Yes, the medallion is centered on the fireplace. The red wall area has to serve as a dining room, so the room is living room/dining room combo.

I am not sure your rug will work in this space. How much space to the red wall?

To get the feel of each space, you may need no rug.

Could you use the rug in another part of the house?

I agree that the shelf over the fireplace should come down it isn't doing a thing for the fireplace- what colors are in your rug besides the red? Also do you have furniture already?

The rug is 9x12 and it only fits in this room. We would like to use it to distinguish the living room from the dining room.

Decide where you want the two rooms to be separated and place the edge of the rug there. Do not worry about centering the medallion as furniture in the room will take away from that, too....and the whole fireplace insert is not really centered. It almost looks like the current wall color, except for that accent wall right now, is the same color in the rug? Is that shade in there? That color makes a nice background for this space and hopefully you are planning to do the walls the same, even though the floors will be different.

We have a gray couch, but that's all. We thought we'd wait on the other items until we figured out a wall color. I never even questioned the fireplace mantle, but you both are right. It does look odd. The rug has many colors. I'm posting a detail.

You could put a nice BIG mirror over the fireplace since it would reflect the outdoors with those windows right there.

So what I am seeing as tan may be a salmon color? On those little ribbon type things right by the white? The light blue could be very nice with a gray couch. Flowing sheer panels by the windows could be blue if you did not do the walls that color.

I would match the cream color in the rug. The rug is so bold I would keep the walls soft and neutral.

That's a great idea! My husband and I just moved here from the Bronx, and the natural view is our favorite part of the home...

linlac.......what a great perception for this room! AND that wall color does not look cold or anything like that. It lets the rug shine.

Thank you everyone, for the input. I really like the mirror idea. The rug colors are salmon, aqua, green, cream, light blue, dark blue, and red. What about a very very light aqua for the walls? Almost white?

There ya go! You used a color from the rug......a variation of it.....and the gray couch will love it, too!!!

Your room is beautiful and I love that red wall however Abbyjean is right your fireplace insert is off balance! Maybe if you took out the insert painted the inset brick black and painted the red brick white it would look more like your inspiration picture

Hi Donna and abbyjean, I noticed the fireplace was off center when I took a picture of it. I can't believe I didn't notice it earlier. I can't figure out why it's not centered other than maybe they used the extra space to but the fire tools? (new home owner...don't know any of the proper vocabulary). I like the idea of painting the bricks white. Donna, by inset brick, do you mean the brick inside the fireplace?

That extra area to the left of the insert really could be used for the fire tools....I call them that, too. If you are leaving the golden/brass color, get some that match that.

Yes I'm sure they make some type of firebox high temp paint. Google it?It is very strange indeed but I'm sorry it was the first thing I noticed.

Is it gas? Could be used for the "tools"...

Oh, they have that paint at Menard's and Lowe's....all those places. We have used it. It is even in a spray can and soooo easy to use. I want to say it is Rustoleum, but it has been several years since we did that.

It isn’t the size of the rug which is the problem, it is centering the medalion on the fireplace. If you do that how much bare floor is left for the dining room area? You can't have your dining chairs on the living room rug.

Your room is 16 x 27 and your rug is 9 x 12. I am going to guess the fireplace is at 13.5 and that is where the medallion will be. That leaves you about 7’ from each wall.



There is no way you can have a dining room area that is only 7’ wide.

Hi judyg, the remaining space is 7' x 16'

Hi Donna, it's a wood fireplace

Love the pale aqua with the gray sofa. The huge window is awesome. Hope you post the finished project.

Hi judyg, given the small space for a living/dining room combo, I expect that the medallion will be covered partially by a couch or coffee table, so i'm not worried about it being centered off the fireplace. It would be nice, but I don't think it's feasible for us. We can, though, move the rug down towards the other end of the room to create more space for the dining room.

Would the medallion then be centered on the back windows?

hmm, lovely room but odd fireplace... the off center firebox. Well, here is what I would do. You can easily balance it by trimming it out with some moldings/boards that are wider and covering more on the odd side. That is a very inexpensive fix. i also noticed that there is some type of stone.. a slate maybe on floor? Is it natural stone? Depending on your chosen color scheme, you might consider a few things after correcting the firebox to be central in that space.You might paint the brick a shade of gray for example, if that fits with your scheme and will make it stand out from the white trim. Then, the slate.. I might consider making it more neutral ( and sophisticated) by carefully painting it a black or deep charcoal, in a paint that stand up to heat. ( They can tell you at your local paint store). I would spray paint out the brass insert ( brass is very dated) I've done this in a few cases myself, very easily using a pewter spray paint that withstands heat ( any Big Box store sells a number of them... you can chose hammered finishes or other textures. These are much more " up to date" ) Your dark floors are lovely! Congrats on a great space! Have fun and best of luck!

Is there another space for eating? 7' wide is not enough room to have a table/chairs. If you really need to have a dining space, I'd propose dividing into two spaces, but have the FP in the "center" of the two spaces. If you did that, the rug would be too big for the living space. I like the idea of a very light aqua for the wall color.

I am just afraid that you won’t get the look or feel that you want with that rug. The rug will ground the furniture, but you need a definite space to place it.

Hi judyg, no, the medallion would be even more off center. The rug would be about 3' from the living room wall

Pooh...oh well, I would not use the rug, but I understand that you do and it is your home. Just make sure you have room for the dining area.

I am guessing at your sofa color...a darker gray. I would choose BM Horizon for the walls and accent colors in this key largo.

I wonder if there would be enough room for a smaller round table to the left side? While still using your beautiful rug

Hi judyg, you nailed the gray and I really like the color palette!

lchickadee0701, thank you and you are a good sport for putting up with my “center the medallion” obsession. I think you will like BM horizon. It also makes a space look larger and will really work with your view.

You could do a banquette in the dining room to save some space.

I like Donna Dixon's idea of including the dining table right into the living space. No chandelier.

Hi Donna, I don't think there is room for a table to the left side thought it would be nice. We are trying to preserve the view from the window.

Linlac, I like the bench idea. My husband and I are at an Irish pub and they have these nice framed benches...it's hard to see as this place is dark but we really like the bench for the wall side of the dining room table.

Paint the walls light or white to keep the focus on the exterior and the floor. Rug may blend too much with the floor.

I love the wall colors and would not change them. A beautiful rug with center medallion needs a table with legs, not a center post, ignorer to make the medallion visible and not cover it up. I discovered this issue too late. What color is the red wall? I would like that in my dining room.