apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Do you think you might be able to sketch up a floorplan? You've got quite a challenge on your hands; I think we might need every weapon in the arsenal. :-)

The color coded books indicate that these are not volumes to which one refers frequently. One is not obligated to keep every book he or she has read. I donate any book I haven't refered to in the last six months to goodwill. I allows me to keep a small library of professional books, books for guests, and books I loved so much I take them down occasionally as I walk by just to read a paragraph and replace back on the shelf, with room for a constant stream of new books to be weighed in the balances over the next six months. A collection of paperbacks one never intends to read again is neither beautiful nor useful.

The photographs want to be grouped together in one large arrangement. They are too small spread out as they are and are lost on the walls, which much better with larger artwork like those to the left of the television in the second picture.

The stove is currently woodburning, right? Any chance of installing a smaller gas or pellet stove? Is there actually an old firebox behind the stove/under the mantle that a smaller unit could tuck into? Or is the mantle purely 'decorative'?

Oh, and what is the square footage of the area heated by this unit? And I second the request for a floorplan, if possible.

What's the deal with the radiator in the bay window? Do you rent or own? The mantle behind the stove--was it functional once and someone decided to put a stove in its place? I have seen this done, but the stove would be placed IN the fireplace, thus saving the floorspace.

Do you want central heating? Can the radiator heating be fixed?

Looks like a full and well-used room. I would try to make the bay window area the kids area, and make the main portion of the room the adult area (at least for when things get put away - real daily life is always messy!) For the stove, maybe just a fancier looking gate will have a different effect - something with a little scroll work?

And since you obviously have a handy husband, I would suggest extending the bookshelves behind the sofa all the way to the walls, and up to the ceiling with a strip of wood and trim. Make it look built in, since it's so large. I'd also consider painting it the color of the woodwork to help it blend in and feel lighter in the room - again, more like a built-in.

If I were you guys (and if you own the place), I'd seriously consider getting that stove replaced. It looks like you also use a portable heater in that room, which suggests that the stove is not an adequate source of heating in really cold weather, so why even have it?

Getting something smaller and more modern that could be tucked into the fireplace would free up a lot of space and give the room a less Dickensian feel.

Take off all the knick-knacks and small pictures over the stove. You're not disguising the area; you're just making it look cluttered and messy. Simpler is better.

Wow, this is quite the room. My first instinct is to simply declutter. I would seriously think about what you need vs. want, especially in regard to the bookshelf and toys. Also, something about the bookshelf doesn't seem to quite match the rest of the room. I think perhaps it's the way it's organized. That system (colour coding) isn't extended through the rest of the room. And while it can look neat, it's not really practical. Also, the dark wood shelves makes everything seem to heavy. Ideally I would suggest painting it white to match the wood work on the wall, then it would really lighten up the room and perhaps blend in a bit more.
Secondly, if you really can't get rid of the wood stove, I would at least paint that massive black mantle behind it white (or at least a neutral colour).
Third, the unit to the left of the tv stand seems very cluttered. I can't tell what it's storing exactly, but I would recommend getting matching baskets for the shelves to hide what ever it is making it less busy for the eye. If you desperately need more storage, make that tv unit look like another 'built-in' similar to the bookshelves. Extend it all the way to the ceiling and make sure it's white.
Lastly, is there anyway to move the big train station/storage thing to the bay window area? I like one of the suggestions of making that the kid zone, but it's difficult to tell the sizes of things from the photos. Right now your entire room centers on that train set.

Wow never seen a fence in a living room before!
Im sure that stove throws off heat, but perhaps you can replace with a smaller energy efficient version which can be built flush to the wall?

The whole room is screaming for some color...
I'd paint the walls a medium light shade of blue, paint the awesome bookcase surrounding the window the same Linen white as the woodwork, paint inside the bookcase either the same Linen white or one or two deeper shades of blue than the new walls.

Blue walls will help your current curtains pop. Conversely, if you decide not to paint, consider still painting the bookcase white and changing out the current curtains for a bright pop of green.

I'd switch out the light fixture in the bay window area for something more updated -- a big white drum shade, maybe.

