Oh! I really like the one you have now on the floor with the chairs and the contrast it gives with the floor. AND it looks like a fun rug for someone to sit on and play a game, like in the one pic. The one right above does not look as soft and comfy.

Thank for world of confidence :) Yes, the kids are loving it so are the dogs. Although the mini dachshund might think it's grass :)

@abbyjean - would you might chiming in on my other post regarding the curtains for the TV room ?

What is the name of it??? I would love to!

I think :) if you click on my mpal13 it should show the discussions I have - I think. Let me know if you have any trouble finding it.

Could you move the bench to the other end of the rug ? It may slow the dogs down :)

Ha! Ha! Not an option :) Our house is kid friendly and dog friendly :) But, it might work when we have people over :)

I am 100% with you on that one! We are also family friendly whether our family members have 2 legs or 4!
Sorry to be late to your post but you have started with some great elements here, you just need to have a more defined plan to pull it all together and have the rooms flow from one to the next. ! I created an app called Color911. ( find out more about it at Color911.com) You can create your own palette of colors OR take/find a photo of something that inspires you and pull the colors from it.. or check out the color themes. Within the app are many pre-made color themes that are colors that all work beautifully together. You can choose any number of colors within a theme and use the colors for everything from wall color to accent colors. I have been an award winning color consultant and have authored two best selling books on color. I created the color themes myself. If you find a theme that inspires you it can be great fun to shop for anything when you have the theme to use as your guide. Each of the themes are different. I attached a theme I thought worked will with your chairs.. by using a color theme from the Color911 app, you can choose colors for anything from carpet to accent pillows to wall color, whatever you need color for. This is just one sample although there are many that match your colors.. I hope this inspires you!

Love the light curtains and chairs... I agree that the bench is a little dark and it may be the shape of it that is not working rather than the colour. I feel a squarer ottoman style might work better.

Also I do like the rug- it looks comfy!... But if im perfectly honest I would prefer a much lighter rug. Something with a more beige/ cream to it to tie in the floor and piano (?) I assume painting the piano is a no go :)

http://houzz.com/photos/90636
Something like this is lighter but because it has different texture and colours running through it won't show up stains easily... I would even recommend swapping the living rug into this room just to see how a lighter rug looks.. But not sure if it wil work with colours.

You could have floor cushions for the kids to sit on :)
But I also agree with an earlier post. The bench in front of window behind the chairs would prob look really good :)

Hello Hauzzers, I hope my helpers haven't forgotten about me :) Okay, so, I got the green-ish bench too. The color almost looks sage ? Also, I'd like to get a couple of smaller ottomans to put in front of the 2 chairs to rest my feet at times. Would brown faux leather work ? What do you think about the lighter bench. It's exactly the same except for the color.

@Amy Wax - LOVE the color palate, it's a very useful app for someone like me ! :) Does this mean that if I wanted to I could throw something orange-y it would work? I am learning how to read this palate :)

@saya 85 - I agree that the rug would look better in a lighter color instead of the masculine color I got. I have found similar rugs in the lighter color, but they're not nearly as comfy as this one. And comfy is what we're all about in our home :) The kids still enjoy playing on the floor (and the rug just feels really good under our feet :)). I've been looking at wool rugs, and I found one, the only thing holding me back is $1300 price tag and the fact that I already have a wool rug in another room and those rugs shed - worst than my 2 dogs :)

Thank so much everyone - I really appreciate it!

Oh, and the curtains! Taking a vote on which one ? :)

Forget YOU? Are you kidding me!!! Please take down the little pic by the blue curtain as for some reason, my eye wants to go there and it is throwing off my focus. STRANGE, huh? We may want to leave the walls there blank. Now.....about the room......YOU HAVE BEEN BUSY! You have cleaned and moved things around and it already has such a good feeling! I LOVE the table between the chairs. Enjoy your morning coffee with that right there! I had a feeling you wanted something for your feet by putting the big ottoman there. I think you need to make a choice......feet or toys, as one big one going across does not work. We can still get toys and feet taken care of, but I think you would need one of those small cubes that are a leather look, usually in a brown. They would look nice with the table and you could put something different in each one.

When I look at the full view of your picture, the gray rug with the chairs and the gray behind just looks so darn nice!!!! The blue curtains match the chairs so nicely, too.

LOVE LOVE the pillows you put on the chairs, too. WOW! You are on a roll here!!!!

Done! What do you think about the lighter bench? Gotta run to kids' camps but will check back in the afternoon.

That lighter bench does NOTHING for me at all! I am too in love with the blue and gray!!!

Lol I have to agree and disagree at same time.

1) First have you considered like a shag rug? In lighter colour. Soft too :)

2) I think you know that orange works because I see a bit of orange in your other rug?

3) If you have to stick with rug then def the lighter curtains work... And to b fair the lighter ottoman would prob lighten the space... Wondering whether it would look good in front of curtains?

