Living room ... ideas please?

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Living room ... ideas please?

I live in a 2 story Townhouse and the problem is with my Living room.

I purchased 3 large pieces of furniture separately and now find that they are too dark.

One is a 3 piece is a cherry wood entertainment center that is 81 inches tall, the other piece is a brown tuxedo style letter sofa and the last piece is a painted black large Bombay chest.

I don’t want to sell any of the pieces but I find them to be overwhelming, lack warmth and am too dark.

What can I do to warm up the place and lighten things up?

The walls are celery color.

Thank you, Karen Carlisle

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Living room ... ideas please?

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Aug 28, 2008
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Make a new focal point...
by: Charlotte

Hi Karen

I can see your problem - you have 3 lovely pieces of furniture, but they are just not working for you.

Firstly, is there any way that you can actually re-arrange the furniture so that the large pieces seem less imposing - for example, in an alcove, behind a door, behind a sofa etc.

Strange as it may seem, I have sometimes found that grouping large (or dark) pieces of furniture together (if this is a viable option) can work better than having them scattered around the room.

Getting lighter colors in the rest of the room may help with your problem too - this can be all parts of the room (I'll talk colors in a minute) - flooring, rugs on the floor, walls, throws, curtains, cushions, accessories...

As to which colors you can use, cool, pale colors (such as pale blues and greens) make the room seem lighter, larger and 'colder'.

Darker colors and 'warm' colors such as reds, oranges, yellows, can make your room feel darker, but also warmer and cosier.

As you need your living room to feel lighter and warmer, your choices are not so clear cut...

You could try a pale (to keep it light) warm tone - this could vary anything from cream (don't go bright white as this will feel cold), pale yellows, pinks, peach etc. (The contrast between the dark furniture and pale walls will be strong, so your furniture will stand out still, but the whole room will be paler, and lighter, but not too stark and cold)

Darker colors - for example reds, or terracotta, will 'warm' the place up, and bring a cosy feel. The furniture will stand out less against such dark colors, but it may make the whole room feel too dark for you..?

Bright colors - such as fuschia pink, teal, turquoise, aqua, bright yellow or lime green, are another option - these are all strong, bold colors, that will set the dark furniture off well, but will keep a lively (and very modern) tone to the room. If you are going for bright colors though, do pick a color you love, as bright colors can sometimes be hard to live with, and may make your room feel smaller.

You can combine pale walls (with a warm tone) with accessories in a brighter color too - this can really help to keep the interest on the bright accessories, and not on the dark furniture - this can be curtains, cushions, throws, ornaments, a large, striking painting, etc...

It is good to make a striking focal point to your room - painting, fireplace, wall of nice wallpaper, etc - as this will immediately take the attention as you come in the room (rather than the large furniture).

I hope that this helps.

Charlotte

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Living room ... ideas please?

Comments for Living room ... ideas please?

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Living room ... ideas please?