Try blowing up some photos to frame (at least to 16x20 framed) for the wall with the stove. Large art will help minimize it.

I agree with the others who suggest decluttering as best as possible and moving the train table in the bay window area. Make that a play area as much as possible, and let the rest of the room function more as a family room than a playroom. I'd remove the pictures from around the fireplace and work them into the bookcase (once some of the books are removed). They're drawing attention to a feature in the room that isn't the most lovely.

I think your room is perfectly funtional and as a first step you need to define the kids zone and the adult zone as recommended. Consider replacing the stove with a energy efficient one that goes inside the fireplace, it clearly it has a chimney where the woodstove goes. If you must keep the stove, I personally would dismantle it in the summer months and store it in the garage. We used to have woodnurning stoves when I was little and in the summer we always took it away. Imagine 6 months without the fence and clutter it brings...
Painting stuff it is purely cosmetic and you seem to have a structural issue. Don't jump in any paint adventure until you resolve the structural issues you have.

For furniture arrangement, please post a floorplan. :)

As much as I love curtains puddling to the floor, since you will inevitably have toys and things gathering around, I'd probably go for something that doesn't hang down, maybe shades instead of curtains to tidy it up, with a box valance. And use the same window treatment on all the windows in the room.
Also, I would try to unify things and get rid of visual clutter as much as possible. For example paint all those little frames the same color as the trim, or a shade darker than the wall to unify them.
I would also try to create "hidden" storage by adding doors to the bookcases (or if they're glass doors, covering them with fabric or something).

As for lighting, I would get rid of that black floor lamp and get a couple with a linen/natural looking shade, maybe something like this: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1230&f=22325&q=floor lamp linen&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1.
And maybe this instead of the more ornate pendant lamp: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1240&f=26067&q=shade&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1

I personally like the wall color. I think it goes well with the wood and the color of the sofa. I would try to eliminate the black in the room as much as possible and work the wood and chocolate colors and introduce more creamy whites. Like on the mantel - you could place a bunch of creamy-white vases, which I think would look amazing.
Speaking of the mantel.... are you going to remove it? Can you paint it or refinish it? Is it marble?

Start with decluttering--eliminate anything that just gets in the way or isn't necessary like books you never look at, trinkets that don't have special meaning. Group like items together--keep all the toys in one area and invest in a few attractive large baskets for storing them--all the same baskets.

I'd definitely paint your bookshelves white like the trim in the room. This will open and brighten the room and make things feel more uniform and clean.

The photos are all in small frames and cluttered groupings--designate a focal point in the room like fireplace and make it pop with singular, simple art on either side. Also simplify the display over the TV. You can unify the room by using mostly white frames or mostly wood frames of similar stain.

if possible, stage a conversation area arrangement with your furniture around the fireplace or TV

Agree with comments made by Lisa (Montreal) and LSUgrad03 regarding what hangs on the wall above the mantel.

Rotate half the toys out. Kids don't need all that stuff all the time; they're happy with a few things for awhile and then when they need a change you can swap out the stuff in storage and it'll seem exciting and new again.

I agree with everyone who said to declutter. A lot of small objects look cluttery even when neatly displayed, and especially when they're competing visually with all the toys (which don't come in colors that coordinate with the room!).

I'm not a fan of organizing books by color but if you really like that look, at least break it up a little bit. The row of red books on either side of the window is very static looking and it makes the non-colorful books look like they are just there because they don't fit in anywhere else. Break the red books up into several groups and put them on different level shelves; same with the other colors. Cull what you can. (I hate to cull books! I have a lot and I like them all!)

Last, is there a way to have a toy area and an adult area in the room?

First you need to address the function of the room - It doesn't know if it's a sitting room, a play room, a TV room or a furnace room. And if the stove truly is the primary source of heat, why are there radiators and plug-in electric heaters everywhere?

I'd clear every last thing out of the room and address the heating issue first - either get rid of the existing woodstove and replace it w/a smaller more efficient stove or get rid of the radiators - or be rid of both, restore the fireplace and install a small highly efficient mini-split heat pump system such as those by Mitsubishi or LG.

