apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

BM Linen white is the perfect shade. It is also the color that the shabby chic designer recommends.

As far as the chair, I would recommend a custom slipcover (which is actually more affordable than you might think) but given that you don't really seem to like the chair all that much I have to wonder if it is worth sinking any money into it at all. It looks to be in great shape so I would personally list it on craigslist and see if you get any bites. If you don't find anyone offering what you want then just keep it for now and try it in another room. Would it work in your bedroom? It looks super comfy. It looks like you have plenty of seating without it so you can afford to wait to find a piece you really love.

If you do keep it in that room I'd separate it into a separate seating area so it doesn't look like it is trying to work with the couch. Maybe in corner with a little side table and reading lamp all to it's own to make a little reading nook. I think what isn't working is that it doesn't either match or contrast enough with the other seating so it just kind of looks like a mistake.

I think you have a lot to work with here already.

Part of the reason you're unhappy with your room is because the furniture placement is awkward -- the seating is too far apart for socializing, and the coffee table is off on it's own; there's no place to put down a drink. I applaud your efforts to float furniture, but try putting the sofa on the long wall, with the coffee table in front. Then put at least one chair close enough to have a conversation. You might find that you don't need as big an overhaul as you think you do.

If you don't like the gold chair, use it over by the window, in the nook where the wicker chair is now. It would make a comfy reading spot -- especially if you move your books into that area (which is now sort of a dead spot).

You're right that your angular furniture doesn't feel very shabby chic, but if you bought a couple of handmade quilts on eBay and draped them over the couch and chairs, that could probably work.

Good luck!

My only concern for the room would be lighting. While painting the room white will brighten it a bit, I'd be afraid that it would be too "blah". Have you considered a ceiling fixture for the room? Maybe a cute shabby chandelier would work nicely.

Laura
http://www.grafxnerd.net

No ofence but you have a lot of troubled spots and wall paint color issues. I would recommend hiring someone there are many decorators that can help you without spending a lot of money. For the most part its never an issue asking advise here but when I look at each picture I can see it would be hard to address with a simple this or that because it would remain choppy.
You have some nice things to work with but how you use the rooms and what do you wish to accomplish is hard to tell.

The one thing that I noticed is the layout, second thing I noticed is why the ceiling is painted white, and the third thing why do you have hot pink walls with tacky white trim that would be the first thing I would change.

best of luck, just be patient.

I think that based on your existing pieces, particularly the dark finished wood stuff, it's going to be very difficult to pull of white walls and shabby chic. What I see is a room that needs more of a bridge between the dark, dark stuff and the super light upholstery. I also see something that would more easily go toward an organic/ethnic vibe which could be very cool. Think middle eastern.
The only piece that I can really see working in the shabby chic genre is the sofa and matching chair. That said, shabby chic is really not what I know best...
Anyway, IMO, your risking going from being on the verge of unfinshed crackerbox generic to solidly IN unfinished crackerbox generic with an all white space. Unless you want to chachke and accessorize the bejezus out of things and buy a ton of new stuff, that is.
I think the biggest issues with this room are scale and furniture placement, and fixing those two things would go a long, long way to making you feel better about the space.
Here is what I would do other than paint:
1. The rug is WAY too small. Get a bigger one in a style/colorway that you love and let that be your jumping off point for inspiration.
2. Turn the sofa perpendicular to the long wall and place the coffee table in front of it with the chair(s) on the other side to create a more focused room, or use the same placement but with the sofa on the long wall as has been mentioned.
3. Then, if you have room, create a separate seating area on the other half of the room along the now red wall, sort of like what you've done with the wicker stuff already.
4. Why would you replace those drapes? They're lovely, and one of the few things in th room that is on the verge of working. The same thing in another color isn't going to change anything. If you're tired of them, change them by adding either an under or overdrape, tiebacks or a valance, new hardware, or something...anything.
5. If not white walls, then a shade or two deeper than the beige you've got. You mentioned gold...something in a taupey-greeny-goldish maybe.
6. The long wall could use a grouping of several things to accompany and fill out what you've already got. Actually, hanging the two things you've already got on that wall together and adding a couple more pieces would probably do it. And Maybe a second grouping if you do a second seating area
7. p.s. I do love your rugs. I think if you layered them sort of randomly all in one spot, it would be cool and as I was thinking before, sort of like an ethnic spin on shabby chic. Maybe that's your jumping off point.

Honestly, I don't think the sofa and chairs are an issue. You can definitely make them work in a shabby chic setting.

