Paint or paper chimney breast? And layout help

8 years ago

Looking for advice on whether I should turn the chimney breast into a feature or leave it white. Also any advice on where to place the furniture? It's an awkward room because the front door opens into it. The room is feeling a bit bare any ideas on how to add to it? Thanks.

Featured Answer

minnie101

8 years ago

Hi. I'd paper the recesses in a white and gold geometric pattern to go with the olive and add some pattern to the room. I'd have the 2 sofas opposite each other at right angles to the chimney and move the tv opposite the chimney. Change the orientation of the rug and have the feet of the sofas on it. I'd move the art and hang a gold sunburst mirror there. I'd put something decorative in the firebreast alcove. Add some artwork in black frames and maybe a couple more cushions with some black in the pattern.

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Comments (20)

Natalie Patton
8 years ago
Have you thought about papering the alcove instead of the breast then mount the TV to the breast wall and move the sofa opposite the Brest in slightly off the wall.
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gldgem
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

*photo added*I can't seem to add another photo but the stairs and front door are directly behind the sofa by the window
minnie101
8 years ago
You can't have the tv where I suggested then! Maybe try the tv on the cabinet on the right of the fire as you look at it. Move the nearest sofa away from the alcove by a foot or so and pull the other sofa closer so they make an L shape, then arrange the rug under both feet. I would probably also get a coffee table to tie the sofa arrangement together. It does mean that your walkway into the lounge becomes the front door end but maybe try it to see what you think? Or the other option is where I first suggested the sofas but with the tv over the fire but it might be nice to make more of a feature of the chimneybreast? Or finally, how big is the area under the stairs? Could you do something with that? It's hard to tell from the pic?
Matthew Decorator
8 years ago
Painting it would look better
asalvona
8 years ago
If you do end up putting the TV on the wall over the chimney breast don't paper it as well, it will look too busy as a feature and will be distracting while your watching TV. Wallpapering the alcoves sounds a good idea. Also adding some white shelves with a few baskets for storage and colour coordinated ornaments.
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Pat Oliver Interior Design
8 years ago
You have a fairly small room and making the chimney breast a feature wall will chop the room up. Your TV is small and will probably fit on the storage cupboard to the left or right of the chimney breast. This will allow you to have a taller piece of furniture with artwork over or create a fire and surround.

Can you move the sofa that has its back to the stairs so it's more centered on the chimney breast? You should have room to come in from the kitchen and also from the stairs, either side.

Cushions with green (to match the rug) and another bright colour will add to the room. Paint the walls in a pale tint of the other colour to give interest to the walls and add warmth.
gldgem
Original Author
8 years ago

Thanks for the great ideas. I like the idea of putting the tv on a unit, but I would have to think of somewhere to put the sky box and playstation then. With the furniture layout it is very tricky. I should have explained the lay out better. It's basically one long room so I have dining room at the back and need to walk through it to kitchen and bathroom which are off the dining space.
minnie101
8 years ago
What are the dimensions of the room, the new (?!) sofas and table? Are you keeping everything that was green?
gldgem
Original Author
8 years ago
Yes that was the house before I moved my things in. The dimensions, it's 23 ft long whole area. largest bit (where sofas are) is 11ft wide, and the space where I have my dining table is roughly 6/7ft wide so quite small really. Thanks again.
minnie101
8 years ago

Going back to original options with the sofas opposite each other, can you fit a tv unit under the stairs as that could look quite good? With regard to the L shaped arrangement with the tv on the unit, you could drill a circle in the back of the unit and store the play station and sky in there. Another option which I think could work is to swap the dining and living round as the dining end looks bigger. Have one sofa on the kitchen wall with the other opposite ( place the sofas about a foot from both walls) and hang the tv above the radiator. You could make a feature of the room with a built in tv, Sky and radiator cover, as per example attached from Andre hodges. That should still give you at least 4ft for a clear corridor to the kitchen ( on the basis the 7ft measurement you gave was from the side of the kitchen door!) I wouldn't paper the recesses now I've seen the whole room. Maybe considering papering or painting the kitchen wall to Bring the wall in so as to make it feel wider and give more interest to the lounge.
Jonathan
8 years ago
Why not have have the previous arrangement? Sofa right by the stairs and another under the window.
Make the fireplace look like a feature and have the tv in the RH alcove.
I also like Minnie's idea about finding a metallic wallpaper that also includes the rug colour
Jonathan
8 years ago
http://m.johnlewis.com/mt/www.johnlewis.com/store/cole-son-hicks'-grand-wallpaper-blue-95-6035/p231879764?sku=231879766&colour=White&isd2c=true&isClicked=true&un_jtt_v_dummy=yes#page_loaded

Also like this paper
Sarah McColm
8 years ago
I would paper the front of the chimney breast and the window wall, then paint the alcoves in a shade of green taken from the paper. Some wallpapers that I think would look great:

http://www.wallpaperdirect.com/products/iliv/twig/127051

http://www.wallpaperdirect.com/products/albany/candy-stripe/126703
Sarah McColm
8 years ago
I meant add - I think jonathandb's suggestion of using the previous owner's sofa arrangement is on the money. If you go with that then considering using one of the smaller Kallax room dividers from IKEA between there and your dining room which you could then mount your TV onto.
susanblainey
8 years ago
I made a feature of my fireplace and got a TV unit from IKEA
Sarah McColm
8 years ago
gldgem
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for the ideas. I really like the wallpaper looks great. I have the kallax unit under the stairs at the moment for extra storage so could easily shift it around. I do like the space under the stairs for storage though.
gldgem
Original Author
8 years ago
That fireplace is lovely, did you make it yourself? That's exactly what I want to do with mine.
susanblainey
8 years ago
Yes. My son in law did it. Anyone who is a competent DIYer could do it. It's a wooden frame over my old fire surround. The logs are log tiles from one of the log suppliers on the Internet. The wood behind the logs has been painted black and then the logs are stuck on. Here is what it started off as and a picture before it was painted.