Yes, it looks pretty sad, but it can improve. Don't get a brown or black leather couch - that won't lift the gloomy feeling. Go for a light gray one since your carpet is on the pink side. Put your two square hassock/tables under the window (with curtains removed and new roman shades installed) and get a new storage coffee table. If the hassocks don't have storage inside, replace them with a storage bench. Add a pair of chairs and if you can't replace the wood tables and cabinets, paint them expresso. Consider using your bike as art by hanging it up.

U have been offered some great ideas.

My advice, don't despair, this is not a difficult fix. Think of the look you would like, the colours you love, the style that appeals to you. Search online, walk thru stores you like, including 2nd hand shops, Habitat Re-Stores, go to garage sales.....

Take your time & have fun!!

Hi! Here are a few ideas to add pops of color and make your place inviting:

http://deciture.com/anise-recycled-magazine-stool/ (fun, different, and interesting plus provides seating)

http://deciture.com/fabiola-wood-accent-table/ (could put two of these together where your current ottomans are)

http://deciture.com/attractive-and-inspiring-wall-decor/ (since you have a bike, this may provide a little interest on your walls)

Hope this helps inspire you!

Hi jmrire. Selecting the right decor for smaller living areas can be challenging, but there are some options that will work great. Consider looking for furniture that has integrated storage. This can be very helpful in keeping the room from looking cluttered while still allowing you to have furniture that is inviting and comfortable. We actually had a feature on our home furniture blog a while back on this very topic you may find helpful- http://blog.irisfurniture.com/2012/10/12/how-to-design-and-furnish-a-small-space-with-big-style/

Here is a clearer picture and the vouch I'm thing of getting

Here is the floor plan

Please do not get that brown leather sofa!!
that is not helping you at all!
Get a sofa with 2 seats and narrow rams.not bulky.
Remove the blind from the window and if you need more privacy replace them with a nice roller shade or panel track like:
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/50224210/
You have lots of boxes in the room is it necessary to have them all around?I mean the ones beside the door and window.
Having a nice trendy storage coffee table is a good idea.
If it is possible remove the bicycle it makes the room like an storage!

Nothing in that room is needed , but I do need an area to put my tv cable box and DVD player. I like your idea from IKEA

gray is not welcoming. if you need dark for practicality, get navy or dark red. have some light and bright accents.

What color and styles do you like? Do you like woodsy, earthy colors and feeling? or do you want bright colors with modern art, modern lines? Give us a few hints of your personality and likes an dislikes. then the storage solutions, can be worked in. Also, what kind of a budget are you thinking of? Do you like thrift store finds or ???

OK.. this floor plan has been flipped!

Lynne,on the other side is the dinning room and I have a dark wood table ,
1- I like earthy colors, I like browns , oranges greens. I still would like the brown leather sofa, and I can accent that with colorful pillows. I can do $3000 for my budget, the sofa is $899. I don't mind thrift store or dyi :)

how much space is between the fireplace and the french door? and can we have a photo from the window facing the dining room? that will give some more perspective for those of us that need photo visual.

Doe the tv need to stay above the fireplace? what size is the tv.? Im thinking of book cases between the french doors/ fireplace, but need to formulate more, that's why Im askeing... I hope some of the great designers on here step in to help !

The space between the French door and fireplace is 30inches. And on the other side I have 23 1/2 inches .Attached is the other side of the room.. Not sure where else I could put the TV

First, set aside time to clean up the area and organize. Then you won't feel as overwhelmed in deciding decor, and you will be able to better see what you're working with. We suggest clearing the space and adding an accent color to the wall to open it up, add interest, and draw the eye upward. Here's a quick guide we put together to help you pick the perfect paint color for any room: http://www.mrcabinetcare.com/5-tips-pick-perfect-paint-color.html

Im in the middle of a big project so have limited time right now, but for starters it looks like you need storage, next to the door where the coat rack is, I'd suggest getting a cabinet that blends with your dining room furniture, to store coats, shoes and misc things you keep there. Im thinking of taller shelves, perhaps with doors at the bottom for either side of the fireplace. they have several sizes, colors styles that are reasonable in the SAUDER brand line. You need to put these together yourself but don't look bad ... no they are not designer high end pieces, but with your budget, I think they would be good. check some out on line just to get a feel for them, to start. Do you use the fireplace at all. is that plastic in front of it?
Yes an accent color on a wall would look nice, but In my opinion you need to get the layout and furniture pcs you like first, then decide on paint color, maybe an area rug, and art. Sometimes if you have a pc. of artwork you LOVE, it's good to build the room around that. Is there anything, art wise that you really like> If so post a photo here. or some examples.

