!

A little too much brown in the room. I would suggest you wait a while when you move in - hopefully and maybe you will decide to replace those bulky furniture pieces or move them to a more casual space in the house. Then you can conceive of the décor better. I would think it would be better to save up for new pieces that are slim and tailored and fit this room. I don't mean to be critical - I just wanted to offer the same sincere advice I'd offer a client.

The pale gray is going to lighten up whatever you do in this space, and the brown leather is going to be super durable. If you have some fresh fabrics in the room that reference them both, you will be really pleased with the result.
Here is a good example of the rustic industrial media cabinet - you would only want one touch of this in the room - http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Industrial_Empire_Media_Cabinet/210/ under the media in a new location - even slightly angled between the bath door and the stair so you can place your sofa on the long wall - I'm not sure it will fit well with its back to dining and not conflict with the path and it will block needed light from front window. Then you can put one chair with its back angled to dining and one with its back to the entry window and have a nice sized seating grouping while keeping your circulation path open. This rustic industrial mode will help bring your mom's leather furniture that she was so kind to offer into a room that has fresh style for you guys.
I would avoid glass topped tables here - they are too light and airy while the leather is visually weighty. I think you might find a great round wood table on craigslist or at the local thrift store, then just paint 4 -5 wood dining chairs (even in different styles - paint them black or be bold & paint them all the persimmon accent tone) - that is fresh, a little new rustic, and will be really charming. One more suggestion - paint the back of the bathroom door with black chalkboard paint. The white trim will look like a frame, but you can put some cute notes or sayings on it that change with the seasons and then, even though it is in the middle of the room, it becomes kind of a fun feature.

Congratulations on your first home!

kristal probably wanted more ideas - so i'm bumping. Guys, can you help her with gray and brown combo? Furniture layout? First home and some terrific leather coming from parents as they downsize. She needs to make it hers - fresh. More input?

Wow love pics. Are you planning on staying rustic?

I meant don't put full drapes on windows, just simple panels. You could put in build ins on long wall with TV. I would do reclaimed lumber. Stay a little rustic.

As far entry a narrow table in entry by front door add mirror.

This is tricky I don't see recessed lites. So how to do light? Will have to float furn to be able to see TV.

Kristal, tell us more about your budget and your likes - anythng so far that rings your bell? any feedback so we can triangulate to something that works well for you?

Grey walls with anything rustic look beautiful. Here is a brown couch and dark leather ottoman with a rustic sideboard used as a tv stand. You said you were mounting your tv so I would recommend putting something like this underneath.

Hi Everyone! First off, thank you so much for all of the comments! I really appreciate them. I want to stay rustic, but not as much as my parents home (the pictures with the furniture in them) - I was thinking more modern rustic, so I really love Andrea's pictures of the table and tv stand.

I think the only option for the TV will be on the long wall, so the only way I see possible to float the furniture would be to put the couch so that the back is facing the dining room and put the 2 recliners so the backs are facing the big front window. The distance between the TV wall and walkway is only 8 feet so I don't think I will be able to fit any furniture there - what do you think?

I love the narrow table in the entry with a mirror, as well as the reclaimed lumber build ins on the long wall! I will try and find a rustic table that will mach the dining room table, TV stand and build ins.

Now for the area rug and window panels.... I want to keep the room light and airy since we have so much dark brown, so do you think ivory or super pale blue? Or would you do a bright accent color like persimmon? My husbnad is in artist so he will paint some big pieces to hang on the walls.

Thanks again for everyone's input! This is very helpful.

Your furniture is way too large for the area. I think you will find that our when you begin to place it in your home. A round dining table and chairs will encroach on the bottom of your stairs, so I would recommend either a square pub table or a rectangular one, placed the long direction of the room. I would look for curtains in a light background of natural, loose-weave linen, with some grey, brown, and teal as an accent. The walls appear on my monitor to have a blue cast, so therefore the blue accent color. Blues tend to feel spacious, like the sky, whereas a warm color such as persimmon, as you suggested, would advance more into the space. Just the nature of color. Good luck with the furniture, but I'm sure you will find that it is just too overwhelming for the space you have available.

