Combining Room Decors Creates Living Space Unity
Q. This past year we bought furniture for a new house while it was being built. We are in the house now and nothing looks right to me in the L-shaped living room/dining room. I think we bought all the wrong things, but we can’t take back the furniture or the house.
We have a sofa, love seat and chair to match in a fabric of tiny flowers on a white background. Our tables and dining set are cherry, and the lamps are crystal. We have a gold-framed mirror over the fireplace, which is the only thing that looks right to me.
Can you give me tips on putting together a living room/dining room combination?
A. Just as an artist uses rules of line, color, emphasis and balance to put together a timeless work of art, and a chef uses rules about texture, color, flavor, temperature and shapes to put together an unforgettable meal, we need guidelines for putting together a successful room.
Here are eight important considerations:
Some tall pieces are needed so our eye will go up and down around the room. You may be experiencing a true sinking feeling because this rule is left out. You didn’t mention a china cabinet, but this piece would add height. Other tall items can be curios, bookcases, tall trees, floor-to-ceiling draperies, or even a row of pictures placed one on top of the other. A good way to make the fireplace appear taller is to hang the mirror no more than four to six inches above the mantel.
We want to make sure woods and upholstery are intermingled around the room. Often with living room/dining room combinations the wood will end up on one side of the room and the upholstery and pattern on the other. Good ways to bring fabric and pattern to the dining area are chair cushions, table runners, draperies, or an area rug.
Every seat in your room should have some sort of tabletop space available. Almost always a person who is seated is involved in some activity that needs a surface. It may be reading, snacking, sewing, etc. A comfortable and workable room has this surface-space handy for every seat.
Most average-sized rooms need lighting in at least three places. A variety of lamps (table, floor, wall and ceiling) will be useful because every part of your room has its own special lighting considerations. Seldom would there be a situation where two matching lamps are needed, except perhaps a symmetrical arrangement, as around a sofa with matching chairs and matching tables.
A good conversation area measures approximately eight feet from head to head, or approximately 12 feet from back-of-seat to back-of-seat. You may need to pull your pieces closer together and leave some walls open for much needed thoroughfares.
Plan traffic patterns so there is nothing much more than 18 inches in depth protruding on thoroughfare walls. This is a good place for curios, bookcases, consoles, etc.
Most family rooms will, of necessity, have the TV or fireplace as the focal-point, with all seats facing that direction. Living rooms may have a window view or a beautiful rug as the center of attention. I believe you will have the most successful room if you make sure every seat has an attractive view.
Once the room is put in place, we need to create some unity. The eye should bounce around the room noting “like” objects. It may be a vase of rose flowers, rose pillow, rose chair and a rose-colored rug or, in your room, it could be a crystal lamp, crystal bowl, crystal chandelier and a crystal picture frame.
Buyer’s remorse is a common malady. We hope these rules will help chase it away for you.
Design tip
Blacks, browns, creams, grays and whites are not considered colors but can be used as salt-and-pepper in your color scheme.
Blacks and whites will sharpen a decor, while beiges and browns will soften it.
An example would be a complementary color scheme of sage green and persimmon becoming more dramatic with black and white added, and more calm with the addition of beige and brown. The color-scheme remains the same either way.
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