I do not like even a little bit arranging furniture. I have no spacial reasoning. No clue about where to put things. This kind of mundane task makes me wanna pull out ice blue eye shadow and purple mascara and parachute pants and go back to the comfort of my teenage years. So...I NEED your help. Cause you all are the smartest people I know and I don't have a lick of sense. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
This is my living room. Please ignore the Kung Fu fighting moves going on. I cannot control these two hooligans. Notice they have their shirts off. I now know that you must take your shirt off to wrestle. this would explain why I have NEVER wrestled in my life. Although I think IJ wants to me take it up. I kid. I kid. 
Okay...so here is the living room... Notice the placement of the couch.
Okay...so here is the living room... Notice the placement of the couch.
While I like it once your IN the room. I do not like how it looks from the entry.
And I think it looks lonely and sad. And I hate to think of it out there feeling as though it does not have a friend it the world. Like it would be the LAST one to get chosen at basketball. It just breaks my heart. God love it. 
So I need your help on LOTS of levels. 
My initial reaction is to take the couch and set it in front of the middle window here with a cute little truck or some luggage I find at an auction or something. Cause I LOVE old furniture. Like i love lip gloss. Plus I think setting it in front of the window MIGHT prevent Middle Twerp from trowing Baby twerp throw the glass pane. I am just sayin...you know you were thinkin it too.
Then get another leather (ok...pleather) chair and set them where the couch is kinda a little facing each other with a little box or something old and random between them. And this is where I would sit and watch Dancing with the Stars and drink wine and blog. Maybe.
But now we need to talk coffee tables. I NEED a coffee table. IJ HATES coffee tables. I told him I would dance naked on it if I could have one. He didn't say anything which leads me to believe I can get it now. Maybe.
Then get another leather (ok...pleather) chair and set them where the couch is kinda a little facing each other with a little box or something old and random between them. And this is where I would sit and watch Dancing with the Stars and drink wine and blog. Maybe.But now we need to talk coffee tables. I NEED a coffee table. IJ HATES coffee tables. I told him I would dance naked on it if I could have one. He didn't say anything which leads me to believe I can get it now. Maybe. 
And Red Card Catalogue trunk.
I just think you should know that I totally made those names up. Please still love me. BUT...my walls are a light taupe. My couch is brown with rorange (redish orange) accents and here are two rugs I big pink fuzzy heart with glitter love.
I call this one Modern Day Sixties Swirl. The color scheme is perfect...but is it too much?
And I LOVE this one. It calms me...kinda. And makes the think of France. 
So....SPILL the beans. Help a girl out. I need you now more then ever.
Designer Challenged,
23 comments:
1. i like the first rug better. i'm more partial to the warm colors than the cool ones, and i think that's what you're leaning towards too, whether you know it or not.
2. i know what you mean about the couch being all alone. could you pull it into the room a little more? its a big room. i wonder if the furniture is too far apart? hard to say w/o seeing it in real life. maybe i should just come down and see it in person.
3. i like both trunks, but not with your furniture or the rugs. however, i have no offering of something in its place. again, i just need to come down & we'll go to pottery barn and find something.
4. you are in atlanta. which is where HGTV is out of right? all them there design shows are always somewhere around atlanta...just call them up and see if vern yip will come over and hook a sista up. or david bromstadt. and if david DOES come, then i am still coming down too b/c he's HAWT.
PS - i do area rugs on carpet. but we all know how tacky i am, so there you go.
I have no opinion on the rugs, I must really see them big.
How 'bout if you put the couch in front of the fireplace then a chair on either side. Can't really tell if theres room for that, but it kinda looks like it.
Then perhaps a sofa table. Just a suggestion.
I like the reddish trunk better, but without actually seeing your couch in person, i'm wondering if the orange tone in the coush may clash.
Sorry, it doesn't seem that I've helped much, perhaps I should have kept my comments to my own self. !
