apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think it's nice.

Nice place, but I think you need more color. Seems from the photos that the wall behind the television could easily be an accent wall. Maybe one of the middle greens you have in those four canvasses?

pretty.

If it were my room, I would consider painting the chairs. The room looks a little flat. Flat art on the walls, flat range of color, flat light at the ceiling. A chandelier would go a long way to adding depth. Even a branch or dried vines wrapped with Christmas lights would add a beautiful natural element and break up the empty volume.

i think more color is in order but it is nice!

Blocked fireplace and pretty window. :( That's all I can see, sorry.

The only suggestions I have would be to move the dining room table out from the right hand wall (towards the kitchen) maybe a foot or less (centered on the lighting fixture), and to lower the 4 piece art so that the top of the art is at the same height as the 2 framed pictures on the right. I might also consider lining up the 4 piece art with the table or moving it farther towards the kitchen. Right now, it looks like it doesn't know which room it wants to be in.

If the color is feeling too dark for you and you have lived with it for a while, try going a shade lighter. I don't think there is too much pattern vs. the living room.

I'd move (or lose) the loveseat; you are blocking your fireplace and your sliding door/outdoor view. Looks very awkward. Agree with the "more color" suggestions. Also agree that something with some depth (chandelier) would be helpful.

fabric panels hung way too high

Look for a simple, colorful rug on craigslist for under the dining table. And I do agree with the others- more color, please.

I only see two patterns and a light color on the wall. I see that you are trying to do this in small steps to avoid getting carried away and you already think it's gotten too busy. Restraint can be a good thing, but it's mostly white or close to white with a small bit of patterned detail.

Aside from any paint fixes, I think you should make a list of things and save up for them and add to your room over time. A little more interesting rug in the living room would be good. The vase on the console with the branches could be something more emphatic. It's kind of wispy next to the tv. I think the pillows are a little boring also. Patterns don't just mean wild and bold; I think you can add some charm there without overpowering the room, and pillows are relatively inexpensive (or can be). The lamp at the far end of the couch could be a little bigger. I'm not sure about the floor lamp either. Maybe you have other lamps in the house that can be switched to see how it looks.

I think with a few minor details, it can help balance the look and stay within your budget, as well as your aesthetic goals.

great colors. nice furniture.

Your living room is a bit bottom-heavy (spelling?) It seems to have a fairly high ceiling but you weigh it down by confining all decoration to its lower half.

Maybe:
-- have longer (colored?) curtains.
-- use an ornament or poster that stretches up.
-- have a sculptural lamp come from above to float above your table.
......

both. take the loveseat and mount it on the wall above the TV. Then it will be perfect.

Why don't you paint the wall above the fireplace to make it a feature wall, in a kind of grassy green or a pattern?

Remove the mirrors and everything on the mantle, paint a dark green background and grass green stencil some leaves or something going across.

It'd be a nice feature wall.

I think it looks serene the way it is, but I'd also consider changing the curtains to have a grass green/beige blackout curtain (Ikea = $49/1 panel)

You can also buy a piece of cloth or a rug, or hem a piece of gorgeous fabric yourself and use that as artwork instead of painting....

Fabulously Broke in the City

"Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver."

Since you are asking about the dining room...

I'd paint the chairs a blackish-brownish-olivish color. I think the current color (white with a pinkish undertone?) doesn't work.

I'd also get a buffet for the dining area - something that matches the rest of your wood pieces. I'm sure you could find something in a vintage place...relatively inexpensively...

I kinda like your restrained palette. It takes some discipline to maintain.

Therapy4me, you silly thing. That got a laugh!

I love the 4 panel leaves effect. What I would love even more is a 9 panel leaves effect. Keep the upper right anchored and add another row on the right and below.

Great suggestion on painting the chairs. What kind/brand would you recommend?

I agree, fabric panels are a little high. Possibly line up the tops of all the art groupings. I could see the repetition of the black frame color on at least the chair frames, or maybe some other earth tone color, but go deep. The furniture kind of floats in the space as it is too light in tone. A rug would ground the spot, but as it is small space, it might be confining. In lieu of a chandelier, make sure the bulbs in the fixtures are spot-type bulbs and aim them at the art to wash the wall in light. A dimmer would be a good addition as well if they don't have one yet. I could also see a 'floating shelf' (IKEA 'Lack' type, black) under the black framed pictures to add dimension and a place to prop some driftwood something or other. (or some other 'natural' art).

I actually don't have any problem with the furniture or it's placement - it's tastefully done and I like those aspects overall, you don't really need to add more furniture or accesories. It already has the serene natural vibe your looking for. What it lacks is WARMTH in COLOR. The only warm colors are in the wood of your coffee table and tv stand, and you could use more warm colors for contrast.

Try a warmer (yellower) green in the dining room, or a warm brown. The blue color, though an improvement over the white, feels cold and doesn't have much impact.

And curtains in your living room in the green (maybe the green of the pillow and throw on your couch) or brown would look amazing. Since the rest of your palette is cool neutrals, you can't go wrong with a more saturated color.

