apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

First of all...paint your brick fireplace white and then put some color on the walls.

I would think you need to add elements of color to offset such a neutral palette. Blues in varying shades depending on your taste or even something more bold, in the orange family perhaps? This room needs color and interesting pieces to catch the eye.

p.s.
I do think a dark walnut sofa table would tie in the armoire nicely. It's not that more brown is so bad, just that you could benefit from splashes of color (rugs, pillows, art objects, etc). Good Luck!

i think some pops of color in the form of prints on the wall and an area rug under your coffee table would do wonders

Oh wende in phoenix--we need you!

I'll do my best to give you her advice--but I'm no where near as diplomatic as she is. It would go something like this:

Do you want your furniture to stand out? Dark against light is a lot of contrast. Do you really want that? Contrast is busy, contrast can be mentally exhausting. I know it's a trend right now, but that's all it is.

I suggest you paint the fireplace white, if you can. Then paint the walls brown, if you can. Put in warm pops of colour--red, orange, goldy-yellow--and you'll be able to pull off a warm, cozy comforting room.

Unless you want your windows to be a focal point, get curtains in the same tonal range as your walls...when they're painted.
Get an area rug--in a mix of your "warm" accent colours, that'll help tie things together.
Get a large, large something for over the fireplace mantel--a sparkly mirrow would be nice if it doesn't reflect anything busy like the bookcase.
House Beautiful has a room done brilliantly in browns this month.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

it looks like your walls are beige. you might try painting them and your mantel white, and then bringing in a really strong accent color (turquoise, apple green, persimmon). take a look at West Elm. they do a lot of chocolate and white.

You are going to have black furniture as in charred if you are not careful.

Those look like flame marks on the outside of your fireplace. I would make sure your chimney and flue is clean and not obstructed.

Make sure your damper is open all the way when you have a fire.

And invest in a fireplace door.

That's scary! Especially with carpeting.

The 'two much of one color' is greige! I think you should paint the walls and maybe the fireplace, and then think again about what furniture you need.

Oh do I agree with Alana! Where is Wende?

I'm really fond of bright contrasting colors and things myself, but that's neither here nor there. What are you using the room for? Clever cocktail parties? A place to curl up next to the (fixed, I hope) fireplace and read a book? Family room?
The answers will tell you a lot about what you need for furniture and lighting.

I might go for lighter airy pieces to lessen the chunkiness of the sofa, btw.

I would say no more dark colors. Here is your chance to have some fun with colors and accent pieces that can be switched out as needed to give the room a completely different look. I would add patterned throw pillow and then some solid curtains, maybe an area rug. Definitely some art on the walls perhaps large graphic prints our whatever your style it and then finally some plants to add color, interest and improve the air quality.

N.

http://badhuman.wordpress.com

I wouldn't touch the fireplace - the color and texture is perfect exactly the way it is.

I might suggest continuing the dark chocolate brown with some floor-to-ceiling draperies at the windows instead of those hunterdouglas shades, and use a lighter shade of chocolate on the walls. For the two front windows that are side-by side, use one long rod and hang 3 sets of dark panels with some cream sheers to treat it as one huge window. Do a similar 2-panel w/ sheers treatment with the high window at the end of the room.

Switch the sofa's placement with the Loveseat. Ground the space with a large turkish or kilim-style rug in primarily deep red shades, and place a large rectangular walnut cocktail table in the center - the type that is kind of rustic and you won't mind putting your feet on. A couple of mismatched dark wood or painted (red/green/black) wood end tables and a sofa table or small dresser/credenza for behind the loveseat. Some Kilim and shaggy white wool (flokati or lambswool) throw pillows. Dark Red, Blue or Orange ceramic or brass table lamps with tall ivory shades. A comfy armchair with rolled arms and tufted back that is upholstered in a golden/red paisley goes opposite the loveseat - angled to the fireplace with a brass floorlamp and a small round/octagonal table. Handmade pottery displayed as artwork on the mantle and tables. A large credenza with lots of drawers and round mirror above on the wall by the front door with its own lamps.

That oughta get you started...

First of all, the fireplace looks unsafe as another commenter said.

This room needs paint, art, an area rug. Stay away from more brown, try light blue, red, orange, etc. Don't fear colour, embrace it.

bepsf--I hope you'll give me feedback should I ever throw out a question. Excellent suggestions (for me, anyway).

I second leaving the fireplace alone -- at some point, all of this painting wood and stonework white is going to look dated, while the natural materials will always look appropriate, and you can embrace whatever trend you like around them.

I agree with floor to ceiling draperies for all windows and move the sofa facing the fireplace.

I would find some accent pillows and art, and pull out a color from that for the walls.

Definitely, a more substantial coffee table.

I'd add a wood ledge for the mantle. (I, personally, would paint it white). But, it's fine the way it is.

And, lastly, but most importantly find a style that you like and add some of your personality!

Best,

The things that bother me most, I think, are the black soot on the fireplace, which I agree must be some kind of clogged problem. Once you address that, I hope there's a way to clean that stuff off the stone, because I otherwise LOVE the look of that fireplace, and I hope you will NOT paint it!

I also think that you need a nice rack for fireplace logs on that wide hearth floor thing. For some reason, I'm finding the mantle a little wimpy in comparison, so I think that should be thicker, but you might want to wait until after you paint that wall.

Speaking of that wall, I think that you need to paint the wall that the fireplace is on, but not too bright of a color. I think you should make sure to notice that there are probably several colors within that stone material, and match one of those up with a paint chip and use a slightly darker version of the matching one for the wall behind it. Want more color somewhere? Just do it on a different wall.

I think that those couches need to be on a dark rug. I think the wall-to-wall needs to be darker. If new carpeting isn't in the financial picture, then I think it's OK to put an area rug on top just to define the area.

The coffee table really does need to be more substantial with those dark couchs.

And I think the monolithic quality of the dark brown couches could be broken up a little with some pops of color. I think you should at least walk into a West Elm store for inspiration, but not necessarily buy the place out.

Do not, under any circumstances, paint your fireplace. It's an interesting stone, and in a room as drab as this, you need all the interest you can get.

A strong, rich colour on the walls would make the subtle shades of the stone stand out. You've got plenty of natural light and a neutral carpet and ceiling, so you can get away with virtually anything on the walls. I like strong burgundies and reds, but that's just me - anything would be okay as long as it contrasts nicely with the brown furniture. Once the walls are coloured the need for more furniture should be lessened.

And please rescue that poor, lonely plant. It's too big to be up that high, and I doubt the heat wafting up from the fire is doing it any good.

i agree that you should not paint the fireplace.
it needs a good cleaning and the mantel should be more substantial to create contrast and give it more visual interest. i'm picturing something thick and dark, perhaps walnut.
you also need color on the walls and pops of color with a carpet and some throw pillows.
good luck!