It seems to me that the curtains in the first picture stunt the height of the room, even though I know you're trying to use them to provide privacy/divide the space. Have you considered buying a fabric you like and making custom curtains? You could probably do it for under ~$30 with some hemming tape and cheap fabric by the yard.

I think the best bet with such a long space is to try to separate the space into different usage areas. You don't say much what you use the space for, but if you had a dining area defined by a rug, and then a seating/tv viewing area that commanded it's own area, with similar design quirks flowing between them, your space would look much more deliberate. You've got great architectural detail in this room; I'd be excited to see what you do!

@summerkitten, Sorry, the purpose of suggesting make your own curtains in my comment was to make longer curtains that work with the height, rather than cutting it in half. I know pre-made curtains for +12 foot ceilings can break the bank, so I recommend making your own. It's super easy!

One way to get away from the hallway look is to not line both walls with furniture leaving the center of the room for circulation. What is the width of this room? Is there any way to move your circulation along one wall creating a "gallery" and group the furniture into a conversation area near the other wall?

Very jealous of your ceiling height! Also, that bike rack/bookcase is great, such a cool idea, but have you considered keeping it in that corner but turning it so that it's on the wall shared with the bedroom? I think that would help define that end of the room and help the room feel less like a hallway where all of the furniture is pushed up against two of the walls. Also, I would hang the curtains as high as possible and pull them to one side (the left) during the day - don't tie them in a knot, let them hang so that they touch the floor and balance out the bookcase. Group your art together to form a gallery wall cross from your couch and hang a large mirror behind the couch. I would get rid of the coat tree and hang a series of hooks at varying heights in that corner. If a new couch isn't an option then get some large pillows for it so that it looks (and is) more comfortable. And I think if you got rid of a lot of the furniture and replaced it with a piece of enclosed storage it would be great for you guys.

whew, I can see your problem! It looks like you have a lot of cool stuff but you don't know what to do with it. I love love love your furniture, and the entrance to your kitchen.

I would say that #1 for me is that your art is too small and spread out in there - it is being dwarfed by those high ceilings! You need bigger, vertical pieces in my opinion, or maybe a giant mural or something to make use of all that space. You need a focal point.

You should definitely unify your storage/ stereo/ shelving too. There was a really great entry in this year's small cool that had a mid-century style wall unit that would be perfect with your furniture and I just spent way too long looking for it - maybe someone can help me out, it was in a place where the bookcase was on the wall between the kitchen and dining? I think the walls were green? - anyways, it kind of looked like this one (but not exactly):
http://community.apartmenttherapy.com/contests/smallcool/2011/entries/1002

I would also hang the curtains on the inside of the bedroom too, instead of the living room side, because you have the same curtains on the room in there, and you could hang them at the same height as your bedroom window curtains and create some visual consistency in the bedroom and not be so distracting in the living room, where they look just kind of tacked on, right? All in all, great bones, and a cool apartment - post your solutions, whatever you do!

I think painting would make a big, big difference in this room. I also think opening up some floor space would make the room feel more spacious and less like two facing ranks of furniture soldiers—it looks like you have three side tables; do you need all of them? And the shape of that rug, and the way it runs the gauntlet between the furniture, seems to me to emphasize the length and narrowness of the space—I might go for an oval, or something squarer instead, and place it so that it doesn't overlap into the little storage/entryway area with at least some of the seating furniture actually on the rug. I think that would unify the "living room" a bit, and also help section it off from other spaces.

In general, I'm not totally keen on frame clusters, but this might be a place where one would make sense; those prints look pretty stranded on those tall walls.

The recentish Small Cool winner with the railroad (Justine, I want to say? The woman who put her bedroom in the narrow middle of her apartment) might be a source of inspiration.

I live in the same hood and have the same apt. I made the middle room my bedroom and the far room the living room. It's a pretty common set-up for the railroads of W-burg. It's not for everyone, but the far room allows for my sectional, which creates a better conversation area. Yes, friends have to walk past my bedroom to get to the living room, but my bedroom is cute, so I don't care...and like I said, it's a pretty common set-up in Brooklyn.

Hi Kate - I've had two similarly shaped living areas. While my most recent solution can purely be attributed to smaller furniture, I think there is a lot more that you can do than simply replace everything.

