apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I agree, right way the area in front of the fireplace reads to busy or crowded for a narrow space and the futon is very distracting. I think replacing the futon with a smaller sofa or love seat that is has a similar style to the other chairs would work better. The coffee table is somewhat big too, maybe replacing it with a smaller table could open up space visually, the red chair might work better on the other side or if it was brought in closer to the table area, once you get rid of the futon. Really its the futon taking up all the space.

My suggestion:

Move the futon to where the two chairs are by the window.
Pair of chairs perpendicular to the fireplace (facing the futon) and anchored on the rug (which is a little small).
Pop chair and ottoman between the futon and chairs. It can swivel to either face the chairs or the futon.

Yes, move the cat-tree....

The bones of this space are fabulous, just love that fireplace, but what's with the randomly placed plants, pictures, seating arrangements and that shelf behind the sofa?
A good start would be to unify the colors. For starters why not paint the whole thing white, including those pointless blue outlines round the doors, live with it for a while and take it from there. This would also help give center stage to that shocking pink pop chair. Then think about a replacement for that sofa, coffee table and rug.

This room lacks verticality. Think of a room like a topographical map -- you want to have things at each of 3 levels: floor, seating, high.

The choppy paint job is a distraction and there are too many little fuzzy, insignificant plants in mismatched planters. The dark blue stripes around the doors should be painted out.

Start with this:
1. The futon, by unanimous consent, has to go! Choose a sofa that you love. Those fifties daybed-style ones -- the ones with angled bolsters -- would go well with your pop chair and ottoman and also with the pair of upholstered armchairs at the kitchen end of the room. Choose a sofa fabric that you love and that will go with both.

2. Your rug works with the pop chair and the pair of gold chairs at the far end of the room. Look for a sofa fabric that works with it, also.

3. Take down the shelf behind the sofa and clean up the shelves above the fireplace. Pare the fireplace shelf display to a few simple, graphic things -- things like the tall mounted statue visible on the left side in the last photo.

4. The coffee table is a bit cottage-y for the rest of the room. You'll find something great -- this can be your last thing. Once everything else is in place, you can see what you need.

5. Two suggested arrangements:
-- A "u" shape with the sofa against the wall where the futon is now (shelves above it removed) and one gold armchair on either side. Put the pop chair and ottoman at the office end of the room with a lamp and side table for a reading nook.
---or -------
-- The sofa against the wall where the futon is (shelves above it gone), the PAIR of gold chairs at the bedroom hallway end, and the pop chair and ottoman at the office end.

6. Room paint: any version of white that you like will make the bright furniture pop and highlight the neat architectural elements of the room -- the great fireplace, steps at either end of the room and the wood floors. Might be easiest and fastest to try to match what's already on the fireplace.

Lots of great advice here already. I would just add:
•If the view out that window is nice, face a pair of chairs toward it. If their backs are to the rest of the room it more clearly defines the spaces separately.
•Consider a curved sofa to replace the futon. It would give some flow and interest to the long, narrow room.
•Invest in some lamps. Maybe that overhead light is only on for the photos, but it's pretty clinical. A lamp that illuminates each seating area is ideal. You can also wash the walls with light from inexpensive adjustable floor lamps/
•A method I use for paring down accessories is to take ALL of them and sort them by color in a separate room. Take back half or less. Makes it easier to decide when you see them all together like that. Figure out where they go after you've pared them down. And you can always repeat this process later to rotate the things you love. Good luck!

http://inspiredroomdesign.com

Replace the futon. I have a Sater leather couch from IKEA and it's fairly narrow and upright (and comfy!), so it's be well-suited to this space. Push it as far back towards the wall as you can without obstructing the airconditioner. Shift the cat tree to the window.

Remove the potted plants on either side of the fireplace and replace them with seat cushions of an appropriate size - I'm thinking upmarket ethnic, made from recycled saris or similar. Now you have a nice conversation area around the fire, while also expanding the amount of visual space. While you're at IKEA get a striped kilim-style rug (and an underlay) that will stretch the width of the room a bit.

