Would she consider a hardwood or even a higher quality LVP? I think that would go a long way to making the space homey (much further than office-gray carpet, which isn't very contemporary for an LR). A slightly warm wood tone would look nice against the new paint colors you show.

In case the wood floor route is of interest... I share these more for color....these days I think the flooring choices are more wide plank and matte, but this is just an idea.

Wall to wall stayed in the 90s and wood with rugs would look much less formal and more contemporary. More casual light over the dining room table will tone down the formal too. While informal, stacked stone looks dated already. If they love it go for it. It never looked all that appealing to me and seemed like a fad.

I'm a fan of a dramatic black paint, but not this one. The arched window has that faux formal 90s look and painting the wall a contrasting color only highlights that window shape even more. Paint this entire combined room the same color. Find other ways to give a dramatic dark punch in the space with artwork, area rugs, furniture.

I would add more furniture to the room and arrange it in front of the fireplace. I suggest a loveseat, a coffee table, at least one comfortable chair, preferably two. I would mount a tv over the fireplace and put the mirror on another wall or in the dining room. I would add an area rug under the coffee table, a floor lamp, a nice throw for the sofa and some accent pillows. You might want to add a large artificial tree or some exotic house plants.

Every mom likes to help their kids.

In this case, your daughter should create her own post, for her own home, style and questions.

In a perfect world? The biggest change will come from warmth on the floor in a hardwood - real or engineered.

The last , wall colors please? Please, anything but gray and more gray and these are best decided based on other factors - rugs, soft furnishings as example.

We understand she may be busy, have kids, and who knows....but it will only be her home: )

The last thing this home needs is stacked stone or any attempt to "farm" or "barn" the interior. It won't work - the windows alone are the dictators.

Casual furnishings, warmth fine.

New entry doors, a DIFFERENT fire surround ? Yes.

She bought a very traditional home but wants to dress it down?????? I'm not a fan of the blue either but graying it all out is not a great plan. Gray died a few years ago. LET IT GO. Wall to wall is a very formal choice. I too would think about something more contemporary like wood. The fireplace will be transformed just by removing the mantle and side trim. 90s homes aren't 'old' by most standards. They aren't known to be well made. She might want to slooow down and be sure she doesn't have structural issues before she worries about decor.

Not all arches are bad.......and gray need not be present to make a warm and less formal space

and it certainly doesn't require stacked stone

Carpet in just the living room would be “okay”, but ask her if she might hold off and save up $$ until all the visible floors can be done using same LVP instead. These days carpet is best left for bedrooms.

I don’t object to the carpet, but I would not accent that wall, and I’d just take the mantle off and leave the rest of the fireplace alone.

The last thing to pick is the paint color. Paint can be mixed into a zillion different colors and shades. Fabric for upholstery and drapes is much more limited. The furniture dictates the wall color. Don’t put the cart before the horse. After she picks her furniture, she can take a cushion or swatch to her local paint store and point to a color which can be mixed to flatter her furniture. It is tempting to try to avoid moving and covering furniture while you paint, but the wrong shade of paint on the wall will severely limit her furniture choices.

Suggest that she/you look on line for inspiration, if she hasn’t already, as there are a ton of decisions that should build on each other. The big picture is important and the flooring decision should be the first (adding a rug over flooring is a great way to cozy up a space). The fireplace will have to be addressed asap for flooring to accommodate the update.

Highly suggest choosing paint colors near the end. They should tie in the flooring, furniture, etc vs trying to do it the other way around and testing/viewing during different times of the day is important. In the meantime, finding an on line room planner would also be a great way to help.

Whatever flooring she chooses (and I hope that it is wood or LVT that is a real wood color and not gray toned), it should replace the blue carpet and the tile at the front door and run into the room on the other side with more blue carpet.

I also wouldn’t paint an accent wall in this room. It only emphasizes the 90s.

