Congratulations on your lovely house!

I would put curtain rods on the wall above the windows and make them wide enough to be able to have the curtains hang on the side of the windows when they're not drawn. Your windows are beautiful and you should be able to display them.

Dark blue or navy is very trendy in combination with gray at the moment. It would also work with your green curtains and the other colours and could be quite effectful.

In the 2nd picture, you need floor length curtains.

I would suggest mounting them on the wall at ceiling height and not inside the bump out. Thus, one panel would cover the two pictures you have hanging there. That would "frame" the bump out space.

Consider replacing the curtains you have with floor length sheer curtains.

Have you considered putting your tv in the bump out? If you did, the big curtains could be like a movie theater and close to cover the tv. Or not.

And, then you could place your loveseat and sofa perpendicular to each other to mimic a sectional arrangement.

The corner where the TV currently is could be converted to a reading space (or a landing strip!) where you put your other recliner with a small table and lamp.

Good luck!

Your house is lovely, and appears to be in great shape! One major issue that pops immediately is (sorry!) the furniture itself. We live in a beautiful home built in 1932, very similar in scale to what you have, and as soon as we got rid of the overly large stuffed sofas and chairs we had no trouble finding inspiration for color scheme and accessories. I understand the budget constraints as well, maybe go with some frugal-friendly vintage pieces that are more to scale for an older home? It may now sound soooo cliche, but Craigslist is a great resource for this! Good luck!

Lovely house! Mine is similar in style and period and here's what works for me:

-Make the lovely old architectural features--like that GORGEOUS window!--the focus of the room, rather than trying to fit your style to it. Consider using those colors (or complementary colors) and arranging the furniture to face it.

-Do some visual research on Arts & Crafts, Mission, and Bungalow style. They were big on clean lines, natural materials, and no fussy stuff. Most of my windows actually look better without curtains! This allows the beautiful sashes and trim to shine. (I use Roman shades for privacy at night.)

-Agree with above poster who said you might need to reconsider the overstuffed furniture. Could you use some of it in another room? The scale and modern feel of ALL those pieces in that one room makes it hard for you to see any other possibilities. Even just moving one or two of those pieces elsewhere temporarily might give you some breathing room to try other stuff.

-Re: colors--if you're totally stuck, find an accessory or piece of art that you love and consider those colors. It's sometimes easier to start with some idea, ANY idea, and let that help you discover what you *don't* want than to start totally from scratch.

Good luck!

I agree that the windows are a great feature, so don't hide them if you don't have to. Bistro curtains maybe? Just covering the lower half, and then roller blinds that you could use at night for privacy if needed.

Your furniture seems scared, it's clinging to the walls! It's ok for sofas to float in a room, especially when they are facing a feature. Right now your feature is your big TV, which makes the room feel like a theatre. If you want it to be a room to hang out and not watch tv only, try arranging the furniture for conversation. It looks like to you have your dining room in lovely shape already and I'm sure your living space will develop into something great.

Congrats on your home purchase! It looks to have some beautiful details. I agree with aidan_NZ about not covering the windows. An inside mounted roman shade for privacy or two simple floor length panels mounted high and wide. The simple white you used in your dining room would work. I would also suggest painting the space one consistent color instead of various accent walls. The grey you chose is perfect and would be lovely with navy and light blue accents. I think bringing some bold pattern into the pillows would help break up the heaviness of the sofa. I would also remove some of the small-scale art and shelving and instead add a few large pieces of art or do a gallery on either side of the window behind the sofa. Since your color scheme is neutral you can bring lots of color in this way and make this the focus instead of the furniture.

I agree with aidan_NZ; bistro curtains may be the way to go. If it's in the budget you may also want to look into plantation style shutters that only cover the bottom 3/4 of the window and highlighting the beautiful stained glass. Of course there are also blinds that go from bottom to top and these would also work for your window.

May I also ask if you've tried rearranging your furniture in an L configuration so that the larger couch is centered on the window and the small couch's back is toward the bay window?

I like your choice of grey. You should use that color for all the walls in the living and dining rooms. If you go all grey then accent pillows in a tropical green would definitely work.

Our house was also built in 1929 (a very good year) and I suggest blinds hung inside the frame, to let the beauty of the woodwork shine through. In terms of the furniture, in the short term, I'd lose one couch--these rooms are not made for that kind of bulk; in the long term you will be happier looking for furniture that fits the room, smaller and less "stuffed." If you can lose a couch into another room maybe) you can buy some time to live with the space and decide what you want to do. I also agree that looking at craftsman/mission type furniture will at least give you a sense of how the space can be. From that you can make a decision about how you want the space to be. In our case, it meant no tv in the living room (we have a tv room right off) but your use of the pace may be different.