I don't think going all white, especially pure white, is the answer. I would paint the red wall, a lighter version of that beige that you have already. This way, the room still has some depth to it, but with white furniture and accessories, it will still have the monochromatic look you are going for. I love the combination of white, cream and apple green.

I especially love how white furniture looks on a cream colored wall with metallic accessories.

AT did a post a little while back about some bathrooms that had a mono chromatic palate, shabby chic-ish style with some modern elements.

The middle picture won't show up, so my reply is based on the other two pictures....

One of the issues I see in the first pic is that the sofa and two chairs are of identical mass and texture. I really like the third picture of the wicker chair, which a more delicate mass and rough texture next to the smooth curtains and rug.

Anyway, as someone suggested, slipcovers are a great fix. Faded stripes and toiles would be very shabby chic.

I would advise finding a secondary/tertiary color before you start painting. The best way to do this is to pick the color scheme based on the rug (which is too small for the space). If you're not going to go with a patterned rug, then pick the colors from a favorite painting or photograph that will be in the room.

I also think you should flip through magazine and the internet to find a more concrete idea. Otherwise, I tend to agree with the poster that you bring in a professional--your current set-up is so anti "shabby chic" that I am having trouble finding out what you will keep, replace, discard, etc.

Anyone else having trouble viewing the pictures? When I click on a thumbnail, nothing happens. I don't know if it's an AT problem or the Firefox updates.

Your plan at present is: white walls, gold curtains (though I also like your current curtains), gold frames, dark wood coffee table, media cabinet (not pictured?), white side tables, glass lamps, cream lampshades. One problem I see is that you've listed a lot of shades of beige and don't take into account the actual design and scale of the objects. You would be risking taking all the colour out of the room and making it seem more dull.

Splatgirl's suggestion for a Middle Eastern influenced shabby chic incorporating some of the darker pieces and designed around the rugs sounds solid. And pretty much any of the layout revisions sound like improvements to me.

A professional will likely not be able to fully make classic, French country-ish shabby chic work without disgarding most of this room either.

I second (or third) the suggestion for going middle eastern influenced exotic shabby chic. You do NOT want to go full on shabby chic with your dark furnitures, unless you want to ruin them by painting them and sanding the edges.

As for the other stuff...

Layout:
The area with the wicker chair.. It can be anything you want, don't just let it sit there wasted.
Think dining area (if connected to kitchen), office, 2nd seating area with books, children's play space, or a drinking/bar area.
Ditto on the suggestion for moving the big sofa. Take the loveseat and armchair out and replace with a set of chairs that aren't so boxy. (tufted wing chairs?)

New Color theme:
Super light cream with a hint of lemon.
dark navy or sage green for the accent wall.
Mix in gold, bronze, white and black accordingly to blend.
Use bits orange with navy or dark red with sage green.

Fabric Details:
Get a bigger rug, or combine the two to make one big rug if they are the same size.
Slipcover the sofa, add some cushions and throws in colors that match the rug.
Lot's of non-matching picture frames in gold, black, bronze, or even white, hung salon style.
Existing curtains are great. If you must do something, add some length to them.

That chair is not working with your other seating, you're right. I think you need to seperate them visually, and that could be done by placing something between them.

I agree with what someone else said, the sofa should go along the long wall. Try moving it down to the end, so that it makes a right angle with its matching chair which I would put at the back of the room under the oblong mirror. I'm imagining that your TV cabinet is then opposite.

Move the bookcase across to the long wall, directly opposite where it now stands, this will separate the white seating from the problematic chair which I would move to the corner beside the window. Then you need to add something to tie in this ale colour, a painting or maybe a sepia photo.

I'm very glad that you are over the red walls as they make the already low ceiling come down further. Soft white will be beautiful. You might want to think about relocating your Persian rug too... I'm not sure it'll really tie in with the look you're going for.
Good luck!!

Is picture 3 the foyer, by chance? (It's hard to make suggestions when the layout of the space is not very clear.)

Paint. I'd go light, but maybe not totally white.

In the alcove I am presuming is the foyer, keep the mirror, add a more substantial table or other "landing strip" furniture, add the problem chair, maybe with a suitable quilted throw tossed casually ofer one arm to make it more "country". The current table looks like the mirror is about to crush it.

Move the wicker into the libving room. If you are willing to paint it, I'd go white or some chosen accent color. (red? green? ust the color in several places.)

I'd lose the curtain tiebacks. You don't have enough volume of drapery for tiebacks to make sense or look appropriate.

Paint the ceiling beams darker, maybe even a faux woodgrain look with glaze and one of those graining tools.

Put the sofa along the long wall, with the wicker chair and the matching chair facing it.