Ditch the brown armchairs. Move the red chair and ottoman under the window with an occasional table and the cat tree to make a reading/contemplating/patting the cat nook. If you have the funds get another rug to horizontally frame that iconic red chair.

Arrangement for the fireplace area like this, minus one of the chairs on each side:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2760838750052762220RRgLLH

Finding pictures that show the idea helps me a lot. Yes, I realize that is a hotel lobby, but the same principles exist in your space.

That would use both of the chairs currently by the window, they would face each other, and could have their own side tables. Because of the way your room is set up, you will actually have ACCESS to those side tables, especially the one by the French doors.

You can use a boxy bookcase then, or square table that has a drawer, which you can get into from behind.

Loveseat, not a full-size sofa. Light-color neutral would be nice. Something basic, that either comes with a slipcover or has slipcovers available. You don't have IKEA, so here's an example from JCPenney:
http://www3.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=57087&CatID=57868&GrpTyp=STY&ItemID=16f08c1&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CMID=57087|57090|57306&Fltr=&Srt=&QL=F&IND=3&cmVirtualCat=&CmCatId=57087|57090|57306|57868

You have a whole lot of color happening in that room. And the adjacent room.

Pick three neutrals. You have two already, the white of the fireplace and the sandy light tone of the floor.

General list of neutrals:
Black, gray, white, brown, tan/camel, off-white/cream

You have molding around the doors on one wall, paint that wall a color that MATCHES the color of the door on that wall. Trim the same.

The trim on the blue wall currently is beige, so paint that wall white to match the fireplace, the French doors, and the window trim. The window wall gets the white too. INCLUDING THE PART THAT IS YELLOW.

Because I'm looking at this room shown on AT, and I'm seeing it would work in your room too:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/similar-alternatives-to-ligne-roset-pop-chair-good-questions-089835

I like all the plants and would love see more, which is another way to go. The steps at both ends obviously don't need to be used in their entire width, LOL.

You can have plants on the steps. You could try out a panel system on the main beam, creating a cozy area by the window, with a table and two chairs...like a breakfast nook (if you don't have one) or a game table. Something where you can sincerely enjoy the light/view/breeze, whatever is out there.

Another picture. Yes, I realize these are patios. But I'm looking at the greenery and the steps and raised areas with all the plants:
http://o-nosso-refugio.blogspot.com/2009/04/me-encantan-los-patios-si-si-mucho.html

You might be able to pull off potted geraniums in reds, pinks inside (but be careful, the petals can stain) or have them outside that window in a window box. Colors as brilliant as the Pop chair.

Cut flowers inside and perhaps brilliant toned art that picks up the garden/nature/color theme.

You have a million things you could with that room. You need to figure out what purpose the room best serves for your own daily living.

You're free to use that room for anything you want. It could be a nice dining area. It could be a splendid home office and library. It could even be almost a guest suite with a day bed.

Ditch the pop chair and give it to me ! Just kidding.

I'm not half the decorator these guys up there are, but I'd say do to simple things:
- remove the cat tree. If your cat loves to climb, simply put shelves on the wall, maybe with some FLOR carpeting on it for scratching. Another way to go is the Ikea cat tree. It's made of rattan, and is just an atypical tree. You can check the moderncat.net website for ideas, I'm a huge fan. By removing the cat tree, you gain a lot of space in your room.
- the coffee table just has to go (elsewhere, I'm not hating it). It says rustic, whereas the rest of our room is fun and modern. I also find it a bit too big for the space.

I'm curious to find the result of your work; I have a similar narrow seating area, and I'm looking for inspiration !

Lots of good suggestions here, but I think the crux of your problem is that you have two rooms where there should only be one.

Room 1 is the (fabulous) pink chair and footstool, the blue rug and the glimpse of yellow from the adjoining room and the darker yellow chairs by the window.

Room 2 is the muddy blue walls, the blue-grey curtains, the sludge brown couch, the cream (or at least they look cream) walls and the muddy blue colour again in borders around the doors.

