When it comes to activities for kids and planning parties, I can say I’m pretty crafty. But for the life of me, I can’t decorate my house. I struggle with colors, theme, and design. I desperately need to decorate my front room, the room every guest sees. So I’m calling in some reinforcements, YOU. I need your help and suggestions for what I should put on my walls.
Here’s the damage! It’s a small space, 2 couches, piano passed down from Grandma (love it) as the main focus, don’t you mind the baby toys on the floor – they get hidden when company comes :) At least the piano does have a few cute pictures on it.
But soooo plain. Should we paint? Or is that a pain as we have that wall that goes into the hall? And notice the framed picture on the floor behind the couch that’s meant to be on the wall. Do I put up shelves, or a mirror, or a large clock over the piano. I want a new lamp or side table and lamp. I just need someone to come and surprise me with a makeover, move that bus!
Or maybe a few of these home decor links can help:
Please share your thoughts, ideas, and links in the comments!!
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, a blank space. How exciting!
1. I would definitely paint the walls. Depending on what color your carpet is (I can’t see it in the photo), I think you could paint just about any color, since the furniture is very neutral.
2. You also want to draw the eye up into all the empty space by adding some height. Maybe a large mirror or framed photo/print or group of smaller framed photos above the piano and the couch.
3. You could also use that partial wall behind the couch to your advantage. Maybe find some matching bin style baskets with fabric liners and arrange them on top of the wall. You could store away seasonal or seldom used items. This would only look right if the wall below had some things on it.
Is that a high shelf above the couch? If so, add plants that hang down a little, maybe even silk ones, if it’s too hard to care for them up there, and maybe a decorative basket or piece of art (sculpture or carving).
The room needs color. Either on the walls or upholstery.
I do envy your open and uncluttered space, though.
Definitely add some color to warm up the space. I love a focus wall with a coordinating but different color than the other walls. That should be the wall the piano is on. I also love the idea of some greenery on the couch-wall and some decorative pieces up there, if possible. I had the same problem for a long time and just couldn’t figure out what to do with a room. How about putting family photos in matching frames/mattes on the piano wall or above the couch? I love candid photos in same color scheme (all sepia, black & white or color) and I also love a big mirror in a small room because it makes it look bigger! If you find an accent piece you LOVE or a fabric that you can build off of, it makes the whole process much easier because you have a place to start and something to build on! Good Luck, have fun and please make sure to show us what you come up with!
I have problems with this too. Luckily I roomed w/ 2 interior designers at Mom 2.0 and a new design blog was formed.
@mjumbo and @schlosserdesigns are launching their brand new design blog NEXT WEEK to address this exact kind of question.
I was thinking about how crafty and thrifty you are. At first I was going to say that color on the walls is definitely what you need. But after thinking about it for a bit perhaps you have a favorite fabric patter. If you picked up a large inexpensive poster sized frame you could just put some fabric stretched in the frame and spice up the whiteness of the walls. Another thing you might like to do is go to the craft store and get 4 paint canvas pieces. Have a paint party with your kids. Everyone can get a piece or a specific stamp and stamp or paint the pieces. If you do one too perhaps of just a big flower you can display the art on the ledge above the couch.
Plants are a great idea too. But you want to make sure that they are easily accessible to water and clean. Silk ones look great too, but need to be cleaned and dusted or they look old and tired.
Just my two cents.
I would paint first–it’s cheap and easy. Then you should go for something with big impact either over the couch or piano.
You, of all people can do this next step. Go to the craft store and buy a huge canvas (or foam board depending on your budget) and various art supplies (in coordinating colors-paint, embroidery thread, scrapbook paper, etc.) and paint, glue, glitter, and glop a quick, abstract-ish work of art. The kids can help. I did this all over my house until I can afford “real” art. And I love my pieces so much I may never buy real art.
Definately paint! I would do that first! Then start adding accesories! I would do a big mirror above the coach. It will open up your room like Beth said!
I love the white. It looks like a blank canvas waiting for art. I would love to have a space like this that could accept a rotation of things I made. Perhaps ledges (white or black) that you could place things on above the piano, or one of those curtain wire things from IKEA or a magnetic strip painted white to match the walls. You could continue this around on the wall above your couch. Add your art as you create it. This plus some easy pillow covers (do not fear the safety pin–I learned this from my MIL and it has changed my life!) whenever the mood strikes and you will always have a source of conversation with your guests!