I agree with previous posters that the furniture is out of scale. Look for smaller scale Mission, Shaker and Craftsman styles. (Wood, clean lines, slats.) As for colors -- maybe find a (hand-made) rug that you like (one that works with the wall colors you already have) and pull color inspiration from the rug. (Just throw the rug over the carpet.) Perhaps a relative or friend has a spare rug, or you might find a used one for sale, or Ikea has some inexpensive options that are not handmade but have the kilim/navajo or turkish look.

Here are few pictures of what I mean, randomly found on google images by looking for "arts and crafts living room":

http://www.interiordesignpro.org/designingideas/living-room/photo-1491

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47683183@N00/431009093

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47683183@N00/2647428802

http://homeinteriordesignproperty.com/decoration-for-an-arts-and-crafts-kitchen

http://kirsten-haus.designshuffle.com/portfolio/living-spaces/chevy-chase-arts-crafts-living-room/

http://www.google.com/imgres?start=20&num=10&um=1&hl=en&biw=1152&bih=749&tbm=isch&tbnid=Fuos2lND6YiB-M:&imgrefurl=http://berkeleyhomes.com/homes/homes_for_sale/featured_homes.html&docid=QH3OgqvoZB5ACM&imgurl=http://berkeleyhomes.com/photos/homes/marin-2239-berkeley-hills/photos/marin-2239-berkeley-hills-craftsman-home-living-room-dining-room-woodwork-1.jpg&w=720&h=480&ei=TJHVTtyeOcfv0gHy2N3ZAQ&zoom=1

good bones, needs help. every wall has a window or door, so unify rm w/1 colour (the grey is nice, in photo is a bit dark), 1 trim colour (done). too many upholstered pieces, so sell 1 sofa or the chair. sell ottoman, replace w/glass-topped coffee table(s), 1 rectangle or 2 square, to feel open. add bookcase/etagere to R of arched door (does tv have to be in rm? if so, on buffet or dresser of same width as tv on same wall, not angled). float 2 sofas facing each other in front of bay w/side tables (add 1 set, to balance) flanking bay to make big U or 1 sofa centered under stained glass w/2 side tables & lamps (add 1 set, to balance) & chair pulled forward floating in front of bay w/ a reading light behind for it. 1.5*width cheap lace panels or sheers at all lower windows on tension rods, top & bottom, hang statement-sized rods near ceiling to outsides of bay & stained-glass windows, add matching floor-length heavier drawable drapes in 1920's colour (turquoise, goldenrod, a colour from stained glass, etc.) that hide window edges, drapes frame to focal pts. then worry about pics, but large black/white photos (grandma, union sta, ansel adams, etc.) in frames matching trim might work. throw pillows in drape fabric & print fabric of wall & trim colours unifies. eventually strip out w/w carpet & add big classical or 1920's patterned rug. furniture does not have to match, does have to coordinate in scale.

p.s. "drapes frame to focal pts?" bright-coloured drapes in neutral rm, not sure of window width but it looks bigger, to ceiling & floor, dramatic, matching pillows will bring eye to windows. they are nice windows.

1. Paint all the walls in living room and dining room one color (doesnt have to be the same color). But those accent walls aren't workign for me.
2. Hang the curtains at the bay window from a rod on either side of the bay so they will frame the entire window bay. Hang them close to theceiling and make them go to the floor. Bring pattern in here if that is what you want.
3. if you really want to control light or privacy, in addition to drapes (or instead of) get some matchstick blinds. matching -- every window on the main floor to unify things. Ikea sells em cheap.
4. i'm troubled by your couches. too big, the two tone thing is odd and distracting, and they are all lined up against the wall. Sell all but one (or hell, all of them) then bring in ap air of comfy chairs (not oversized!) to make a proper conversation area. I'm feeling leather for you. This arrangement looks like everyone is coming over to watch the fight on pay per view. And get a coffee table. Look on craigslist for something good. Make your coffee table round and fairly large.
5. The art: collect all those little bitty pieces -- the frames hung everywhere -- and hang them all together. Spray paint the dframes a single color and it will look intentional. I cant stand having them all around the room. Looks like dandruff.
6> Now you should have a big expanse of wall somewhere. Buy or paint something awesome and large. Make it a focal point. something you love. And get a big mirror in there somewhere to start bouncing light around.
7. side tables/cocktail tables: you need em. Get rid of that terrible lamp in the corner -- i'm sorry to be so frank, but honestly. - and get a pair of matching lamps to flank the big couch. Home Goods has a great selection of cheap cool lamps.
8. Get yourself some large area rugs to define the space in the dining room and the living room. again: homegoods has a selection of 8 X 10 and 9 X 12 for $300 or less.
a quick poke around LA craigslist:
replacement couch: -- more neutral though I am not wild about the high arms
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/fuo/2727706173.html

