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jmwalsh85

1810 Farmhouse: Furniture Placement & HELP

4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago

Cool Houzz. I wrote a really long thoughtful post & it never posted so I am saving this and trying again ::sigh::

I am looking for help from my fellow Houzz Members. We have been renovating an 1810 farmhouse for 3 years and our next step will be electricity. Yes you read that 3 years, I’m exhausted. This post is a lot less witty because I’m tired and frustrated that the original post didn’t work. Please read it all, it’s a lot but I could really use your help, especially those of you with photoshop skills!

Our next step in renovation will be the electricity which means I will have to have a lighting plan which will affect furniture placement and plans (to a certain extent).

Things to note:

This is our favorite room in the house

This room is off the kitchen

We had masons rebuild the wall and create the archway out of stones in the original wall & yard

The previous owners had this room solely as a dining room

The closet next to the hearth I plan on making into a nook that holds firewood on bottom & my crystal & barware on top

The tarp is hiding Jersey Winder Stairs (google, hard to explain what they are)

The room is narrow (as is common with old homes)

Proper photos are hard to grab in mid construction

We are no child home (I feel like this is important to note as most people ask when designing)

We will have no ceiling lighting as we are soda blasting the ceiling to show the upstairs floor & exposed historic beams

Layouts I’ve considered:

Dining table next to archway, couch along foundations all & two chairs facing the couch

Built in along wall next to archway, with a tv & two love seats & two ladder back chairs closer to the hearth

Built in along wall next to archway, no tv, just books, two comfy reading chairs facing out, living room furniture next to the hearth

Dimensions:

Foundation wall to Archway (without blocking): 105”

Length of room from Hearth to back wall: 259”

Pass-through AKA walkway along stone wall to the staircase: 48.5”

What makes this so hard:

I cannot justify a room solely for a dining room. We have never had a dining room & we host like 1 large family dinner a year if that :)

I plan on having a kitchen table in our kitchen, whether that is my moms old dining table I grew up with that is drop leaf (and folds small when folded) or a primitive table and use the dining table in this room

We are a big TV family. My husband and I eat dinner & watch tv, I can’t see us carrying food upstairs to the other living room to watch tv while eating

When our most common visitors come over (my in laws) they hang in the living room in our current home and watch tv which is close to the kitchen.

Im having a tough time about being realistic vs making it work for us. Since the upstairs is another living room, I planned on having one of them be without a tv.

This room always felt special, like a parlor or a library. I want to enjoy the hearth & the stone wall. I will be adding lights in the trim work of the windows to show the stone wall. If you have any questions ask away! Please help! I really can’t even sleep at this point! Lol










Comments (1.2K)

  • 2 months ago

    Thanks everyone I like the lighter wood more in person. Matches the tv stand. The colors are so crazy in photos the camera is making everything significantly lighter than real life.

  • 2 months ago

    This green matched the couch perfectly.

  • 2 months ago

    That’s it :), with the lighter wood, my 2 cents

  • 2 months ago

    Or either wood actually now that I came back to it.

  • 2 months ago

    Hubby likes the darker and I like the lighter, this should be fun lol

  • 2 months ago

    Either really go Julie! The darker may look richer?

  • 2 months ago

    What do they look like setting on the rug?

  • 2 months ago

    I think he has a point that the darker will prob be more compatabile with furniture down the line. The lighter is very 60s/70s “yellowy orange wood” as he calls it Hahaa

  • 2 months ago

    I like the darker lol

  • 2 months ago

    Actually seeing it like that against the carpet the darker would be my choice too! Dang it I hate when he’s right heehee

  • 2 months ago

    😂

  • 2 months ago

    Well that helped really bc that’s where it will actually be. Thinking it has a more expensive (?) look! I know nothing 😂 but thought to look at it that way? I hate that too here Julie! Lol

  • 2 months ago

    Hahaha thanks Alice it was a great suggestion! Fingers crossed I’ll purchase tomorrow! But it takes a couple months I think to finally get it. But it’s American made which is pretty great :)

  • 2 months ago

    Well that’s great! Oh my, ok, well I’m hoping it will go fast! Still might make it by Christmas!

  • PRO
    2 months ago

    My choice would be the green/blue/gold fabric--that's just so pretty! And the darker wood. They would work great with the green geometric. It's coming together so well!

  • 2 months ago

    I agree…I too …prefer prints that don’t POP too much are easier to live with .. over time and are softer on the eye… plus with more soft colors that you can introduce elsewhere in the space

  • 2 months ago

    Also soil is less likely to show on this choice

  • 2 months ago

    If your husband thinks he made a decision, he may back off around other ones where you don’t agree. That’s a “win”.

    I’m gonna get in trouble with you, but the fabrics you’re showing aren’t doing it for me. How do they look with the toile curtains? My usual rule of thumb is to keep fabrics in the same room as having the same design density. Does the one you prefer work with those? Is there any way to photograph the couch, fabric samples and toile curtains in the back?