Here check this out. It is just a quick photoshop makeover of your room. I used Amy Butler Midwest Modern 2 fabrics. (Love her!)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3381662009_dc91b9465c_o.jpg
I love what Crystal did on photoshop-that’s so cool I had no idea that you could do that!! I agree that you should paint! It’s fun to pick out colors and it’s an easy thing to change should you decide a year or two down the road that you want something different. I am really partial to greens on the wall, but go with whatever suits you :)
I love to decorate my walls with photography of my family (not taken by me usually). Here’s a post where I talk about the stuff on my walls (and where I had the pictures enlarged). http://vermillionrules.blogspot.com/2009/01/on-walls.html Good luck with decorating-it’s so fun!! I’d love to see an “AFTER” picture when you are done!!
I guess I should have added the carpet in the photo. It’s a Sage Green. We don’t like it, but it’s fine for now. If we could afford it, we’d put in wood floors. Some day!
Quinn and Mountain Mama – Love the crafty art canvas for the walls, that is something I could do!
Chelsea – great idea on some pillow covers. I hadn’t thought to just cover them, duh!
Crystal – fun idea for the makeover! I love seeing it decorated like that! I’ll have to play around with that. In fact, I need to take a photo of every room in my house.
Great ideas people, keep them coming!!
I’d help, except my front room looks nearly identical!
I love the ideas everyone has offered. My family lives in a 480 sq ft apartment in German. It was white white white like your space. The first thing I did was put color on the walls. It’s lifted the entire place by itself.
I chose yellow because winters in Europe really lack the sun we got in the US. Perhaps that would be my suggestion. Think about how color influences you. What an exciting project. I hope to read more cool ideas from people.
Katie
As far as picking paint colors, we had an inspiration piece for each room to pull the colors from. In the living room, it was the “It’s A Wonderful Life” movie poster. In the dining room it was our dishes. In the kitchen it was the light fixture. If you have a print fabric you will cover the pillows with, you can pull the colors from there. You have a GREAT blank slate to work with. Hope you find something you like!
Hi! I got a book many years ago that really helped me to figure out how to make the most of a room. I don’t have it any more, so I don’t remember the author, but I think it was called “Use what you have decorating” or something like that. It talks a lot about focal points and furniture arranging, and shows really remarkable transformations simply by re-arranging and maybe buying a couple of small accessories. It really helped me, especially in my first apartments and house!
A couple ideas:
1. The wall on the right of the picture could be painted in a complimentary color to your pillows ( greenish ) or a warm to bring out those great pillows ( orange-red )
2. DO put plants that hang on the shelf-wall above the couch.
3. Use some rope light behind the plants to accent them at night.
4. on the wall above piano: a used paned window ( big ) that you can put mirrors to create a bigger space. ( or you can have an image of your favorite outdoors and divide it up in the window frames. Also add shutters to either side of the “window” to make the piano your focus area.
Wish you luck!
fun project! i’m in the middle of starting a little makeover on my dining room too. i’d start with colors-decide what color combination you want. martha stewart or restoration hardware paint do a great job with all around great and safe wall colors (nothing too crazy!) and color combos. i think domino mag online has a resource for colors too.
pick a wall color and then add a couple other accent colors around like pillows, art, mirror, etc. you can paint an old mirror from the thrift store like i did here and make a cool magnetic chalkbloard (or just keep it as a mirror):
http://www.sayyestohoboken.com/2009/02/magnetic-chalkboard-done.html
I’d definitely add some art, or some oversized photos of your kids or something like this:
http://elizabethharris.typepad.com/_/2009/01/cobblers-children-be-gone.html
or a large collection of photos you can alternate, like this one i did:
http://www.sayyestohoboken.com/2008/10/wall-photos.html
anyway, sounds like a great project!!!
Oooo, so much fun. Wish I could come over and work on it with you. I think your room would look fabulous in a pretty color to warm it up and make it look cozy! Definitely add lamps and end tables, the lamps will warm up the space and end tables /coffee tables makes a room feel more inviting (you have a place to set your drink down). With that different wall behind the sofa you could even play around with it as an accent wall, painting it a complementary color. There are so many fun pillow options out there now (look at Anthropologie online for fun inspiration and then maybe have pillow covers made for what you already have). Looks like you have some great ideas in your comments (wow, even photoshop wizards!), hopefully we’ll get to see the afters!
Hmm…maybe I need to ask my blogging friends for help in every room in our house! Every wall is stark white bc we built a house last year and before we paint we need the house to settle more.