IMO first we need info from the owner. Whose furniture is that? She needs to show us her stuff and I agree wait to do the flooring all the same and not carpet. Furniture is what starts making a space feel the way you want. NO stacked stone ever again please . Waht style does she like not you ? We need info from her Answer all things here in comments DO NOT start another post . She can come to this post with answers , pics and questions.

You guys are great! Thanks for the firm but fairly gentle reminder to butt out! I should have said these are her color and carpeting choices, the home checked out great on all structural issues, and the budget is limited (of course). She is a busy working woman and you have all helped me a lot with three other homes, so I volunteered to ask. The rest of the home is tile, other than where the bright blue carpeting is. When they are in it next year, probably they will do the suggested LVP. Thank you again so much, you were a big help, and she will probably appreciate your suggestions coming from you rather than me.

I think it’s lovely that you are helping your daughter. I would strongly recommend choosing wood (hardwood or engineered wood) over LVP. Others may disagree, but I’ve never seen or walked on LVP that actually looked or felt like wood. It’s a downgrade, IMO, but that’s me.

It's not really a formal home. The furniture is, but that's leaving. If there is a chance of upgrading to hardwoods soon, it might make more sense for the budget to leave the blue carpet and layer it with fun colorful boho rugs. The all gray color scheme looks dreadfully formal and serious.

An accent wall will be period appropriate for a 90s house--maybe she should skip that. :)

That carpet looks like it dates to the 90s too, and yet it somehow looks perfect. I hope that it's a sign that the entire home has been carefully and lovingly maintained.

LVP is typically not a downgrade from carpet--esp not in LR. If anything it's an upgrade. I would prefer HW myself but cost and lifestyle play a role in that decision.

She is better off using her funds for engineered hardwood throughout the house and sitting on lawn chairs initially. Trying to do everything at once is overwhelming.

You start with great, beautiful floors.

Then you peruse the internet, magazines (if you still read those), Pinterest and Houzz for inspiration photos and start folders for every room. She will figure out what she loves (“every living room photo has a cognac leather couch”) and THEN you start to shop. Painting the walls white to “prime” them is fine if they are so dingy and depressing she can’t live with them, but NOT gray.

If you post an exact-measurement layout of the room, some of the amazing pros here will give you furniture ideas for size and layout. And televisions shouldn’t go over the fireplace. Your neck will hate you, as will most designers.

You’re a good mom for helping. I rely on the design eyes of others when it comes to my house and help my friend when they are dumbfounded by their own. A new, empty house needs more than one set of eyes on it.

So true Thank you all for your suggestions.

NO carpet and no stacked stone. The stone was IMO never meant for interior and as for the rest I agree flooring first and hardwood if the budget allows but LVP IMO a big upgrade from carpet .As for the rest I think your daugter needs to get on here to get help . I would never try to do my kids homes for them.. Tell her to start the process here to add to this post but to make sure she tells us who she is.

Thank you. I’ll do that! Thanks.

A word of caution about engineered wood floors. I believe they are almost always thinner than wood boards and usually glued down. If a major renovation is done in the future which dictates change in flooring, I.e. removing walls or change in kitchen cabinet layout it will be nigh on impossible to lace in new material and match existing. At that point going to a wood plank which is thicker entails adjustments to trim and doors. But they are very stable and recover from warping from, say, a leak from an ice dam…as we experienced.

I have white oak engineered wood flooring in my basement ADU and it is not glued down; hardwood was not an option in that location. A thicker wear layer allows for refinishing in the future.

Chinacatpeekin. Glad to know they don’t always glue down the engineered wood flooring. Yes, basements are not good candidates for wood planks. And yes, I know they can usually be refinished at least once, maybe twice. My aggravation with mine was because the styles have changed, board width is wider and it would have been very difficult to match even if you didn’t have to contend with it being glued down….which in my case it was and I can’t even pull up enough of it in tact to reuse on the newly exposed subfloor. I didn’t say not to use it, but that they should be cautious.

A few years ago we looked at a lot of houses where the floor was not glued down and they all squeaked a lot. I don't know if it was a bad installation or not but we had it glued down when we chose it for the house we eventually bought.