apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This is just me talkin', but I'd like to see a television in that corner. Not one of those big ole flat screen ones, but the old-fashioned normal kind.

If you keep all that white moulding, then I'd like to see a white TV. If you don't keep that wall color, and go with something kind of greyer (now that one of the Small Cool entries is stuck in my head), then a silver/grey/black TV might be nice there.

eek, i cant say i agree with the TV idea...but a rad piece of art might look really good. if you're the romantic type, go for a bunch of candles of varying heights. personally, i'd try to find one of those fantastic old, round, self-sustaining terrariums...the kind that are like a big clear globe, all filled with ferns and moss...i'd put that one some sort of stand perhaps...

my only question...are you set on that room color?

The corner is screaming to be a fireplace....even a "mock" one. I would scroung around to find an electric log...the kind that have a revolving screen and lightbulb.

I would then place an easy chair on either side, with a floorlamp for reading over one corner. This could be quite a cozy cornere....

The corner should be played as designed...even in the absence of a gas heater.

The ex-fireplace is your altar to your household deities. Use accordingly, depending on what's the spiritual center of your home.

Our large-but-with-wasted-space main room was improved immensely by putting the seating arrangement on an angle. Carol Talbot's Decorating for Good is perhaps a little obsessed with angling the sofa, but it worked for us in making the seating area welcoming.

Personally, I'd fill it with pillar candles of varying heights to make it the fireplace it once was -- perhaps mirroring the back to help the light reflect and all that.

However, if you're the sort of person who keeps some sort of home or personal altar, it could make an interesting niche for that.

Order a bunch of white birch logs online (long and narrow, more branches than logs) and stack them vertically in the fireplace nook to solve that issue.

And definitely think "cluster" rather than "spread" when arranging what you have. I think the inclination is to cvoer as much floorspace as possible, but resist... create two seating areas, tops, right now. And yes, make a rug (the largest you can afford) your first purchase.

Buy a console table to place beneath the windows now, behind your sofa later. Or, buy a sideboard/dresser. (Don't be afraid to source your living room pieces from bedroom or dining collections.) Flank it with two upholstered dining style chairs, which can later be your host and hostess chairs at a dining table.

Think multi-purpose, with pieces that will make the jump to another function.

And if "cozy" is the first goal, start with window treatments. A sparse room (if in a traditional bent) with nice window treatments will often look more finished than one full of furniture but unaddressed windows.

Good luck! Yours is an enviable problem!

Also, those ubiquitous draped particle board tables can really be your friend now, too.

And buy everything the largest scale you can get away with... and think shape/mass wherever possible... for example, buy an upholstered block ottoman, rather than one with spindly legs. For now, that ottoman can round out a seating area as a primary player. Later, it can tuck under the console table behind a sofa or under the window in a more supporting role.

Does that corner get sunlight? If so, how about a grouping of plants? Also, I would paint the slanted part a different (darker) color -- I think it would make it look less like an odd part of the wall and more like an interesting, freestanding design element.

i'd cover the corner thing with a folding screen. but that's just me.

i'd put an antique mirror there. although, you really don't need that space opened much more.... ;-)

two different ideas i've seen from other AT peoples house pics, with unused fireplaces. If you like wine, put a wine rack there. Set up a mini bar in it....If you like books, or DVD's use it as an area to stack them. Same for art if you have any. Can you tack something to the underside of the overhang? Could look cool if you have anything you've collected that you would hang...we have a collection of different size discoballs hanging in a window on clear fishermans thread..... enjoy, house looks lovely and BIG!

I agree with putting a mirror into the 'fireplace' and putting a bunch of pillar / candlesticks in front of it for a faux fireplace - would be a really cool design element in the room!

thanks everyone for giving me such great suggestions!

i've never actually been in the place. i relied on pictures from my mother (pictured) when i signed the lease. it's a 1920's side-by-side duplex in Tulsa, OK...i'm moving there after i graduate. you can see more pictures of the new place and my current grad school digs here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zlindsey/

i'm free to repaint anything i want and hang anything on the walls thanks to a gracious landlord. i'm hoping to actually develop a style centered around mid-mod/organic-mod--keeping it masculine, mature and sophisticated. i'm planning to use the scroll hanging above the sofa (not coming with) as inspiration for the bedroom zen/organic mod. as for the rest, i just want to go for simplicity and minimal clutter. moving across the country is a great excuse to do some pre-curing!

i'm hoping to furnish the space by purchasing a sofa and bed new, and then sourcing things from the community (i.e. cheap) when possible to round out the rest and replace the objects i already have to suit the style/space.

thanks again for all your help! i'm young and somewhat creative (all my own photos on the walls) so i'm willing to take risks! keep 'em coming!