Lose all the wall decor and replace it withi more suitable country prints or thrift store paintings. (I envision several floral paintings, for instance.)

Hang the mirror vertically and tidy your bookshelf. It might fit better with some added crown molding. You need a few places where art or furniture (or the mirror) lead your eye up near the ceiling.

Good luck

I agree w/ the others above -

Your existing ethnic furniture and your stated desire for "Shabby Chic" don't make sense at all - and neither does painting the place white.

I'd repaint the place in a neutral tone a couple shades darker than your sofa to give a nice contrast - no accent walls, please.

Then rearrange the furniture in a more traditional layout: Sofa against the long wall, long mirror above, coffee table in the center, and the chairs facing one another across the coffee table perpendicular to the sofa.

Consider adding to your furnishings a large chocolate brown/taupe/gold rug (8x10 or 9x12) to anchor the space, a pair of end tables to hold table lamps, a standing lamp to go next to the chair on the far end of the room, and perhaps a storage piece/trunk to hide away the kids toys - but the ting-ting in the corner needs to go away.

I give you kudos for having vision. What you are starting with is a severe departure from the shabby chic environ you are envisioning. I get the whole white, glass, gold, monochromatic thang. Nevertheless, you have many, MANY dark wood pieces that work nicely together and you could take it up a few notches with a cool moroccan vibe. The biege walls look good and you already own silk dupioni drapes that work. Does the shabby chic vibe you crave really have to be a total overhaul? Are there elements of shabby chic that you love that could be incorporated into what you currently have? For instance, add a few time worn pieces, edit out some of the modern, angular lines, swap out some of the art?
I'd recommend an iterative approach. You have some nice pieces and it doesn't make sense to flush them all for a totally new vibe. Transition in the look you are striving for by accessorizing (rugs, lamps, art, pillows, objects d'art) and then planfully make decisions about bigger pieces. What about shabby chic do you really love? Start there. shabby chic has a few interpretations so give your vision voice and see if there isn't an opportunity to use what you have to make your decorating dreams come true.

Thank you all so much for your advice. It's funny, a few nights after i emailed AT, i went to town on my living room. I took out everything i don't like anymore, or that wasn't working. i put the chair and a half directly under the long mirror. The sofa went facing the chair and a half, with the rug in between. I have the coffee table centered on the rug. I took down the pictures as they were badly arranged and looked lost on the walls. I have 5 x long botanical prints with cream matting and white frames that i have brought into the room. These will go on the long wall where the old art was. They are big enough to fit this wall, thankfully! I have some white Queen Anne/French style arm chairs with beige linen seat covers. that i brought in too...which have really lightened up the space and just added some femininity and curves to the room. I will definitely keep the dark furniture but i really need to paint the walls a creamy white. They are 'Tangier Island' from Ralph Lauren, and it's beige...it is so boring and it's driving me mad. I think the cream walls will work if they are a warm cream. I just want the room to feel lighter and more open. I intend on putting up a collection of sketches and some b&w photos in display on the red wall (to the right of the window) once it's painted cream. I do have lots of nice frames in golds and b&w to collaborate together. I'll put an old writing desk underneath this with a nice big vase of flowers on it.
Also, i love the suggestion of a navy accent wall in my living room...and using navy as a color to tie everything together...it would go so well with the gold in everything, however i already have a big navy (Nantucket Blue by Ralph Lauren) wall in my kitchen...kitchen is navy and white with darkwood flooring...so i think it may just make the vibe of the house too cold if the living room has navy too. What do you ladies think? Maybe it could make the house flow more?
I guess shabby chic is not the term i should have used...i would love a real shabby chic house, but my house is just not that style. I just want a simpler fresher room. More airy and light, with the punches of color coming from the golds and the dark wood.
Also, somebody mentioned hot pink walls and our trim. The walls are actually a pretty dark red...it's just the way the images came out. The trim above is picture rail, and i still have not painted the ceiling as we only moved in last November and i have kids! We currently don't have electrics in the ceiling so i'm waiting for this to be done before i paint.
Thanks to everyone for your advice...i really appreciate it.
PS. I do plan on dropping the hem on the curtains...

I can't visualize your comment at all.

I would, however, check out the picture on AT's San Fran scavenger page today that advertises for a West Elm table. If you note, the furniture is both dark and white, has modern lines, the room contains dark Moroccan accents, and there are spots of color from a gold rug and seat cushions, and red trim. I think you'd find it easier if you could visually formulate your idea.

Also, one of the key items to get right in a room is lighting. Pay attention to both the placement AND the type of bulb. That can make all the difference.