First of all if I would take anything out it would be the large couch-like item. While it might have worked in other rooms it is significantly causing the hallway-dimensions of your room. Instead of providing a clear walkway from the kitchen to the bedroom I think you should interrupt it with a smaller sofa. Something narrow enough to walk round either side. Place this with its back to your kitchen opening, perhaps directly in line with the doors with the edge to the one wall. Place a side table in the small alcove created to the elft fo the couch if you are facing the kitchen.

Place your Eames chair and footstool in in the corner with your clever bicycle rack bookshelf. A great place to read and easily angled to face the couch.

This arrangement may seem cumbersome at first, but quickly you'll find the room more cosy, useful and comfortable. You'll soon find a path around the furniture you most often take and will wonder why you didn't do it before.

And with a floating sofa you can always try placing a consol table or bookshelf behind it, with a lamp, or two lamps on top. It's a great trend if you can manage it :)

I saw an apartment on this website where someone actually made their bedroom the room that you walk through and used the other space as their living room. So you could make your current living room the bedroom. It's unconventional but....

Simplest thing: change the direction of the striped throw to it isn't pointing down the room.

I'd move the curtains to the bedroom side of the wall.

Your red shelf is neat, but I think you'd get more out of a bigger piece here (everyone's favorite Expedit? Build something?). If you could store everything you need to store on one piece, which takes advantage of your room height, that side of the room would look a lot calmer.

And yes, cluster your art (2" between frames maybe), and get a bigger rug (so all the sitting furniture can be on it). Be on the lookout for some nice big art to add to your clustered art display too.

Here is a completely different idea: use the bedroom as the living room. It seems like that room has nice windows and nice light. Since you have 12ft ceilings, you could fit a loft bed somewhere I bet (maybe even in this hallway?). You could do a wall of storage where the chairs are right now - if you combine open and closed storage, you might be able to fit most of your clothes and books on that wall (not sure how long it is), so the other room would be less cluttered.

Love the high ceilings and your bike rack bookcase is awesome!

I'd think about opening the curtains all the way instead of knotting them to let in more light from the bedroom during the day. You could consider adding a panel of complementary fabric at the bottom to make them longer, too, which would better emphasize the height of the ceiling. (Most dry cleaners will do sewing like that if you don't sew.) You might even add sheers in the middle (or switch to a double rod) to obscure the view of the bedroom while letting in more light, like this: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SAbgZgI19pyIMrmthI9KuOYuCsnXrtKP1YO5jQNr0rQ?feat=directlink

I also think the smaller pieces of art you have scattered around the walls would have more impact as a group. You could take the grouping high and wide, which would then free up enough space on another wall for a really big statement piece (something you make or something you eventually acquire from other artists/friends whose work you admire).

Finally, the bookcase directly across from the door seems like a good place to go higher. Maybe stacked Expedits from Ikea? http://thedecorologist.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/stacked-ikea-bookcases-via-shoponline2011.jpg They're great storage for records (just the right size), you can use some of the cubbies for displaying interesting objects, and you can add small containers in one section to make a place for keys and mail, use some baskets at the bottom for shoes, bags, etc. You can also add a plywood backing and paint, stencil, or wallpaper it (maybe even do different colors/patterns in different squares) - or just paint the wall behind it. Don't push it all the way against the kitchen wall/door, so you can add some hooks (and a cute container for umbrellas) on that side to replace the coat rack that's currently in the living room.

Some suggestions: Change the shape of the space by changing the shape of the furniture. I would ditch the couch in favor of a couple of space-appropriate chairs with softer edges. While it's an old decorating trick for spaces like this, it still works: Start a collection of mirrors on one wall. It lights AND changes the shape of the space. Another possibility would be creating a faux entrance on one wall with salvaged French doors hung in front of a mural of a garden? another world? or (on the frugal side) create a similar look with two inexpensive full-length mirrors you've carefully painted or taped to mimic french doors. Just ideas...

Have you thought of sheer curtains? They'd help let some sunlight in during the day, but still obscure enough that you'd have privacy.
Additionally, what about some pendant lighting? It doesn't have to be anything super fancy, just some fun long lights to highlight the height that you have and brighten things up.
I'd also try to do something more cohesive with your artwork. They seem kind of haphazardly placed around the room, perhaps try to group them into some sort of a gallery on one wall and get a really large piece or two for the other side.