I can't comment on colors or fabric designs or even furniture because I'm hopeless. But I know from watching the aforementioned HGTV that you absolutely MUST gather your furniture in a cozy arrangement around the fireplace. As in, couch along the windows, (at least two) chairs opposite, with a lovely table in between. IJ would perhaps appreciate one of those wooden cable spools topped with glass or wood as a "coffee table"?? Just kidding. How about a big, rectangular ottoman that he can prop his feet on? Just use a pretty wooden tray when you want to actually use it as a coffee table. I hope my awkward and insensible suggestions help.
my first thought was put the couch in front of the fireplace, not directly but you know what i mean!
then perhaps a couple of other chairs on the sides or a pair on the more open side (make sense?)
love that first rug, but i would have to see it in person!
as far as the coffee tables, i'm not sure...wondering if it all flows?? so hard to tell over the internet!!
good luck to ya! i'm local, let me know if you want to go shopping!
uhm...okay...By "in front of the fireplace" do you mean facing hte fireplace? cause i am blonde and all.......
And I am here in Atl. Come on down Marchelle
Cynthia -- Hark did the harold angels just sing?????? Where are you? Are you coming to my sleep over? i will pass you an invite between study hall and gym.
OMG! Did you take the TREE down already? Sorry.
ahem, O.K. on to furniture placement. Although I like the area rugs (the warm one better) IMO area rugs on carpet are a trip hazard but I'm clumsy so thats just me. I also agree with Marchelle. It's a big room and the furniture is too far apart for cozy conversation. "I" would but the sofa in front of the fireplace/TV. Maybe IJ would go for a big (P)leather ottoman? It's easily moved around and can be used for additional seating or setting feet/drinks on. Maybe a couple chairs in front of the windows with a small table (the red one) in between. I would fear the sofa in front of the window as it's easier to throw a brother out. Hope that helps or at least gives you some ideas.
Hmmmm....yes, you must move the couch. It blocks off the entry (one of them) to the room and that's no good. I would definitely place it in front of the big window (centered, of course). And one more chair would do nicely. But I would bag the idea of a big coffee table. Instead, I think a couple smaller end tables would go really well with the chairs. I think if you do a coffee table, it's going to be too much going on in the room.
Just my thoughts. ;) And I do accent rugs over carpet too. :)
goodness. i promise i will come back and re-read this blog post when i'm NOT hopped up on cold medicine. k?
also, i agree on buying more furniture. but i'm a furniture freak. ask my husband. and i have an oriental rug over my beige carpet right now as i type swear to god. and it doesn't look tacky.
altho. tacky is fun too ;)
I think the couch facing the fireplace/TV would be nice with the two chairs either by the windows or where the couch is now with a little trunk between them. I love the red one. Area rugs on carpet? i am not really sure about that I have seen it and it lokks nice but not for me.
I like the couch in front of the big window like you mentioned, that was my first thought- then the recliner over in the corner area where the couch is. The first rug with the "barn" chest would go great in that room. Rugs on carpet is not tacky in my opinion. Enjoy "rearranging"!
Let me see:
1. Can the sofa face the fireplace? I agree with Marchelle, it needs to be 'in' the room more.
2. Trunk #1 is my fave, but don't get a set of matching anything. Looks too 'furniture storish'. I've got a thing against 'sets'. If you're OCD and everything has to match, I'll allow it, but only on those grounds.
3.What about a more natural rug like seagrass or jute and by all mean, yes; layering anything is darling. Which brings me to another thought altogether. I'm almost ready for guest posting. The topic: layering clothes and jewelry. The kicker: you don't have to buy anything new. The date: maybe Jan 4??? It's my birthday. So I thought it'd be fun. But whatever. I am in fact THE most flexible person I know. I can still do the splits too. Well almost. Then I have to use ice and heat for three days. But some things are worth it.
And listen sister, I may be coming to Hotlanta soon to see the King Tut display. We may need to go to IKEA.
Loves ya,
Edie
I love the cozy, intimate around the fireplace idea with another conversation area under the window with a couple of smaller chairs and a smaller table. You could blog from there.
If you put the couch in the open part of the room with the back visible, find a long, tall, slender table to place behind the couch with some nice accessories. They sell tables just for this, I think. Maybe called sofa tables????
Try this method...I have done this since I was a teenager. Once I set furniture, organize or decorate I take a mirror and look at the room in the mirror. You can see where a chair or couch needs to be moved over, you can see fruit that is covering another and so on. I know call me crazy but it has worked for me. I once bought a car with my mirror. I walked in and told them what I wanted and set the prize and he said we have a few in that model. I couldn't decide on the color so I whipped out the mirror and picked the white one. Ok,, I am crazy, but try it maybe you could be crazy like me.