Scarily enough, by usual US housing standards this room is not particularly large - more of a problem is that it is so square. A long narrow room can simply be divided in half (e.g., by putting a sitting area on one side and a dining area on the other); it's much harder in a square room.

In your case, I do think avoiding placing large pieces against walls will help. Creating a central seating area where the couch is placed parallel to the wall of windows with AC but moved closer to the center of the room will help; then you can use the ottoman as a coffee table and maybe place the LACK bench opposite (adding some pillows so it too becomes a comfy seating area and creates a conversation pit).

If you follow this approach, you could indeed put the TV in the fireplace area as it would be very visible from the couch. I would also get a screen too though so you can conceal it when not watching.

Finally, with your remaining chair I would try to create a little reading nook in the corner directly opposite the front door. This will warm up the room more and make it seem less empty. Plants, artwork, standing lamps and, as Maxwell mentioned, rugs will also make the space seem cozy while you wait to acquire more furniture.

I looked at your other pictures. I think you have other design issues other than the corner. Nice pink tile! The kitchen has a few challenges as well.

In that corner, fireplace looking thing, I would either go with the candle idea or put some sort of water feature in there. Maybe build an interesting waterfall/fountain for it. Candles could be incorporated into that as well.

Good luck! Send pictures!

If you're going to have a TV in that room where are you going to put it? - if its away from that corner are you going to be happy not having that corner as a focal point - I think not - personally I'd either get a cast-iron pot-bellied stove to put in there (doesn't have to work but would look fabulous) or put your TV there - everyone will want to sit facing this area anyway so might as well make practical use of the space

actually, i don't watch TV regularly, so i'm waiting until i can afford smallish (30" or less) lcd to view movies and the few shows i do watch online. placing a TV isn't an issue since i'm not including the one in the photos in the move.

the biggest issue is indeed the squareness of the room. i would like to create two spaces if possible: conversation pit/lounge and reading.

i'm planning to paint the bathroom slate gray or another gray with a blue tint to compliment the pink tiles. i'm thinking i'll break up the gray with gloss white on the chair rail and decorate with some macro photos of wildflowers i took to add color and soften the gray. i'm counting on a great shower curtain to help with that space too.

as for the kitchen...yikes! the "antiquing" was done with good intentions, but shoddy nonetheless. i was thinking of painting the cabinets white to open it up and possibly painting the inserts of the doors to match either the crimson of the tile or the gold color. obviously in dire need for suggestions here. what should i do with the walls? i'm also building a laundry folding table/counter space based on the idea for a bed table. if i can pull it off, it will cover the washer and dryer when not in use, and then roll away to allow access to them.

your suggestions keep inspiring me for what i've dubbed, "the gnome corner". no matter what, i plan to paint the white nook to match the rest so it blends in. then i thought i might get some large clay urns of varying sizes and stuff them with tall grasses. i've also thought of the screen idea. that seems the easiest solution. but i want to use every corner of my place if possible, so the fireplace theme is pulling me.

what do you guys think of hanging a giant piece of art from the ceiling, at least to cover the cone? then maybe a subtle fire place or water feature (great idea gttim!) underneath?

can i fit two spaces in such a square room?

lastly, i'm thinking i'll use the dining room to house both my dining table and desk (yes, i realize that since i'm single, they can be one and the same). i'm thinking a square-top table, maybe with leaves, and four chairs on the closet side, and the desk near the window?

again, thanks for welcoming me into the AT community and helping me bring a little bit of modernism and the east coast to Tulsa, where, as you can imagine, country cottage is the cutting edge.

oh! one question, if i bring a sofa off the wall, what goes behind it if anything? should i also have a console table or just leave the space to walk around? maybe a large tic-tac-toe style bookshelf?

Just looked at the photos on flickr - what a gorgeous little (well big actually) house - lucky you!

a built in book case would be nice