I need advice, so I am not sure why I am offering anything, but for me photos are simple. The only thing on our walls besides a kitchen clock (not even a thing in any bedrooms) are three pictures in matching dark frames and white mats. They hold 8×10′s and have a mat too. In the center is a family picture, then Meghan on one side and Evan on the other. I do think a different frame in similar color but different size is fine for the center picture. But I don’t like the idea of just two frames side by side.
Good luck, and please post the follow-up…even work in progress posts!
so many great ideas from the blog world! Paint is the best way to go, it will completely change the space. I love to decorate with lots of pictures. Do you tag posts in google reader? I love to tag decorating ideas.
Also lots of big colorful pillows would be great too!
I subscribe to thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com way cute stuff and really inexpensive!
A little paint on the wall will help your room not look so empty, and it is relatively easy and inexpensive. When you hang things on the wall, make sure you hang them at eye level. A lot of people hang things too high. I am in the process of making a clock similar to this one with some frames from Roberts Craft and some scrapbook paper. http://thevillageshopblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/stick-around.html
I am putting the scrapbook paper on the frames, and photos in the frames.
I realize that this is my second comment, BUT I thought of something else you could put on the wall-this genealogy chart is AMAZING and super cheap
http://misbach.org/charts/
I got one for my father in law last year and I didn’t realize how BIG it is-would be an awesome focal point, especially if you added some family photos around it! I’ll quit making comments now. :)
Yes you must paint and add colorful accessories. They don’t have to be expensive, just need that wow factor. Do you children’s artwork you can frame?
I have some fabric stretched over canvas which is fairly inexpensive in my shop. You can do that in a larger scale.
http://mustlovehomedecor.etsy.com
I love Home Decor and I love the Cottage look…I could help but I’m no Martha! haha
Marie,
http://valspar.com/painter.html?source=p&mcode=ValsparSearch2009_Google
I am not so good with the photoshop, so I like to mess with the rooms on the Valspar paint site. They have a living room that has a couch like yours…fun with no paint committment! Plus they use designer rooms – great way to get some ideas for how and where to place your stuff!
I feel the same way. For some reason home decor paralyzes me, even though I know all about the elements of color & design… maybe it’s just because it’s such a big job.
I would say to add some big pictures on the wall- Maybe some black and white scenic pictures or a series of pictures of the family (think potterybarn catalog-lol). Perhaps some fun pillows on the couch and a big (can be fake-but looks real) plant in a nice planter! Show us the finished pictures!!
I suggest one red wall. (Not fire engine red) This way you get the color to brighten up the room, but it’s not out of control. One bold wall makes a great statement. Plus it matches your pillows! Then a big mirror, some sconces on the sides of the piano would bring in light and brighten up the room without adding clutter to the ground space. Good luck! Sounds fun!
You should paint!! Find a rug (on ebay- great finds) and then when you have a rug for the floor, pick a color out of that rug, and go two shades darker. I would go with a classic color, so the room does not get too busy. If you find a rug with greens, red and blues for example, go with a classic green for the walls. I have lincolnshire olive (Ralph Lauren paint)on my walls, and I love it. It warms up the room, but it adds a classic color. I think you need nuetral colors every where, with punch of color for your accents. That is when the color red comes in- red pillows, red pictures, etc…
There are several things you can do if you want to dress up your blank canvas.
Utilize the high shelf behind your sofa-A mix of stacked books, a small plant (go with a fake one unless you plan to climb up there to water it each week), crystal candle sticks, a basket to stash some of those small toys, collectibles, etc. You might want to get one of those swiffers with the extended handle to make dusting easier! Using this space wisely will provide you with additional storage but give more depth to the room too!
Instead of painting the walls which can be time consuming and a pain when you’ve got little ones, paint or wall paper a section of a wall. If you have some art work with a similar theme, paint an oversized rectangle in a neutral tone (makes changing the art work easier if you ever get bored with it) hang your art inside the painted area leaving enough painted area for impact.
Scout thrift stores for great wall ornaments or sconces. A huge medallion painted black or red would look great but not sure if you’d be able to find one or if it fits in with your style. Paint whatever you find a bold color and hang.
Find an side table at the yard sale or thrift store. Paint it or modge podge fabric to dress it up and hide any flaws. You can also simply toss a cut down table cloth over it and stash the toys under it.
