A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 Decorating Question

Hey all this is my livingroom. 8'X 8' and I can't get it to look comfy. I could use a lot of ideas.



I thought maybe wall scones on each side of the curtains maybe. Something along the top of the wall like um i don't know china plates?

Something that would coverup or hide that access panel that is partially hidden behind the couch?

Maybe a fake fireplace on the blank wall?

I don't know what to do. I sure hope someone else might be able to guide me on this one.

Hey TK
You know, you could maybe put a hanging plant in the corner...just something green...easy, like pothos, or on that wall, put up one of those shelf things and put some picture frames or candles on it! Just passin through, thought maybe I could help

Thanks Quincy,

I'll take all the help I can get. I managed to decorate the bathroom 5'x 8' But with most of it being tiled that wasn't exactly a noteworthy effort. lol

I've got my eye on a peacock shelf [very ornate] for the blank wall but it is only 21" long and the wall is 8' so i'm wondering do I need 2 or 1 with something on each side that is plain in comparison. I just am not very talented in this area.

hi tk
thats a great idea!! the one shelf and you could put the "scones" on both sides of the shelf.
above the window(i like the idea that quincy had)
you could put pothos or ivy above the wondow and let it grow/hang down on both sides of the window.
i had a window like that in one of my apartments and i had 2 little sconces(scones ) on both sides,i had vinca vines on them and they grew down the sides of the window (looked really nice)
hope that helps

Thanks Phoenix,

That's what I needed. You really made it easy to picture. Kind of like a vine valance over the top of the curtain and down the sides and scones on the sides of the peacock shelf. Maybe I can even find some peacock feathers to arrange somehow in the scones. Thankyou again. The room was driving me crazy.

your very welcome tk glad to have been able to help pier 1 i think has peacock feathers. i think any craft store should and i bet they would be less expensive than at pier 1 post a pic when you have the room complete. i can't wait to see the finished work

Well I did it. I'm going to be eating peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches for months but I did it. I bought the shelf from Design Toscana and the wall scones from target. I even found a place for peacock feathers at a good price but you need to make a 20.00 purchase so that will have to wait. I'm so excited.

Sounds good! Definately post a picture!

Ok, I'll make a note so I don't forget.

i can't wait to see the pictures tk i'm SO EXCITED for you !!!!

This is a picture of the shelf from the company I bought it from. Is it ok to post it? It is simply fantastic.

I like using mantels to warm up rooms. In my shop I have broken mirrors that are arranged to mimic flames. I put a bunch of glass chimneys in front of the mirrors with Christmas tree lights and then enclosed the area with a screen.

People love it. Everyone that enters the shop mentions it.

Instead of the chimneys you could put canles on a tray infront of the mirror and have real fire!!!

oops candles.

If you did the mantel on the blank wall you could still use that great shelf over the sofa, under the pictures.

Hey check this out for peacock feathers:
http://search.ebay.com/peacock-feathers_W0QQsojsZ1QQfromZR40

or just go to ebay.com and put peacock feathers in the search. I saw somw really cheap ones today.

Hey Rue,

Thanks for the ideas. I particularly like the mantle idea with the mirror and candles. Do you know where you can get large candles that are scentless? I have a bad reaction to most perfumes/fragrances.

hmmmmmmm....I keep looking what you have arranged already there. I think you definatley need a focal point in the room. The window is the natural one because it is so big. The rug either needs to be turned in the other direction or put so it "points" to the window. Then your couch go at the opposite end of the room with a walk way behind it or put it at an angle but remember the window is the focal point.

The shelf is fabulous! I love it! I can't remember now where you said you were putting peacock feathers? Put the vase of feathers across the room from the shelf. Not on it. That would be too peacocky if you know what I mean. LOL And if you can get a peacock blue chenille throw (I have seen then for like $12 at Kmart or other discount stores) to put over a table or one end of your couch....would look really nice.

I am not a sconce fan but they could look real nice on either side of the shelf or 2 angled on one side. I learned to put groupings in odd numbers, it looks better, so shelf and 2 sconces makes 3....perfect!

So do you want the camera back now????

This is going to sound funny, I know. But there is no other side of the room lol. The space is actually "L" shaped with the other extension of the room being the entryway/dinningroom/computer area Path to the bathroom two bedrooms and kitchen lol. Needless to say their are 4 door ways and the eight foot alcove that I am using as my livingroom because it was too small for my dinningroom. The space is about as user unfriendly as it can get.

