Cellular shades! My condo had them when I bought it, but they were gross and yellowed from years of cigarette smoke. I loved the amount of light and privacy so I went out and bought brand new ones for about $40 each.

Area rug, paint the walls a warmer tone, and maybe lose the sofa. Put the futon where the TV is, the TV where the futon is, and the chair where the sofa is. I always find that the key to feeling comfortable in an uncomfortable room is to change the lighting. Warm white Christmas lights and paper lanterns always made me feel relaxed in dorms and apartments.

Yes, there is hope. I think you need some art, an area rug, and a plant. Paint the walls a more neutral color. Kill the TV. Put in a stylish hanging bookshelf on the wall to create a non-TV focal point in the room. Add some throw cushions on the sofas. Try to restrict yourself to one color for this room, and keep everything else neutral. So make the art and rug and cushions all red for example. Personally I think you have too much couch in too small a space, so I would want to get rid of the futon or the couch, but maybe with the TV gone the space could feel more open?

Big consideration, IMHO, is lighting. A standing lamp, or some other kind of localised lighting, down lower to the ground, will help neutralise the overhead lighting and create a bit of atmosphere. A rug for the tiles would also help 'warm' up the room, and some art for the wall behind the tv area, both with some brown hues in them to tie them together with the furniture, as well as some cream to tie the curtains in. It looks like you have a nice cream chair that will also link things together. A low rectangular table under the curtains by the door would allow you to have a few items to add a bit more personality the room. Could also set up most of the hardware on the tv table under it, on a tray perhaps, to help with cleaning. A few plants would also liven up the place. All the best, let us know how you go.

there is hope, its called a match...lol no its really not that bad. Repaint, something on the grey-taupe side, then bright white curtains, floor to ceilings and make sure they completely wrap over those windows so no wall can be seen, it will neutralize the odd shape. I cant tell, but im guessing the futon is black, throw on yellow and white pillows to freshen and lighten up the space, the yellow is your accent. Find a great rug that is either white, or has white and yellow in it. Get rid of the coffeetable/media consol, you need something that isnt so deep so you have more visual floor space. If you can bring as much of that onto the wall. If you had a thin lcd tv, you could hang it, and put a thin sofa table underneath, Use black and white photographs in bright but thin yellow frames. Get rid of your ikea couch, and find a more appropriate lounge chair with ottoman in a grey color so it blends in with the wall, throw a yellow pillow on it so its the first thing you see when you walk in. On one side of the futon, where the new lounge chair will sit, put a large potted tropical plant, on the other side of the futon, get a simple table with a lamp so you can throw your keys down. Lastly you should get some sort of coffee table, im thinking two small round ottomans that could be used for extra seating, with a large tray on top of both. Hope this helps!

1. Floor slopes near the door - I'm assuming that means the ramp. There's not much you can do about this apart from de-emphasise it. The easiest way to do that is to make it not the most noticeable feature in that area. Think, artwork, or something in dramatic contrast colours, that draws your eye up rather than down.

2. Ugly cement protruding unevenly around the base of the wall. The easiest way to deal with this is (assuming that you can't just take a sledgehammer to it) is to disguise it, by putting furniture or something similiar against it. Alternatively, if you had more room you could incorporate it by making it more uniform and bring it out as a feature.

3. Low ceiling. The lighter in colour the ceiling, the higher it goes, is the saying. I'd go with that, but I would also say that your eye is attracted to ceiling by the difference in paint between the wall and ceiling. I'm not sure what a fully-fledged interior designer would say - but I would suggest trying to paint your ceiling in a similiar colour to your walls so that you don't get drawn to the edge and therefore notice how low it is. (To be honest, I would be painting both the walls and ceilings in the lightest warmest colour your could find that you both enjoy).

You might want to consider making your light fitting more subtle - and closer against the ceiling. Drop lights tend to pull the ceiling down as well.

4. I'd start by clearing out everything you can - the less furniture the better. Also look for Slimline furniture to replace the Media area - that is thin in width and tall rather than short and squat - and keep that to a minimum too. Thin and short is even better. Because it gives you more eye space. Having furniture that floats also does that because you can see the floor - although in your case, seeing the strange shape you have at the base of your walls, that may not be a plus.

An area rug that defines the living area is a good idea that will send your eye to the rug, rather than to the ceiling line, or the odd shape, or the strange wall base.

