apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Major improvement here - Congrats!

I like the new arrangement too - it beats entering the apartment and running right into that console...

Why not take most of your larger artwork and arrange it on the empty wall that is now behind the sofa?

Oh - and take the floor lamp and place it next to the sofa in the middle of the room so you can use it for reading - it's not doing you any good next to the TV.

If you're concerned about the cord, get a runner and place it over the carpet behind the sofa and run the cord beneath.

You've got a lot of good things to work with there. I don't think the furniture arrangement is quite right, though. All the seating points at the TV or a computer screen.

Since you're moving things around anyway, why don't you try to organize the room as if you didn't own a TV, just as a thought experiment. Where would you like to sit? What would you like to look at (your view maybe)?

Love the change, the space feels a lot better! I love the reader's suggestion above about using your artwork to decorate the blank wall that is now behind the sofa. You could create something very interesting to welcome you when you walk in the door.


Also, something about the black chair just isn't right, but I can't put my finger on what.

I'm with Lisa. Make the place about people and not technology. Place the sofa mid room facing the window with the chair backed up against the window - close to the entry- angled. You're now in the captains chair talking to your guests. Also, your TV swivels and when it's time to kick your pad into DVD/date mode just swivel the set towards the sofa.

It really is taking on a nice shape & looking good.

I like the idea of the sofa facing the window.
It would make the most of a lovely outside view.

Although I do prefer the tv to conversations with people.
Unless they're over for the holidays or something.

Hey Matt,

Great improvement, but i think your too careful with your changes. Your room is in great need for some daring colors and objects.
Because your sofa is off-white i would pick more earth-colors for your walls and accessories, like dark brown, camel, muted greys.. It works great with the black items.
You could paint the walls were your pc and windows are darker. So your room looks less longer and more wider.
Your room needs also more high furniture, like a cabinet. Now is everyhing very low-based.
These are some basic things you can keep in mind.
But i think its a great idea to put some more large art pieces on your wall behind the sofa.
Some footstools will be great too because they are relaxe and you can put your drink on it!
Good luck!

you could get a rug, put the chair more facing the front door, and add further separation somehow between that living area and the desk/office area, maybe with a screen or shelves

whoops i didnt read this very carefully... just saw the fifth pic w/ rearrangement

I love the color of your walls! What kind of paint is it and where can I get it? Thanks!

I would bring the red console (and the pics above it) over a foot or two so the end isn't flush against the wall. That would help that blank area feel less blank. Also, I agree with the suggestion above to get a footstool or two (like the Ikea Stockholm Footstool) and/or a cool looking glass coffee table (like the noguchi). I would also consider getting a slipcover for the couch in red or a different color. Or, you could replace it with a more modern design (because modern seems to be where you are headed with the inclusion of the Barcelona chair) like the Ikea KRAMFORS or TYLÖSAND.

Much improved over the original, but the pics 2,3 and 4 furniture arrangement is better.
I would then scoot the TV credenza down to the end of that wall, and put a nice big plant between the credenza and the door, which will create a bit of separation between the entry and the living room.

a few plants would give the place a little life

"Also, something about the black chair just isn't right, but I can't put my finger on what."

It's the scale: The sofa is a large-scale piece, and the Barcelona Chair is very small scaled and therefore dwarfed by the sofa.

It would work much better of there were a pair of Barcelonas side-by-side facing across a coffee table from the big sofa.

My two cents (based on the photo of the updated layout):

Red console where the desk currently is. Why? I think it will be a more attractive view from the entry than the desk and computer stuff.

Sofa perpendicular to the long wall and facing the patio windows. Hopefullythe dimensions work so but you may have to move the TV a bit so you get a decent viewing angle. Desk behind sofa, facing patio windows. Floor lamp adjacent to the desk/sofa arrangement.

Barcelona chair by the patio windows at an angle facing the sofa and on the other side of the TV.

I think you need a rug to anchor the seating area...add color that way!
And as for the pictures...find a furniture arrangement that works before figuring out pictures. And, I don't think having a picture above the TV (in your new arrangement) works.

Good luck...

swap the couch and the black chair, rotate the TV as needed. The couch will better define the living zone and the work zone....plus your living zone will feel bigger than it currently does.

Yep, looks better.

I'm in a farily similar situation - New apartment, bachelor (though the gf gives the occaisional advice), not much funiture... My biggest problem is the carpeted floors. 99% of the apartment on AT have polished floorboards (or concrete)...

My question to all those AT peeps out there - What the hell should we do with the carpet? Rugs and carpet ? Hmmm.

Wow, glad this made it up here! Thanks for the suggestions all!

