I love that there are some differences in opinion here! It keeps things interesting!

Old New House- Those rugs are all very lovely but unfortunately they do not fit into my decorating budget right now:(

CDR and Sandy- I will reserve judgment on the bookcase dilemma until I have figured out the other stuff. I tried moving the bench and chairs but I prefer the bench facing the fireplace. The chairs block the view of the fireplace and look out of place ( I will attach a picture).

CDR- great idea to move all teh furniture back a bit. I definitely felt like it was a bit "tight" looking. The mirrors can be placed apart slightly and I actually have 4 of them so I think their placement should probably be over the couch. They will sit high enough that they should not reflect any of the toys in the adjoining space. I will try moving the painting first and see how it looks.

Sandy: I have the large black "Mongstad Mirror" from Ikea. How would this look on the back wall? I also have some vintage mirrors but none that are leaning.

I found this great table online. Thoughts for adding it to the space? http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-furniture-other-tables-Vintage-Glass-Metal-Sofa-Table-W0QQAdIdZ559243593

The door situation is a tough one. I will show you the hall they face. There are 5 doors in a tiny space and it is a bit much. I am not sure that turning them in will work. Should I move them entirely? They can't go on the wall to the playroom because they are much too short.

Thanks everyone!

-- Your mirror from Ikea, 37" wide x 75" tall, would certainly be nice in this space - hung on the back wall by the opened French door or on the blank wall behind the chairs. It can be hung vertically or horizontally and with a busy toddler, it should probably be hung. One thing I would want to check out is that this mirror next to the bookcase might be too heavy-looking for that corner. In that case, they would have to be separated and used on different walls.

The table, which is 14.5" wide x 59" long, would look great on that wall too with the 4 mirror set above it - used as a serving table once in a while. Have not seen the other works of art you have so that is why I am pushing the set of mirrors.

For some reason, using more than one piece of art per room passes muster, but sprinkling too many mirrors around the walls borders on over-kill. However, filling a wall with them is much different since they would be a "collection"!
I think I see an outlet on both walls - good for lamps!

you have ery good taste. very spacious and beautiful design. Have you ever though of using faux stone or faux brick panels to remodel and revitalize your home.

They add texture and color.Technology has come a long way.

Amy,

This room will come together, because you are willing to do the work!

Thoughts and then summary below:


-arrangement is improved from the start but:
-table to the right of couch is too high and looks awkward in the corner
-furniture arrangement is too tight and looks like you would have to jump over furniture to get in
-I can see lamp wires
-bookcase creating imbalance
-still don't like mirrors over fp for reasons I stated
-French Door awkward

Solution:

1) Remove French Doors. (Keep them. You could use them to the play room, by having someone drywall in the ceiling above in the space where you want to place them or have a glass transom built in the space above.)

2) The couch would look best facing the fireplace. (I looked at the pic above of the couch facing the fp and I do not see what you mean about "blocking". Many people are not used to a floating couch, so it feels odd to them. But, having the largest piece of furniture opposite the couch creates the best balance in the room.

3) Buy the 14.5x59x28 glass table and place it on the wall where the couch is now. Hang the mirrors above the table. When you walk into the room, the fireplace will be reflected. (90 degree angle from entrance to room)

4) You might be able to place the 2 chairs beside the table, where they would look better than sitting on their own (not really substantial enough for that)

5) Place the bench floating where the chairs are now (or maybe against the playroom wall....we will see.

6) Bookcase.....not sure if it will work or not....maybe in original spot along French Door wall.

7) Art above fireplace

Thank you CDR for the ideas! I tried moving the couch to face the fireplace but I am not sure that the view of the back of the couch is working. Thoughts?

Do you have space to add a console behind the couch?

A sofa table possibly w lamps on it cold work

Go back to the original arrangement. It looked the best minus the two chairs flanking the fireplace. Put the black bookcase on the blank wall across from the couch, it will balance the artwork, clean it off of unnecessary stuff and use it as a bar unit with stemware,bottles, napkins, etc.