5. Window treatments - whatever you do with your window treatment - any exposed window treatment - have it go all the way to the floor. It will make your room look taller.

I don't dislike the blue, but the space needs warming up. Red or shades of terracotta or caramel would work well, I think. Also you need to get rid of the big lumps of black! Cream throws over the furniture with cushions would lighten the space a lot, and, if you can run to it, a more discreet tv would help a lot. Floor length curtains in the windows and to cover the back of the door would be good, as would a large rug to break up the tile. You also need to tidy up the coffee table. The most important thing, though, is, as others have said, the lighting! Table lamps, perhaps a floor standng lamp and some fairy lights or something just so all the light isn't coming from above!

Exciting project! Personally in a small space I would go for a light grey (like Benjamin Moore Fieldstone) or light creamy brown (like Benjamin Moore Richmond Grey) on the walls. Then I would paint the door in a deep color like charcoal, rich chocolate brown, or a deep red, whatever fits your taste and the rest of the room.

I would put privacy shades on the window for night time (you could even use simple roller blinds) and then hang sheer white curtains that go to the floor. Then during the day you have privacy but light coming in and at night you can shut the blinds and still have a nice look. The current curtains are hung very close to the ceiling, which accentuates the low ceiling. If you can lower the top of the curtains by a few inches that will help minimize the low ceiling, as well as taking the curtains to the floor.

Definitely need an area rug. I would keep the futon but get rid of the other couch and go for large floor pillows. Again, in a room with a low ceiling, keep the furniture low will help. Floor pillows would be an easy way to bring in an accent color and can be stacked out of the way when not in use, which is good for a small room.

The table the tv is on is very nice, but can you have fewer things on it?

Change the ceiling light to something softer and add a floor lamp next to the futon - sofa height lamp (43") not a full height floor lamp to again make the room feel taller. Or if you get a side table a table lamp so you have more than one source of light. Some art on the wall... Good luck and have fun!

Is there a budget or handy skills to put to use?

I thought it might be nice to:
1. unify the color including the door so it doesn't stick out (maybe everything white?)

2. sell the TV table and create a built in low plywood TV storage/ window seat -- plant area along the window wall. The TV can sit on the built in and maybe you could put a shelf above that for the monitor if you need both. You can have all the goodies mentioned in the other advice -- a place for keys, plants, a lamp and space below to hide the electrical stuff.

3. Above the bench/storage area you'll probably need a different window treatment. If you'd like to see the sky but not the pedestrians you can install shades upside down and attach them halfway up the window. Or use window film or sheers.

The Ikea sofa goes on ebay and the futon gets a happy throw over it. Yes to rug and art.

I don't follow Feng Shui very closely but having people being able to see me sitting on the sofa when my roommate opens the front door would be unnerving.

the curtains need to be darker maybe a tone of brown the sofa needs to be lighter maybe a shade of green.The wall where the tv is a book shelf or entertainment center. And the walls a shade of cream color

Loose the futon. Buy either a sofabed or a 60ies daybed (like the Nelson case study one) so you have sofa and guest bed in one. Put a rug down, and make a conversation area with a couch table and a chair. A nice credenza for the tv. Hang art around the tv so that its lesss of a focal point.
You can go in so many different directions with colours, styles ect. What I would suggest since I like it, but thats really subjectiv: White walls, light yellow curtains (I think they give the impression of sunlight streaming in), kelim rug, grey/dark blue couch, mcm couch table/hairpin couch table, kelim pillows, hot orange chair/chair with hot orange pillow, teal accents.

Those curtains definitely hog up too much attention. We too have a (not as small) oddly shaped living room, and went with these roller shades mounted inside. http://www.blindsgalore.com/WindowProduct.asp?id=709406 If you keep the futon then I would cover it with something lighter, perhaps a pattern. We have a brown Steelcase desk that we'll eventually paint, as it tends to suck the life out of the room. Due to the oddly angled walls, we have those too, I would stick to clean lines on the furniture. My own personal taste would be look for angular pieces. And don't be hung up on having a couch, beyond the futon. We have a small two-seater, which I like, otherwise it would be just chairs.