or this beauty with some down pillows:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fuo/2727442746.html

i love these chairs because they are easy to move around. maybe put them in the bay? and use them when extra company comes to watch the fight : )
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/fuo/2680400382.html
I adore these and they are cheap as all get out. But they need to be sassier: paint the wood high gloss black and give them a cool little lumbar pillow in a modern graphic.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/fuo/2718588410.html
oh good gravy these are awesome chairs
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fuo/2719187271.html
no get this for the window. my god you people in LA have an embarrassment of furniture riches
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fuo/2722735768.html
and this ottoman coffee table
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fuo/2720353035.html
that'll smarten the place right up.

pam h
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

Personally I'm wondering why you bought a 1929 house when clearly your lifestyle is antithetical to it. You want big multifunction rooms, slouchy couches and a kickass AV system. The architecture of the 1920s was about small rooms, small scale furniture, and perhaps a wood cabinet radio in the corner. Put simply, this house doesn't suit your lifestyle and never will, unless you demolish large parts of it and rebuild - you simply can't have surround sound theater systems in a 1920s drawing room and expect it to look good.

But since we're stuck with it... the grey wall is a good step, but you need to get the other walls painted the same colour pronto. Forget accent walls: they're for dull modern architecture, not feature-filled 1920s architecture. Those overstuffed couches don't need any more pillows, but some elegant throws will help tone them down. Better yet, sew up some slipcovers in a pale tone, which will also protect them from the kids. Get some art that's actual art (rather than "wall decor", random words or family photos) and ditch that 90s floor lamp - the one on the table is far closer to what you should aiming for.

But if you do nothing else, for the love of all that's holy, get rid of those pointless little shelves cluttering up the walls.

I think this room can look lovely with some inexpensive tweaking. You can always replace furniture pieces down the line when you have the money, but for now:

- Center the large couch under the stained glass window. Swing around the smaller couch perpendicular to the large couch, basically forming an "L" shape. The smaller couch back should not be touching the wall - it should be out further into the room. Negative space is your friend! The side table and lamp can be placed where the two couch corners meet. Smaller chair - remove, it is dragging down the room.

- I love your idea of repurposing a sideboard for the tv stand. All your other ideas like sprucing up the lamp shade, ottoman, sewing pillows, great, go with it!

- you might want to add a small wooden accent chair - everything is very bottom-heavy, so something that's elegant and "leggy"

- choose one color for the living/dining room combined.

- look at what colors inspire you - you can do a mostly neutral palette with a few small accents or you can really go crazy.

- for curtains, forget the tension rod, install rods high up above the windows and make sure the drapes fall all the way to the floor. this will create a great illusion of tall ceilings! White curtains from IKEA will match whatever color scheme you settle on, and will be cost effective for you!

- The huge window IS art, many would love to have a beautiful stained glass window in their home! I would remove most of your smaller wall decorations. Think about hanging less quantity and larger pieces (right now the shelves and tchockes are too small and too many). Like I said before negative space is your friend, not every surface needs to be filled with stuff.

What a great house ... it just seems to need a little inspiration. Ok - two things you already know but I have to say anyway ... the room seems a little awkward with so many doorways/traffic patterns and the furniture's scale is too large as well as the wrong flavor. However, having said that I do have some suggestions. On the bay window - I would get rid of the drapes and inside mount 2" faux wood blinds or a plain white roll up shade if daytime privacy is not an issue. Then I would build a chair height storage bench into the bay and use a collection of fabrics on the seat cushion and pillows. This would give you the softness without adding drapes. On the wall with the doorway leading to the entry (?) Instead of purchasing a sideboard or buffet for the tv - I would do a built in bookcase that wraps the doorway and covers the whole wall, then I would add an articulating wall mount for the tv to create a recessed/built in look within the bookcase. As for the wall with the window with the stain glass..... you said it opened onto a "sunroom" on the front of the house ... why not skip the window treatment on that window and treat the windows on the sunroom .. that way you borrow visual space from the sunroom and stretch the width of the room. Then I would use a large scale 3 dimensional architectural salvage type textural item (think gears, cool boards, interesting fence panel) on the wall to the left of the window. On the right of the window I would use a large single framed print and keep all the small items on the bookcase. As for color - red or dark green seems the obvious choice for the period but I think any color would be great. I would use a natural color with pops of color in the print

Oh I'm so jealous. My last apartment was a 1920's home and I loved it!

