I Hate My Family Room (or How I Occupy My Brain the Night Before My Son Has Anesthesia)

I'm not really sure if I'm showing you this because I want your advice or because I want to make myself accountable to actually decorate this room, but either way, here goes.  We have lived here for over two years, and this room is still a hodge-podge of random stuff.

Let's start with what's working.  The couch is khaki and the two chairs are sort of a cream with a grey ticking stripe.  The rug is a heathered wool "cable-knit" carpet (made by Ralph Lauren) which I had bound as an area rug.  All of these are neutral and in good condition.  The console table on the left and the nature shelf above it are also staying.   There are some large botanical prints behind the couch on either side that are working for me-- see here-- that's one of them.

What isn't working.  I can't stand the color of the large square red leather ottoman.  When we bought it we were using more reds and teals, and I'm hoping to go in a more green/ teal/ brown direction (see these throw pillows here).  So I purchased quilting fabrics over a year ago to make a quilted slipcover for it, and for some reason find the idea of it completely overwhelms me.

Now my biggest complaint about this room is the fact that the amount of space on either side of this rather nondescript fireplace is not equal (the window starts to the right of the Christmas tree).  I can't for the life of me figure out what to do with it.  So, in Cheap Idea #432, I bought this "leaning bookcase" and tried to balance it out with these Ikea frames (Cheap Idea #433), but the main problem is that I have no idea what to put on these silly shelves, or in these silly frames.

What I've learned.  I think I want the artwork to remain in the black and white (or maybe I should just say neutral) color range, I find I tire of it much more slowly.  I lean heavily towards botanicals and birds.  I'm also feeling the folksy trend.  Did you see this photo on Bloesem, oh my.

I want the main pops of color to come in the form of pillows on the couch, throws on the chairs, and whatever I cover the ottoman in-- which as I type I'm thinking would be nice in a patterned wool, maybe some pockets on the side (see, you're helping already).  I would also eventually like a quilt for the back of the couch (Denyse, could you send one over?)

I'm willing to lose the ottoman entirely if I could find some little floaty stool/table things.  And the Ikea frames, I'd loose them too, or just find something nice to put in them.  I'd also like to paint the mantel (see inspiration below).  But, I still have no idea what to put on those shelves.  I could cover the books, games in colored paper, or I thought about making a collection of colored bottles like this.  I could also paint or somewhow cover the red "R."  I'll put some inspiration shots below with notes below them.

So, any advice?  You guys don't have anything else to do, do you?

Love this mantle.

Denyse Schmidt, Hable Construction, Weeks Ringle, need I say more?

I've shown this before, nice neutrals with greens and blues.

Help, please.

Comments

[Lori]

what anesthesia?! i like this game, but now i'm worried.

[Sarah]

I think it looks great. I was wondering though, how do you have your stockings hung? I can't seem to figure out how to do mine. I really don't want to put a nail hole in it.

[Amy]

The corner you have the leaning bookshelf in looks like a good little "reading" area. Maybe put one of the chairs there with a table and little lamp or just a floor lamp. Have you seen the floor lamps that actually curve over to be more overhead??? It is hard to tell the actual size of your room and if moving things around is really an option. The pictures you have on the other side look like thay may just need to be moved up a bit...
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-what-level-to-hang-pictures-002397
I have that bookmarked...I am really tall and I tend to hang pictures too high...lol.
I wouldn't be too intimidated by your ottoman. Not as hard as you may think. But I would say if you are looking to simplify I wouldn't do something quilted...maybe just a patterned fabric which ties all of your color choices together. Then with a few throw pillows it would all tie in. One thing I do when I try to decide on color choices is grab a bunch of color cards from the paint section of the hardware store. It has helped with many would be mistakes. But I like the idea of black, tans, and green. Sounds calming and comfy.
Love your inspiration mantel..go for it!
Hope you find the help you need!!!!

Loyal blog stalker here - really nervous to post this first comment. Here goes:
What about a tall leafy something on the larger of the lop sides? It'll confuse where the corner actually is and make it seem more symmetrical. Then hang the art on the same side with the tall plant and put the leaning shelves on the other side.

[Lori]

i'm back.

how much do i love your house, by the way?

i'm wondering if the symmetrical arrangement of the chairs doesn't accentuate the fireplace not being centered that is bothering you.

pretty much everything is neutral. your inspiration rooms seem to have lighter wall colors. looking at that inspiration mantel, i was imagining a wood table or bench replacing the ottoman, painted in a similar style and then .. what about painting the black leaning shelf? add pillows and a quilt across the back of the couch and you'd be seeing the blues and greens you want.

mm. i love talking decorating.

[patricia]

I read your blog quite often and I'm here just to write I-feel-your-pain comment. My family room is driving me nuts. I'm interested in seeing what everyone else has to offer for suggestions... good luck!