Id make more use of the high ceilings by adding shelves say from 5.5 ft up the wall to the ceiling. This way you can move all the books and other nick nacks up on the shelves. In sort its a great space but it looks cluttered by all the books and stuff. Hang your art lower on the wall under the shelves.This will allow you to get rid of the book shelf in the corner and the book case in the corner near the kitchen. This will open up the space so you can move those larger chairs in to corners. Get rid of the coat tree and install hooks to hang coats on. I don't mind the curtain and I think it serves a legit function. I would however get a less bulky looking rod. Think something clean and minimal like a cable wire. Good luck!

Last year's small cool winner had the middle-room-as-bedroom thing and it seemed functional and looked great. Then you could use the large room for hanging out, entertaining, etc.

http://community.apartmenttherapy.com/contests/smallcool/2011/entries/1803

And yes, a collection of vintage mirrors of varying shapes and sizes would be great. Utilize that height to create some light.

also I would cluster the smaller art closer together and get yourself some larger art works to fill in all the white walls. Should not be hard right?...Your both artists:)

I'd suggest ditching the red bookshelf, and putting up long shelves on the wall above the little sofa is now. I love the corner book shelf, is there any way to build another one in the corner where the coat tree is now? Also moving the stereo over there would open the other wall. Ditch the coat tree and put up hooks with a couple shelves about them for little items on the wall wall where the book shelf is now.

clustering all the small art work on one wall and getting a large piece for the opposite wall would help accent the height of the room. I agree with getting a light colored curtain and either mounting them higher or on a bedroom side. Instead of knotting the curtains some nice curtain wall hooks for when they're open would show off the curved doorway.

Also ditch any of the little tables that you can, getting rid of a couple of pieces can make a huge different. And some large, light colored pillows on the back of the sofa would bring the eye upwards.

I'd for sure get rid of the curtains and use a folding screen in the doorway when you need more privacy. Something very light coloured that would let light in and not split the wall vertically the way the darker curtains do, also wouldn't obscure the nice arch. I'd put something fairly wide and not too tall above the arched doorway, maybe an old stained glass window. Lose the stripes on the couch or run them the other way as someone else suggested. Putting a loft bed in the central room and moving the living area to the part with windows makes a lot of sense. You could even use a murphy type bed in the central space so it wasn't such an obvious bedroom when guests are over. It could be left open the rest of the time if it's more convenient.

Lots of potential in this room! The trick is to make it into a room rather than a hallway.

The first thing I would do is simplify this room visually.

I would replace those heavy knotted curtains with off-white sheers and I would keep them closed all the time. They would allow light into the room but still provide a "wall" for the living room. I would hang these from a very simple white wooden rod.

Then I would take everything out of the room except for the furniture, and maybe also leave the vertical book rack just because it would be pain to move it. (Take the art out, too.) Not forever, just for the purpose of editing. The amount of stuff in this room is creating a hallway/storage area feeling.

Then I would focus on making this a seating area by moving those chairs in off the wall. Until you do that, this is going to feel like a walkway. Bring them in just a little and angle them towards the sofa. Yes, you will have to maneuver around them a bit, but better that than a hallway.

As someone said, the length of the rug contributes to the hallway feeling. I would go with a round rug. It would accentuate the seating area and break the rectangularity of the room.

The lengthwise stripes on the sofa cover also worsen the hallway aspect.

Now carefully start to bring stuff back into the room. I would really be judicious here. Let the seating area and the bookcase and the round rug breathe. I have a feeling that a lot of your stuff may need to be relocated in order to achieve this.

Last, I would get remove all the small artwork and get a couple of large pieces for the wall behind the couch and for the opposite wall, where the chairs are. I'm big on poster art. It's inexpensive and there's some cool stuff out there. I would pick three vertical 24x36 pieces that relate to each other either thematically or visually (color) and hang them together, in black frames, with only a few inches between them. These create the visual effect of a really large piece of art and would anchor that seating area and give that wonderful high wall space some pop. The other relatively inexpensive option for those walls would be large maps.

And as one said, definitely get rid of the coat tree and rethink the shelves across from the door.

