apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

You might consider getting a slipcover for the jacquard sofa. It would protect it, and I saw a slip covered sofa in a magazine that was similarly... architectural? that looked very, very nice to me. It would tone down the formality of the piece.

What I see is you seem to have lined up your styles on each side of the room, as had already been said, mix them. I'd bring both couches together, one at a right angle to the other to create an "L". To add a bit more heft to the smaller sofa by covering it in a slip cover to protect the fabric, but to have it hang down a bit below the seat to give it a touch more heft so it can then pair much better w/ the heavier sofa.

I would take the 2 chairs and instead of side by side, angle then and put the small MCM table between them w/ a floor lamp and have then facing towards the Jacquard sofa so as to not block what looks like a fireplace.

I would then re-arrange the shelves so the books blend together so both have a mix of white and colored bindings.

Just that much alone will help bring the room together.

Nive room. A few simple ideas:

Swap the art. Put the formal mirror over the casual white couch and put the modern prints over the formal chouch--that should help to connect and balenace things.

I'd also swap the lamps--put the apper lantern by the bookcase and put the other one by the white couch. Also disperse the pillows so that some of each type are on each couch.

Lastly, what is with the two chairs next to each other? Can they be positioned so that they are facing each other?

It looks like you have all the antiques in one area and the more contemporary stuff at the other end. You might want to try mixing up your accessories and wall art bit. For example, try hanging the fancy mirror behind the casual couch. Try moving some of the contemporary wall hangings to sofa area. Same thing with the lamps. I am not trying to suggest that all the modern things have to go with the fancy sofa or vice versa, but a little bit mix might reduce the feeling of two different rooms.


Also--I think the section of white books in your bookshelves needs to broken up a bit. I know you have nicely arranged them by color, but maybe place some rows of white books between the colored ones.

I also had the same recommendation of switching the mirror & calendar to allow the two styles to mingle a bit, and to give you bits of gold color on both sides of the room.

Another possibility might be to pull the sofas away from the wall a bit; that way you could put a table between the two, but it wouldn't have to be particularly large. A sofa table could be added behind the white sofa so that it doesn't feel like it is floating. The jacquard sofa has a lighter feel, so it doesn't necessarily require a table behind it, but even pulling it 6" away from the wall would get it closer to the other sofa. Then you could use a larger area rug and cocktail table between the two to tie them together.

Another thing I noticed is that one bookcase is mostly white books, while the other is arranged by color; currently, the colored bookcase is visually heavier. You could alternate a row of color with a row of white on each, so that there was both white and color on each side. This would feel more balanced between the two bookcases, while the rows of white on both would form a visual tie with the white sofa opposite.

You do have a noticeable style developing; good job!

I think definitely de-color code your bookshelves!

Agree. Mix it up.

Put the calendar and Marimekko cushion with the jaquard sofa.

Can you push the bookcases together, and put them behind the large white sofa? That's just a hella books there, pardner.

Since you seem to be about color-coordinating your shelves, I'd do a row of black spines across the top of BOTH shelving units, and then alternate rows of white and color in an alternating grid across the two.

And, get rid of that ridonkulously large calendar -- it's just crowding things. I like those calendars in general, but it is wrong in your room.

Finally -- don't stress so much. The pad looks nice!

Get rid of the calendar. Get rid of the Keep Calm. Organize your bookshelves any other way. Right now it looks to me like The Room That Trend Built.

I'd rearrange the furniture:

Place the bookcases together on the side of the room where the white sofa is now, place the white sofa in the center of the room, and the settee perpendicular to the sofa with it's back to the bookcases. The chairs would go on either side of the fireplace and the larger of the two rugs would ground the larger unified furniture arrangement. Finally, the ornate mirror would go over the fireplace, the globe standing lamp sits in the corner between the sofa and settee, the calendar goes wherever your desk/working area is in the apartment and "Keep Calm" goes into the bathroom...

There are good things here, but you need to edit. From what I can tell, you have two different rugs - one in front of the chairs and one in front of the large sofa, I would get ride of them both and go for something that has traditional colors in a modern design - and much larger.

I think I clear coffee table would help, the room is overwhelmed with large pieces and needs some fluidity.

My last piece would be that you should rearrange art, as others have noted, and I would take a serious look at your light fixture choices. The more traditional standing lamp is fine, but that hanging ball is just too bulky for the room. I would move a table to the side of that couch and get something a bit more ornate, to mimic the detail of the large mirror.

You have good bones, good luck!

I was having a hard time imagining the entire room together. You have some great items, but that's the problem they all seem so independent of each other. I agree you should relocate the furniture so it's not so far away from each other. I like the idea of the 2 couches in a L shape or mirroring each other. Also, I think the 2 chairs angled towards each otherwould be nice by the books with that table between them....like a reading area.

A much larger area rug really makes sense to tie it together. The mirror should be hung lower so it connects with the seating. I'm not keen on the calendar and Calm poster next to each other. They compete.