How do you point a rug? If I put it the otherway I end up with an uncovered edge and those are always so difficult to keep clean. But if you think that would be best I will definitely try it.

I tried putting the couch out in the open space but then I couldn't get by it to enter the space. Also behind the couch is a very ugly very large access panel to the bathroom plumbing that I kind of want to hide.

Do you think I could somehow put the couch out in the other part of the "L" area and still make it look like it is incorporated into that area? I can't go to far out in the other space because it's only nine feet across and the couch including back is 3 feet and the dinningroom table is 2 feet and I need some space so I can pull out the dinningroom chairs and still get by. And that is going to make getting by the computer chair to get to the bathroom a bit tight. I love/hate this apartment.

You keep the camera for now and bring it to the 4th of July celebration we can exchange then if no one else needs it.

I was thinking about some very small cobalt blue vases that they had over in the craft section of walmart. Put them on the sconces when they arrive and put maybe the eyes of the peacock feathers in there say three in each. But your right that may be way to much.

I don't have room for end tables in that room the couch with the arms takes the entire 8 feet lol. I was thinking about getting some black wall shelves for the wall behind the couch as a way to hide the top of the access panel that peaks above the couch back. I hate the three pictures that are currently in there. They are vogue covers from the 1920 and the colors are very washed out which did not show in the catalog that I got them from. They were suppose to be red and green and they turned out to be a very light violet which does not match anything in my house.

Do you think I could get a steamer trunk styled "coffee table" to work in there? It would cover up the center design of the rug which bothers me but I would like to have something in there that I can set an ashtray and coffee mug on.

In order for your rug to look right, it needs to be centered in the room. (that's what I meant by pointing it....making it even with the window, not the couch.) That is going to leave a border of whatever is under it all around the edges but the way it is now makes it look sort of off. Your rug should be an accent. It shouldn't matter if parts of it get covered. I agree though that it is very pretty. Have you thought maybe a couple ottomans or cubes to put as coffee tables to the sides of the couch instead of the exact center? That way the rug medallion still shows some and you have the table space you need. You could then walk between the cubes to get to the couch easily?

Put your gorgeous shelf up as sort of a fireplace mantle across from the couch instead of by the window. A sconce on each side with the blue vases would be pretty. Then you put your chair at an angle pointing towards the right corner of the room (as it appears in the photo?). Then put a huge vase of peacock feathers on the floor under the shelf.

I like your black shelf idea. But no matter what you hang...hang it so it is at your eye level when standing in front of it. It doesn't matter what the ceiling height is, hang things so they are comfortable for you to see standing in front of them. A big framed mirror would also look cool but those can be very spendy.

Oh I just thought that if you put your rug on an angle and left the couch the way it is.....

sorry....I love to decorate. Thank your lucky stars I live clear out in Idaho!!!

Hot Flash lol.

I've been moving the rug and couch around and boy did I warm up. I tried the couch out into the other area some and it blocked the bathroom and the kitchen so I moved it back to the wall it was on. But I took a tv sized tray and covered it with the tiger/leopard print and put that in the corner and the couch up against that and it only sticks out a little.

I tried the rug on the diagonal but it is to big and the corners crawled up the walls so I put it long ways with the window. It still doesn't look right to me. One side of the boarder and all of the background on one side is underneath the couch so it looks like I only have half of a rug.

The only place that couch is going to look good is if it is underneath the window I think. But it makes it so hard to get to the plants I hate to do that. Plus I wouldn't have any place inside for the tomatoes. But maybe it is time to harden them anyway. This week they have been losing what I consider to be to many branches on the bottom. Of course I don't have any sun to put them in outside since I can't plant on that one side of the garden due to the leaning retaining wall. shoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I put the peacock shelf exactly where you suggested and when the sconces come in they will go on each side of it and I think that at least is going to look very good.

Well I hate to say it but I'm done moving furniture tonight lol. There is always tomorrow.

I think your couch looks fine where it is. And it doesn't matter what a decorator thinks...how does it look to you? How do you like your rug and couch? As long as you are happy with it, then it is terrific. I just get carried away sometimes.

Please don't quit on me now. I really really want a nice room. And I can't afford to hire a decorator. And believe me I've tried for years and year to create rooms that would pull together and never been successful. I watch those decorating programs all the time and never can understand how they do what they do.