The dinette looks a little Golden Girls. You can always have cans of custom sprain paint mixed up and spray the chairs and table any color you like. I would recommend painting the table base one color and the chairs another. It creates a little more depth and interest.

(spray paint)

I love the living room. The dining area reminds me of a condo model I worked in for a real estate developer back in the 70s. Just not very personal feeling.

Could you paint the wood on the occasional tables in the living room? The dark wood seems out of place with all that light coming in.

The dinette is, in fact, Golden Girls. We inherited the set from our single great aunt. Many thanks for the spray paint idea... DIY project for next weekend!

CUTE PUG!

First thing I noticed were all the squares/rectangles in the living room. Could you switch out the mirror above the fireplace for a round one? Maybe a round coffee table?
I agree that green curtains would be nice. And you could move the loveseat to the opposite side and slide the couch down towards the window, to un-block the fireplace and window.

More PUGS!

http://www.towerpaint.com/
they custom blend spray paints and ship in the US

don't forget to prime first, 2 coats of clear coat last.

also, you can probably find enough great fabric in a remnant bin to recover the seat cushions.

Best of luck :)

PS: living room looks great, perhaps a hair on hide patchwork rug eventually to add a little drama (and you'll never have to worry about the cute little pugs hair!)
something like this maybe?

http://cowhidesinternational.com/asccustompages/products.asp?LargePic=ALL&productID=720&fav=

The natural light in the living room is beautiful. The furniture is too bulky for the room. The couch should get switched with the TV.? Switch out the love seat for two chairs. You want access to those windows or doors. It would open it up so much. The display on the mantle is too liner,you could make use of the height, hang the mirror and/or get a bigger one possiblly. It would open the room up. Paint the TV stand white.The coffee table has to go. The room has potential but it looks like a show room from the 1990's. I don't see any personality?
Another arrangement might be to put the TV above the fireplace , the love seat facing the window and fireplace getting rid of the couch and getting other seating. Maybe the stereo stuff can fit in the dining area?
Now the dining area if you really have to keep those chairs they should be painted very dark. Cover the cushions .The walls should be a very dark blue rich color that has a little green in it, not teal. A few pieces of bamboo stalks painted gold around the room floor to cieling maybe 9 to 15 pieces painted large scale. And please get a new light fixture, they have really inexpensive ones now that look good.
I'm not sure of your stlye but I'm thinking light and airy and fresh and rich and exotic.

It's a good start - now bring some color into the living room as well!

Lovely room! IMO, you don't *need* to change a thing.

I agree with observation that the fireplace and window are a bit blocked with the current layout. Both are very nice.

I can't really judge the wall color in the dining area well. It looks like the pictures were taken during twilight or daybreak and I don't trust the images that I see on my screen with respect to the actual colors.

I agree - definately provide more pictures of the pug!!!! All rooms look better with a dog in them!!

The greens you've chosen are a little muted. Try introducing some chartreuse and apple greens into the mix to give it some life.

I think that a chandelier above the dining table would be good.

I'm also never a fan of wicker dining chairs. That's not to say that they couldn't work, but I'm just not crazy about them as a rule.

Moving not just the fabric panels in the dining room, but all the art in there. I know why you have it high. Because the ceiling in the living room is so high, and maybe it's high there, too; we can't really see that, so it's hard to tell.

I think that a fireplace wall is kind of a hard thing to work in a space like that when it's smack up next to a window wall, but it still needs to be accented somehow. When the ceiling is that high it's not going to be easy to paint all the way up, but you should. More color on the living room walls, definitely, but that kind of acreage of wallspace means that you might need to go kind of light, since there will be so very much reflection from one wall onto the other.

That's all I can think of for the moment.

Oh, and consider putting the couch at an angle that would put it completely perpindicular to the fireplace, and the love seat parallel to the fireplace at the other end of the coffee table. Because the sofa blocking the fireplace is so unfair to the fireplace.

pretty colors. my suggestions are to move the 4 piece painting a little lower on the wall to bring the eye down, and do something darker (a rug, or paint the chairs -- brown, dark gray-- spraypaint would work!) to ground the space. it's all quite light and floaty, needs some weight somewhere and a deep color could provide this near the ground.

also, put that plant on a tall plant stand, or get a taller tree so that there is some variation in the levels of things in the room. right now everything is at table level -- table, plant, bottom of art... mix it up! :) and lastly, for the table centerpiece, maybe a bold colored candle (purple, gold, salmon) to pop, instead of another neutral.