[Kimberly]

It's a lovely room. What would happen if you tried switching the corner book unit with the pictures on the other side of the fireplace? That corner seems weighed down though I know your intent was to even the space out visually; perhaps it's (just the photo or) the darker nature table, the basket underneath and the dark wood shelf unit. Just wondering what possibilities would come of a switch-a-roo?
Your inspiration photos all have an airiness/lightness in them - as does the rest of your house. The ottoman is fantastic piece of furniture but it's heavy looking. Maybe it's the color- I like Lori's idea of a new table/bench in place of it. Can you use that luscious red ottoman in another room?

[Phara Thomas]

I think it's a great room, first of all. And you've done the right things by purchasing your main components in neutrals.
I know the botanical prints are behind the couch. If possible, the lean-to bookcase needs to go behind your couch as well because you need to offset the weight of the focal point (fireplace). I think where it's placed right now, you are only accentuating the corner you don't like. If you are able to move it back there, that would be a good place to have a vignet of botanical things (in my mind I visualize the bookcase between the prints). Maybe get some apothecary jars and fill them with sand. Put some seashells back there. Get a bell jar and put the birds nest in it, etc... If it can't go behind the couch, try placing it where the sofa table is now, and put the sofa table behind the couch and the "nature shelf" with the botanical prints.
I think if you got some more prints in the same shapes as the ones already flanking the fireplace, and mirrored that arrangement on the other side (the corner you don't like), that would be enough to detract from the part you don't like because the way you have them hung to look like they are "framing" the fireplace, which helps to draw the eye to the fireplace anyway. Furniture can be given height or width with artwork placed as an extenstion.(That's kind of wordy, but I think you get the general idea). And the general rule is, pictures should be hung 55"-60" from the floor to the center of the picture or grouping. I don't know the heighth they are now, but I like them where they are.
I think you have done a great job with furniture arrangement, especially because you have everything away from the walls. Just remember you need 24"-36" for traffic flow, 12"-18" between sofa and coffee table. The red ottoman doesn't bother me, especially since you have pops of red around the room, and also since the complementary color of red is green and you are wanting to bring more of that color into the room. But, if you want something different, maybe two separate smaller dark brown ottomans that have a lid for storage. I think an ottoman(s) there is still the best thing, because if you have guests over then you have extra seating.
I think you're on the right track. Hope this helps. And I hope your son is O.K.

[kayla_d]

I'm not sure that I have any advice--I haven't been able to solve the uncentered fireplace issue either. But I love that you lean toward blues and greens. Can't wait to see the result!

[Marcia]

It's wonderful and cozy looking as is. You definitely have your own wonderful style going on there. What is up with your son? I hope nothing serious. My thoughts are with you and your family.

[Stacy]

First, I absolutely LOVE your red leather ottoman! But I can understand that you may be tiring of it. And I also have to say that I find your tree and your stockings just LOVELY!
Ok...to business. Not knowing the actual layout of the room/house and how other rooms are oriented adjacent, some of my ideas may not work. But...as far as layout, have you thought of changing that? Maybe put the sofa where the console table is now, move your chairs to where your sofa is now (maybe at an angle?) with the console table behind them or anchored somewhere else in the room. I actually like the ladder shelf where it is...but if the sofa is moved it may have to find a different wall too depending on how much room there is. As for what to put on it...your start is great...love the big letter and the watering can. Maybe just some candles and/or a couple more small books. Keep it simple, not too cluttered. Ok...for color. A great way to keep your room flexible for color is to keep the base (big things) neutral. Use your color punches in accessories like you were talking about...pillows, chotchkes, pictures/fabrics/whatever inside those frames, maybe even paint your letter R. All of these kinds of items are easily changible in case you want to try a different punch color down the road.

[leslie]

I don't think anyone has suggested this yet.... what if to try to even out the fire place wall, you placed the sofa to what would be the left side of the room in the picture, and the chairs to the right?? like rotating the room clockwaise- does that make sense? the largeness of the sofa may help if placed to that one side?

I understand your pain about what to put on the shelves... the stuff that's lower has to be pretty baby proof unless you want to be saying "NO!" all the time. :)

Hope everything goes well with your little guy.

[megan]

I also think it looks fine, maybe if I post my family room you will feel better about yours :).

[melissa]

i know the obsession...and feel like you will figure it out...my son had anesthesia yesterday (for an endoscopy) and i was a mess. knitted a whole sweater in 2 days before. nuts. i'm thinking of you today...

[Bronwen]

I immediately thought of a reading nook as well, using the other side as a family portrait wall. That way it doesn't need to be even. Not very original. My house is slowly being ripped apart and redone so I won't even go there.

[Henna]

I think putting a tree (real or artificial) in the corner to the left of the leaning shelf will take up some of the wall space so it won't look so lopsided.