I love this stuff
Rug - go with the 1st one the brown & warm colors - more to work with
Did I see an Iron gate in a Christmas pic - hang it over the fireplace - not to high though
I like the red coffee table, but need to see the shade of red compared to the color in the rug ( how close are they?)
I would move the sofa to face the fireplace, (so you don't block your view & you can still enjoy it when sitting on the couch) then when your budget allows you can get another chair or even a pair to put where the sofa is now.
move the chair either where the sofa is or in front of the windows (i'd do the window)
You can get a cabinet or maybe some built ins in the space to the right of the firepace for the tv & other electronic stuff
Sorry if I mis-spelled anything - in a hurry to download photos to costco so they'll be ready when I get there & Lsquare called something about needing tax papers of some sort. Does he not know how busy I am?
I'll come over & help you move it around - I'm alway helping friends redo thier stuff (my DH is just glad I'm not doing it here)
Have fun.
You have come to the right place, because I love a decorating challenge. I may not be the best decorator, but that is not the point.
Okay, you are missing a good opp for your sofa, not to mention special cozy by the fire time. I would face the sofa towards the fireplace. Back to the kitchen bar area. I would then get one of those long skinny tables the height of your sofa and put it behind the sofa. A lamo is nice back there if you can get it to plug in without causing a tripping hazard. Now I think a coffee table is a must have. But I will tell you mine has been a comittment and one that I have regretted at times. Stay away from a square one, all I am saying. And be prepared for bruised noggin's cause the corners are like magnets to little kids heads. I LOVE that red and funky flower rug. i almost bought it myself for the cabin. Your secret is safe with me, I shop there too! hee hee! The blue one looks like a good one for the bedroom. Yes, you can put a rug over carpet. Use a rubber pad over it in case something spills and causes your dye to run, you won't ruin the carpet that way. Your room is big! I think you can do the chairs like you said either in front of the window or backs to the entry, which ever you like. And I am good anytime in march except third wednesday, and I know other things are coming up, but if you have it, I will come!
i mailed your newspaper to your old address. I hope you get it.
Love, Dana
The couch didn't seem to be in a good spot for watching the TV above the fireplace, if the TV is staying there? I like the idea of facing it towards the fireplace. And maybe adding another chair or loveseat. Big rooms, and those with lots of windows are a little harder to arrange, for sure.
I've seen rugs on top of rugs and they look okay. Layering is in, right? ;) Have fun!
I also like Marchelle's answer #4. Can you make it the same weekend as our blog sleepover? That way we can all meet David Bromstead.
I think Dana has a good idea backing the couch to the kitchen, but either way i think the sofa table behind it is KEY!! I love, love, love, the first rug, and the red coffe table would look great on it!! DO IT girl!!!
edie -- i have no clue what seagrass or jute is....is it green....talk blonde to me,,,
JAN 4 IT IS -- just email me the post with any pics
xxxooo,
cg
Oh dear sweet mercy me. They're both khaki-colored. Like the color of burlap. The color of twine. Pottery Barn has them....but I get mine from TJMaxx. Much cheaper. Add color somewhere else that's easier to change. Love the clock, BTW. Tres chic.
Ok, so I'm definitely the type to sit and stare out the windows for hours at a time, so keep that in mind. But I think you should have a long window seat/bench built in under your windows. They make them with drawers, which would be the perfect place to shove toys when someone drops in unexpectedly. Cover them with big, colorful pillows, grab your laptop and hunker down. At one end you could put perhaps a small dropleaf table to hold your cup of tea, etc. etc. ????
I don't know....would it be crazy to put a window seat under those gorgeous windows? Yeah, most likely. But that's where I'd sit if I visited you. For sure.
I say face the couch in line with the fireplace too. Then instead of getting another leather chair, get a loveseat or oversized chair made of a coordinating fabric...that will help bring in color...then go with a light wood chest. You can always add color on top of it with accessories. Then you won't tire of the color. Take the table that is by the windows and set it next to the pleather chair, take the table that is against the wall in the pics of the kids on the couch and put it behind the couch as a sofa table. just my thoughts :)
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