I think you should change the color of the bookcases. I agree you need a punch of color, so if you want to paint the table go for it. You also should come up with a color palette. The color is a bit hodgepodge.

Make a shrine to Obama. Include some Obama plates, a print of that blue and red "Dear Leader" portrait, and serve some Obama cupcakes and pies. That should do it. It will unite the two sides perfectly.

I'd say that the calendar and poster don't really work for the room. But beyond that it's all speculation. Without a *clue* about the floorplan this question is basically impossible to answer.

Furniture seems to line the perimeter of the room. Personally I see the 2-upholstered chairs flanking the FP and the bigger sofa opposite the FP. Anchor this seating area with a rug. This would require moving a bookcase.

I'd put the delicate settee behind the sofa - kinda like a sofa table.

Maybe the book cases can be moved to where the big sofa is currently. I personally have no problem organizing books by color but I'd agree with the person who commented that having all the white ones in a single bookcase doesn't work very well.

do you know what kind of rug you have? I'd like one like it and it would be nice to know the name of the style (besides just "oriental," as my mom would say). thanks!

egay- That type of rug is called a Bokhara. They're originally from Central Asia, but Pakistan exports LOTS of them. Any reputable Oriental rug dealer will likely have many in stock.

"Get rid of the calendar. Get rid of the Keep Calm. Organize your bookshelves any other way. Right now it looks to me like The Room That Trend Built."

Lise1914: Spot-on. I couldn't have said it better myself.

I think you have a room full of cool stuff and it looks nice to me as is. You can move things around for a different look, but I enjoy the eclectic nature of the elements in the room and to me, nothing really offends, so I think you can keep everything and have a unique look. I like many of the suggestions as to how you can move things around; I don't think you need to make any new acquisitions.

It's becoming too easy for people without any design sense of their own to achieve decent results by mimicking whatever they see in design mags and blogs without developing any style of their own and then, of course, not knowing how to harmonize the disparate elements and personalize a room. I'm okay with the fact that I hate keep calm posters. I just hope that seeing unimaginative after unimaginative room doesn't make me start hating big bookcases and antique mirrors. This is just like the time skids spoiled mullets and acid washed jeans for me.

You need an accent color. Pick a color and spread it around. It will unite.

I'm impressed that other people have been able to make suggestions about the furniture -- I still cannot figure out how the room is oriented. I am speculating that the sofa's face each other (the two sides). In that case, all the furniture is pushed up against the walls, which probably isn't the coziest situation. A large ottoman / coffee table would help a little, but I think re-arrangement would be better.

The settee (which I want in a bad way) in particular looks much smaller in scale than the other pieces -- kind of like it was naughty and is punished in the corner away from the other cozy pieces. I think it's partly because it's squished between the two bookcases. I would pull it out -- maybe even put it in front of the cases (not as weird as you might think) or put it at a right angle to the other couch.

You might also be able to put the chairs in front but to the side of the fireplace, but I'm not sure if there's room.

You seem to have quite a few blue pieces. I would mix up the pillows a little and draw in some more blue. Perhaps a throw or some paint or a new ottoman could tie together your Chinese vase, light blue silk pillows, and darker printed pillows.

I'd love to see what you do. You have some great pieces!

I happen to like it just the way it is

I'd love to see the fireplace reclaimed as a focal point and a cozy seating area oriented around it (i.e. away from the walls).

In the HGTV list of 25 top decorating mistakes, having all the furniture against the walls was one. "Floating" rugs was another. I agree with the others about mixing up the styles, editing some of the wall art, and mixing up the bookshelves. I think that to make the room feel more welcoming, you really need to pull that furniture away from the walls. Do you really need two sofas AND two chairs? What about doing one sofa (the more ornate one) perpendicular to the wall with the fireplace and the other two chairs facing it on the other side? Get a big rug underneath both and put a coffee table in the middle. That should make it more functional and put the fireplace as the focus of the room, which it should be.

A bit off topic, but for those of you piling on about Keep Calm:

I know a little bit about vintage posters, and even though this one has become annoyingly overused, it's one of the best graphic posters in our lifetimes. Your kids will hate you later if they find you had an original red one and threw it out in a fierce desire to avoid a trend.

Definitely break up the books on the shelves. Is there any way you can move a row or two into another room and replace them with a couple knick-knacks, or move a few of those pretty things from the top of your mantel?
Personally I would get a new slipcover for the big couch or paint an accent wall there are just SO many different neutral colors in this room it needs more color. Painting the modern table would be nice. You have a lot of blue in the room I more go for more of an orange than a yellow (it is the complement to blue) and would really make the blues stand out.

IMO the only problem is the overstuffed slipcovered sofa. Remove it. Put the two great arm chairs opposite the yellow settee, pull everythign away from the walls, and put a cocktail table in the middle.

I adore your room

I think people would (and obviously DO) complete it.