Once that's sorted out, then you can address the function of the room. If it's to be a kids play room, then move the TV and seating area elsewhere, and if it's to be an adult room then move the toys elsewhere such as the kid's bedrooms and get to work on decorating it appropriately.

The room has enourmous potential, but it is a question of how much you are willing to invest in it.

The number one problem is the woodstove. It takes a huge chunk of your floorspace, is ugly and is unsafe in a small area, especially with children around. It is a huge eyesore. I have 2 solutions for you, neither of them are cheap.

Option 1: a Tulikivi soapstone fireplace. Tulikivi fireplaces are more energy efficient than woodstoves, and release the heat slowly through the stone, which is safe to touch. There are many models from which to choose, but I thought this one would suit your space:

http://www.tulikivi.com/www/tuoteU2.nsf/EN2/TU900?OpenDocument&id=takkauunit_ta&id2=EN

Another option, a more beautiful option (although perhaps slight more complicated) would be a tiled stove. Tiles also store and release the heat more gradually in a way similar to soapstone (don't know whether they are as efficient). In any case, I think that style-wise they suit your home, even though they are a foreign element.

You can get an antique one:

http://www.lindholm-kakelugnar.com/galleri_detalj.php?lang=en&kat=3&id=121

http://www.lindholm-kakelugnar.com/galleri_detalj.php?lang=en&kat=3&id=13

Or a new one:

http://www.krona-kachelofen.com/kachelofen_modelle/viereckofen_ammern.html

Here's information about masonry stoves and how to find someone to install the stove:

http://masonryheaters.org/AMHOPguide.php

The other thing that will make a huge difference is to make the bookccases built-in.

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/home-tour-urban-colonial?lnc=1a89cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=lpg_home&lpgStart=1&currentslide=8&currentChapter=1#ms-global-breadcrumbs

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/from-the-garden-santa-barbara-home?lnc=1a89cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=lpg_home&lpgStart=1&currentslide=3&currentChapter=1#ms-global-breadcrumbs

You may be able to use bought bookcases, and trim them in to make them built-in. A nice touch would be an integral window seat, and maybe some drawers to hide away games and toys. It'll pay huge dividends for years to come!

Apart from those two huge changes, I would try to make the space bright and light -- paint the walls a glowing white , I'd recommend a Donald Kaufman white (or perhaps a pretty pale blue), get washable white slipcovers for all the furniture, and a very cheerful rug.

http://www.therugcompany.info/designer-collection/kim-parker/mums-and-asters.htm

Good luck! It's a great room!

I think that your family room is lovely and that with a few simple changes you could make it a fantastic living space.

1. De-clutter. You have too many picture frames in small clusters which do not go well together. I would spray paint all the wooden picture frames white and group them with the silver picture frames on the wall in the bay window area where you have the large picture above the small table. This would create a nice gallery of family pictures. The excess pictures should just go in an album. I would get rid of that hanging plant.

2. One area for the kids. I agree with the person who suggested that the bay window area be used for the kids. I would take the table out of that area. If you can afford it or if your husband can build it I would suggest a built in bench around the bay window with storage for toys and cushions on top. Other wise you can purchase a storage bench on craigslist and paint it white. I would keep the rug.

3. I would get a glass screen custom made for the wood stove. I would invest money in this. Some people suggest demolishing it, however I think it adds a lot of value to your home and when your children are older it wont be an issue. This website shows basically what I mean. http://www.glassfireguard.com. I would demolish the mantle or at least paint it the same colour as the wall and not place anything on it. I wouldnt put any pictures up on the wall behind the stove.

4. Tidy the bookshelf. I would paint the bookshelf the same colour as the trim. Put doors on it if possible. Get rid of the unused books. I would put white ikea kasset storage boxes on top of the shelves to keep excess items. I would use the boxes throughout the room on the tv stand etc. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=kassett

Your principal impediment to making the room liveable is the wood stove. The stove combined with the mantel and chimney visually and spacially dominate the room, while the safety perimeter you have placed around it is consuming a disproprtionate amount of floor space and effectively defeating useable furniture layouts. You need to remove the stove and replace it with a smaller wood or pellet stove or gas furnace that can fit within the mantel or consider installing an alternative heating system for the room.