Some simple things that don't involve buying anything new, just rearranging: Lower all the art work so it is centered around an eyeline of about 5' or 5'6". Group the small pieces of art all together to create a salon-style cluster on one wall (no need to have art in every little wall space there is.) Hang the curtain on the bedroom side of the wall. Put the lounger in the corner so there is room to use the ottoman, and place the bookshelf on the the other side of the room because that area is actually less deep (according to the door placement.) And place the speakers (sculptures?) or whatever those items are on the middle table to the outside sides of the chairs, allowing the table to serve as a side table. There needs to be less jarring up and down of verticals and more of a smooth, purposeful flow.

As for items to buy (or make, if you are handy) - I would focus on things that help reduce the look of clutter in the tight space - like a small, closed wardrobe to keep coats in and possibly closed bookshelves (like Ikea Hemnes with doors) for other storage. I would go for white wood that will blend into existing woodwork and allow the patterns of your other furniture to stand out. A large pendant light over the sofa would add a lot of charm too. Since your ceiling is so high, the cord will need to run a long way, but if you get cord channels at the hardware store, you can keep it looking clean. Also, since your ceilings are so, so high, a simple platform loft above a doorway would add in a lot of deep storage to get things out of the way. I used to live in one of these railroads, so know all about their quirks.

Some default ikea suggestions below...
shelves:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40176342/#/20176343
wardrobe:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70141855/
pendant:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80155012/#/40155014
cord channels:
http://www.amazon.com/Wiremold-C210-White-Cordmate-Kit/dp/B00004W3ZQ

In my former railroad apartment, my partner installed French doors to the bedroom, which allowed all the light from the bedroom windows into the living area. Also, I think the stripes on the rug and cushion fabric only elongate the room. Consider turning that seat 90 degrees, doing the same with the rug, or changing either. Also, I think the furniture is rather dark which adds to a weighted feel to the room, despite its enviable ceiling height. Consider lighter toned pieces to add loftiness. Good luck! I miss the quirkiness of the railroad though we now have more room in our "box" apartment.

1.Your art is too high up and too spread out. Clustering it, lowering it, and perhaps adding one large focal piece will help.

2. Get a different shelf to replace the red one and the stereo table next to it so all the stuff in that corner goes into one unit. Something pretty tall. As usual, Ikea probably has good options.

3. Replace your speakers with something much smaller and hang on the walls as unobtrusively as possible.

4. Try to reduce to one side table. Put it between the chairs and angle them as much as you can into the room. Can you put the ottoman in storage or repurpose it in the bedroom? Some of the stuff from the current side tables can move to the new stereo/bookshelf.

5. Change the couch cover away from stripes. Solid or a large all-over pattern would be much better. A matching pillow for the armchair might be a good idea, too -- kind of like what you have now, but not stripes!

6. Totally agree with others' suggestion that you move to sheer curtains, or at the very least the same color as the walls and hanging down instead of knotted.

LOVE these ideas, you guys! Keep 'em coming!

Just a quick note: the couch is a must-keep, for better or worse :) It belonged to my grandmother since the 50's and is the only object I have of hers. I'm currently reupholstering it, so thoughts on that are super helpful as well! Originally, it was similar to this couch! Also, the curtains hanging in the doorway are crazy old theater curtains I picked up at the amazing Film Biz Prop Shop in Brooklyn. We need something heavy enough to block out light and give privacy in the bedroom when one of us is working late in the living room or kitchen. A screen might be possible, though! Or a sliding door of some sort?!

Verrry interesting idea about the living room as bedroom. Hmmmm.

Looking forward to more,

Kate

OK, then. My post in progress vanished when I scrolled up to look at the space again. If it appears, forgive the redundancy! I'll try again!

First, use an Expedit or other shelving unit as a room divider by the front door in the corner where the coat rack is, facing the living room. (It shoudl go about half way across the room, leaving a doorway.) This gives you storage and a corner for a chair, facing the room. Put coat hooks on the back side to replace the coat rack.

Next, deal with the clutter opposite the door. I'd go for an armoire, but covered shelving or something might also work. Naturally, you still need space to get around the room divider, so measuring everything to fit is critical -- adjust as needed.

Next, either put all your artwork into one salon-style grouping or line it up in one row with no more than three or four inches between items. Adding something larger and more colorful to help coordinate the room would be great as well.

