I'm eager to see responses because we have a similar sliding glass door on one end of a wall and window treatments are driving me crazy. Beyond blinds, I'm stumped. Blinds look stark to me.

I am planning on leaving it open, no neighbors, but maybe just simple curtains? My biggest dilemma is furniture placement with twofocal points. I can work with one focal point, but two?

new house pretty

Heres a picture of the opposite wall, from the foyer doorway.

What are the 2 focal points? Sorry for being so dense, haven't had coffee yet. The fireplace seems the focal point.

What furniture are you working with ? can you take a photo from the kitchen doorway looking into the room so you can see the full room?

what about painting the brickstones white ? and use bright furniture so it will look bigger

Jcorn1 the two focal points are the fireplace and the big sliding doors with a view. If there were a window on the other side it would be more balanced and I could work with that. Hoffi, I really am debating painting the fireplace neutral tones with beiges greys to lighten it! Amy, I have 2 cream loveseats, 2 cream wingbacks, many assorted little wood chairs, I have never bought a new couch in my 63 years and am itching to do that, but I don't know if it would be too big for this room. I don't like a tv over the fireplace, so could it go on the short wall to the right of the fireplace? If so, then what? I don't need to use any or all of this furniture, I am open to suggestions! Thanks for your input! Oh, Kelly you are speakin, my language, the light fixture needs to go on someone's steamboat.

I have a similar room in the house I am about to move into, except the fireplace area is adjacent to the kitchen, and the end with the window (I have a big bay window instead of sliding glass doors) has more space beyond the window. My plan is to set up two areas: TV viewing on the end with the window and on the fireplace end will either be a dining table or a sort of game table. I'm not sure yet how well the kitchen is going to accommodate a table for dinner. If it doesn't work there, then I will need the fireplace area for a dining table. Otherwise, I am considering something like a poker table, or just maybe something like a bumper pool table or an air hockey table -- I still have one teenager in high school and a young 20s in college - so may do one of these if they want it. I am thinking two rugs, one for each area to anchor the area. You mentioned possibly an entertainment center to the right of your fireplace -- in my photo searches for fireplaces, I have seen quite a number of examples like that. You can make it look great, with couch/loveseat/chairs in a "U" shape around both fireplace and entertainment center to its right.

Paint the walls a pale gray and the fireplace a darker gray. Replace the firescreen with something simple in a flat black finish. Add a deeper mantel.

I agree that the fireplace is the focal point. Do you have a dining room or could you make the space in front of the doors your dining area?

Are those your pictures? If so, please don't hang them until your furniture is in place...it will only confuse the matter.