As for what to put on the shelf... Baskets filled with toys for the kids, yarn or magaiznes. Go to Goodwill and find some old gardening/landscaping books and cut out B&W illustrations to fill the frames. A small potted plant on top of the shelp might be nice too.

I wouldn't quilt the ottman cover either, a nice soft print in mellow green would work. Cover some pillows and you have brought the room together!

[Casey]

It is possible to find an old worn looking fire place mantel while antiquing somewhere. (that is what I am planning on doing for mine) you just need to search. If you are lucky, maybe you could find it in a bold color you like. That will really pop on the wall. I also like the idea of having neutral big things (couch, tables) and bam! a punch of color on your pillows, and maybe even an ottoman. I really liked that punch of green in your inspiration picture, on the desk. colored chairs are also nice--if you have a neutral desk, then the chair for it could be a green or teal. hope this helps. this is fun!

[Mama Urchin]

I'm thinking of you guys today. I'm sure he's going to do great.

[Janice]

Hope the little man is doing well..

As for the room. It's great just as it is. I think your anxiety is just getting the better of you. I LOVE the ottoman.. please don't get rid of it. If you want to do something different, why not make some dark red pillows.. toss a quilt on the back of the sofa.. or make slipcovers? Not drastic measures, but they would allow you to introduce more color without a lot of fuss.

[molly]

before you even mentioned it, I was totally feeling a "paint the mantle" vibe. I feel like I could also see you doing more "greens"--as in living plants and I picture you having a few wooden bowls around with neat things tossed inside, always changing.

I have always loved bird and tree prints--I think because I grew up in a house that had them everywhere. I've also been drawn to vintage animal prints lately, too--in pencil sketch, with just a simple rabbit, or cow, or horse in profile...do you know what I mean?

[susie bloom]

you have been given so many good suggestions....have you thought of having a slipcover made for the ottoman??

[Andrea]

Hi, I've enjoyed the inspiration you offer through your posts. I think covering the ottoman in a neutral color and putting it in the back corner by the leaning shelf would work. I know it's just a photograph, but I think putting the ottoman in the back would add a little more depth to your space. I would put a terrarium on the leaning shelf, a hurricane candle, some old books and have that be a reading/snuggle area like some of the others have suggested. I think a basket next to the ottoman (if in the corner) would add some texture and would be a great place for misc blankets or toys.

I have seen actual green leaves framed--no mattes (old BH&G issue).
I like your pictures, but feel like they get lost on that wall maybe if you switch the shelf and the pictures.

I like the idea of covering the books you have on the shelf, and then you could stack some of them, rather than have them all side by side. Instead of a coffee table, you could place that little black table you have between your chairs. I say that because I think it will help the eyes move toward the fire place.

I felt weird doing that since I never comment, but it was fun--like a little exercise in decorating. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

[Kim]

Hey darlin! Love your blog and really hope we can be blog friends- I don't exactly have a craft blog, it`s more like a homemaking blog? but it`ll turn into one as I`ve been getting pretty crafty around the house tryin to make it feel more like a home [we just moved in this past summer]

But anyway, I like all the ideas you have goin on for your family room! I love the idea of blues and greens, they`re such pretty and refreshing colors. Don't know if anyone's already said this but I think you ought to fix up some nice frames with black & whites [since you said you don't tire of those] of your family, I think that's what the space is truly missing! :]

As for the feng shui aspect of the room- maybe post the pictures a bit higher so the TV doesn't seem like the focal point of the room. You have a beautiful mantle and I`m sure you`ll figure out ways to utilize it to make the TV blend in a bit more. Maybe some tall plants on either side?

Hope to hear from you sometime,
Kimma

[Kathi Hardin]

Hello, I love your blog... Love the idea of painting your mantel black. I painted both of mine black and I love them. I have tan walls and cream furniture (similiar style to your chairs). It really anchors the focal point. And since I'm a paper freak, my favorite thing to frame is paper. Perhaps some of your frames could just have beautiful papers in them (from your local scrapbook store). Your letter could be covered to, but I like it just painted. Someone else had an idea to use two small ottomans instead of the large red one. I love the idea of a chocolate brown in with your tan, black and cream (that's what colors are in my house). But maybe just an oversized tray on your ottoman would get rid of some of the red for now. Let me know if you would like to see photos of my black mantels. Oh, I also painted large (and I mean large) black diamonds on my (focal)wall in my family room. It was a bold move...but I love it! I'd be glad to send photos, just let me know. Kathi www.traybellakc.blogspot.com

[rachel]

hi there,
just read your post and have one suggestion for you. in my neighborhood there is a local upholsterer (sp?) that will dye leather. he can't go lighter, but can go darker. maybe you could talk to someone in your area who can do the same. that red could probably change to a dark espresso.

just a thought... love your blog