  • 2 months ago

    I guess you didn't like the leaf ones but whatever one you choose they're not that bad of materials but I do have a friend that has this bulky chair in her living room that looks like a potted plant it's got green and and big leaves in it and stuff like that I can't stand it but I can't tell her about it cuz when she spends money on something she doesn't like to get rid of something so I leave her alone she didn't take me shopping she didn't ask my opinion so I'm not putting my nose in it I'm just mentioning that but her house is kind of small just like mine is minus and that large at all under I have less than 900 ft I wish I had $1,200 or more but more cleaning then right!

  • 2 months ago

    Okay table is ordered!!! And redryder I didn’t love any of the fabrics enough to purchase. The chair would probably come out to close to 1k and I can’t spend that kind of money lightly. So as slow as this process is just taking it one piece at a time. Once the table is here I think I’ll have better idea for a chair :)

  • PRO
    2 months ago

    Did you get the darker finish on the table?

  • 2 months ago

    Yes Diana!

  • PRO
    2 months ago

    Great choice! It's coming together so nicely--I totally understand not rushing, especially when something is expensive. You have to really know you want it to part with the $$$!

  • 2 months ago

    Glad you’re holding off. Upholstered furniture - and doing new upholstery - are expensive and have to be perfect. Your decisions so far have been terrific.

  • last month

    Any updates? Have you made a fabric decision?

  • last month

    Hey redryder they called yesterday my table won’t be in until the end of December!! :( besides that I’m
    Still looking at pillows online but haven’t bought any. We’ve been sick here for about two weeks just a lot going on

  • last month

    How does this combo look?

  • last month

    Or this combo?

  • last month

    I like the first combo!

  • last month

    I like the first combo as well Julie!

  • last month

    I like the first combo, but I think that many pillows are not needed. I would pick the plaid and horse scene, not the others. Two of each is all that is needed.

  • last month

    🤷‍♀️ but the blue is in your drapes. Tying that together :). Can you do returns if you don’t like them? Have to play with something whilst waiting on the table 💗

  • last month

    Etsy has tariffs Sadly.

  • last month

    Love the first combo. Don’t use the solid blue ones. The pillow patterns have a touch of blue in each and that is enough.
    Sorry your family was sick.

  • PRO
    last month
    last modified: last month

    I'm with RedRyder--the solid blue pillows don't add anything. Get the patterned ones first and see if you need anymore. If so, be brave and use more pattern! (Can you tell I like pattern and color???)

  • PRO
    last month

    Just to let you know that I practice what I preach--here's the fabric I'm using for new living room curtains and pillows:





  • last month

    Thanks for the advice and I appreciate the pushback on the solid blue! I want more pattern 100%!!! but I feel like I’m not good at it. I love the maximalist style! Diana that fabric is amazing! Love the bedroom pic! Please share with us when your curtains are made!

  • PRO
    last month

    Will do, Julie.

    I think you are on the right track, and are better at this than you think! Nothing wrong with taking your time--I'd been eyeing that fabric for over a year before I pulled the trigger!

  • last month

    Love pattern…it’s pillows! Just have a good time playing!

  • last month

    If you need more pillows, post them and have @Diana Bier Interiors, LLC give a thumbs up. So far, you’re doing fine. (I also think solid pillows are blah and rarely add anything to a room.)

  • last month

    Ok these are all on Etsy aka no returning but I haven’t changed the selection now in a while so I think I’m feeling confident enough to purchase. Wanted to share!

  • last month

    Nice combo of prints… it should look good. I look forward to seeing them in situ.

  • last month

    Yes those pillows look nice I think you could be able to order them specially since you think so and if you hate it you're stuck with it though or you'd have to sell it or give it away as gifts

  • last month

    Nice combo Julie. I would go ahead and order if you haven’t. Worse case scenario is there could be one you don’t use in that space, but may like all of them. I have pillow covers, not too many, but yea 😃 that I ordered then some are tucked away and I get them out from time to time and switch them out in different rooms. I even purchased two the same and will use just the fabric for something like a decorative chair cover or who knows what?

  • PRO
    last month

    I like those. Might consider piping on a couple in a brighter color from the fabric. Red/orange tone possibly in velvet. Something like that.

  • PRO
    last month

    Oh I love that idea, Flo! Contrast piping/welting is a great way to add some oomph to a pillow or even to upholstery.



  • last month

    Love the piping idea. Have purchased a few pillow covers just bc of the piping. Added it to my search engine for our living room rocker pillow a few years ago. Really dressed up the space.

  • yesterday

    Hi friends sorry I took a break bc life is lifing! Baby turned 2! I had a birthday and yea. Don’t hate me, I never ordered pillows lol I’ve been living in the space and I created some
    Art behind the desk with my toddler! Have her acrylic art in the colors of the room to make some abstract masterpieces heehee. I need frames for them but I love the look of it. I went back to the drawing board of pillows tonight and found some new stuff on Etsy! It’s heavy on the green but I brought back my favorite lumbar for the pale blue. Thoughts? Why I love it is it has that grandma floral vibe I love, and a hunt scene but so different than anything I’ve seen before!

  • yesterday

    I love it! It's calming & soothing with a 2 yr old! Happy b'day to big girl now!

  • PRO
    yesterday

    No need to apologize--as they say the days are long but the years are short with children! Enjoy every precious moment--the house will still be there when you're ready to continue.

    Any of those pillows would work--I like that they go together with everything else but they're not matchy.