It's great

so nice to have it like that

how about a big sprawly OLD newspaper stuffed morrocan leather pouf sittiung toadlike in the middle

love it's dichotomy

it is a revealing room

it confides who you are to your friends

I need to learn to proof

"I know a little bit about vintage posters, and even though this one has become annoyingly overused, it's one of the best graphic posters in our lifetimes. Your kids will hate you later if they find you had an original red one and threw it out in a fierce desire to avoid a trend."

Why will our kids hate us? There are so many in circulation that they will be a mainstay of every garage sale for the next quarter-century.

I like the calendar? Where did you get it?

madsarah,
There are lots of posters that were "everywhere" and became rare because people threw them out or used them as attic insulation.

What do you mean, “too much colour”? I think you have kept the throw pillows your grandmother had on the yellow jacquard sofa, which is a fabulous piece of furniture. They are lovely but they’re the wrong shade of green and don’t go with the pillows on the other sofa. There would be nothing wrong with putting new covers on them and keeping the covers your grandmother chose.

It looks as though you are having a battle of the styles. There’s nothing wrong with liking both traditional and modern - they do mix. Mix them up, don't keep them on different sides of the room. The huge calendar looks very severe along with the red poster. The poster is a bit of a cliche and so are black and red together. You could find other places for them in your flat and replace them with art. (The calendar is best suited to a large open plan office.) Choose art you love, don’t worry that some glossy magazine won’t approve of your choice. (Or some ATer - and that goes for my remarks about the calendar.)

Use the table (unpainted) as an end table with the sofas pulled out at right angles to the wall. Put a table lamp on it to bring the light down lower and create a more intimate atmosphere than you can with floor lamps.

What don’t you like about the chairs? What’s wrong with them? The black looks like leather and what we can see of the print on the other looks fine and tones beautifully with the jacquard sofa, in fact it points the way to alternative colours for the pillows which really would introduce more colour. You could choose slip cover material for the chairs that incorporates the yellow of the jacquard sofa. Or leave the other chair black, it looks like a comfortable library chair. Everything doesn’t have to match, but colours need enough repetition to provide rhythm, so your eye moves comfortably around the arrangement of furniture. Don’t have the two chairs side by side.

The arrangement of books looks too studied.

About the coffee table - have a modern one - not glass topped because it is too hard to clean. You may need a larger area rug if you have a large coffee table and want to seat people round it. As for the mirror - you lucky devil!

Sorry about my spelling - it's the English we use here. I do remember 'closet' for 'wardrobe' and 'pillow' for 'cushion'. We have different names for things.

Okay, here are a few suggestions -

You have to decide whether this is eclectic formal or eclectic casual.

More traditinal, formal settings call for symmetry. In those settings you will see two sconces, a mirror perfectly centered on the wall, like you have on one side of the room. What throws things off is that on one side of the room you have formal balance, and on the other side of the room you have more of a modern arrangement with the calendar and the red picure smack up against eachother.

I would do one of two things: If you decide to make it more formal looking (notice I don't say traditional), get rid of the big mod pillow on the white sofa and put it on the other side of the room. Replace it with something large but a more traditional fabric like damask or crewel work. As an added step, slipcover the big sofa in a rich, warm color. Or you could get away with that aqua-y color that is on the pillow on the other sofa as long as it is muted. I would either get rid of the red picture on the wall and put it somewhere else, and let the calendar stand alone but centered, or I would get two pictures and place them symmetrically above the sofa.

Either that or a "collection" of items but done very balanced and symmetrical...like a very modern picture with something balancing on either side.

Also, is there a way that you can paint the calendar (don't know what it is made of, to a warmer color that goes more with the rest of the room?

The OTHER way I would go is go more casual (notice I don't say "contemporary). That mirror on the wall is gorgeous, but to be more casual, what about finding some smaller pictures with interesting frames or other small mirrors and making it look more like a haphazard collection? ie. a casual way of displaying traditional things?

Alright, i will have to think for more..

what about making abig coffee table and put the caledar on the top and put glass over it

The bookcases look lopsided with all the color on one side. If you want to color coordinate, do put color rows on both sides. The calendar and poster aren't bad--but neither really adds much to this room. And do you really use your calendar in your living room? To me these seem like they'd be better in an office space. Then you could bring in some framed art, some of which could pick up some of the style of the mirror opposite.

Your rug is beautiful, but a bit small for that space. If you rearrange the furniture, is there a place you could put it to better effect?

Darling,

The way I figure it is as follows: you simply have too many countries trying to happen all at once in equal amounts (the Scootish chair, the French mirror, the terribly English poster and the obnoxiously American calendar).

What you need is a centerpiece that will become the focus of your room thus obviscating the need for anyone to pay attention to the rest of it. Whilst not wanting to be too crass with your choice of ornament (what with the credit squeeze and all), but whilst still needing to remain at the height of South Carolinan fashion, I would suggest a polo pony as the obvious accessory. It will grace your room with pride and provide a scent in keeping with your rural setting. If you wish to take further advice on this matter I highly recommend Totty de Bouvier of the London Sunday Times. She really does understand ladies needs in a recession (http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article5390188.ece).

Best of luck with fixing your room my dear. I am sure all will be well eventually.