It’s hard to say from the photos, but to my eye, the living room furniture should all be moved closer to the TV. Is it a 60 inch TV? If so, the optimal distance would be 7 ft. 8 in. This would provide a nice seperation from the dining room and not crowd the door between the two zones. You have a really lovely space, and the bookcase it wonderful.

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I love your space unless you want to declutter some of your bookcase but you probably love all your books but if you're not going to read any of them you could donate them I think you have a nice set up there cuz it divides your living room from your dining area I have that same problem in my house you could get a different rug if you want but it goes well with your art and your green chair unless you need a new green chair or different colored chair but I like your colors goes well with your floor and your art does

This is a challenge, and I don't know why! Some possible things to try:

--Turn the current rug so floorboards and rug pattern go in same direction.

--Swing the sofa so back is facing reading nook, which would make it "nook-ier," i.e. it becomes its own separate space. Move your console entry table against the back of the sofa. If you need something by the door, then a wide floating shelf might work. There's something about the lineup of that console then the TV console that seems off. Probably too much furniture.

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--Move the green chair to the corner by the window and move reading nook lamp over the chair. (You can get an expandable wall reading lamp for the nook for over the reading chair there.)

--Down the road, a nesting round coffee table might work better tucked into the sectional.

Start by turning the chair, ottoman and arc light No one faces a bookcase.

You could try just tightening up your living room furniture grouping. Pull the rug under the front legs of the sectionals (about a foot under on each side) and scoot the green chair closer to the sectional so that the arms are almost touching in an “L” shape. If your coffee table doesn’t fit with that arrangement, try something else in its place temporarily to get a feel for it. Scoot the whole arrangement a bit closer to the TV as suggested above and angle the chair in the reading nook as suggested above. Nice space :)

Your floor looks like fire. I like it. Also, what is that painting of, over the sofa? The floor makes me see a house on fire with a column of smoke in the painting. That would be awesome if it was.

Thanks for all of the ideas! im going to try some of the suggestions about moving the furniture for sure. It is tricky!

The brown chair turned to face your books looks awkward. Turn it outward to align with the footrest. Your beautiful bookcase now becomes the backdrop. Pull the green chair to the left to widen the walking space to the dining room. I might reupholster the green chair with a patterned fabric that blends the colors of your sofa and the inviting reading chair.

The rug is too small. Get one that is large enough to have under the front of the sofa and where the green chair is. Turn the leather chair as previously suggested. Get rid of the green chair. If you need seating there, find some ottomans that can move around as desired. Bonus points if the rug, throws and pillows bring together the blue and cognac colors.

Lose the rug and both chairs and ottoman, and the coffee table and arch lamp. Also, the table and mirror to the left of window would be great in your entry. You don’t have room to reposition the sofa so pull closer to TV. A comfy chair to replace the green one. A larger rug that allows front feet of sofa and new chair to sit on. Use your rug to select color / pattern for chair. You need a larger coffee table or ottoman to service the sofa and chair. A large art piece to the left of the window instead of mirror/table. A small scale recliner, or chair and small ottoman in the nook. A sconce on the wall will provide ambient light for reading. More interest can be added with 2 -4 pillows on sofa, and a pretty throw on reading nook chair. Hey, did I mention I am really good at spending other peoples money? 😉

Great bookcase! lots of good suggestions - for me it’s the green chair that seems awkward - it is very square and seems plopped down in it’s current position overweighting that side of the room and making the passage to the DR seem crowded.

I’d be tempted to try a different chair with a rounder back that swivels and try it catty corner from the sectional (out of the walkway to the DR) I like rooms where seating faces each other for conversation (hopefullly there’s room so it doesnt block the TV) - i agree a bigger rug would help the ground the space a bit better, esp since you have a large sectional

What if you switch the mirror with the front hall art piece?

green chair in the reading nook, angled with its back to the corner.

Brown chair in another room.

Beautiful home.

I would put the tv on the wall where that painting is, rotate the couch/rug/green chair by 90 degrees and move it closer to the tv wall. Switch the leather chair/ottoman/arc lamp to "back in" to the corner where the round mirror is, and put that whole grouping on the blank wall 90 degrees from the bookshelf, where the thermostat is.

Love the bookcases! The doodads on it, not so much.

A patterned rug is wrong on top of a heavily patterned floor. I’d get a solid color, bigger rug.

Sectionals are often problematic because of their size. Are you in love with it?

