apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hoping to get some feedback on a seating area in my home.

The room isn't quite done and the things I'm still working out are:

1. New upholstery for arm chairs. I'm thinking celery or cream-of-wheat boucle. For the time being, the couch stays it's current color.

2. Lampshade for the pot-belly brass lamp (current is a placeholder). Black looks awesome with brass, but I'm reluctant to put black next to the espresso couch. Wheat tones would disappear into the wall color. Off white? And I'm thinking a bell or coolie bell shape?

3. New side table. The current stool is too small. I'm waffling between something like the anthro's honeycomb table.

Misc. items in corners to be removed post haste!

shoot. hrefs didn't work.

anthro table: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=-4808387396559056122&id=863004&parentid=NEW_HOME_LIV_FURNITURE&pushId=NEW_HOME_LIV_FURNITURE&popId=NEW_HOME_LIVING&sortProperties=&navCount=5&navAction=poppushpush&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=ofw

Mitchell Gold tables:
http://www.mgandbw.com/nadia_stb.asp
http://www.mgandbw.com/cedric_stb.asp

and of course the link to my room didn't work either:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2052/2412726674_1ae74c460f_b.jpg

Quick impressions:
1) Nice furniture to work with! I really like the cabinet, couch, coffee table and lamp base.

2) While I'm okay with the rug and I really like the coffee table, they don't show each other off. If you want a rug to define the area, I would use a more minimal rug with this coffee table and use this rug in a plainer part of your habitat to add some punch.

3) Celery or beige fabric on the chairs is a great idea - it will compliment the couch.

4) Nadia gets my vote for the side table - it's dark wood with mid-cen mod shaping & elegance, which compliments the rest of the room. The anchors are the couch and cabinet - the solid side table doesn't need to be an third anchor.

5) That large, dark canvas leaning against the left wall might look really hot hung on the back wall where the current smaller picture is now. On the same thought...

6) The seating needs to be rearranged - this is not conversational. The chairs need to face or be closer to the couch.

What might be interesting & dramatic is to line up the cabinet back against the tiny diagonal wall in the back right and put the couch where the cabinet is now. Then the seating could more easily face a) each other and b) the windows on the front left.

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks, Cara. There isn't a diagonal wall, but there are two recessed areas, one where the chairs are (bay window), and one where the couch is (semi alcove). The image is a composite of 5 stitched together -- I think the diagonal you see is an illusion from the slap together.

I'll consider swaping the couch with the cabinet. I've tried this before, but with different pieces. The room is taller than it is wide (talk about a design challenge!), so I've got the taller furniture piece where it won't accentuate the vaulted ceiling and the wider shorter couch on the taller wall to help sink the eye. Maybe with these different pieces it would work.

I also vote for the Nadia. I like the other MG table but besides looking good it's pretty useless where the Nadia has space so you can stack books or mags. below. I think a more contemporary rug would suit the room better. I like the idea of a dark shade for the lamp even though it's next to a dark sofa. Punch the sofa with light pillows (like you have already).

Anyone have any suggestions for a place to get some modern looking cabinet handles?

I would start to look at the color balance. (Especially since the room seems to call for symmetry so strongly).

If you keep the chairs there on the left, I would suggest a darker color upholstery to balance the heaviness (in weight and especially color) of the cabinet across from it.

If you can, I think moving the couch forward a foot or the rug back would help pull the couch into the ensemble and make it less of a dark contrast against lighter walls and carpet.

The expanse of the back beige wall carpet, emphasised by the alcove makes it look very contrasty and stark back there. Maybe now would be the time to start playing with putting up the artwork or other decor. I think it might give a nice balance if you put up the screens in each corner - it could help pull in the alcove and give it some subtle vertical interest to tie with the more forward cabinet and window.

I also keep wanting to see a second side table and lamp on the other side of the couch... I think I would go with a lighter shade of color for the shade or shades.

I think the Mitchel Gold tables match the style of your other furniture better. The Cedric would help to bring down the legginess of some of the furniture and might be nice. I am not sure I love any of them as perfect for your room though...

One last thought - the yellow of your hanging light pops out a lot - you might eight consider replacing it, or if you love it, incorporating some yellow elsewhere in the decor, maybe in artwork?

Your rug is gorgeous - I advocate *not* consigning it to another room! :)

I've seen your room photo before- you were doing the cure, yes? :)

JG, thanks for more comments.

I am in fact torn between the 'campaign' look of the rug and table together vs a curated look that would set one or the other off as a showpiece.

I'll try pulling the sofa out a few more inches (it's about 10" out now) and putting the screens behind it. They need to be finished with something. Fabric? paper? paint? stain? that's a project all it's own.

All the art stacked in the corner was inherted & I'm trying to sell it. Maybe the screens are the answer. I've also considered hanging the rug on the wall, but set just a little lower than the sofa back so it's not floating above.

Like the idea of adding some yellow to the green pillows on the couch to support the lamp shade. I do love my funky beaded lamp.

I am very impatient and want to know what to do all at once, but am learning that decor is about emergent properties. [Change just one thing and the whole becomes something altogether different.]

Yes, I'm doing the Cure! this is the third of five rooms. No chance I'll finish on time, so maybe I can roll this all into the Summer Cure.

You guys provide the best feedback. It's awesome. Can't thank you enough. :-)

SF Gail,

What about Ikea? They have a great selection of knobs and handles. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/range/10379/10484/

SFGail: I just ran into http://www.sabaxter.com/home.php - I don't think I've ever wanted to take a doorknob and wear it as a necklace before, but there you go.

I have no idea who carries them, nor am I sure how many children I'd have to sell to afford these, but they're the most beautiful drawer pulls I've ever seen.

http://i26.tinypic.com/16m16pg.png
http://i25.tinypic.com/2v360rt.png