Need help decorating and arranging our living room!

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

We are moving into our first home shortly and would love some advice about how to decorate and arrange the furniture in our ground floor living room. We haven't bought any furniture so have a total blank canvas. We've not done anything like this before so would love some advice.

The room despite having many windows doesn't get flooded with light, it faces West but there are some tall tree's across the road. It's also at ground level so we need something to give us some privacy. I was thinking of half height cafe style shutters or possible just some window film.

Under the carpet there are pine floorboards so we plan on lifting the carpet up and sanding those down and maybe lightening with a whitewash.

For paint we were thinking of a light grey for all of the walls including the chimney breast. Maybe Ammonite by F&B

We'd use the room as our main living room but not as a dining area. I might want to have a small desk by the window with a soft partition like a shelving unit to define the different space.

Any ideas?

Thanks!!

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Comments (5)

minnie101
9 years ago
Hi. How about this attempt for layout assuming the fire is boarded up? The sofa would be about 8ft from the tv. (There is leg room between the sofas and I drew the coffee table too far away but ignore that!), Tv can go on the wall or on a cabinet or on the wall with a console underneath and art and decorative pieces around it. Personally I wouldn't put the desk by the bay as you'd be blocking light with a screen. Would it work where the table currently is with a desk lamp?If you need storage, I'd put bits away in a cabinet or get a desk with drawers. Cafe shutters would be good or if on a budget wooden blinds can look good or voile blinds. In terms of style, what do you like? Maybe scandi or soft industriał with white boards or a mix of the two or??
Jonathan Fox thanked minnie101
Lady Tottington's Poodle
9 years ago
Sofas shouldn't overlap each other. You need to be able to sit in every seat an not be looking at the side of another person right in front of you x
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How about swapping the rooms around. Move the TV room where your office/ library is now and build your library shelving around the walls in this other room. That room has more 'uninterrupted' walls (although I can't see how low the windows are) so it's easier to arrange the sofas. You can customise the bookshelves to fit the middle room, can already use the built-ins around the window, etc. (I'd suggest to include radiator masks matching the wood/ paint of the shelves). You then wouldn't have to get rid of the fireplace surround. And if you fix it and place an old leather armchair next to it, you could build a fire and cosy up with a book till late March! Or you can hang a retractable screen above the opening between the rooms and buy a projector - ta da! your own cinema room!
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yes I agree with gravel.....pick a theme and edit out all the things that don't work. Personally I think the room is quite grand and I like the fireplace and windows but think the floor and walls are a little too light. Consider a bolder wall finish and then perhaps change the frames of some of your pictures so they work better together. The room might benefit from pattern. A patterned rug would work and would be practical with children but choose a pattern large enough for this big room. Since the windows are such a nice feature consider leaving them undressed and remove obstructions so that you can see the garden.
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Hi N K hope the move is going well and you are enjoying the new home. what you can do to combat this issue of off-centering is use a simple hook and grip to loop the cable over from the outlet so that you get a centre hang. Please see image below. There isnt an exact science to hanging heights as everyone is different, but you should try offering it up and seeing what works best for you so that you do not have to keep changing it for watching the tv. hope this helps
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Hi. The room is looking good. I would also move the desk only because it feels like it's missing a chair Plus obviously not practical if you intend to use it! If you dressed it as a console with lamp and accessories with art over etc though I think it might work (then have a large plant the other side of the sofa. i would pull both the sofa and chair out a little from the walls. I'm not sure what you think of this? I personally would opt for shades of blue to break up the orange a little. The lamp would go behind the chair And just the rectangular cushion on it. I would Look for art in your colours to go by the chair (light switch wall) and behind the plant/desk. Accessorise the shelves with a combination of books, an ornament or 2 plus your framed photos.
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minnie101
9 years ago
Thanks for pointing out my mistake LTp. Jonathan, I'd make the sofa shorter on the back wall and push the other one a little further back or see if anyone else has a better suggestion. It's a long room so tv positioning isn't that easy to actually be able to see it or to my mind anyway
Jonathan Fox
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the advice. I might have not explained it very well. My idea was to have the desk exactly where you've put it so it's good to see someone else come up with the same idea! I had it facing the wall so that the window there was not blocked.

The fireplace sadly is mostly covered. There's still a small opening but there's no surround or anything. Not much of a feature.

I think the choice on window coverings is either window film + roller blinds or some nice cafe style shutters if we can stretch to that.

In order to use the bay window area better I was considering getting a bay window seat made with inbuilt storage. I've attached an image similar to what I'm thinking.
minnie101
9 years ago
Oh, ok! I think it would look good there. That's a shame re fire. A bay window seat would be great if budget permits,. There is some good privacy film around if you did opt for that. Do try local companies for shutters, they may well be a lot cheaper than nationals or you can order ones online and fit them yourself which my husband did and he is absolutely useless at diy and happily admits to it. I'm not overly fond of walking into sofa backs unless you find one that looks nice from behind but console tables behind do look good. You could also try just a chair on that back wall or 2 small chairs or footstools. What was your idea in terms of overall layout?

Need help decorating and arranging our living room!

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minnie101

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Need help decorating and arranging our living room!

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minnie101

Lady Tottington's Poodle

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