Amy, I think it works either way.

You like it on the wall, right? Let's go with that.

Can we see a photo that way, but with the arrangement a little less tight, as you had mentioned before?

Thank you.

Your next step might be to take the art and prop it up on the mantle and see if you like it....before you take the big step of moving mirrors and art.

How long is the couch and how wide is each mirror (if hung vertically) ?

Perhaps consider painting the French doors white so they "disappear" against the walls, and painting the bookcase a soft blue or gray color (matching some of the other accent pieces-like the center accent pillow of the couch.) will lighten the visual "heaviness" that it is bringing to the space. Then bring more color and personality back in with accent pieces.

Also, I like the couch against the wall, slightly off of it, so there is some visual space, instead of looking at the back of it which visually blocks the room. It looks good across from the bench. The lengths balance each other. Also, the lamp in the corner by the window

(sorry)...the lamp by the window seems awkward, and eventually would be lost next to a drapery panel anyway.

This is the look with the chairs facing the fireplace.

I still think I prefer the bench facing the fireplace like this:

These are some of the art pieces that I have. CDR: I will measure the mirrors and let you know the dimensions shortly.

...

CDR: I think I do prefer the painting above the fireplace! I also moved the rug back the other way again so it fits under the couch and chairs. This also feels better to me. Whats are your thoughts CDR? Sandy G?

I like the last photo. It's nice to have something low or with a low back facing the FP so that it doesn't block the view. You might, in time, get maybe larger chairs to replace the current ones. The current chairs are nice, but they seem a bit small for a living room.

Bench facing fp and couch on wall I agree is best arrangement. Looks great.

Looooove the art over fp. Homerun!

Like the rug turned with couch legs over rug.

Great progress. Like the other art.

Best possibility for other art is the trio on the right. Not sure where yet.

Willing to remove doors?

Let us know any final decisions you make

Make do we can take next step.

Looking good!

Should the art above the fireplace rest on the mantle or be hung slightly above?

I am looking to find some rods for the windows. Should they be silver or black?

Wow..so much progress:) loving the art over the fp.Love how its speaking to the bench and the ceiling... do hang it no more than 1 inch higher...simply for the convenience of not worrying about it toppling over and for putting something else too on the mantle.

As for rods..i would go for black ....silver will disappear .what color would be the curtains?

3D WALLS WILL GIVE DEPTH AND BRING BLANK WALLS TO LIFE

Art over fireplace: because of the large scale of the art, I would recommend about 3" from top of mantle. You want it to connect to the mantle, but not be touching it.

What material is your mantle made of?

3D ART WORKS

Drape rods: I would tend toward a darker metal.

What are the colors scheme would you say is in your room? Do you want to keep everything sort of muted or do you want a splash of brighter color here and there?

CDR- The fireplace is made out of marble. I would like to keep the room in muted tones but I do like black accents when used sparingly. I would say the main colors I am working with are sand, white, cream and pale blue.

The mirrors measure 16 inches wide and the couch is 82 inches long. I have 4 mirrors in total if I need them all.

I am going to look into removing the doors to see what it looks like.

The drapes that I bought for the windows are a soft flowy linen in a sheer white and soft camel faint stripe. Perhaps I will look for a deep bronze colored rod? Does that sound okay?

Sandy G- Would love your input too!:)

-- Thank you so much for leaning the artwork on the mantle. Got that idea out of my system now. What do you think?

Also, thank you for sending along other pieces you have. I feel the 3 mirrors hung as they are now, are too tall as well. Whatever you hang above the fireplace should not go higher than the drapery rods. You want a clean line up there. You can, of course, raise the rods to any height - but keep them within reason. The painting is just too large overall there and dominates the fireplace. The other contemporary painting below might work above the fireplace. I like the coral color in there and that, plus the modern image relates the best out of all of them to the other large painting.

You could try that on the mantle and see what you think. You could add fairly large accessories to the mantle to fill in.