Hmm think you should take pics of 2-3 arrangements and compare side by side

dark bench behind chairs and light curtain. Pretty

Guess I like the dark contrast of the rug with the wooden floors and the white walls. A shag rug is good as it is soft, but I would be careful of how light you go with kids....darn kids have a way of spilling without even meaning to!!! LOL AND shag might be hard to wipe clean IF that happens. Guess dogs can be guilty, too. A darker color hides a lot of sins. Yup....been there!

May we see the window with BOTH blue curtain panels up? Just to be sure??? Gosh, I still love those pillows you found....not only for color, but the chairs are big enough to handle them, too, for your back.

I just took a gander in to your living room with one of the first pics you posted.......can that bench by the window by the fireplace be moved to by the piano? Not sure you sit on it and I am guessing it is storage. THEN the couch and rug could move down some and not be sooooo close to your bar stools. I am soooo hoping to get some more space at the other end of that room. Too much there! Oh, the bossy pants fit sooo well today!!! The lamp is good and gives some height to that wall there and helps to fill in some of the space with those high pics on the wall. I will ignore how high they are if you fill it in with the lamp!!! LOL

Would the bench fit where the dog beds are? We would find a place for the dogs, I promise! IF it got moved out of the corner and some pillows put on it, you could sit on it, too.

OR OR OR slide the couch down as far as it can go to still have room for the bar stools...and I mean room!:) THEN can the brown chair go down at the other end of the couch with the lamp between the chair and couch? All snuggled in by the fireplace? Can't remember......think a tv is on the other side? Could it angle more for the chair to see better IF necessary?

Will do some rearranging tomorrow as I ran out of time today, hmm...almost a 100 degrees outside and the kids wanting me in the pool with them or rearranging the room :)

@abbyjean The "TV room" - the sofa is too wide to squeeze by the fire place (I think we tried it before), but I'll give it another go and take some more photos :) This chair is huge for this room - it's our elephant in the room :) I'll also see how far I can slide the sofa to the bar stools - I don't know how the hubby will like the view from the other side of the room :) Btw...there really isn't much space between the chair, the sofa and the bar stools (maybe 2 ft?). So when we have guests over, I'd have to move the sofa away from the bar stools?

I will do my best to take some updated photos tomorrow morning and upload them tomorrow am too. Thank so much for kind words and super suggestions.

Oh, and yes, my mini dog did his #2 on the new rug today - after being outside for 30 minutes! So, yes, the longer thread on the rug is definitely making me nervous, but I do agree that this thing will be forgiving :) I saw the same rug in lighter color today, unfortunately it was too light.

I also like the gray rug with the grey bench behind the table. That grounds the room well, The blue pillows and curtains keep it cheery and not too serious, perfect for kids and dogs.

We must be neighbors as it is almost 100 here today, too, but no pool in my backyard! Gotta love AC, though! I am leaving in the AM to drive 100 SHORT miles and pick up 2 grandkids and then we are leaving on Saturday for The Black Hills with them and one other.....talk about fun, but I wlll miss out on some fun here, too. I am going to try to check in tomorrow night for sure, once the packing is done. Two 5 year olds and a 7 year old....pray for us! :)

We do not wanna upset hubby and I understand how important the chair is to them and their tv!!! I was just trying to free up some room between the couch and bar stools and between the couch and the chair. There must be a way to make it all fit!!!
Dog must have been telling you he loved the rug!!!

Okay, still working on the rooms, I am changing the curtain rod, should I place it all the way where the wall meets the ceiling or however long my curtains are (98 in)? This room has a "slanted ceiling", it starts out at 108" and goes up to the second story loft.

here is a better picture of the lamp

Okay so here is the updated sitting area of this room. Your thoughts? Ooops, forgot to take the picture down...What should I do with the other wall? Original thought were custom bookcases, but after recent trip to Arhouse found this bookcase - what do you think? Oh, and the floor lamp, as well as the piano lamp - opinions please...I am thinking about spray painting the piano lamp blue or light orange (or a hue of one or the other), or should I leave it the way it is - brass? Thank you!

Arhous cabinet

What a beautiful window! I LOVE panes like that and I had no idea it went all the way to the floor! It seems like such a shame to cover it up, but I understand if you need privacy. Does it work to have the drapes open in the day and then slide them shut at night? I know I will have some that disagree with this, but nothing to do when you have that length of curtains with changing the height of the rod........so I would make the rod at the height it needs to be so those drapes just skim the floor for you. Looks great with them up together!!!!

I like your floor lamp by the chair and I LOVE the brass piano lamp. I am not sure I would love it as much if it was painted a COLOR.

BEAUTIFUL cabinet! AND lots of storage to boot! Have you measured to see how it would fit? There is something about the high orange shelves that do not seem to make sense. I can see you NEED them for the games, but can you even reach them up there? Can they be painted so they fade in to the wall instead of having the orange scream LOOK AT ME! OR could pretty pretties go up there and then the games somewhere where you could get to them easily. Also wondering if the shelf by the stairway would fit under the shelf it is near and close up the gap and maybe not make that shelf seem so high.