The prominent colors (gray couch, deep gray drapes, rust/brown chair, green chair) seem a jumble.

like this

Beautiful home. Lovely bookshelf.

1. The large arc lamp is over powering the space, not defining it. Remove that lamp and select a true reading lamp like a pharmacy lamp. Hang a vertical picture on the thermostat wall. Turn the chair so it is on the diagonal facing into the middle of the room.

2. Larger rug for seating area. The green chair is off and I don't think it is just the color. Something about its placement in relation to the reading chair isn't working.

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I agree with the above poster that the furniture should be moved closer to the TV. I think that would create a more cohesive space. Love the nook, nice home!

I agree about turning your gorgeous chair and ottoman towards the living room. I also think playing with different locations for the green chair, as it looks a bit lonely and lost where it is.

Youu have such a beatiful space! I notice the arc lamp, the haning wires for the entry mirror and the hanging decor by the front door together are fighting a bit. Maybe, just hang the mirror without the wires (or fabric..hard to tell)?

If there is any room for it, you could push the sectional a bit closer to the tv. It would open things up a bit.

I love your rug but agree you could not go wrong with one that is bigger and will help ground and bring everything together. It is not necessary obviously, just an idea.

Other than that, I would add something on your coffee table.

It really looks wonderful as is, but given you asked, I think a few tweaks here and there would make a difference.

It's perfect. Literally the only thing I don't like in the whole room is that wreath. 😃

The reading nook, needs a different lamp. I'd move your arc lamp behind the corner of your sectional so that it lights the coffee table. And I'd bring the end table and turquoise lamp into the reading nook. An alternative might be lighting mounted to the bookshelf. But definitely, the chair should face out on the diagonal.

Move the green chair over to the corner between the window and the sectional. Face it diagonally in. Now it mirrors the position of the chair in the reading nook.

If you want to have a striped rug, the stripes should go in the same direction as your floor planking so the patterns don't fight.

When you do replace the sectional, consider a brown or green instead of a grey. If you do go grey, try one that's less pink and more green (that could just be my monitor).

The walkway to the dining room is too constricted. As others have said, pull the sofa towards the TV, about a foot or so.

IMO your reading chair whould be very inviting if it were by the window, so the light is shining on the book. In my house, everybody who is reading wants to sit by a window.

Face the leather chair (and its footstool) towards the inside sofa corner, with its back to the window and the light is coming over the left side and shining on the book. Remove the green chair or put it beside the bookcase - that's where you'll sit while you choose a book, but not while you're reading it.

I'd reduce the visual impact of the furniture arrangement to the left of the window, by using smaller wall art instead of the very large mirror, and removing the large baskets under the table.

Thank you all for the ideas. I am laughing at myself taking pictures with the brown chair facing the bookshelves. I am the only weirdo who reads facing those bookshelves! I have been dreaming of something like them since childhood and just love to look up from my book to see the spines. BUT, the chair swivels, so the suggestion to reposition is a very easy fix. This weekend, I am going to try to move the couch in toward the TV, and look for a larger rug in a solid color to ground the space. After those two moves, I will see what we can do with the lamp and some of the ideas about the mirror/that area.

Any ideas for LARGE scale vases or objects for the spaces on bookshelf that have the wreath? I agree that is a bad choice, but don't have anything else at the moment.

You could try:

- having a matching bookcase built for the wall next to it

- chair facing out from the corner with arch lamp behind it

- or a smaller reading lamp next to it

- and perhaps a solid color (charcoal?) round/square rug that complements your striped one

This would define that as a seperate area.

- Then try rotating the sofa area clockwise 1/4 turn

This would define this as a seperate area as well as having the stripes of your rug in the same direction as your beautiful floors.

- This would also give you room for art on both sides of TV and add some pillows to your sofa in green.

- Put the art that is above your sofa where the TV is and where the green chair will be, or don't put anything on the wall behind the green chair and put the painting where the round mirror is (if it fits) with nothing else there except maybe a couple ottomans.

- A tall plant and small table can then go with the green chair.

Please share changes and thoughts on all the great suggestions made!

I agree that with the bossy floors- but I love them—you want to keep other things less patterned on floor. One exception might be a rich bug subtle Oriental. I agree remove the striped rug.
A new rug needs to be more calming— but do you want to jump in right away? I might play with furniture arrangements , do some inspo - gathering for color combos, & whether green chair is getting axed.
That’s mainly because large rugs can be difficult to try out & return AND the Suze shape to be determined by your furniture arrangement, which you might want to fiddle with trying different placements for a bit to see what you like best.