Since your pictures show at least one radiator in the room, perhaps you can consider augmenting your hot water or steam heating system with one or two additional baseboard units, thereby eliminating the need for a supplementary stove and the electric space heater. You may also wish to consider installing a separate zone valve and thermostat for the room, allowing you to heat the space and preset the temperature when needed.

If these options are unavailable or too expensive, then consider a seasonal furniture layout. Remove the safety fence and rearrange your furniture for a more spacious late spring, summer, early fall layout. Reinstall the fence and compact the layout during winter.

OMG you child has taken over this room (and house it seems) No child plays with that much stuff, donate and de-clutter honey...you'll have a better canvas to work with.

That room has too many functions and you are a hoarder. If you can't eliminate one or two purposes for the room, you need to make defined zones for each function.

Instead of having that bay window function as a weird seating area/office/kids table/ toy storage, You should pick one. I would suggest making that the kids area. You'll have to limit the amount of toys that go in there at one time to keep it uncluttered.

On the opposite wall with the books, once again get rid of or store the books you don't need. I would move the desk where the couch is. This is a traffic zone because of the two doors on either end and a desk, work station is easier to move around than a sofa.

Then you can concentrate on your sitting area between them. Personally, I would move the tv out and make the fireplace (which you should consider replacing with something smaller and safer for the kids) the focal point by placing the sofa against the back wall.

Can you just take out the big black mantle? I can't tell what it is made out of but I would try to just remove it. If you can't take it out could you paint it white like the trim in the room?
I lived in a house with an old radiating stove like this so I understand the need for a gate. But depending on the age of your children I'd think about getting a shorter gate, it would be less visual weight.
Definitely try to cull the book collection, there are just TO many. If you really love your collections (I know people with FAR more books than this that love each and every one of them) can you at least move some to another location (in another room).
I LOVE your little bay window area. Super cute. I'm not sure from just judging the size of things in the pictures if this would work. Try pulling all the furniture and everything out of that area, and putting the train table in that nook. If there is enough room (and depending on the status working status of the radiator in that corner) I'd add a couple bins or some type of window seat for the kids to hide their toys in. And in general make that a toy area and the 'put away place' for toys they aren't playing with right now. Use the chairs and the sofa to set up a slightly more 'adult' conversational area around the fireplace. With a few ottomans on rollers to use as a coffee table or foot stool so that you can just roll them out of the way and give the kids more floor space to play in front of the fire.
The your desk looks gorgeous. But I don't think it works in this area, it doesn't even have a chair in front of it, do you really use it here? I'd either move it to another area or try to get something smaller. Since you have a laptop could you move the couch and set up your desk area below the window between the bookshelves? You and your husband sound pretty handy, if there isn't already a shelf there I'm sure you could build one in fairly easily.
I don't think the color in the room is hurting anything. But I'd consider a light blue on the walls, or maybe just a slightly lighter cream color to open the space up a bit.
Also maybe you could group all the little family photos on the walls together? Maybe above the TV? Or have them flow up and around the smoke pipe for the fireplace?
Good luck with everything your house looks beautiful.

Also I would like to add, a lot of people have apparently never lived in an old house with a wood burning stove. This looks like a radiating wood burning stove which means you build a fire, and three hours later you have lots of (radiating) heat. Until then you turn on the space heaters and the electric radiators. They are really very efficient at slowly heating several rooms, a big one like this even a whole house. They can also be extremely expensive to replace in old houses, (since you have kids I'm guessing you don't have a couple thousand dollars to spare). As long as it's a functioning stove there's really no need to replace it. I think it adds a lot of character and interest to the room.
But I grew up with a stove very similar to this and loved sitting in front of it on cold days reading. So I am biased.

Thank you for all of the suggestions! Before I get to sketching a floor plan, a few responses:

The fireplace is our main heat source in the winter. It heats the second and third floors of the house. Getting something smaller is a long term plan, but it's unlikely to happen in the next few years.

