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Small living room / diner is a blank canvas... help!

8 years ago

Dear Houzzers,

Am undecided about what to do with the living room in my new flat - it has space for a dining table at one end - room is around 5m x 3.5m.

I'm a fan of scandinavian / contemporary style so I've just painted the walls an off-white colour, and now am now a bit lost as to what to do with the rest!

The floor is a walnut coloured laminate, and I'm finding it difficult to decide on what colour dining table to get - I think a dark wood table would look too dark against the floor, and a white table might look too white against the wall? The dining table would be in the same place as the current one.

Also planning to get a new sofa as its very saggy so colour of new sofa is flexible!

Ideas I have had so far:

- Paint the entire 'back' wall behind the sofa light grey (leave rest of walls white) and get a white dining table (for contrast?) plus pastel coloured Eames chairs?

Or - just paint the section of wall where the dining table is a light grey and get white dining table as above - the painted wall section would look like the pic below:

But would this look odd? :)

Scandinavian style on a budget in a small city apartment · More Info

Also thinking about pendant lights over dining table, rug in living room area and under dining table to create 'zones', big colourful art on walls, and a bookcase / storage unit in between living room and dining area - but again what colour? Decisions! :)

This is what it might look like - did a mockup in photoshop!

Thanks in advance for any advice or other ideas, its much appreciated!

Gemma

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Comments (5)

Zach W
8 years ago
Hey, Gemma. How's it going?

Are you able to post some more pictures of the space, so we can see it from other angles and how it ties to other rooms (especially the kitchen)? Also, forgive me for asking, but where is the current dining table?

Your eye is similar to mine in the choices you made and my living/ dining area is similar so I can certainly relate. It's difficult to know where to start because you're lucky enough to have a blank slate. I think all your ideas are good. I know you're changing your sofa which is good as the chaise element blocks the eye's flow to the light/ window. Something with long legs, with 2 seats - possible a loveseat - would also help to minimise the footprint.

I agree with the paint colours. I'd probably paint the whole wall, in case you wanted to change things around at some point. It can also be very difficult to pull off, and especially with varying lights.

How would you like the split to be between the dining and living areas? In one of your ideabook photos you have the 'zones' approach at 50/50 but I'm not sure if that's something you were going to carry through or whether the dining space would play a less prominent role.

All that said, I think all your ideas are spot on and the space promises to look great.
Gemma Sweeney
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi Zach, Thanks for your reply! Here are some more pics showing the space from different angles. The dining table is the small black one with the lamp on it. It seems to look even smaller in the photos :) I was planning to have the dining table in the same place and in the same layout as the 'Houzz' picture I included, so a rectangular one, sort of 'side on' to the wall rather than parallel with it. I think the dining area would take up about 40% and the living area about 60%.

Agree with you about getting rid of the chaise element, I never really use it anyway and it seems to waste space!

Thanks again for your comments, its really helpful.
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Zach W
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
That's great - thanks for taking the time to post them. It sounds like you're looking to do something like this, which I think would work well:

SHERYL · More Info

That's a dark table but I do think a light one would work better with your floor, like you said. You could possibly paint the wall where the radiator is in a pastel colour to complement the chairs you're planning.

A key choice will be a rug to define the living room area, exactly like the one you've identified. Between that and a "lighter" sofa, as well as the art you said, it'll be a huge difference (again, things you've already identified). I might be tempted to swap out the TV stand too, maybe even just to Ikea's Lack in white, as that's got a very light footprint (and has the bonus of being £9).

I'm noticing a teal theme. Is that one you're looking work with?

I think the wooden blinds would make a big difference, too. I actually have the same ones throughout the front of my house. Here's another picture that shows how a plant could also work, just to add to the neutrals. It also uses a chaise so I thought you might want to consider it as a temporary set up, at least.
East Village Studio · More Info
Gemma Sweeney
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi Zach, thanks all of your ideas are all really helpful :) Yes that picture is exactly what I was looking to do, good idea about painting the end wall as well. I do like teal and it will probably feature in some of the art and accessories. I was considering getting rid of the TV stand or maybe even painting it white as the light wood just doesn't look right with the floor. I'll have a look at the Ikea one, £9 is a bargain! The wooden blinds would look good as well to keep the room nice and bright.

Thanks again, I'll post some before/after pics when its all done!

Gemma
PRO
Corinne Natel Art Ltd
8 years ago
Hi Gemma, if you would like to add any original abstract artwork, please have a look at my work: www.corinnenatel.co.uk. I can also create something new to your requirements too, including teal!

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