Personally I like the idea of light gray walls and white(ish) curtains. IMO you can leave the curtain rods where they are, just get longer curtains that reach the floor. If you can't paint or move hardware around, please at least get new curtains :)
It would be really cool if you could get a more seamless curtain look, to where it looks like it's one big wraparound curtain, but it'll be fine without that adjustment.

I definitely agree with adding a rug, and some art on the wall above where the TV is. You can find VERY affordable original art online, or if you have an artist friend you can enlist their help. Have fun!!

Depending on how busy the street is and what the elevation is outside your windows consider cafe curtains that go up 1/2 or 3/4 of the way, allowing natural light to come in the top. Keep them simple and unfussy. I had a street level place and just made simple solid panels and held them in place with tension rods. Looked clean and nice. You could also do window film if you want additional privacy.

Opening up the windows more will make the room seem bigger.

I like the tips you've gotten so far regarding color, rugs, and window coverings. Yes, replace the futon if possible. If budget does not allow, would it help to switch the TV and the love seat? Personally, I don't like it when one piece of furniture blocks another as your futon does to your love seat. Getting a new TV stand would be near the top of my list.

Here's a window bench/shelf sample http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbmky/1953102507/

nothing says cosy like a window seat. It has the added bonus of covering the cement foundation. There are heaps of build your own window seat plans if you google for them.

I'll stop now.. :-) Do post pictures, please.

You need a rug! Something to soften that cold, hard floor. And you need some table lamps to soften the lighting and you need to get rid of that icy blue color. Paint it neutral or paint it something warmer. And then put up some art and maybe blinds instead of those curtains, which just overwhelm the space.

If you have a limited budget: Hit up craigslist, thrift store, or Ikea for a cheap, tall-ish bookcase/hutch type thing to replace the tv table and add height. Put that where the white chair is, and move the chair to the window wall, and get rid of the futon to give the space some breathing room.

The wall opposite the door would look great with a larger vinyl decal if you're into that, or something like a cheap-ish framed vintage movie poster. Hang art low-ish so that there is more room above the picture to create the illusion of height.

If you are feeling spendy: To create coziness, add textiles (rug, pillows, throws, sheer curtains), candles, and plant-y things en masse. If you love the blue walls, think about cobalt, mustard, or chartreuse accents. To create height, think about replacing the futon with something with thin legs and the tv table with something tall. Don't be afraid of color in a small space, rather tend toward the monochromatic.

The space needs warming and softening.

Ikea Manstad is world's most comfortable sofabed. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90198978/ It will give you a nice little L you can tuck into the corner. add one small slipper chair and you'll be maxed out for seating but gain a nice tailored look.

Get rid of the blue, I like blue but that room is calling out for something light and warm like BM Edgecomb Grey. Get the world's biggest rug to cover the terrible tile. Something cheap in sisal would be great. Go for shades but add some simple ceiling to floor white drapes as well to soften the walls and cover the concrete. You can get cheap white cotton grommet curtains from 0.co for next to nothing. Get a real TV bench - the coffee table is not doing you any favors - something small, and lose the tube TV ASAP. watch TV on that monitor if nothing else.

Finally, add a small round storage ottoman in front of the manstad. Throw up some art, add a table lamp and a floor lamp, and you'll have a great room.

We also have a living room that the front door opens into at one end, and we have made the wall at the other end the "media" center and clustered the chairs/sofa/ottomons (our space allows us to have a couple!) at that end -- it sort of creates a nice cozy seating area and helps with what someone already mentioned about feng shui. I don't dislike the blue walls -- but you have to add some architectural details. Horizontal wood (or wood-like if your budget is tight) blinds on the windows with sheers (as everyone has mentioned, that go to the floor!) and some pretty patterned side panels would really make the windows a feature. Could you add some wood molding above the cement base, and even paint it (and the molding) out in a warm white? Paint the back of the door a glossy black, and have your media center (even if it's just the coffee table you have now) the same black. Hang cool posters or art on that wall, too -- even shelves with books would be good. Put the cream chair in front of the windows with a side table (the side table could be a pop of color -- depending on the pattern you choose for the curtain panels) and put a lamp on it (like everyone has said, you need some table lamps and low floor lamps!) and stack some favorite books by the chair. Put a coat rack by the front door and "stage" it -- hang a couple of cool baskets (wicker, etc) on it that you could use to put mail/keys, etc. in when you walk in the door. Put an umbrella stand on a throw rug there to help create a small "entry" space. Get a nice ottomon to "center" the room -- it adds seating to that area in front of the front door, but won't be a barrier -- and you could use it with the cream chair. I think living areas have to be comfortable first. Get pillows and throws that are soft and put them in each chair/futon you put in that space. Add throw rugs if you can't get a big rug -- layer them up and scatter them everywhere to warm up that tile floor. A sisal rug would go a long way in that space, too. Mostly, you want to direct the focus of the room to the wall that right now has your Ikea sofa against it. Make the room a "square" using that wall as one side, instead of the rectangle it is now.

