Y’all, this formal living room is driving me crazy. I am having a serious love-hate relationship with the thing. All I know is this current furniture layout has just got to go.
(Please ignore the clutter around the piano…this room is also serving as inventory storage until the garage is fixed!)
The main problem? No more money. So we are basically working with what we have. But I’m up for the challenge!
This is the basic layout of the room: (thanks to Haverty’s Room Planner)
As you can see, we have a large bay window in the front of the house, and one window along the side. There are two doors and a fireplace on the wall adjacent to the foyer, and one door on the wall adjacent to the mud room. The room is approximately 17 feet long by 13 feet wide.
This is how we have it arranged now:
It is more of a “throw everything in there” style than anything else, and I kind of hate it. I love the piano because of the sentimental value, but it is really ruining this room for me. But it can’t really go anywhere else in the house, and I cringe to think about how hard it would be to move it further than a few feet. (Plus, when I think about what the guys did to get the piano in the house, I feel like a total jerk.)
The things I love in the room:
- The pale pink color of the walls with the bright white trim
- The fireplace
- The pink sofa
- The rug (It’s not a forever rug, but it fills the space nicely right now. Plus it was a steal!)
- My grandmother’s framed scarf
My goal is to pull the colors from the scarf to use throughout the room: teal, navy, white, gold, and pink.
The things that need to go:
- The piano
- The green wingback chairs
My dad generously gave us the wingback chairs from his office that are in perfect condition. I have plans to recover them, but that’s not in the cards right now and the green just isn’t working in here. Up to the office they go!
So what am I looking for? Well first, let’s talk about the general feel of the room. I want it to feel soft, sweet, feminine, and traditional with a hint of modern. These rooms capture what I’m going for. (Click on images for source.)
Now, for the layout. I really think the best option is to stick a coffee table or ottoman in the center of the room, and then set two sofas or a sofa and set of chairs on either side. When it comes down to it, I’m a Type A, right angles kind of girl, and I know I’ll be happier with that set up. From there, I just have to decide which way to turn everything.
We don’t have two chairs that would fit into the scheme of the room (without reupholstering — aka $$$), but we do have access to a very traditional pale blue couch that might be a nice touch.
The only problem with all this floating furniture is that I still need things to fill some wall space. But I think I would be happier living with a few bare walls than I am with random pieces just thrown haphazardly into a room.
What do you think? How would you arrange this room?
PS- Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! :)