Eliminate stripes. Use larger, simple, graphic accent textiles (pillows, etc.) or go plain. Stripes just add to the linear feeling that you are trying to minimize.

Use storage containers (trunks, covered boxes, baskets, etc.) instead of little tables wherever possible and stash things out of sight.

Angle your larger chair in the room divider corner, angle the other one by the bike rack shelves, and leave the sofa where it is, but (again) no stripes. You might need to move it a bit further down the wall away from the door to keep an aisle clear past the room divider.

I think you could use another lamp or two, as well, both for light and for something taller in the space and for accent -- color would be good! Maybe a floor lamp and a table lamp? Maybe some IKEA Fillsta or Knappa ceiling hung pendant lights (with cord covers up the wall)?

I think a lighter color rug, maybe brightly colored, would lift the space, too, especially since it's a windowless room.

Overall, you need to have fewer small things (tables mainly) and more organization within larger, relatively plain units. (They make a space feel less claustrophobic without sacrificing stuff!)

I agree with pretty much everything everyone has said :)

The big issue with the room is that everything seems so spread out and cluttered. I'd start by removing as much of the small furniture, art and tchotchke as possible, just so you can begin rearranging with a clean palette.

As far as the furniture goes, if the room is wide enough, turn the couch 90* so it is parallel to the bedroom wall. Leave enough room for you and your boyfriend to get to the room. It will create a visual barrier between the rooms (i.e., privacy). Then face the two chairs towards the couch, which will create a distinct seating area from the desk area you have near the front door/kitchen end of the room. If it's not wide enough to do that, I'd figure out another way to add something to the center of the room, so that the space doesn't feel so much like a hallway. A simple coffee table would tie the seating area together and wouldn't be impossible to walk around to get to the bedroom. A third furniture option would be to replace the sofa with something a little smaller. It looks very long and very flat and very low and appears to take up a lot of room. Maybe a love seat? Or an upholstered bench?

Then bring back the smaller furniture and lamps. It looks like you only have a desk light and the overhead -- invest a few bucks on some table or floor lamps. It will make a world of difference. Just make sure you hide the cords. My eyes are twitching a little because of all the exposed cords in the current pictures.

If you can't paint the room, I'd swap out the curtains for looooong white sheers, which will blend better into the walls and create less visual clutter. You have some cool looking art, but it's hung oddly. As others have suggested, I'd gather it all together into one gallery display, hung at eye level (it looks a bit too high here; even with tall ceilings, you don't want your art too high). I'd also get rid of a couple of the tapestries you're using on the furniture. It looks good on the couch, but on the side table (is that a side table, between the chairs?), it gets distracting. If you want to cover whatever that piece is, grab some paint in a fun color.

Last, but not least, for the area near the door, if you can get some closed storage or larger pieces so they don't look like they're bursting at the seams with stuff, it will look less visually busy. If there are decor pieces on that shelf, maybe incorporate them into the living room/seating area by adding some simple shelves to the wall opposite the newly created art gallery.

I have to echo the idea of switching the rooms - I live in the same apartment in Williamsburg with my partner and dog. We originally had our space set up the same as yours, and I was always bummed out sitting and hosting in this narrow, poorly lit space, to the point where I was looking to move. Finally bit the bullet and turned the big beautiful bedroom into the living room, and my quality of life has improved dramatically. A week doesn't go by when I don't say out loud "I am so glad we switched these rooms." Sure, people have to walk past the bed to get to the couch, but we're grown ups and we're allowed to do what we want!

That is quite a small living room! What I would suggest is paint the room a lighter color instead of the off white you have now, maybe a light green for example. Then I would try to simplify the room maybe take the pictures with the black frames and make a collage above the sofa you have, or better yet you guys are artist! Make a canvas painting that is tall maybe three paintings of the city during the 1920s next to each other that really will define the space. I would also suggest taking down the curtains because you can't even see the beautiful archway that is hiding behind it. Also turning the bike rack bookcase (which is very creative) on the wall where the arch is would look better to me. Basically just simplify not too much furniture so you can focus on the 1920s detail.

Good Luck!

I understand this is probably a rental, but I've just fallen head-over-heels for the loft idea that someone mentioned above, and you can totally get/build a removable loft, though if this is a short-term place, you might not want to invest the energy and money. But how adorable would it be to do a simple lofted sleep space in the hallway? It would feel like a cocoon, and the ceilings wouldn't even have to be that low. Then you could do an office/storage situation in the hallway below the loft, and a spacious living room in what's now the bedroom.