The space heater behind the fireplace gate is our bathroom heater that has not yet moved to its summer home. We don't have any heat in the bathroom (the door to the right of the woodstove).

The radiator between the windows isn't pretty, but because we have steam heat it's impossible to turn off/cap any of the radiators without causing leaks in the rest of the system. We learned that the hard way.

Yes, we are book hoarders. I'm a Reading Specialist and my husband teaches English. It pains me to get rid of books. The color coding was an attempt to remedy my dissatisfaction with the room. It's not ideal, but it's better.

I like the idea of painting the shelves behind the couch. I don't know why we didn't do it to begin with.

I love the idea of moving out the stove for the summer. I don't know that my husband will love it, but I'm sure he can be persuaded.

I don't know if the mantle is marble or not. I can't tell. How can I tell? Demolishing it sounds lovely. If I paint it would you suggest painting it the same color as the walls?

The desk was a recent impulse buy. I love it, but don't have a chair for it yet.

thanks again!

I agree with making a kids section in the bay window. I'd add a big shelf on one or both of the walls with lots of baskets for kids' toys to reduce the clutter. I'd move the two brown chairs into the living area and put them across from the couch. I believe the coffee table thing is a storage area for kids stuff. If it is, I'd move that in the bay area too. The desk might look nice behind the sofa, but it's definitely a maybe. As for everything else, I'd work on reducing the clutter. Replace some of the small clusters of pictures and photos with large pieces. And declutter, declutter, declutter! Hide as many of the toys as you can. I think with decluttering and refocusing the areas, the stove should be fine and actually add some good personality to the space. I don't love the white radiator in the stove area, so if it's not necessary, i'd ditch or move it. I love the space. it's got great potential. good luck!!

I lived with a stove just like that with small children. Remove everything from the stove wall and keep it really simple. Moving a stove like that is really hard because it is HEAVY! You then have a hole in the ceiling that birds love to fall into during the summer if you can't seal it off on the roof. I just lived with it but try to make it as uncluttered as possible.

paint the bookshelves. I like the color coded books, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I knew when I saw the photo that people would say that. That is an AT pet peeve. The rest of the world thinks it is cool.

Making a playroom in the bay window is a super idea. You could move a shelf over there for the toys and park the larger ones out of the way. The desk would have to move to the living room or another room.

Move the photos to the tv wall all together, it would balance out the books on the other side of the room. You could paint the frames the color of the bookshelves when you paint them.

Your house is nice but full. It looks very warm and homey.

What's going on in the rest of your house?

Why is all the living done in this one 2nd floor room?

Please, honestly let us know because it's fruitless to make this room function for so many things, when you've got a nice Victorian house that SHOULD have space enough for most of what you're trying to force this one room to do.

ohjodi- We have a living room downstairs with a conversation area and piano. Toys aren't kept downstairs so we end up spending most of our time in our upstairs parlor with the kids when we're at home, especially in the winter when it is the warmest room in the house.

The kids each have a bedroom but we keep the toys to a minimum in the bedrooms so there's less stimulation when it is time for bed. It will be easier when they are older, but at 3 and 1, they just want to be where we are. That is why we have the multipurpose room.

If you must dismantle the mantle, I advise to do it CAREFULLY so that it can be sold as salvaged or stored in the house so that the next owner can restore it.

Thanks for responding jpms :-)

Do you have an additional office in the house? Or a room that could serve as a primary office space (to shelve some of your books, too).

A guest room could shelve some of the books.

I have a huge book collection, myself, so I split it between the bedroom, livingroom, and dining area (which is my "office" because the dining table works better at the end of the livingroom.

Could the children share a bedroom, and use the other as a primary play room?

Just a thought: The need for it to be a playroom basically negates any serious "decorating"....I say, just enjoy your time together w/your children in a very beautiful room.

I agree with the idea of making a play area in the bay window. Right now that monolithic play table in the middle of the room will negate any attempt to decorate around it. Try swapping the table with the brown slip covered chairs.

As for the stove... I say just live with it, and get to work early in teaching the little ones a healthy respect for fire. In three or four years' time they'll both be old enough to know not to touch it, and you can dismantle the fence.