Measure the next time you are there - i suggested the television between the stair and door because the furniture scale is so great and I think you will end up with the sofa on the long wall. Don't buy a lot of furniture before you get in there so you know the sizes that will work. As for the color choices, all are fine, but ifyou want a modern look, you need to find some modern print fabrics to tell your color story. Go look at fabrics and see which colors you like best that combine gray and brown and an accent color.

Go ice blue for curtains, ivory is too washed out with brown and the ice blue is more modern. If you like it rustic, then go with linen curtains, though I( personally like some reflective shine, ergo the earlier suggestion of bengaline (and it's cheap and long wearing too....) If you like persimmon, have your artistic husband include a bit of that color in whatever artwork he creates. Persimmon and ice-blue pillows will look nice together and will play off and liven up all the brown. The trick in decorating is making it all look like a positive choice, and not doing things that look like they are hiding a negative; in other words, stop apologizing for all the brown and use it as the base point for the curtains, pillows and art choices, so the room will have an exciting dynamic. Good luck and enjoy the process; no one is going to grade you....

can I ask the reasonsto keeping the grey paint? Because I honestly don't think its going to work with the furniture you have. And I don't think it really works that well with the floorboards either. :( Are you planning to update your furniture down the track? If you are, then I would suggest a warmer paint colour in the interim, a nice stone/beige/latte ( http://www.dulux.co.uk/colours/neutral/#crispy_crumble ) and then when you get new furniture, repaint the walls to suit. Good luck

Saw this and thought of you! Some great rustic pieces...
https://www.onekingslane.com/sales/22379

the photo of the brown leather furniture shows burnishing and tones that definitely will echo those gray walls - it is light and bright and will be a nice way to help the brown feel new for you guys.

Contemporary or transitional furniture would be perfect for the room. Your other furniture is rustic and too bulky. I would bend toward light toned furniture. Place emphasis on the art and drapery colors if funds are low. Also get large area rugs under the living and dining areas. Hope this helps.

They might be tall people who are really comfy in large scale furniture guys - but the scale is one reason kristal that I suggested the suzani for the recliners - you might be surprised if you ordered a large swatch of it to see how modern it can make those big comfy chairs. Rustic industrial is modern, and brings in more metal to echo the gray walls. This room can be great fast. So great of mom and dad to try to help start you off - can't refuse good leather furniture that hubby is already in love with, but you can suggest a little change up for your chair and she won't feel offended at all.

Thank you libradesigneye for your constructive and helpful comments! I really appreciate your help. I love the suzani pattern and want to cover the chairs, but I really like the pale blue, taupe and cream shades the best. What do you think about finding a suzani with those colors instead? Also, the rustic industrial furniture is amazing! I am excited to find a tv stand, entry way table and eating table once we move in

Here's a fabric that is a lot lighter. Not sure how it will balance / work in the room with the leather but that is for you to test out. Started by trying to find blend of gray and brown plus in a neat fabric. This sounds like what you are looking for color wise - http://calicohome.com/product/designer+fabrics+for+the+home/shop+by+pattern/ethnic/roman+circle++-+robert+allen+fabrics+indigo.do

I love the idea of using creams, teals, and even/or an occasional pop of red or dark blue.

Buy a large area rug which has some gray in it. It depends upon the size of your room, of course. I have an 11'x18' area rug in the living room. The large storage furniture (an armoire and a server-storage unit) sit on the hardwood against the walls. Everything else sits fully ON the rug: two full-size sofas, two large upholstered chairs, a square end table connecting the sofas at the corner, a large coffee table, two more occasional tables and an upholstered bench.

Lovely home! I would bring in lighter blues/creams in pillows, art, & rugs. I'd replace the existing bulky wood coffee table with something lighter, both in color and style. Add light white/cream curtains panels. Eventually, think about replacing the recliners with smaller scale chairs. For a layout, I would place the sofa by the window, with the chairs facing the sofa and the TV o a low cabinet along the long wall. The door on the opposite walls seems odd. Can it be relocated?

Oldie

All that brown furniture is going to kill the refreshing lightness of the new living room.

Paint the door between the entry and the stairs to match the wall.

Oldie...

Burgundy drapes an chocolate couch with a red rug to pop .