A few ideas, some of which have also been stated in previous comments:

(1) Move the curtains to the bedroom and get some tie backs so all you see from the living room are the top swags. I would also suggest a lighter color for the curtains, so as to blend in with the walls.
(2) Move the tall bookcase (cool!) to the diagonal corner (facing the door entrance) from where it is now. As it's currently located, it's taking up a prime corner for furniture placement.
(3) Big art makes small spaces look bigger (trust me!) -- consider grouping your art to make a big statement in one place, rather than scattering it about.
(4) Move the two chairs to either side of the now-curtained doorway and angle them in.
(5) Consider mounting a row of coat hooks on the back of the door instead of the free-standing coat rack. It takes up space!

Good luck!

"we're grown ups and we're allowed to do what we want!" HA, love it @SARA.J. This is the most convincing argument I've heard thus far :)

My vote is for the suggestion to take everything out of the room and start putting back only what you need. Really go through your stuff and get rid of stuff you don't need or love.

For anything that you don't need regular access to, put it all in similar boxes on shelves hung way up there. In the corner with the red shelving, do something that goes to the ceiling and over the doorway, for a somewhat built-in look. Have some of that be tall, closed storage for the coats. The same thing could also work over the arch, but it might be trickier to figure out. Once the coats are moved, push the light chair into that corner, angled toward the couch. Adding shelves to the bedroom as well would help ease the storage requirements for this room.

To replace the curtains, I think the folding screen is a great idea - DesignSponge recently did a tutorial on how to make your own upholstered ones. You could even use the curtain fabric for one side and the stripe-y couch cover on the other so you don't a) lose those and b) need to spend money on fabric.

Get a couple of those cheap tall mirrors, hang them horizontally on one wall, frames painted whatever color you want, and move all the art onto the opposite wall.

Either ditch rugs completely or get a square one big enough for all the seating to get a leg on. Reupholster the couch in something light and neutral so that side of the room at least visually doesn't feel as filled in.

Get a small lamp for the table between the chairs, ditch any other end tables (the couch kind of has built in end tables anyway), boom, seating area that just happens to be a narrow room.

Totally missed/forgot that you're artists! Collaborate on a big piece for one wall! ... or not. Don't want to break up anyone's relationship or anything.

I'd suggest getting some like blocking/thick fabric curtains in a light color with some sort of vertical stripe or detail.

Also put the chair where the ottoman is and the ottoman where the chair is, this will change the focus of the eye and help the room look square. I love the idea of restoring the couch to its former glory. A light bright color and some tall cushions on the back would make a huge difference.

I wouldn't care what your landlord says...I'd start by adding some drama to the walls. Paint the wall on the left as you face toward the bedroom a smoky grey Grey goes great with everything! Splurge on a huge pre-stretched canvas and a 1 quart of red paint, and sample containers of brown & black) and create some linear art to fill up the huge wall!

Move the furniture away from the walls! Float it in the center of the room! Position the sofa in the middle of the room and place a nice dresser or sofa table, behind it. You can put a lamp on top to help with the lack of lighting. Rug in front of the sofa with a coffee table, (You can pick up a wood shipping skid for free, put some casters on the bottom and have a wonderful coffee table!) Place your two chairs facing the sofa and put a small table between them. Use your speakers and place one next to the sofa and one next to one of your chairs and use them as "end tables. Keep a path open on the left (the wall you'll be painting) to serve as the walkway back to your bedroom.

Cluster your other artwork on the opposite wall and mix in a few empty frames to take up more space. Fill the frames when you can afford more art!

If you must keep the curtain rod....at least move the rod up higher on the wall and use longer panels in a color tone that is closer to the wall color.

Your space is a blank canvas....make it reflective of what you love and you'll have a little piece of heaven....Good Luck!

you gotta switch the rooms, gurl. you have great vintage furniture that can't breathe in the middle room and no rearranging will fix that. the middle room is the quiet, sleepy room anyway.

