jvmail, no, I like your little convo area you had by the piano. I like all the chairs! And the coffee table, they all blend well. Try putting the chair with the ottoman on the right side of the window. Then the other two chairs put back in the same places as before in your first pic. Gee, I hope I am making sense.

Yes, rug is too small and saratoga or Thos. (?) is correct about adding some color to it. ( sorry, I am on the app and I cannot scroll up to see commenter's names, nor can I remember!)

The art over the desk is perfect, just a tad lower like saratoga said.

Plus, the coffee table looked cool on an angle like in first pic.

Gramophone is a wonderful piece to incorporate into the room, I am just having trouble figuring out where. Could it be angled diagonally in that corner? I wonder how that would look.

This is fun!

Would you consider adding a loveseat in the bay window or facing you as you walk into the room? I love so many of the things in the room, the floor, the MCM chairs, the gramophone, the bookshelves. These items say a lot about you, but do not come full circle. I am having trouble figuring out what room I am walking through. Is it a sitting room? I am not sure. Adding a loveseat and some additional color might do the trick. I am attaching a room with a "Suzani" motif. You can do this with a strip of fabric or even wallpaper or stencil. It does not have to be expensive but has a big WOW affect. http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=81706
You might want to place something similar to the Suzani artwork on the far wall, and then create a grouping of a love-seat or couch with your MCM chairs. You might want to add a couple of throw pillows to the love-seat and a throw and some sort of textural rug. If the love-seat is facing you when you walk in, then the gramophone could be centered in the bay window. I think that this would create a feeling that you are walking into a room in which you want to stay, not pass through. Not just stay, but look around and say "what is that? Was that in your family" etc. Then a person might be thinking…. "Wow, what is in that next room? I need to explore that! ". Just some thoughts. Good luck!

I would add a loveseat in front of the bookcases facing the bay window. Scooch it closer to the windows than the chairs are (so there's adequate walkway behind) and place the desk behind the loveseat. Get an outlet installed in the floor there for lighting at the desk. Love lighting in the middle of the room - cozies things up! Then you can put the gramophone where the desk is now. It's a much deeper piece of furniture but so is that nook - could be perfect. www.twitter.com/216Sharon

ALso I do love the room - many beautiful elements! And I also suggest a large, more colorful rug to tie together the seating area. www.twitter.com/216Sharon

Hi jvmail. I also like the idea of a love seat facing the window and two of the chairs with their back to the window facing the love seat. I'm also posting a photo (top left) that really shows the style you've started with and some of my previous recommendations are in the photo.

Also posting two industrial style love seats if you want to consider that idea -- and another photo which shows a love seat arrangement with two chairs by a window (top right). All just for inspiration!

I see in your new photo that you removed a chair. Part of making the room work is getting your pieces in balance with each other and with the space. Two chairs and a love seat will work. Three chairs in a circle with two side tables would work. But two chairs all by themselves with one coffee table probably isn't enough to complete the space.

Christi, on behalf of Thos. Baker

I also miss the angle on the coffee table. That placement emphasized your mid century vibe. I do like the look of the round ottoman that Theo posted too. Might this become a music room? You already have a piano add the drums and reposition the gramophone. I hope Abbyjean and others good at furniture placement post on this thread. Furniture arrangement is not my forte. You have such lovely things it is just a matter of tying it all together.

I agree saratogaswizzlestick -- it has all the makings of a music room that's casual, comfy and relaxing. I like the rectangle coffee table too -- problem is that it's too big and not the right shape for a circular arrangement of three chairs. Three chairs need a round coffee table or ottoman for balance. If jvmail goes with a love seat and two chairs, the rectangle coffee table would work. That's why I posted the photos above -- to help define the difference in the structural framework of a grouping. The goal is to get the various pieces of furniture in balance with each other and with the space. That's how placement is done!

Christi, on behalf of Thos. Baker

Thanks heaps to all of the above. I will have another go - we have 2 other rooms with lounges which is why i was trying to make this one different but i do want it to be a cozy, relaxing music/reading room. The drums are too big for any room comfortably so they are stuck in the middle of he next room which is a casual tv room. The desk table is used 2days a week for a family member working from home. Possibly punishment?! ? I like the love seat idea so will have a look around and see if i can get a small one here like in the posted pic. I can see its off balance now - just a matter of getting it balanced placement-wise. Cheers

Would a love seat in a coloured print type fabric help presuming I keep the chair and ottoman and one other chair and then i could keep the rug ? Still thinking mayb a floor lamp?

This is the room including piano side as requested ! Thanks

jvmail, that pic looks good. Nice place to sit and have a conversation and a glass of vino, whatever, and listen to someone tickle the ivories!

You can do a love seat in a print, but it might be easier to get a love seat in a solid and have throw pillows in prints and colors. Keep the rug and use pillows to tie it all in together. Does that make sense? I'm posting more pics to show love seat ideas -- one in a print, one in a solid with a colorful pillow and the top left photo shows a white love seat with pillows that appears to fold out, which is pretty cool.