I'd hang a picture in your bookcase where the wreath is, something that covers about 80% of that square. I'm also a big fan of framed album covers, so maybe something like that if it fits.

Im so thankful for all of this wonderful help! I’m learning so much! I hadn’t even considered my floors bossy! Living with them for 16 years the pattern just blurred in my mind.

Planning to experiment with furniture placement and will come back to update. Thank you again!!

Can't wait to see the update!

Your room is very pleasant, and has nice furniture. However, it doesn't appear to be a room for people who read. For example, there are no reading lamps except at the nook and the bookcase is bare for a reading family. As a result the bookcase comes across as a fake/staged area rather than one that is intended to be used. In our house, we often read (usually magazines or the newspapers) as we watch tv and in our living room/library not only are there bookcases, but books on the coffee and end table plus two reading lamps and four general lighting lamps.

I think your space looks fine. Very nice, in fact. Instead of tearing it all up - you could consider just adding a throw on your sofa, to give a nod to the green chair.

As one idea, you could use this green - or two colors, together.

.

This one might be a little over the top - and it is also a bit more to the olive side. .But it’s a lot of fun - and with your art plus your library might be very dramatic!

Another nice one.

I feel you have some lovely pieces of furniture, accessories and art. To me what jumps out as being not complimentary are your dark drapes, which to me are too harsh, and distracting, for the rest of your room. If it were me I would change them to a color close to your walls and let the rest of the room be the attraction.

I like the wreath.

The bookcase would be a nice place for some cute or funny family photos…and the chair pic was obvious to me as …of course ….it swivels🤷🏼‍♀️…and why not look at the books ….any time you may want to put one down and skim thru another? …even rotate a few new things as your family grows and changes…if we had a spot like this i could probably never pry my husband away

I think it is adorable that you face the shelves so you can see your books. As far as what to put on the shelves, why books, of course. You have too many objects on there already.

I’m glad you like the throws.

The ”fake reader” thing is ... actually, I am not sure what it is... Although I can tell you that it is probably no more surreal than most of what goes on around here (if that helps).

Nothing wrong with any of your chairs, btw.

Here are some ideas for styling the taller areas. I especially like the top left on the bottom picture, with a basket-of-books for smaller books, and a smaller piece of art work above. (Not a fan of the binding-to-the-back look). You could find baskets or boxes that are about the same width as the shelf, and use this for both tall areas. Bonus if you can find a piece of artwork with a literary theme.

If you add any more vases, baskets etc., consider painting or spray painting them the same colour as your green chair or the blue in your dining room chairs, to tie the bookcase to the rest of the house's decor colours.

I don't know how you've arranged your books, but consider grouping the more colourful books by binding colour. It will give you little pops of colour in the book case. I moved your yellow/gold books all together on one shelf to give you an idea of how it would look.

Arrange books by color? 🤯

Obviously not a bibliophile.

"Obviously" LOL. The snobbery on this thread is amusing, and reminds me of the parenting advice sometimes given when people decorate their childrens' rooms.

One other idea I had was a globe in one of the large spaces. If it's too short, put it on a stack of books, atlases if you have them. We have a couple of atlases, and when friends/family are over and we're discussing travel, they get pulled out. Much better than everyone looking at their little phone screens. Our "best" atlas has some sticky notes on pages with the little towns where our grandparents were born in Europe.

I like the basket and art idea. Thanks for taking time to give me such wonderful suggestions. I don’t think I will arrange by color bc I have little themed areas that i find amusing but I do like the way that looks on the shelf.

Can you please show us what that painting is of over the sofa? I just can't make it out. It goes great with the floor.

i cant find the exact name, but there is a website that offers reproductions of famous paintings done by amateur painters. We chose a Klimt as inspiration and this is what we got. However, we have never been able to find the inspo pic again and i serioudly think it was not a Klimt. we used thr samr company for pic in the dining rolm.

It is a Gustav Klimt, Large Poplar II, also called The Gathering Storm. http://www.worldsbestpaintings.net/artistsandpaintings/painting/252/

The dining room one is Klimt's Garden Path with Chickens. https://www.kingandmcgaw.com/prints/gustav-klimt/garden-path-with-chickens-1916-436634#436634::border:50_frame:880603_glass:770007_media:1_mount:108644_mount-width:50_size:618,618

Thank you so much!