I would replace the light fixtures in the dining area with a drum shaped pendant. In the photos, the green doesn't read as very strong in the living room area. I would paint the shelf/mantle on the fireplace wall a fun green color. I would also add some color to the wall with the TV on it. I don't think painting the entire wall is the best solution. I would add some art or fabric panels. Lastly, rather than changing out the curtains, it is really easy to add color to the ones you have with ribbon. I would buy two different widths of grosgrain ribbon, one green and one brown and either sew or use fusible web to iron on the ribbon to the tops of the curtains horizontally (hopefully I described that well). The rooms are beautiful, they just feel a bit like a model home, full of safe furniture but lacking a bit of personality (if the pug is anything like others that I have met, he/she has enough personality for the whole house!).

the dining room looks great, but, as others have said, changing the height of the artwork and centering the table under the light fixture would help a lot.

i really like the color palate you have in the dining room, perhaps adding a little more color in the living room too would be good.

i think the living room furniture is too large for the space, the love seat blocks the window, and the the three focal points of the room, the window, fireplace and tv all seem to compete for attention.

i don't think there is any need to go out and buy new furniture. you could swap the position of the tv and sofa, and then move the love seat to the opposite side of the rug so it faces the window. then wall mount the tv and lower the mantel so they are on the same level. a smaller round coffee table would be a good addition at a future date

Agreeing with RichardinLA, Sydney and JenPDX, I made this little Photoshop demo:

http://flickr.com/photos/33142866@N08/3249464179/

So, to keep with your palette of whitish-black-apple green-wood, I'd spray paint the chairs black (or get a solid wooden table and chairs when I get more money, something along the style of Montego Pedestal Dining Table: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p6389/index.cfm?pkey=cround-tables), keep the green flowery cushions, paint the walls apple green that you have on a cushion in your living room (take that cushion to the painting store, and have the color mixed in the same color!), move the table and chairs in front of black canvases, also lower the canvases so the top is on the same level as the top of the frames on the right wall. And last (but totally optional), get a buffet of the same kind of wood as your living room set. But the set would work without the buffet too. Best wishes in redecorating!

Living room furniture looks a little overscaled - but it is beautiful and I wouldn't want to get rid of it if it was mine. Add a nice fresh color to one or two living room walls - maybe a lighter hue of a green you have already used. More pops of color in artwork - it being basically the same color as the wall is making it disappear.

Thanks to everyone who offered budget-friendly suggestions. (this is the question-poster, btw). As someone who's just out of undergrad and up to her - and husband's - ears in student/car loan debt, it's tough to design on a dime. It's even tougher when living in one of those massive corporate-built communities with 100-200 apartments per property and about 10 times more rules! For pete's sake, we can't even move the TV because we can't relocate the cable drop.

That's why we appreciate AT's creative community. Love the idea of spraypainting the chairs and we've already lowered and leveled the artwork and centered the dinette set a bit more. We're also thinking of maybe looking into some wall-mounted tapers or hurricane sconces to add depth on either side of the canvases since we can't do anything about the overhead lights. A chandelier is a far-off dream for the home we hope to one day own...

In the meantime, we like the PB tapers/sconces(http://www.potterybarn.com/shop/accessories-decor/vases-candlelight/candleholders/index.cfm?cm%5Ftype=lnav) but it looks like they're pretty pricey for us and most are on backorder.

I agree with lauraWahi & ginia about the living room without rehashing their ideas. Ditto with jfinterior.

I think you can work more with the architecture of the house. You can do something really dramatic by making the fireplace a feature wall. Even if you dont use it. Do a built in above the fireplace and wall mount the tv there. You can cover the fireplace in colored glass tile, or faux concrete fieldstone, (not very expensive) and/or create a new mantel. It'll give the room a focal point and a wow factor.

Your ceiling looks to be a double height you can add a large scale painting over the sofa and get ceiling height drapes for a more dramatic effect without chopping the windows into two sections. You can make them yourself. Sheers with an overlay in apple green?

liked the "before" better

Why is the loveseat blocking the fireplace and window?

Get rid of it and replace it w/ a small armchair.
(Why do people buy matching sofa/loveseats anyway?
Tres Tacky...)

Move the loveseat; it blocks the fireplace and the window. Replace the mirror above the fireplace with a larger one or something large in metal would look good. The dining area looks great.

I think the room is missing some contrast, like a bold yellow vase or frame. It's calm and soothing, but a little too monochromatic.

And PS -- I too liked the before better. Sorry. :-(

Ginia speaks wisdom. Lift that mirror up above the mantle - there's a lot of white space in that living room. Do free up some floor space - I wonder if there's another place in the house you can put that love seat (so it could go to some use)? It's too much in that bright, light room - keep it light.

I don't agree with icedesign - everything I've ever been taught about window treatments tells me that yours are hung at an optimal height.

I personally think that the wood furniture would look nice in a more espresso color, as a sharp, clean contrast. I don't think it would take from the ethereal quality of the room - just look exotic.

I preferred the warmer avocado color... I think the cool color in the already cool, lower-ceilinged, recessed, windowless eating area makes it a bit sterile. If you don't want to paint again, you could try decorating with more complimentary colors and with similar colors that have a warmer tone. If you want a natural sort of look, try using some natural wood elements with a subtle purple, reddish or orangish stain to liven up the space and supply a little more contrast. I guess you can tell that my vote was in the "not enough" category, not in that paint is not enough, but that perhaps too much of the same is equivalent to not enough?

For everyone who says lose the loveseat - how do we not know that she doesn't need the seating? Changing it out for a chair would seat one less person and therefore if she needed that seat, she would be forced to bring in another chair and then nothing has been accomplished.

Either paint the walls a neutral color like olive, taking care to choose something neither too dark nor too soft, or put a huge painting above the TV.

^ BTW, everything else you have is perfect. It's just the overwhelming space and whiteness making the place feel plain and cold.