My old apartment had grey walls too (the color you chose is really pretty). If you want to check out pics, you can look here:
http://www.insideways.com/2011/09/today-tim-and-i-will-move-in-to-our-new.html

I have two suggestions for you...

1. Definitely try curtain rods on the outside of the window frames up at the ceiling. Then have the curtains go all the way to the floor. Since curtains are expensive, consider canvas drop cloths (if you can sew). You could even add in some strips from your old green curtains to create a horizontal stripe at the bottom. Sheers could be great too. Floor to ceiling length is the key.

2. I TOTALLY get the furniture situation! Have you considered selling your current furniture on craigslist then buying new couches with the money you make? It would make a huge difference :)

Good luck!! You've got great bones to work with!

i am going to pretend this is my home and just give suggestions that i think would make it look ... i guess "more put together"...

i would take everything off the walls.
--as stated above me: the structure and windows and everything else looks interesting. you are gilding the lily.

i would make that grey colour a darker colour.
--i can not tell what it is in the picture. but it is way to light and looks blue and accent walls are not interesting here. paint the sitting room one colour. make it dark. darker than the lamp shade. is the lamp shade a dark purple? because a dark de-saturated plum would be awesome to contrast with the green and yellow glass.

your furniture is way out of scale with the dimensions of the room.
--i would move the larger sofa to the centre of the wall with the window. is that not centre with the tv? i do not care. do it. this is where i am not sure what to do.

get rid of your out of scale wall things. that gecko above your entrance is scary.

get rid of your small chair. go away small chair; no one likes you. you are not helping.

the upholstered ottoman is cool but waaaaay to much overstuffed things.

you and i both know that tv stand was not going to fly. do not angle your tv. it is ugly and not functional. stop it.

i think a rug might help you pull things away from the walls.

get rid of those window coverings in the nook and burn them ... i mean, get some that touch the floor... but better yet the straight down-up roman shades. and then get a book case for that bit of wall and fill that puppy up with the things on that shelf in the kitchen.

try putting all your wall things in one area like the entrance way.

no more pillows. throws. agreed.

thats all i got.

regarding furniture, can you form an L with the 2 couches (they both dont need to be placed against walls), leave the end table in between, use ottoman as coffee table and remove the chair? i would then mount the tv on the wall with the doorway to foyer and add a wall mounted cabinet for media storage.

curtains, i would def do simple floor length sheers in both living and dining rooms, with the rod mounted on the outside of window frame (like in dining room).

It sounds like a cliché, but the house will tell you what it needs. Listen to the house and don’t try to impose your will on it. It is a great house… but you have to work with it, not against it.

Paint and Color
---The house has a serious case of the drabs. Everything is grey, beige, and oh so boring. Grey is trendy now. But your craftsman house needs something warm. Get rid of the grey, and choose something warmer that works with the stained glass. It doesn’t have to match, but it does need to work together. (Remember, don’t fight the house.)
---Get rid of the accent wall colors. You have actual architectural interest… you don’t need to manufacture it. Paint both rooms the same color.

Furniture
---Too much and too large. And the matched set… yikes. Once you get some appropriately scaled furniture, you’ll have better options for arrangement.

Art / Accessories
---Your teeny tiny wall decor is not working. It looks cluttered and lacks focus. Go with less stuff, but choose things with more impact. For example, instead of 5 little paintings, choose 1 larger painting. Instead of a shelf full of photos and tchotchkes, hang 1 beautiful mirror.
---Identify or create a focal point. This could be something already in the house (like a fireplace or BIG WINDOW WITH STAINED GLASS). And note that this movie only needs 1 star (focal point); it won’t work without supporting roles.

Windows
---Your flimsy fussy window coverings are a serious decorating crime! Think about how much privacy and light control you need, then choose something that meets those needs in a minimal manner. And if privacy and light are not an issue, save yourself some money and forgo window coverings altogether.
---Craftsman architecture is all about simple lines; be true to that. Don’t try to fight the house by dressing them up with swags, flounces, or fancy poufs.
---Some things that would work: Bistro or café curtains, fabric shades, bamboo blinds, or simple panels that can be opened wide enough to reveal the windows and frames.