Just noticed the footstool in front of a chair........great! AND I bet you use it there, too. It just fades in to the carpet and that works in that room.

Keep the brass lamp--don't paint it. I love the Arhous bookcase. Could you possibly put your board games in the lower cabinet and take down those high shelves? I understand why they are up high (kiddos) but they are not very pretty. I don't care for that sagey colored storage bench, maybe you could find another home for it? You don't want your room getting too crowded. The leather storage ottoman looks good, maybe another one for the other chair... I'm not sure why you made your curtain rod narrower, but I liked it extended out further, like in your original photo--makes the window look wider and the panels could be spread out a little bit more to see the lovely color.

After scrolling back through the comments and photos, it appears to me that the real multi-purpose room in your home should be the one in the back with access to outdoors. This one in front by your staircase is your "public face" if you will, and should look like a sitting room, a place to meet and greet guests, before opening up the more private areas of the home where you and yours can play and be totally relaxed. I also see evidence in both rooms that you're a fan of high shelves, and they are ruining any decor statement you might want to make. They could all be used together to great effect though. Hope you'll consider flipping the two rooms. You have enough nice pieces to pull a great front room together, but the combo room is just not what I think is needed in an area that should be serving as your foyer/living room.

Well, that is an interesting thought for sure! Change the rooms.......how do you feel about that?

abbyjean - don't you think a pair of those Arhous cabinets flanking the door to the other room would be beautiful? The bench could go under the stairwell wall with a great painting above. Maybe that entire stair wall and the wall behind the cabinets could be wallpapered to become the focal point. The other room looks to be a family room and that's my idea of where the multi-purpose function would work best. I think the fact that this room "never gets done" is because it just isn't right for the function that is being forced into it.

OR move the piano over to the staircase wall, as the colors look nice together and then it is away from an outside wall, too. I know the couch and chair would fit nicely in this front room....is there a place for the tv, too? Is there room for the kids' stuff in the other area? That truly would be nice for the kids to play while you were in the kitchen and the fireplace would be fun to sit on the floor in front of with some games.

Yes! The orange shelves were put in that room temporarily so that the kids wouldn't be able to reach them when there were really little. Now we're at the point where we want them to be able to access the games that's why we're looking into built ins or cabinets, which would fit perfectly against those walls.

Still have in mind moving the piano onto the stair case wall, although then I'd be afraid of overcrowding that area (cabinet, piano, bench - might be a bit too much? :))

@decoenthusiaste - I appreciate your comments, the other room though cannot be a multipurpose room as it's too small. It's our TV room and fireplace room with a comfy lounger sofa. This room is adjecent to the kitchen and the breakfast nook - it's all pretty open.

My opinion is the rooms are what we make of them. Yes, maybe some would make the room with the piano as a traditional sitting room. I don't like to waste space, and in my home all the rooms are used. Whether it's for greeting and entertaining or for the kids' playdates, etc. Well, except for one room - the dining room. Even that room was used by cub scouts to carve soap sculptures on ! :) The husband knew what would happen to him if there was a even a tiny scratch on my favorite table :)
The trouble I had was finding items on the budget that were pretty and yet functional for everyday usage and the layout of the room as the ac/heat vents are where the curtain panels are, so, if I wanted to put a neat couch under that window it would block the vents - not good, also that's the sport we put our Christmas tree at.

@abbyjean- glad to see you're back, I LOVE Black Hills! Years back my husband and I did the "walkathon" up the Crazy Horse mountain - it was the longest 4 hours of my life :), BUT, the greatest time ever!

Not everyone has heard of the Black Hills, so you are even nearer to my heart now! I know just the walk you are talking about, too! The kids were soooo good on the long car ride and I was thankful I had activity bags packed, too. Mt. Rushmore was on this visit instead of Crazy Horse, but we did drive by it. Reptile Gardens really got their attention. But still........there's no place like home......and the more I hear about your home and your kids and all that goes on there.....MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD to you!!!!

You are so funny - I may be far from Mom of the year award, but my son's request for his 9th b-day this past May was to have a sleepover with 20 of his friends, and guess what? He did ! And due to the bad weather, all the kids were inside! It was a blast - for them :) I needed a nap the next day :)

TWENTY 9 year old boys at a sleep over! OMG! That is like a classroom of children and to think of having them over to your home to spend the night.....wow! And why is it that the weather never cooperates for things like this!

ha!ha! - I had it all planned out too, 3 huge tents in the backyard too! At least we were able to do s'mores:)

What color would you add to this scheme to make room little more feminine? Or do you think what I have here is okay?

With your pillows and curtains, I think it says feminine with a capital F!
Just realized you have another thread about this room.......interesting!!!

Yes, I posted it twice by accident! - and don't know how to remove one? I'm double dipping - getting some amazing advice - twice :)!

Keep the gray rug and the blue curtain. Place larger frames on the walls by the windows. Try and hide as many toys as you can in cupboards.

NUTTIN' wrong with double dipping!