Rambling around here - There is terracotta/rust in the large painting and that, along with the coral in this smaller painting, could work together in accessories.

I still feel that the mirrors should be hung over a metal console table.
Have you any more thoughts about the console table, the bookcase?

Amy, would you like some wood table lamp and floor lamps, and wood piece decor. plz feel free to visit our website, www.parrotuncle.com

I think whomever is moving all this furniture around surely deserves an adult beverage!

Oinco- that made me laugh out loud!

Sandy: I will try the coral painting and see how it looks. I'm concerned that it is a bit small.

I am getting the console table tomorrow so I will see how it fits in the room then. What are your thoughts on removing the doors? I feel torn. I think I will have to see about the bookcase once the other stuff is figured out. I would like to keep it if possible as I don't have a lot of other spaces for it and I will have no where to showcase my things.

- -- If the painting feels a little small to you, there are a couple of things you can do to fix that. First, the difference in size between the 2 paintings can be interesting. You do not want everything the same size - that is boring. If you want the painting larger though, just reframe it in a larger frame. Do not go above the drapery rods.

If you prefer not to do that, place it on, or hang it above, the mantle and add a significant sculpture, candlestick, or other object on the mantle alongside it to add importance to it. A piece that includes a circle of some sort and is made of metal or has metal elements in it to relate to the painting's circles. Something tall & chunky & dark in finish that has an interesting shape. This dark object will also relate to the dark firebox below.

Some examples.

Has anyone else taken note of all the "legginess" going on

The white room with the wooden floor would get a more luxurious look with touches of either black or gold, but in small amounts.
Use a black or white/gold pendant with a diameter of at least 30", and black/brown/beige pillows. I would use white see through curtains from the ceiling all the way down to soften the space.
Add shiny (glass) black vases
http://www.houzz.com/projects/297784/Panajachel-Ceiling-Lamp
http://www.houzz.com/projects/300538/Tierra-Del-Fuego-Black-Chandelier

Mirrors: if you hang them above your couch, (which I would recommend), I would go with 3. I think 4 is going to be too crowded.

Here is the width I am calculating with 3:

width of mirrors: 18 x 3= 48
space between mirrors: 6x 2 = 12
space btwn ends of mirrors and edge of couch: 11 x 2 = 22

48 + 12 + 22 = 82 inches (length of couch)

Drapes:

-what you bought sounds good.
-they need to be hung high. For that wall to look good, they should be hung higher than the art. What length would that be?

Paint: I would highly recommend you paint your room in a light greigy color to give it some warmth. It will also make your fireplace as well as your art stand out.

[houzz=]

Art above fireplace:

Certainly some of the other art could work up there. Try them all. I love the city houses.

You may not like the look of how high the art is and then your other art pieces hung anywhere in the room would be much lower. Also, that art is very formal looking and I am not sure that is the feel you want to convey.

I know this is a lot of work, but this is what it takes to make a room look good.

Deco, I believe Amy realizes the chairs are not ideal for the room, but for now that is what she has and I don't think they are acceptable.

Doors: take the doors off the hinges for now and see how you like the feel.

Console table: you are trying to fit in the console table and the bookcase? I don't see that. working.

Hi Amy,

You have done a fabulous job already and it is coming together well. I would just ask you to make a couple of additions, nothing major though.
For the mantle I have a few suggestions. Something wooden and antique would definitely look great there.
As for the lighting there are these beautiful chandeliers available at www.potterybarn.com, do check these out.
Everything else looks in place.
Ar. Simran Chhibber on behalf of Thos.Baker

Could I suggest some beautiful wood coloured venetian blinds too.





Ar.Simran Chhibber on behalf of Thos.Baker

Your fireplace wall seems to be washed out. I think everything else looks good. Could you paint the frames on the three mirrors above the fireplace? Is your mantle/surround wood or marble? Just trying to think of ways to add a wider range of value since you don't want color......