So two large pieces would look good on the wall where the TV used to be? I'll give that a go. No prints above the TV?

bepsf- I wanted the lamp next to the couch, but A) the cord wasn't long enough and B) People would trip over it. Perhaps a stupid question, but what's a 'runner'? I suppose I could get an extension cord, run it along the wall, then the sliding glass door, then under the couch?

Lisa- The only times I really utilize the couch are when I'm watching DVDs. Otherwise I'm on the computer for work and school.
Chris- I tried moving the couch in the manner you suggested, but the proportions weren't right and I thought it created too narrow of a walkway.

Eefje- the couch is actually a tan/camel color and the walls are grey. All the wood is a very dark brown stain. I do have a footstool on the far end of the couch and am waiting for a piece to come in for the opposite side by the chair.

iguanafriend- i'm sorry, I don't remember the color of the paint. I went to home depot, checked out some swatches and just went with it! It's a pretty light grey.

mariekemc- Wouldn't it be weird if there was just a few inches of empty space next to the red console? That's part of the reason I moved it against the wall. I will give that a try though. I do have a footstool on the opposite end of the couch. Wanted an oval surfboard table, but couldn't find one. with this arrangement fitting a coffee table would be tough. I would love a new, more modern couch, but sadly it's not in the budget.

sunan- you can't see in the pics, but I actually have a handful of plants. There is normally purple an white orchids on the red console, some green and red plant on my kitchen table, another in my bedroom, and some smaller ones on the window shelf in the shower. On my deck there's a money tree (if only it were real money!!).

Jenn- I actually kind of like the idea of a desk behind the couch. Unfortunately, the dimensions don't work for that kind of set up. A rug on top of carpet?

robrobrob- I had four prerequisites upon moving to LA from Chicago. 1) within 4-5 blocks from the beach 2) designated, underground/garage parking 3) price 4) hardwood floors. Unless I wanted to pay even more than I'm already paying (which is ridiculous compared to Chicago), I couldn't find a place that wasn't the size of a shoebox with hardwood floors.

Cheers,
Matt

Absolutely, rugs on carpet. I, too, was cursed with a white box with beige carpet for a year or two... and I covered most of the visible living room floor with a 10 x 13 oriental. I agree with the suggestion for a rug in this room -- a 5' x 8' or 6' x 9' would be great, if you don't want to cover the entire floor.

I don't really think that section of wall looks "empty," but if you've gotta have something there, I'd suggest a single-shade painted on stencil kinda thing. Like so: http://www.flickr.com/photos/70191341@N00/3329260255/

That'd give you something vertical that doesn't fight with everything else you've got going on, is comparatively subtle, and easy to do. The fake rug is CB2, btw.

Wow, interesting idea amanda. I dig them both! Wish the rug was about half as much money.

CB2 does have the occasional sale....keep an eye on it! And if you like the charcoal-and-offwhite semi-geometric thing, I'm sure you can find others -- try RugsUSA or HomeDecorators or even Amazon (though their search utility sucks). You may also want to search by fiber content - many less-expensive rugs are 100% olefin, acrylic or other synthetics, which can feel kind of icky, depending. Cotton, wool and wool-blends usually feel a lot nicer. I like both of these, too: http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Reptile_Area_Rug/220/ or http://www.rugs-direct.com/rugsdirectory/results.aspx?N=4294710524 4294958125 125&color_id=144640.

Am I correct in thinking the left wall is a darker grey than the right? If you like the stencil idea, you could do the same one or similar -- bare trees, bamboo poles, subway map, whatever -- on the left wall using the grey color you painted the right wall, and do the one on the right wall in white. Nifty, I think.

I actually like the set up in the last picture better. It gives you more of a foyer without anyone feeling like they are going to walk across anyone's view. It takes away some valuable space but from the looks, you could spare it. I'd place a console table along the wall to the kitchen though.

Everyone says don't face seating around a television but most of the time if you do like to watch television, it is the only practical solution. You have a very nice television - don't listen to people who tell you to hide it.

Maybe slipcover the sofa in white...it would pop with the wall color and with the chair and lamp. The sofa is a simple shape..you could probably get one pre-made pretty cheap that would fit okay. Add a patterned rug for additional texture and color and to pull the living area together. Also it would protect that light carpet from stains, which may be an issue with your deposit. IKEA has a pretty large selection for under 200 or maybe you could find an old oriental rug at a flea market or something. Doesn't look like you have room for a big coffee table but you could try a couple of small round ones that would be easier to walk around. I like the arrangement with the sofa facing the television...it's a small space and it's probably the most comfortable arrangement for what you'll be doing most of the time you're using it...i.e. watching television rather than entertaining. Maybe eventually replace the desk with a wooden one to warm up that end of the room a bit.