Christi, on behalf of Thos. Baker

I think it is still a little unbalanced. The bookcases are so solid, tall and cover the walls completely. The piano does the same but needs something on the wall above it that is on the dark side. When the energy travels to the desk are there is too much exposure of the wall surface. The energy bounces around. It almost would look better with more shelving there to me. Or maybe the seating area expanded into that corner with a modern drop from ceiling corner light or floor lamp.I would want the seating area entirely open to all those wonderful books and no chair with its back to the wall of books! SO JEALOUS! I NEED THIS SAME ROOM IN MY HOUSE and am trying to incorporate it with my dining room. I may have to post a dilemma!

Have you tried the piano in the other corner where the desk is now? Something seems off about the piano in that corner. It just looks dinky. IDK...;-(

You have way-hay too much stuff. It looks like Mom and Dad have moved in with their just-out-of-college son. That being said, your best pieces are the three chairs, the rug, the piano, and the antique-looking chest hiding behind the bookcases. Can you relocate those bookshelves to another room? Move out the console table, the two black stool-chairs, and whatever is crammed next to the piano as well. Put the antique chest under the picture, remove that, and hang up your grouping of vintage tennis rackets in its place--those are cool! And they're hidden in the dark recesses of that anteroom. Back up the three chairs toward the bookcase wall and center the rug with them accordingly. And that chair with the ottoman-- imagine you're sitting in it and you want to put down your drink. I don't know about you, but I can't touch my toes, let alone reach all the way over my feet to get to the cocktail table. That chair/ottoman needs a table next to it. The cocktail table is fantastic and extremely versatile. It could be positioned in lots of ways with the two other chairs, or it could sit in the window with one chair next to it. You're probably going to want to find another small table to help with the new chair grouping. That's a fantastic room you've got--it simply looks too cluttered. Once you've lightened things up a bit, work on moving those drums so that the pine cabinet in back becomes that room's focal point. If all else fails, make that back room the music room (piano goes back there with the drums) and make the larger room all about sitting, reading, and relaxing. Hope this helps.

Thanks. I have moved the rug and large picture into another room nd it looks so much better there. I like your idea of something above the piano. The reason the piano and desk are in those positions were because i though th piano was a bit ugly and may be better tucked around from the doorway and .out of sight its a dinky piano, quite old but well used still. Maybe it just a bit messy with all the music etc. i will have another go at arranging the chairs but am thinking a new big rug with a few colours and a loveseat instead of one chair. I put a bright painting above the desk and it does look a lot better. Thanks everyone, i think i am on my way now.

Thanks Mike - i think we were both commenting at the sme time as i hadnt seen yours when i wrote the last one. You are actually right about the origins of the furniture as i have been hurled some stuff my parents couldnt bare to throw out and have been struggling to make it all fit. Back to the room.

I'm coveting your parents' chairs and cocktail table. Man! They would be sweet in my living room. Good luck.

jv, I still like the room for what it is. You said you have other rooms for living/family, and I like your room the way it is, with minor changes, of course. Maybe just de-cluttering to soften things up but in the end it is your room, not mine. LOL

I think I would try to move the gramophone in the center of the bay window. Place the chair and ottoman on the left side angled. Rug running lengthwise where it is now. Place one chair facing the piano. Third chair facing the bay. Surround the music space.

For some art you can hang 3 large pieces in front of the bookcases, blocking some books. Will break up the uniformity and be colorful. Choose colors in the art from the chairs with some warm brights. Maybe the large one at the desk, moved to the center of both bookcases. Two large ones on each side.


At the desk, maybe replace the art with a large mirror so that you are not looking into a wall.

If leaving the art above the desk, I would lower it to about 10" above the desk.

Ok great thanks here is another version of the unfinished room - i changed the artwork but its still too high i think. The rug looks great in another room with the previous artwork so i will work with what is left and look for a suitable rug for this room. Might try the suggestion of moving gramophone to the window. It will look like we are about to have a singalong ! Thanks

Yes, art is still too high, lower to where the center of the art is about 62" from the floor : )

5-5-75 is a good rule as you hang art. Center it 5' above the floor if alone, hang it 5" above furniture and keep it within 75% of the furniture's width you hang it above. If you have to keep the bookcases here, I'd like to see them styled with 1/3 books, 1/3 decor items and 1/3 open space. You may not have many decor items yet, but you can often find really cool things at second hand or thrift stores to increase the 'artsy' value of the shelves.

Ok thanks - i have a million decor items but i also have a million books ! Will give it a shot. Yes its a problem moving the bookcases as there is limited oter space. Cheers

A lot of the bookshelves are holding LP records but i guess they have a similar cluttered look to books. Ah ha very clever with the art already in my room ! Unfortunately I have too many budding artists here who are keen to paint for the walls so unfortunaely i wont be purchasing soon. I am not sure that i prefer the one you chose as n example - prob a matter of personal taste as well. Thanks

Love that coffee table! There are so many comments on your room, I did not have time to read through all of them, but would love to find out where you found that table?

I love your room and your things jvmail! The colors in your art (though hung too high) are fantastic with your leather and blue chairs!!!!!