Lynne, I appreciate all your suggestions , I'm in no rush, but would like to get it do e by the end of summer

Get inspired with some art... when you have some time to look, check out greatbigcanvas.com they have TONS of different kinds of styles sizes and colors , themes. see if you find a LARGE art pc that you like, for over your sofa perhaps... they come as canvas ( which generally I prefer, or as prints, framed prints and posters too) There is always a sale on, the best sale I've seen is 50% off , but more often its 30-40% off, so if you find one you like, WATCH for awhile to get the best deal. If you see some that interest you, save the image and post on here , so we can see what you are thinking too.

this is an example of my thought for next to the fireplace, this would fit on the left side, this one is in black , but there are other colors too. YOU could store your audo, tv equipment inside and still have some space for some decorative items up above.
( I am putting this in my home office... not high end, but I can furnish the room for $500 using Sauder furniture)
http://www.shopko.com/1/1/20733-sauder-edge-water-library-doors.html#

If you like this idea go to sauder.com, but never order there first, google and you'll find lower prices at amazon, walmart etc. If you don't like this idea, just speak up, this is just one idea :)

Do you like the feel of the living room you have in your idea booK? with the orange accents, and possibly the two pc sectional. That may work in your living room, The lower back and sleeker lines of that sectional will take up less visual space, than the over stuffed brown leather sofa you picked. But is that sofa is a definite for you, then we;ll work with that.

Thinking..... In your dining room, what is that pc on the right back corner. and how wide is it and what do you use it for?

Lynne forgote the living room pic was there, that was for a friend, I will find a living room I like and post it

Oh my goodness! To me this would be a very fun project because you stated "I don't need to keep anything". That means you can design your room however you'd like. Of course most of us do have a budget in mind but I'm willing to bet if you gather up photos of rooms you like, eventually a pattern of 'likes' will start to appear. Then shop wherever you budget allows to 'copy' the look you love. Even though I'm a decorator myself, once when I wanted to change the style of our master bedroom completely, I looked through a design book for inspiration. I found a room I really loved, showed it to my hubby and said "What do you think of this room?" He said "I like it :-) " Good, I said, cuz I'm going to copy it! ;-) It's OK to copy someone else's work with little tweaks to fit your own room(s). Why reinvent the wheel if you find one that fits :-)

Let's see your room redone on here soon! Best of luck! There are wonderful ideas here to help you on your way. P.S. If you're looking for a brighter, lighter look, I'm with those who've said to shy away from a dark leather couch. They're durable, yes, but honestly a lot of them aren't very comfortable to sit on. I always feel like I'm sliding off ;-)

If all the brown leather couches are on sale, there is a reason!

Did you find any photos of things you like? Give us some ideas to start with... there are lots of people on Houzz with great talents and are willing to help you. Please update.

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful comments. I like earthy colors, I understand the dark brown leather sofa would be to dark, so what other colors would be best other than a cream color

Connie, you are welcome to have fun at my house :)

Lynn I have been away for a few weeks , I will look for some this weekend and share , thanks again for your wonderful ideas

Jmrire, I certainly would love to come have fun at your house ;-) I'm used to doing a LOT of restyling/redesign which are usually very small budgets. But ya know, in the end the client is very happy because she/he's been able to keep things (helping make it more affordable) and yet see updated changes they love. Clients have asked me "What style do you do?" or "What's your signature style?" I tell them "I'll give you the style YOU want"...which of course makes sense because after all it IS their home, not mine ;-)

So hey, seriously, if you'd like me to help you design your room/home, contact me and we can talk about doing e-design (via emails, phone calls). It's more fun to decorate in person but e-design works too! www.cndesigns.biz

oh no do not get that couch. It is so dark it depresses me. Try walking around Crate and Barrel for some ideas how to lighten up the spaces.

