apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I would rotate the panel 90 degrees and place it over the sofa

I agree with matt.

same here!

agree with above

The space above the sofa looks bare right now. You could do what Matt said. Or you could get a really funky mirror to put above the couch.

Stick a fork in it.
You are done.
But get a rug under the coffee table. ;)

But to perhaps better integrate the art and sofa, switch the side table and lamp to the art side, even if it overlaps slightly.

Have to disagree with above. I love the panel as is, it's dramatic and unexpected, more unexpected than putting it above the sofa. Plus, I suspect it might be too big and dominating above the sofa. That said, the room looks a *little* bare. Perhaps a row of three small prints that don't compete with the panel? An arrangement that creates a horizontal line to contrast with the vertical panel could look interesting.

I also agree with moving the large piece, but if you can't bare to rotate the panel, could you possibly use it on the other side of the sofa? It's so large it needs more room on the wall, maybe place it on a wall we can't see in the photo. I can't tell from the pic, but the panel looks squished between the sofa and credenza (?). Then maybe two or three small prints of some sort above the sofa.

i too love the panel the way it is....your living room looks great so far! I do think that something is needed on the wall though...maybe something with some contrasting colors like with the pink or yellow pillows on the sofa. Over all great job!

dude, totally put the panel above the sofa! they're made for each other! and move closer whatever's hiding in the left of the photo - if that's another chair/sofa/ottoman, it's so far away!

rotate it. no question.

Rotate! Over the sofa, your red pillows will really make the flowers pop.

I like the panel very much, including its current placement. How about collecting dishes to display on the wall over the sofa in a very random pattern?

I vote for rotating and centering.

I would get a similar piece of art and place it on the other side of the sofa - creating two framing columns. I would then get a matching end table and lamp for balance.

Rotate and center...as others have said. It's way too unbalanced in there.

I'd suggest getting a nice distressed looking mirror like this http://www.waltersmirror.com/Framed_mirror_close_up.jpg
type
and a nice large area rug underneath the sofa and coffee table

I agree with the idea about 3 or so small horizontal pics above the sofa. You have the anthropolgie couch! and it looks like you have 3 couches altogether! whoa, that's a lot of seating! I agree with adding a rug (seagrass/sisal?) under the ottoman.

The red cushions would let the flowers pop but I still wouldn;t rotate the piece over the couch- that's far too expected indeed! Speaking of them cushions, aren't they a little big for the sofa? I know this is off topic and I am not trying to come off as condescending but rather- curious on opinion. Especiallybecauseiworkwithcushionsdayindayoutatworkanditendtonoticethesethingsandquestionthem!

Thanks for the advice everyone! I think I'll leave the panel as is but add something small over the couch. Now, off to look for an area rug ...

yeah, I think you're done. You just need a rug.


We don't know from the author... but I suspect that this framed wall paper could be original wallpaper to the space and the frame is just tacked over it. You can't exactly move it and rotate it if it is a part of the wall...
And I agree that would be entirely too predictable.

I'd leave the space above the couch as is. I love the statement the artwork makes. What's throwing me off the the sofa on the (our) left which I assume is pushed against a wall. Perhaps pull that out a few feet to help shift the room more into balance. IMO, moving the artwork above the couch is totally predictable which goes against the room's style.

You're stuck in a dilemma. Adding anything above the couch would make it too busy, keeping it bare feels unfinished. I'd play it safe, center and rotate.

I like the wallpaper exactly where it is--it'd be kind of boring to rotate and move it above the couch. Plus, then you'd have a lot of things crowded in the center of the wall, with lots of empty space on either side--also an unbalanced look.

That being said, you need something else to balance the room. I wouldn't do a print or even a set of prints so close to the wallpaper; that would compete with it. Try something smaller with a little bit of color to it (yellow or pink?)...maybe a round mirror or sculptural piece. Alternatively, try a large print on the other side of the sofa, maybe with similar colors but totally different style or subject matter.

Leave the panel! I'd try maybe a series of horizontal shelves (white or brown?) over the couch with small vases or other curios? It'll break up the wall without competing with the stunning wallpaper.

Ah... this dilemma speaks to me, because my husband and I have been living with it for two years and only recently resolved it. Like you, we had an awkward empty space over our sofa, but because we already have so many framed photos and pieces of artwork in the room, putting more there seemed like too much. We knew we needed SOMETHING, but it couldn't be another framed item. So we waited for the right thing to fall in our path... and it did, in the form of two antique typesetter's trays. We hung them side by side, and we use the little nooks as a sort of rotating mini-gallery. It looks perfect, and we're so glad we didn't just rush out and buy any old print to fill the space.

So I'd recommend taking the same approach. I think your space wants SOMETHING, but nothin in a frame. Wait for just the right cool piece to come along. Until then, enjoy the blank space. Your room still looks great.

Soooooo pretty. I love it. Maybe the key is to get something very different from the wallpaper (not clashing - but not art either) Perhaps a flat metal sculpture of some kind or something, maybe a simple mobile or if you had a few nice pieces of glass or silver for display get a nice shelf up there to fill the space....