Hey thanks ! And the coffee table has been in the family for years - bought in the 50s i believe.

Hi jvmail. That floor is gorgeous! And I love the wall of bookshelves. What color are the walls? If they're white or nearly white, paint them a deeper, more interesting color, and don't forget the ceiling. That flashing white ceiling is robbing the room of ambiance.

The rest of my advice: 1) I agree wholeheartedly with those who suggest art. Either the Second Coming or the Monastery pieces that Cassie suggests would look great and add drama. She's also right about the height--lower the art. The idea is not to balance it between the ceiling and floor (or tabletop), but to hang it at eye-level where people can best enjoy it.

2) Along with the art, the carpet that Christie from Thos. Baker suggests (or something similar) would be terrific. But, it has to be much larger than the current carpet, probably 8 x 10.

3) The furniture is nice, but the chairs should be covered in matching fabric of a bold color, such as red or green or maybe chocolate. I think you need three or four chairs, also, instead of two. If you have three, the lone chair will need a table and lamp of its own.

4) Window treatment. Not sure, yet, what would work.

All this will pull the room together, warm it up, and give it the flair that one would hope to see in a room devoted to music.

Oops! Forgot: Don't be afraid to add one chair or end table that is not contemporary or modern. The mix will add a lot of interest and relieve the "bare bones" feeling that modern rooms can err toward.

When I look at the first pic, I get the feeling of heaviness on the left hand side (book shelves) which is increased because the furniture on the right is almost 'delicate' by comparison. The dark piano/organ also carries a lot of visual weight, so the eye heads right to the darker, heavier pieces. To balance the weight I suggest painting out the darker pieces ( or using heavier looking chairs). I would add a larger rug to define the conversation area. All chairs should have at least the front legs on it, if not more. As for color, that is a personal thing. I totally disagree with buying art to "suit" the room. It might suit the room, but never spend money on anything you don't love. Buy what you love! It will bring you joy and will always suit the room because it touches you on an emotional level. The floors are beautiful and full of warmth as are the other wooden pieces. You can use cooler colors, like the blue things to balance that warmth. That includes the large art work over the desk, just bring it down a bit more. If it were me (only a thought) I would position the coffee table to run in the same direction as length of carpet instead of angled. I would put a loveseat running parallel to coffee table, and two chairs opposite the love seat, so your guests are directly opposite to one another, not on an angle. Perhaps the third chair could go next to the window. You could put a small table or stand between the two chairs, to hold a refreshment. The coffee table in the middle will service the loveseat. It's a traditional seating plan but tried and true. It also gives the room a sense of more balance. Hope this helps. Just remember, never bring home anything you aren't in love with. It may take a little time, but it will be your signature on the room, not someone else's. Have fun!

I think a great modern type rug would add coziness and color. Round might be nice if you can find one big enough. I think something sort of midcentury Scandinavian modern could be nice, with colors to complement your art and tying in the colors of your chairs, and maybe a few pillows.

That bay window seems underused and empty. Maybe a window seat or bench or loveseat there will cozy it up. And some floor lamps and a little side table could be nice and useful too.

I miss your original rug...

Haha thanks but its looking great now in another room while I work on making this one look better..

Are you going to try moving the gramophone at the bay window to see if you like it?

Hi yeah i will try that thanks - am just getting a new rug sorted and will move things round again. I really appreciate the help and have gathered some great ideas from this post.

Yay for musicians! My husband is a band director, and I'm a pianist, plus we have three budding musicians running around too!

I think your gramophone table would look amazing in front of the window. Since this is a music listening room an antique like that could really define it.
Now it's very traditional while everything else is MCM so don't put anything else traditional near it. I don't really know how those work, but if it "opens" keep it open with something surprising and industrial inside of it.
If it really functions as a table, put something sculptural and modern on top.
This is a really great room. It's going to be a wonderful entry that tells people who you are!
Btw those gorgeous drums, are blending in with the floor! Put a rug under them to make them look intentional and permanent.
Where is your musical art?
I know you must have posters of record covers! This is the room to put them. Ah. I wish I could see it!

I think the bookshelves are fine. They are functional strong lined pieces. This is real life. Don't worry about them.

Any ideas on a good paint color for this room i wanted to make it light and airy bc rest of the house is so dark i was going to get very light or cream granite counters and do a very light teal/ blue on walls and accent with some dark brown furniture any advice?????

Any ideas on a good paint color for this room i wanted to make it light and airy bc rest of the house is so dark i was going to get very light or cream granite counters and do a very light teal/ blue on walls and accent with some dark brown furniture any advice?????

Any ideas on a good paint color for this room i wanted to make it light and airy bc rest of the house is so dark i was going to get very light or cream granite counters and do a very light teal/ blue on walls and accent with some dark brown furniture any advice?????

Here is my room after a few weeks - i like it a lot better now - thanks for all the advice.

I see you added the sofa. Looks nice! Clean and simple.

How about some art over the piano?

Yep its coming !

this looks so much better! great job!!!

Agree that the addition of the sofa is great.

www.sharonholbrook.com

your photo on the wall was great. why not try a picture light on it?