Chasing Davies: Small Changes, Big Impact?

July 21, 2011

Small Changes, Big Impact?

Hubs and I have gone back and forth on the location of our couch in our living room.  And we've moved it back and forth, back and forth.  Now it's just high-time I need your all's advice and thoughts!

Couch Position: Away from the Wall


Pros & Cons: An easy walk way behind the couch to the dining room (you don't have to cross the living room/walk in front of the TV).  Furniture and style is more center of room, but a tighter space.  The room just feels more pulled together this way.

Couch Position: Against the Wall




Pros & Cons: Opens the room up, but no room for my beloved mirrored end table (currently pushed next to the fire place).  A lot of dead space in front of the fire place, but with the baby coming - this could be a good area for floor play. Furniture heavy off to the right side of the room.

So at first glance, what way do you like better?


My biggest thing about having the couch away from the wall (first photo) is that the room feels more put together. So I challenged myself to see how I could make the living room with the couch against the wall feel more together.

Three changes that could help:


1. Move striped bench to the other side of the fire place, under the 2nd window. In its place, add an accent chair to balance out this side of the room's lack of furniture.
       - For the accent chair, I'm thinking a dark brown, leather chair to tie in with the ottoman and ground the space (like this one).

2. Find a new home for my beloved side mirror table. Make room for striped bench.

3. Get a bigger area rug to fill the floor space and pull the room together.  This current 5'x8' black and white rug will be moving to the Green Room (aka, future baby room) once we get a new one for this space.
       - However, I'm at a road block on what color of area rug to get.
                        * Lime Green (like this one) - this color has been a subtle accent color to this room
                        * Aqua/Teal (like this one) - like the curtains, but will that be hard to match?
                        * Lighter Gray than the couch - but that would be a lot of Gray
                        * Ivory/Off-White would be nice, but not realistic in a heavy trafficked room

So can you see, I need your advice!  No matter who you are or what you think - let me know what position you like the room in, and if the more opened up space - can I make it better with my proposed changes?!

Apparently, I am a Home Design rookie!

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