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sophche

Help with decorating!

5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago







So I have attached photos of my couch, chairs and coffee table (I have two end tables that match). The picture still needs to be hung and still deciding on a rug And lamps for end tables - I’m thinking tall ones. What do you think about the pillows I chose? Not sure if I’m gonna keep them as I feel the yellow might be too bright - wish it was a bit deeper. I’m thinking a light grey rug. My buffet, table and server are dark wood. Any suggestions/advice? I’m so horrible at decorating and find it very overwhelming!



Edit: here is the rest of the furniture. -don’t mind the mess lol. The lamps on the server I plan to return as they are chrome and will probably go with one rather than two.

Comments (12)

  • 5 years ago

    Yes, I agree with you yellow is to bright. I can suggest you to please remove yellow it is bright it can be change with that color which is your Couch color. I think it is black shade...!

  • 5 years ago

    First rule of decorating: Deal with the entire space (and your "givens" like floor, woodwork) so you take in layout, style, and last color. That means you need to add photos of the room from all four sides, especially if there are adjoining spaces. Show your other furniture that is visible from the living room.


    Think about a rug that has a bit of the gold from your floors. (I like your pillows btw--contrast is good!)

    Bashian Emma Area Rug, Slate, 7.9'x9.9' · More Info


    Safavieh BRISTOL 487 Area Rug, Pink / Grey, 8' x 10' Rectangle · More Info


    Surya Serene 8'10"x12'9" Area Rug · More Info


  • 5 years ago

    Second thought while waiting on your additional photos. Hold back on the pillows until after you choose your rug, which should echo your art work, your sofa, and your golden floors. Decide on pillows later on.

  • 5 years ago

    Just posted the rest @housegal200

  • 5 years ago

    Thanks for the extra photos, sophche. What color are the walls? Looks like gray, but I can't tell. In any case, your major colors are golden oak floors, gray sofa, dark brown dining and sideboard. You have some good pieces. Since you have chrome and nickel dining light fixture, then stay in silvery tones with warm golds, gray, brown in your rug.


    Here's a rug with silvery grays, but warmth of the gold. It happens to harmonize with your art work as well. (When you mix patterns, the trick is to have a couple elements--color or style--mirror each other.) If you order a rug online, consider ordering the smallest size as a "sample" so you can easily send it back for a large size. Make sure you get a large enough rug so that the front legs of all your seating are planted on the rug--or larger even to define your dining and living room spaces. In any case, a rug with silver, gray, and goldish brown will go. Get an image online and put the image against your art work to make sure they harmonize.

    Safavieh Evoke Evk236P Floral Rug, Gray/Gold, 6'7"x6'7" Square · More Info

    Yes, return both lamps. Get a couple buffet lamps or just one. But wait on everything but a rug, which will set the palette for the room and influence your choices of lamps, pillows, etc.



  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Pillows in this palette, but it will depend on rug choice.



    Shape of buffet lamp only in chrome or nickel. You only need one with maybe a nice smaller art work or mirror on the other side of the buffet.

    Floor lamp in brass and chrome:
    Or a modern floor lamp but with dark wood to echo your wood dining set and buffet:


  • 5 years ago

    Wow thanks for the tips @housegal200. I’m getting a new chandelier eventually and hoping to reupholster my dining chairs which are a brown colour right now. Any suggestions as to the colour I should re-do them? I’m thinking cream but not sure.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Earlier I was going to suggest going in the direction of brass finishes--more elegant, but since your chandelier and coffee table had silvery finishes and nickel, I stuck with silver tones.

    As I said, get your rug first, one that goes with your chosen art, the sofa, and floors. Only then decide on everything else, including the upholstered dining chairs. I know it's tempting to do everything at once, but only decorators and people with an experienced eye, have the skills to do that. You already made a few picks, so concentrate on the rug--again, silvers/grays/gold/bit of brown. Everything new coming in--table and floor lamps, chandelier, upholstery, has to harmonize, not necessarily match exactly, with your main pieces, palette, and finishes.



  • 5 years ago

    Thanks for all the suggestions. I will focus on getting a rug first and then work from there. Decorating is really hard!

  • 5 years ago

    You've done pretty well on your own. And, hey, you didn't buy a massive black leather sofa! Every piece you bring in should, in some way--color, style, finish--echo what you have. Always measure, measure, measure. You discovered on your own that those two lamps overpower the buffet and you need taller, slimmer lamps, possibly only one. Also, try different layouts. I can certainly see going forward that you can echo your floors with brass, rather than chrome or nickel finishes. But if you don't have the budget for that, what you have is good. Good luck!

  • 5 years ago

    You think I can incorporate gold or brass? My coffee table isn’t really nickel...it looks more of a champagne colour (I dont know what it’s called exactly)....

  • 5 years ago

    Not a life or death issue, sophche :). It's just nice going forward if you're going to add new pieces such as mirrors, lamp base and shades, picture frames etc. to choose consistent finishes. A future pendant/chandelier and a floor lamp are the most visible pieces you may be adding. What are you thinking about there? Look at a lot of the ones you like online--a rectangular shape would be best with your table. For that you could also pick something in the middle--antique bronze and not worry about the rest. The three-legged lamp I showed has dark wood base to tie to your dining set. It's not a hard and fast rule to match finishes for everything, but being somewhat consistent adds to the feeling that a room is harmonious.

    Okay, let's say you wanted this pendant over your dining table. The dark finish ties to your dark wood table. So for lamps in the living area, look for fabric shades in the same fabric as the pendant.

    Here's a nickle brass pendant with gold bulbs, so you could have brass buffet lamp and floor lamp or nickel versions. It's just a visual trick really that can guide decor choices--pieces can have a very different style, but they work together if each piece shares a visual element with the otehrs--they "talk" to each other.


    buffet lamp:

    Going forward,take a look at what areas occupy the largest visual space--art work, sofa, floors, walls. Choose the next piece that will take up a lot of visual space, the rug (not pillows, not lamps). So you'll want a rug that harmonizes well with art work, sofa, floors, walls (Walls can easily be repainted if they don't work but other pieces are more fixed.).

    Look at a lot of rugs online. Open up your computer window showing your room, then open up a window next to it to put possible rug chocies next to it. That's basically what Commentors do here--put things side by side. You'll start to see how to make design choices in this way and won't feel like you're "bad at decorating." Good luck!

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