Leave the wallpaper where it is - I might look for a Chinese Art Deco rug to balance it - or maybe a horizontal calligraphy scroll over the sofa, so it forms sort of a right angle triangle with the top of the lamp (hard to explain - but assume a visual line slanting from the top of the wallpaper to the lamp - that's the space you want to work with. Or poke around eBay for contemporary Chinese embroideries, which can be very affordable. But, in any case, don't rush - you have a very interesting start.

Definitely don't rotate and center the panel over the couch. That would be the expected and BORING solution. You have a much better start leaving the panel as you've placed it.

How about a simple shelf, like a single lack shelf, with some adler-esque vases, or just a picture ledge, so you could experiment without putting anything too extreme. I am seeing a shelf all abre except for one stark piece to the left. I like the print where it is!

I was just going to suggest exactly what the first person said! Aren't I just so smart. Flip it and hang it over the couch... it would be gorgeous.

I don't know what your space is like, but I think it would look KILLER to put that smaller blue loveseat next to the print... is there any way you can make that work? That blue would look just great next to the wallpaper! I also think it would "pop" more on the wall and perhaps eliminate the need for something over the sofa? Or, you might be able to do something like an interesting mirror above it. Good luck, you've got some great pieces to work with!

I think you could find a large, interesting branch that echoes the one in the wallpaper and hang it horizontally over the couch. That way it would echo without overwhelming the wallpaper. You could even paint it, blue like the wallpaper, or the same green as the wall if you want it to fade back even farther.

It would probably be cheaper than artwork, too.

Having read all the above suggestions, here's a little blend of some of them, plus something else:

YES, you should get a Chinese Art Deco rug, which will be a very expensive antique, but probably very well worth it, and will certainly complement it since the colors will be very jewel-tone and compatible.

AND/OR... you could rotate the wallpaper, but NOT center it above the couch. Consider off-setting it above the couch, almost as if it and the couch were bricks or something. I think that I would hang the horizontalized wallpaper panel in such a way that the end with the big flowers is to the left, and in such a way that those big flowers are what's centered above the sofa. Why? So that the wispier bits of the pattern are off to the right behind the lamp, and therefore KIND of acting like regular wallpaper might in that spot, like sort of a version of what P2 suggested.

And although I like those pillows, I would rather see some big round pillows that are shaped and possibly colored like the big flowers in the wallpaper panel, except that I KNOW I've seen them in white, and in reds and pinks, (kind of like this one, except you'd really want them "round" instead of "square":

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-ROSE-SMALL-11-THROW-PILLOW-W-SATIN-BACK_W0QQitemZ310024905494QQihZ021QQcategoryZ29823QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

...so you could use some like that, but then let that chair (exactly where it now is be the thing that acknowledges the blue in the panel.

THEN... I think I would put some kind of plant (although to be honest, I'm terrible with plants, so I'd probably do a fake one to the frightened screams of most people on AT) to our left of the sofa, exactly where the wallpaper panel currently is, and I would probably have that be a ficus or perhaps (probably not, but perhaps) a flowering tree like that one pictured, but whatever it was, I'd be more about imitating the KIND of line that those branches do in the piece.

This is a nice example, by the way, of the kind of rug I'd like for you, but of course, it's kind of expensive:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Art-deco-chinese-rug-9x12_W0QQitemZ310025606661QQihZ021QQcategoryZ37981QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here's kind of what I'm talking about, since it probably sounds hard to imagine. Meanwhile, it's SUCH a primitive "paint" program I did this with, that you STILL may not get the right idea, but here goes:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artycurtis/2292760519/

rotate 90 and hang left off center.

This is the kind of branch I was talking about:

http://www.nettletonhollow.com/manzanita-branches-natural.html

The sandblasted ones are interesting too.

I like the panel where it is, but I agree that you should keep your eyes open in case the perfect something presents itself for placement above the sofa, though do consider placing it slightly off-center to continue your unconventional placement. In the meantime, are you married to the lamp at the right of the photo? It's nice, but I think a more dramatic colored base and/or more dramatic shade would help balance the wallpaper panel.

But I really like the idea someone above expressed with moving your curvy blue couch to the green wall. I'm hoping that white cushion at the left of the frame is another white couch. Then the two white pieces would be balanced. I think that blue couch will look smashing next to the wallpaper!

Keep it as is. Rotating the panel and placing it above the sofa is just too 'expected'. You've done something different here. Leave it as is.

Looking again, I think you need height on the right of the sofa, but not "matched" to the wallpaper. A folding screen, in an allover pattern, perhaps?

The missing height could also come in the form of a tall narrow Chinnoiserie-style secretary, or a painted Chinese cabinet, for example.

I like the idea of adding a rug, and putting a mirror over the sofa.

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions, it really fired me up. I was up until 1am last night moving furniture and contemplating the ideas thrown around here. Phew!

Dare to stay bare, Kimber; but consider something low for the space in front of the panel. Maybe a very low (no higher than the bottom edge of the frame) table/tray of some sort with a few art books stacked (if you have them) on it? Pull the end table on the right away from the wall, while you're at it.

But leave the space above the sofa bare. "Style," Diana Vreeland said, "is refusal." She knew what she was talking about. There is nothing chic-er than space.