That coffee table belongs in neither room. And neither does that massive cat tree-house.

I think you need to decide which of the two rooms you actually want to live in, and get rid of the "other room" entirely. (Please get rid of Room 2, Room 1 is so much nicer). That should clarify things for you immediately, and then you can implement some of the other suggestions given.

Incidentally, it may well be that the rest of the house suffers from a similar split personality, in which case the above "which room" approach might be helpful there too.

I would replace the futon for a loveseat since there is plenty of seating.

I'd leave the group of two chairs where they are - maybe if you have the money, reupholster them to match the sofa or loveseat you buy to replace the futon.

I love the pop chair - is there any way it could work on the other side of the room a bit. You could probably tie it in if you could find a throw or a few throw pillows in the same color family.

The space is gorgeous! I'd say make the colors of the couches consistent or complimentary, or move the futon couch somewhere. I don't mind the cat tree in the living room, unlike the editor said. If that's where your cat likes, leave it there! There are also stylish, cute cat trees available out there (such as www.therefinedfeline.com) if you're thinking about replacing it... I recently moved too and donated an year-old cat tree to a local shelter after a thorough cleaning, which was highly appreciated by the shelter people :)

Put the coffe table where the two yellow chairs are, in front of the window and regroup the plants on and around it. Put the car tree nearby. Replace shabby black curtains with bamboo blinds or white horizontals. Choose one wall colour throughout to unify the two adjacent spaces, either yellow or blue. I would choose yellow, but paler, more cheery and handsome with the carpet, and paler that the two yellow chairs that I would put at the other end. The red chair stays there. Get rid of futon and replace with sofa in a solid colour. Your place has a kind of arizona feel to it because of the fireplace surround. Colours you pick could reflect that without creating a theme park look. Think bold warm colours and find inspiration with Georgia O'Keefe.

Loora, I thought of the IKEA cat tree too, but there is no IKEA in New Mexico. And it's not available for purchase online. I would have liked to see the IKEA cat tree on the blue wall, behind a sofa or loveseat too.

I had recently gotten rid of my cat tree. It was huge. It was hard to clean. It was sturdy and heavy, but not something easily recoverable. Which means it gets very ratty over time.

Instead, I bought two taller sisal-covered scratching posts with a perch on top. Considerably less than a cat tree, can be recovered with cheap sisal rope when the time comes.

And the need for the cats to leap or climb or scratch is satisfied with movable posts. Bonus, lying them on their "side" gives a whole new way of scratching and attacking of the posts.

Part of the joy from having cats around is being able to watch them BE cats. I'm constantly amazed when the cat can leap from the floor to the table top and land without a sound...an effortless jump.

Meanwhile, I know darn well I can't leap up three or four or five times my own height. For that matter, I can't leap up three feet. LOL!

Split level homes would be a lot more entertaining for humans were we able to leap a story or two.

since you already have a POP chair from Ligne Roset or an imitation POP chair, this is avery 60's inspired look. Ditch the futon and go for neutrals and nostalgic memorabilia indicative of that time period. Since the futon has no style what-so-ever, get something livelier! Or do they typical, black, white and red and be done with it!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/similar-alternatives-to-ligne-roset-pop-chair-good-questions-089835

First off, you have a cute space to work with. While I agree with most of the comments above I think the walls need some texture. I know decorative painting and faux finishing is expensive. I'll assume you're not a decorative painter. I've seen repositionable, removable, and reusable wallcoverings with the faux finishes and decorative painting already printed on the wall coverings.

I think a faux linen in light blue would compliment your current furniture. I know these wallcoverings are very durable and can even be wiped down in case they get marked up with dirt, etc.

Since they can be removed without any damage to the walls it's worth looking into. You could even change it out with a red in a different faux finish. Now that would look sharp and dramatic. Nice place for cocktails.

I know the wallcoverings come in all kinds of different finishes. They look very nice. Best of luck with all of these great ideas. I know your new room will look spectacular.