apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

That wood was beautiful! They could of achieved the same thing without painting the wood. The furniture placement still seems odd, no coffee table and why are the side chairs facing the camera.

Eeek. I will refrain from saying more.

Lori - the coffee table is acrylic. I assume they are all facing a TV.

I thought the wood looked terrible! Like what you see in some holiday shack. The paint is a big improvement, makes everything seem a lot more fresh.

caw261 thanks I did not see it on my Mac Black book screen
too small. Seems a bit dainty for that hunk of a sofa.

i think its a major improvement, and looks quite nice!

the only thing i'd change is moving the rug under the sofa a bit, thats just my opinion i know everyone has different rules when it comes to rug placement.

It is an improvement, but still . . .

From the way the furniture faces, I think the TV must be the focal point of the room, no? Get it out. Get it out now.

I agree with eribear12 about the rug placement. It was the first thing I noticed and it's bugging me.

exactly what rooms are tv's even allowed in??

Gee, you people are such glass-half-empty complainers. It's a great improvement, especially now that the hokey wood paneling has been toned down.

My only suggestion would be to lose the two cane display shelf thingies. There's no reason for them to be there and the room would have more peace and clarity without them.

the couch does look/work better now & i love the new rug.

i agree that the shelves in the corners are a waste/worse than the wood paneling before. i don't swear off painting wood but they should have left it alone here. the room could have be done differently to compliment it in a mid-c or modern way, guessing they weren't into that or didn't have the things to do so.

I dunno...it just isn't coming together quite yet. The pictures are too high, and it still lacks cohesiveness. Why not remove one of the bookshelves, and move the remaining one against the window wall so they don't look like sentries guarding the couch? You could then move the large framed picture to the left of the couch to balance out the others already on the wall.

Where is the air conditioner?

I am so happy that you painted the wood. I am so over wood lovers. That wood was so beautiful blah blah...get over it. Yay for your new bright fresh space and booo to orange wood!

Hey now, let's not hate on all wood panelling. I actually agree that this one looks waaaay better after, but there's no need to paint all wood with the same brush! (Hehe I crack myself up.)

I'm sorry but I do not like the blue you decided on for the walls. I don't like the way it looks with the blue of your couch. And defiantly get rid of the shelves. It would look better if you hung some shelves on the walls.

I like the changes so far. I would paint the bookshelves white, they will look a bit more rich... like chip-in-dale chairs. Also, black pillows on the couch would tie it in to the rug nicely. Lastly, something larger and more edgy perhaps leaning against the wall on the console behind the couch.

AND turn those chairs to face the coffee table! You can turn them towards the tv or whatever they are pointed at as needed.

I hope this didn't come off negative as a lot of these other comments do. We should be a lot more constructive. It is easy to have folks say mean things about your space. Keep it constructive, this isn't high school.

-Eleazar
http://www.blogazar.com

A zillion times better with paint!

I do not know whether Christine had much money to improve her home and how much, but the only things I would have kept from the "before" photo are the leather club chair and the wood paneling, both of which seem to be gone from the "after" photo.

The couch continues to look "blah" in the new room because it is a blah-worthy couch; if Christine could not afford a new one (how much does an acrylic coffee table cost these days, anyway?) perhaps she might sew or have sewn a slipcover? How about hanging art which compliments the scale of the room, rather than tiny little frames?

it now looks like a new hip, fresh space!!

love it, and i agree with kritinprc, the wood lovers need to get over it, it looked old and cabin-y before.

Wow, people don't need to be so harsh. This person put time into this and they obviously like it. I think comments about the amount of money she spends and other really negative comments are not needed. I think it is a huge improvement on the before. She is obviously proud of the she's done and I think she should be.

I love the rug! I agree with others that say maybe try to hang a larger picture behind the the couch, the shelves would look great white, even black and the chairs should face the coffee table. Looks like it's moving in the right direction.

I really like it! What a huge improvement. That wood had to go. A great wood antique or 18th century European paneling you leave alone. 70's paneling and ugly wood trim people should have no qualms about painting over.

Nice job!

I agree that the space looks much nicer in the after photos, love the rug and the disappearance of the air conditionner but...
- why so much hate for wood paneling ? Agredd, it was a bit overwhelming, but maybe they could've kept some of it to keep the warmth wood gives to a room.
- what's the use of empty bookshelves ????

Just a second thought : let's bet in 20 years or so, the next generation will fume against all those who painted over 70's paneling because they'll find it super-hype.

the thing with wood panelling is - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. in this case i like the painted version a lot better.

i guess something is going to go on those shelves eventually? because if they stay empty they are kind of ... redundant.

If you click the link it says she was looking for a "beachy glam" look. It would have been hard to achieve that with the existing paneling.