Here are my suggestions... Re-hang the curtains on the bedroom side of the doorway, making sure that the rod extends past the doorway enough so that the curtains can be completely pushed to each side during the day. If you still want a little privacy during the day, use a double curtain rod so that you can leave shears over the doorway all day.

Move the bike rack bookshelf to the corner on the opposite side of the doorway.

Across from the door, hang hooks for coats and add a shelf above the hooks/console below the coats for keys/purse/etc. Next to this area, place either the red shelves or an Expedit at a 90 degree angle to the long wall, creating a bit of a room divider. Make sure that it still provdes plenty of room to walk into the living room, and make sure not to pack the shelves full so that it lets lots of light through. I'm thinking it should be something that sticks out just past the couch.

Move the couch over on the wall, centering it (or almost centering it) on the length of the wall. Above the couch, cluster all of the artwork into a large grouping. Recover the couch in a solid (or at least a large scale print), but not stripes. Add an end table on the side nearer the bike rack (or on both side if you have room, it's hard to tell).

Leave the tan chair in the corner it is in now, but angle it so that it's facing the (now moved over) couch. Put the recliner in the corner where the bike rack was, angled towards the couch as well and with the ottoman in front of it.

In between the chairs, add some sort of wall unit to house the stereo equipment, some of the stuff from the red shelves, and anything else you need (I didn't notice a tv, but if you have one I'd put it there). Try to make it fairly shallow, or at least have one where the top part is shallow (you want the chairs to stick out a lot farther to create a sense of depth). I think a pipe and wood shelving unit would be great here. An alternative would be some sort of console down below and open shelves up above. I'd think that whatever you do should go fairly high on the wall, but no higher than the art grouping on the opposite wall over the couch.

If you want a rug, add a new one that larger (most of the width of the room) and maybe with a pattern that runs along the width of the room as opposed to the length. Add some lighting lower down, either a floor lamp and a table lamp or maybe a hanging pendant light. I see your one floor lamp now, but you need more lighting.

Also bought these insane antique charts off craigslist that I plan to frame in an attempt to begin my "salon style" wall:
http://i.imgur.com/Sgfaa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/vjyhM.jpg
Will hopefully look great behind glass! And they're huge :)
-Kate

Do you need the curtains across the bedroom doorway? I'd be tempted to take them down entirely and treat the living room and bedroom as one space, like a studio apartment. If you really need and use the curtains, consider installing them inside the doorframe, maybe on a cable system. Using curtain rings, you could easily open and close them, and they wouldn't take up any wall space, leaving you more room for art. It looks like the bedroom doorway is arched--I'd run the curtain rod right where the straight part ends and the curve begins. That way, even when the curtains are closed, some light would get through.

Lots of good ideas posted. I like the idea of hooks instead of a coat rack. Anything that gives you the valuable floor space back. What about making a large chandelier type thing? Sounds random I know but there was an early post on AT that lives in a brownstone and he has something hanging that looks easy to replicate. I would also have to agree with the comments about the curtains. I bought some large drop cloths at Home Depot for cheap and they are HUGE! Add some whimsy with ball trim or paint a pattern on them and you have awesome custom curtains. Just a thought. I also found some swing arm brass lights (spray paint is wonderful!) at Goodwill. Add something like that on either side of the arch for more lighting without compromising floor space.
I also love your re-use of the bike rack!

I too had my bedroom in the middle room of a Williamsburg railroad. I found the front room was too loud from truck and car traffic for me to sleep. If your ceilings really are over 12-feet, I would seriously consider a loft for the bed. I'm eyeing the space right outside the bathroom/kitchen doors. You could place it right at the height of the transom windows which would also give you full access to that built-in storage. Stair storage steps along the wall (ladders to access lofts are horrible - but stairs are like having two stories), and suddenly you would have 2 living room areas and a hidden bedroom.

I would think a huge mirror on one wall would help open up the room. Also, since the salvaged theater curtains sound pretty cool, instead of knotting them, maybe just add another curtain rod on one side and have two layers - the heavy light blocking layer and a sheer curtain that will let light through but not show off clutter in the other room. I think the lines of curtains hanging straight might look better than tied back.

I have the same layout in my apt.

The key was to leave one wall clear or just containing a single chair or table.

Its the only way to make a hallway NOT feel like a hallway. The flanking of furniture (no matter how cool) only make the space feel more claustrophobic and more like a storage area than a room.