1. Matchstick blinds on the windows (lined on back if you want no light and complete privacy)-- go to Ikea -- and then hang floor to ceiling drapes at the ceiling. WIll make the room feel taller.
2. Can you paint? Because that blue looks not so great with the black couch and that light, and its easier to change paint colors than couch colors.
3. If so paint the walls a warm white. You need to work with that floor; the blue doesn't. Neither do your warm curtains. If you're going to do an airy blue you've got to commit to it all the way through. SO for you I am prescribing warm neutrals with color coming in only on accessories.
4. Get the biggest sisal rug you can afford to tie all thefurniture together. Ideally everything (couches chairs TV stand) will have at least a foot on the rug.
5. Why do you have so many couches? Get rid of the futon if you can. You should probably just invest in a good couch that a guest can sleep on.
6. Get better throw pillows. Not expensive... just better. Some patterns.I'm thinking kilims -- warm, lots of texture etc.
7. why do you have 2 TVs? or is one your computer? If so why is your computer next to the TV? Get a flat screen tv. They are under $300 for a $32 inch now.
8. Do you like the ceiling fixture? It should NEVER be on. That's terrible downlighting. You need to create pools of light -- get some side tables and some table lamps. Homegoods has an enormous selection of the latter. I'd go with something warm and natural -- a rope covered base or similar. Rein this place in.
9. After you repaint the room you might want to paint the door interior a color. But its not a great door to begin with. Remember this rule:" the eye goes to contrast. If you want a detail to fade away, paint it the same colro as the stuff around it. I think the whole room architecture is problematic, so I'd go for a neutral box. That will also minimize the concrete around the bottom.
10. I can't get a good sense of the room dimensions or layout, which I would need to see to really figure out the furniture. I don't like that the door opens right where you are sitting. Bad feng shui. Bad energy. You will never feel relaxed. It's like you are going to fall out the front door. Is it possible to flip the seating area to the wall where the TV is and the tv and chair to the wall where the couch is?
11. Make sure every seat has a surface for a light and drink next to it, and a place to put up the feet. Consider some upholstered drums or ceramic garden stools. Cna double as side tables and foot stools and seating when necessary, and they don't take up much room.
12. Your TV stand is way too low -- It only reinforces the low ceiling. If it stays on that wall get a tall piece with open storage that stretches up to the ceiling -- it needs to be TALL. this will make the ceilings feel taller. Another option is as really big sideboard. TV goes on top, lots of storage underneath and its weight would visually blaance the heavy sofa.
13. Get a coffee table. Make it an upholstered ottoman, round, so it's easy to walk around without banging on corners.
if you want to send me room dimensions, I can put together a floor plan for you and the kind of stuff I would buy. Hit me over at howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com so I can tell you how to run your life! it's what I do!

pam h
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

My first suggest (I have a small weird living room myself) is losing the futon, if you want a futon I would recommend one that folds 3 ways instead of 2 and fits along the back wall. For an alternate guest sleeping get a twin size air mattress. I would also recommend getting a new lighter cover for the sofa, it will open the space up more and move it to the long wall. A storage ottoman with a tray would make the perfect coffee table, and moving the white chair to the couches current location. I would suggest for storage a tall narrow light colored book shelf or cube shelf where the chair is now. A mirror on the wall above where the couch is now would also help the space feel more open.

Must have been one messed up architect who dreamed that room up. On the plus side you have the oval office in your house, I would paint the walls snow white, have rich wine carpet on the floor and a decent light. The angular wall I would paint in royal navy. You have to change that door though! Awful, maybe a shaker style but Georgian doesn't work at all.

Oh and instead of having 2 separate curtains, you should have one pair and make sure they are full length too.