Having said that, I think some tweaks could really make the space work. First, the wall color behind the couch only makes the couch more drab. An intense coral or pink or a more saturated green would turn the couch into a calming, inviting focal point for the room.

Second, I think the rug and acrylic table are not right. The rug is far too big and covers too much of the wood floor, which looks nice. At the very least, I would tuck the rug under the couch as some of the other posters have suggested.

And finally--the cane shelves are not doing anything except cramping the space. If "beachy" is the goal they should be full of beachy things--shells, glass jars full of smooth stones, whatever. Maybe that's what the owner plans to do once she has the time.

And to everyone who complains about people criticizing other people's rooms--can we all just agree that the purpose of this site is to share ideas and opinions about home decor and design? And that we don't all have the same opinion? And that people who are brave enough to post pictures of their homes expect feedback and may actually get some good advice now and then? I don't think people should be rude or insulting, but it would get pretty boring pretty fast if all we got to read or say was "wow, good job--so much better!" without any substantive comments.

Wahoo! Thanks for the link love AT. What an honor.

Christine is still in the "finishing touches" step of the process (accessorizing the bookcases, hanging a frame collage on the back wall between them, shimmying that rug back under the front two legs of the couch, etc). We were just so excited about the change so far that we couldn't wait to post the finished product (with the impending holiday it might be a little while for a final after picture).

Stay tuned...

Right on, madsarah! I agree with everything you wrote. Especially about this being a forum to share ideas and to offer constructive criticism to the folk posting pics of their homes.

A huge improvement from the before pics but it still has a way to go. Even with the chunky couch, there is an ungrounded feeling about the room which could be helped by swapping the acrylic coffee table with a table that complements the heaviness of the couch, painting the back wall a bolder color. The couch looks very comfortable but the color hampers any chance of this room looking beachy. White linen slip covers would do wonders. Also would recommend a square side table that sits closer to the couch for better functionality. Looking forward to seeing this room after the homeowner has added accessories.

The wood paneling was great in tandem with the pitched ceiling and skylights. They could have played up the interesting verticals in the room by putting a tall vertical element in the left corner, like a column of wall mounted shelves reaching up to the ceiling, or a bold vertical piece of art.

Instead, the interesting stuff has been camouflaged by white paint, and the furnishing plan makes no reference to the room's interesting asymmetry. All of the choices say, "please pretend this room is a bland white box with seven foot ceilings".

To those of you who deem wood paneling "hokey", I suggest you google some Case Study House interiors.

Yeah! blaming a nasty looking room on the wood paneling, How about fixing the nasty furniture first! :)

It's a great improvement - but what's up w/ the floating rug and the transparent coffee table? What are we hiding behind the sofa?

Get the table out from behind that sofa and put the front legs of that sofa on the rug and get a proper coffee table that people can see...
...and while we're at it - put the dining chair back in the dining room and bring the leather armchair back into the living room.

Some big eye-catching artwork over the sofa, and some books, etc on the shelves and some more end tables with large table lamps would be really helpful too...

lol, that's so funny "accessorizing the bookcases." imo much of decorating is about "accessorizing" ie acquiring stuff just to fill spaces. maybe it's just a language thing, but calling people's possessions accessories or props or pieces just seems to reinforce consumerism. all that said, i like the bookcases.

Well, I have to admit I was saddened that the wood paneling was painted. I think an opportunity was missed to make it lavishly modern--staining it darker and adding a crisp white stencil "strip" would've been fabulous.

Overall, just two things: bookcases need books and the art above the sofa needs to be bolder, or at the very least, to scale.

But, then, that's just me!

I'm used to derisive comments about wood paneling in the comments, but I'm surprised and disappointed that the editor expressed such a categorically negative view of it.

Homes are personal spaces and there's room for some of us to appreciate natural materials and "old and cabin-y" interiors, whether the paneling is 30 or 130 years old. Seriously.

Why to change if it's to stay in the same "no-style" style?
I hope they didnt bought the "new" old furnitures... The bookshelves and the armchair have no place here. The sofa and the white chair are sofisticate confortable and the carpet is more "chic" (not for me but..) and the pictures to small for the wall. This room need more contrast, and character/ personality. I dont understand why it's an half relooking.

New color, new furnitures, new rug. But the old lamp and the old art piece at the very same places??

I liked the idea about staining the wood to give the room a modern feel - but I assume that this look goes much better with the rest of the house, and the existing furniture.

We have a very similar ceiling. Everyone who comes in the house gushes about it, and we loved it when we bought the house. But the natural wood sucks up every bit of light in the room. Even with french doors and several windows facing south, and a light-colored tile floor (and white walls), this room always seems to be dark! I'd dearly love to paint the ceiling a lighter color for that reason alone.