I'm thinking that if I point the rug the other direction it will fit better. And I like the mirror fake fireplace with the candles idea for underneath the peacock shelf. Do you think that idea would work? If so I could use some ideas on what materials to use for creating it. How tall and wide to you think would be best? The shelf is at the 4 1/2 to 5 foot height so that I will be looking at what ever goes above it when I am standing and I'm looking at the peacock when I am sitting down.

I forgot to mention earlier that I am trying to draw attention away from the window because the panes are cracked and ugly and impossible to get clean on the outside because I am on the second floor. I have covered them with a plastic frosted material to help hide the cracks but it still is not the best feature in the room by a long shot. lol.

I think the plants on the window sill and the brocade curtains have helped on that score a great deal. To finish that wall I was thinking of a matching valance. And I would like to add a window shelf half way up the window. To put more plants on of course lol.

Now for the wall with the couch on it. I was thinking of three shelves the lowest one really long and narrow. I don't want anyone to bang their heads on it when they sitdown. But I haven't a clue what the other two should be. I'm trying to cover/take attention away from the popcorn texture that is on that wall and that I really hate!!!! lol. I was thinking about doing a diagonal lowest shelf far left middle shelf centered on the wall and the top one far right. Does that sound workable? And how wide do you think I could get away with? 4, 6, or maybe 8 inches wide?

For lighting I was thinking about trying to get some of those miniature stainglass table lamps that they sell at collections inc. from time to time. Would that work in the room I am trying to create? There is plenty of daylight in there so it would just be for accent in the early evenings. I go to bed pretty early as I'm sure you can tell lol.

Let me know what you think.

Actually I really liked the idea of a living valence made with a plant over the curtain. The shelf for more plants sounds good but you will be drawing attention to the window. It is big, it is going to be noticable. Do what you can to minimize the bad. Actually I think the shelf/plant thing might work pretty good at doing that.

I like the idea of your rug turned around the other way. I would look very nice.

To get the fireplace look....you could use mirror tiles below your peacock mantle....about 4 or 6 tall? (measure, measure, measure) Then line up bricks side to side (as opposed to end to end) or some other type of narrow hearth to put candles on. You might get some varying heights of wrought iron candle holders. Big white pillar candles I think would look awesome. You would probably need to go on the internet to find a source for scentless candles. Do you know there are peacock fireplace screens? A small one could look really awesome. Or put a big one on the window sill? No light blockage but ugly glass would not be so noticable?

Your shelves over the couch sound terrific. About 6 inches wide I think and do watch that bottom shelf so no one whacks their head on it. And don't over fill your shelves. Leave enough space to just be there to really point out what you are displaying.

Tiffany type lights would look nice....make sure you don't go too off your color scheme and maybe you could even find a bird pattern. That would really go with the peacock theme you have going.

I still like the idea of a peacock blue throw over one arm of your couch.

I think the blue throw would be great for the couch. I also need something big enough to cover the whole couch. It is getting very worn in places and there is one place where the spring is comming through the back.

A peacock fan in the window would be fantastic do you know where you saw it?

I was thinking of getting the molding for around the mirror and painting it glossy black and using some ceramic tiles inside of it in a cobalt blue/emerald green combo. and then continuing the blue green tiles for the hearth Is that to much? Maybe going with black for the hearth would be better? or should I maybe just do it all in white since black really shrinks the room and it is small enough already?

I can tell I am going to love my living room when it is finished.

No no no....I love your fireplace idea. NO white. White would just blend it into the wall and make it less instead of popping. I just got the most fabulous idea though. What about, putting your peacock shelf over the couch since it is only about 2 foot long and the 2 sconces when they get there and then taking your 3 shelf idea to the opposite side of the room and the bottom center shelf you make into a mantle and then do your other 2 shelves to the sides like you said? Make your fake fireplace under that bottom shelf just like you said. I can see it Tammy.....right now all in my head.

check out ebay for the peacock screen. Or else pier one or like that on internet. I cannot for the life of me remember where I saw those screens.

Also keep an eye on the clearance shelves at Kmart or Warmart for couch slipcovers. A nice cheap way to get new furniture! I got a nice new couch out of an UGLY blue one that way. Only cost me like $70. I found a chair cover on clearance for $5 at Kmart! Your room is tiny though and since you are doing the peacock and stained glass theme, keep your furniture less busy and more plain. Though peacock green or blue would be cool.