ok its time for me to redo my living room - please help! (pics)

when we moved in to our house our living room was the first room we did...we didnt have a lot of money or really know what the style of our house was going to be - so now, of course, I hate it! and want to redo it.

Here are some pics...they aren't totally current - but you get the idea..it is the room you walk into when you come in to the house. I have another room that is casual that is the "family room" so I want to make this room a little more formal.



this is an old pic...but to give you an idea the room is open to my dining room -



this is what my dining room looks like now



one more thing...you can see the living room /dining room from my kitchen now since I redid it....here is a pic of that...



here is one more view of the kitchen/dining room from the living room (you can see my leather chair in the corner)

(dont mind the unpainted wall - we had JUST finished construction in this pic)




OK so here are my ideas for the living room....

#1. New mantle - marble or slate to cover the bricks. I would also like to build some low bookshelves under the windows on either side of the fire place.

#2. I MUST get rid of the red wall. I am undecided if I should keep it an accent wall or not. If I dont I feel like my whole downstairs will be beige and that is boring. Paint color ideas?!??!?!

#3. Rug is gone - depending on the wall color I will decide on a new one

#4. thoughts onthe leather chair - is it too heavy? I can bring it up to my bedroom and get 2 smaller chairs....I just dont want to block off the dining room

#5. I need to lighten up the coffee table I think....something more delicate...ideas??

I am open to ANY suggestions..TIA!!!

Re: ok its time for me to redo my living room - please help! (pics)

what is the accent color of the tile in your kitchen? Maybe you can paint the accent wall in the LR some shade of that color to pull it all together?

Or- I really like the drapes in your dining room- are they are green color? Maybe you can go w/ that on your accent wall.

I don't have a problem w/ the brick or the mantle of the fireplace- but that's just me...

I like the idea of the bookcases underneath the windows- maybe if you wanted to replace the mantle- you can do a custom wood mantle w/ matching bookshelves- I think a natural stained cherry would be nice (keep in mind real cherry isn't that reddish cherry color everyone seems to think it is).

I think it might be nice to get similar drapes for the LR as the dining room- not exact but same feel.

As for the leather chair- I like it- but I'm thinking maybe move it and get two smaller slipper chairs in a pattern that pull in on your accent color (whatever you choose it to be).

I would wait on the coffee table until after you replace the leather chair- see what happens and then change it up to something lighter- or maybe another shape- round? Oval?

Re: ok its time for me to redo my living room - please help! (pics)

I absolutely LOVE your dining room - it's TOTALLY my style - I love how bright, fresh and clean it is, so I'd go with the same theme for the living room.

First, I think you need similar drapes to make the living room more sophisticated - something similar to the material you used for the DR, but in a different color.

I would DEFINITELY add some custom bookshelves under the windows - I would use white trim for the bookshelves, and if you can swing it, try to incorporate it all into the fireplace and mantle, as one large custom shelving unit.

I'm not a fan of the brick - if you want ot lighten it up, you could do a nice white wash over the brick, otherwise, I'd tile it. I don't know about slate because that might be too dark, maybe marble would work better, or a lighter tile.

I would do the wall in a light color - have you thought of maybe a light gray? Or how about a very light blue? Light green? We have grey on our walls in our LR, I think there are some pics in my albums. If you do a lighter color, I'd nix the accent wall. Accent walls tend to work better with darker, more dramatic colors.

If you lighten up the walls, use some white trim for a unit around the fireplace, and get some light colored drapes, I think the leather furniture would work really well to balance it all out, so I'd keep it in there.

Flip through some pottery barn and restoration hardware catalogs - I think you'd get some great ideas from that!

Re: ok its time for me to redo my living room - please help! (pics)

Your room looks great now!

I agree with the PP about the drapes - I would do the sam ematerial in the LR, not necessarily the same color as the DR though (maybe ivory or tan). I do like accent walls- what about a sage color? Dry Sage from BM is a very nice color. I think glass tiles on your FP would look awesome - maybe something like what Colleen did with hers.

I like the leather chairs, but it would depend on what you do with the rest of the room.

Re: ok its time for me to redo my living room - please help! (pics)

Some ideas...

-i'm usually not a fan of accent walls, but I think a sage green accent wall (maybe a shade or two lighter than your DR drapes) or a beige color a few shades darker than your wall color would look nice in that room

-paint the fireplace white

-add a mirror or collection of mirrors above the mantle

-i actually like the coffee table and would keep it... maybe get some white or light color accent pieces for on top of it

-new little white lampshades for the sconces on either side of the window

-I like the bay window with nothing on it so I wouldn't add drapes or anything

-This rug would look great in that room in either capuccino or sage: LINK

-Take out the brown leather chair and add a slipper chair maybe with a patterned fabric: LINK

-and built in bookcases on either side of the fireplace would look awesome!

Re: ok its time for me to redo my living room - please help! (pics)

i really like your LR. all that is needed to make the room more formal is some small changes.

mantle - i happen to LOVE brick so i would not advise changing. a new (more ornate) mantle as well as new doors/screen would change the formality. like the idea of the bookshelves. maybe add some treatments to the windows as well.

red wall - i like it. with the addition of the bookshelves, a new mantle, a nice mirror and a grouping of candles over the mantle and maybe some treatments for the windows, the color wont be as obvious.

i agree with a new area rug. bought this rug from home decorators for my kitchen (a round and a rectangle). LOVE the colors and impressed with the quality and price.



i also really like this PB rug


coffee table - unless you find something that you really like, i would just work with the one you have. decorate with candles (in rattan tray) and maybe a colorful decorative balls in a glass bowl.

a fabric wing chair to replace the leather is an option.

not a fan of the sconces near the window so i would remove. maybe it would look different with new shades so i would try that first.

window treatments and new throw pillows would also help to change the mood; informal - formal.

Message edited 8/11/2008 1:37:38 PM.

Re: ok its time for me to redo my living room - please help! (pics)

Re: ok its time for me to redo my living room - please help! (pics)

bumping for the night crew!

Re: ok its time for me to redo my living room - please help! (pics)

I'm NO help. I LOVE everything the way it is!