Unless you need the sofa for a spare bed, consider not getting a large one -- consider a two-seater loveseat instead or two of them and two chairs or even opt for only several very comfortable chairs. That door location with hinges very near the end front wall limits furniture placement on that wall. You probably couldn't even park a full sized sofa where the bike is because of it -- but you probably could a loveseat.

Is that an electric fireplace under the television? Is that currently the only place your tv sat/cable wires can be accessed? If so, unless you want to go the expense of changing these two fixed things, consider beginning your planning by making that wall great, including hiding the television wires.

If that is an electric fireplace, consider adding a wood shelf as a mantel as wide as the unit above it. Could you add 1" x4" vertical boards on either side -- floor to ceiling and hang you bike above that as art or hang above some kind of shallow (6" - 8") bookshelves or cabinet between the television and door?

Is this room a single long living/dining/kitchen great room? If so, whatever you decide to do in this room will need to take that and space you need for traffic to pass into consideration. (Edit to note: that floor plan you posted shows no wall space between the door at the windows and the fireplace though your pic does or I'm missing something.)

Depending upon what is beside and behind you as you took the first picture, you might consider creating a corner cabinet this side of the television with three cabinets -- two tall vertical cabinets with doors (for storage) and a corner cabinet in between (with doors below but open shelves above beginning at countertop height), with space for the television in that corner at about countertop height, perhaps with bi-fold doors you can close when not using it.

Consider if you want to access the corner cabinet from behind (from the another part of the space (if dining area adjoins it) before you build it. Space permitting (length of the room) you could actually make the taller cabinet that will be beside the corner cabinet and serve to divide the room with deeper shelves than the other cabinet and not only make the corner cabinet larger but also create a cabinet accessible from both sides so you can use it from both sides. [I'd suggest you invest in three large sheets of poster paper to draw out what would fit -- draw the "footprint" the cabinets you are considering and, when satisfied, cut out those pieces and walk around them and see if they actually work.] ... Putting the television in the corner would make the television visible from the entire living room rather than just from the wall where the sofa currently is located.

Also consider a duplicate -- or at least same sized -- corner cabinet for the left of the front three windows on the wall near the door. That corner cabinet could have solid doors below and glass doors above and it could be used as your "stuff" cabinet -- a place to put "stuff" that you value but don't want to dust or be the focal point of the room: ... family pictures in frames could go on the upper shelves up front (with our without glass) and other treasures -- the baseball, the trophy, the souvenir from that trip you like to remember, the small gifts from people you care about, a few holiday decorations (such as that orange pumpkin candy dish or snowman) that could be moved forward for the holiday season or back when not the holiday season) etc., -- not necessarily neatly arranged for all to see but just stuff put there because you value it.

Can you stack the two similar cabinets you have (left of three windows on wall with sofa against it and to right of door but left of tv) and use them as one tall unit, making room for other furnishings, at least temporarily (affixing a pair of 1"x4" vertical boards to the back of both to hold them together)?

You have nice furniture pieces which probably can serve you better in another room or at least another part of the room. First of all, I would move out the bicycle and get a matching sofa and love seat OR two love seats, depending on the size of your room. I would place the love seat in front of the windows, put an end table in the corner, and then put the other love seat or sofa along the wall where you had the original sofa. A fairly tall table lamp with a glass or clear Lucite base would look nice on the end table in the corner, and the clear base will add an airy feeling and sparkle to the room. You might try painting the tan-colored furniture pieces white to add brightness and find other places where they may serve you and your guests well. If you wish, you might paint the top of each furniture piece a pastel version of your accent color or perhaps a light sage or mint green which will go with many other colors. Perhaps the taller tan piece (which you originally had in the corner) could be near the entrance way and, if it is not too tall, it could have a mirror above it and a small lamp on it to signal "welcome" to your guests when they arrive. I agree with other posters that you need cheerful colors in this room. I would suggest first of all that you paint the walls a soft white. Then, choose one fairly bold color you really love and use that as an accent color in small accessories, such as throws and throw pillows, vases, and/or small floral arrangements, kitchen and bath towels, and wall art throughout your home.

Our project might inspire you.

If you like the couch then just search the photo section for leather couch and all sorts of ideas will show up. If that's what you like, don't rule it out because others don't like it. I think you can definitely make a welcoming room with a leather couch. You would just have to compensate by going with light colors on other things.