If you want your space to appear larger, then a mirror will help tremendously. If you don’t have a big one, then group together several small and medium sized ones. I’ve done this with great effect!
Need some artwork-Mount and frame patterned fabric or paper in oversized frames and hang in a group for high impact. Use pictures from a magazine or old book (flowers, seed, & outdoor magazines are great sources). If you’re into wine and vintage posters, join Redwood Creek’s http://www.blazethetrail.com/ to get free vintage posters that are definitely frame worthy!
You’ve got amazing walls so don’t be afraid to go higher with shelves and artwork. It will add dimension to your room.
Instead of shelves, go with ledges. Stand a photo on it and lean it against the wall. Since your space is small, you don’t want people knocking things off the shelves when moving around the room. Ledges are narrower and leaning a photo against the wall adds a modern flair.
Hang empty frames of varying sizes either painted in the same color or the same color scheme.
Look around the house for anything you can mount to the walls. I’ve got wreathes, baskets, tin pails, candelabra’s, wood boards, etc mounted in my home. I’ve mounted decor brackets and hung plants, turned planks into shelves, I’ve done all sorts of things to my walls!
Take a wide wooden plank, cut out your last name in a paper you like and glue it to the wood modge podge style. Hang near your entry!
There’s no need to spend tons of money decorating. I’m sure if you look around your attic, basement, storage shed, yard sales, thrift stores, or even your mom’s old stuff-you’ll find something worthy of putting on those walls. Just look for the diamond in the ruff. Check out http://www.junkmarketstyle.com/ for some inspiration.
Hello, I happened across you on Twitter and noticed this request for decorating help. There are many great ideas offered by others already. However, I’m going to make my sales pitch for the product I sell; Uppercase Living decorative vinyl expressions. They are very easy to apply and instantly change the look of your room. If you don’t want to apply them directly to your walls you can put them on glass and frame them like you would a picture. You can even make custom expressions such as your family name, or favorite saying, etc. Check out my website and let me know if you have any questions! Good luck and have fun!!
Oh, here’s my website for Uppercase Living. Forgot to add it in the body of my comment. http://elizabeth.uppercaseliving.net
I love how many comments you got on this, I think you need to submit my family room next! Paint is definitely your first answer, it’s the cheapest way to change the feel or a room.
Mirror (large, rectangular) above the couch, paint wall(s), clock to right of mirror, picture (or three) above piano. If you don’t want to paint all the walls, just do one or two accent walls, or do an accent wall, then chair rail painting. Check out what I did here…good luck!
Marie,
I think that you should paint, and maybe even play with the layout of your furniture. If you are afraid of color open your closet doors, the color you see the most of in your wardrobe is the one you are most comfortable with.
Decorative lighting on the partisan wall would look great and double as mood lighting.
Marie you must be an angel!! everyone is helping you out :)
as everybody said…just paint the room, add some personal touches family photos, candles, art works and definitely some cushions!
they are super easy to make. you can actually take some old t-shirts you have and transfer them into cushions…
and it would be really nice if you could decorate your white sofa with a colorful throw…
cant wait to see the updated room :D
Paint!! It’s easy and cheap and the best way to add your personality. If you need my help, or discount at any places, please let me know. I’d love to help. Thanks for linking to me too:)
one of my favorite blogs is littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com and she’s a fabulous interior designer. uber fab! what she does is do virtual makeovers so if you send her your room, she’ll send you links to what to buy and where to put it, how to paint, and lots of diy tips. her name’s jennica and she can transform any room. there are examples on her blog. check it :) and good luck!
Another idea is to hang carpet tiles on your wall in a big square – like maybe nine of them, you could go neutral or bold colors and make it pop. Then since you and your children are so talented, you could hang your art on the carpet tiles. You could also hang some black and white photos, kind of a mix of each.
I saw this on Oprah once and the end result was incredible, they used black and grey pieces. What a conversation piece too!
BTW, I love your website, I always check here first when I need an idea for something. Thank you for sharing your gifts with people like me who can barely draw a stick person much less any other crafty thing! You are an awesome, talented lady!
Thanks to everyone for your great suggestions!
I think PAINT is going to have to be involved, step one! I think everyone of you offered up that. Now I just need to choose a color, a whole other dilemma!
Girl, if it were me I’d totally paint! And what a neat wall with a shelf up there or whatever that is! I’d love to see a mirror over the piano to open up the room as “they”say. But you don’t have to obey what “they” say.
Lots of great comments so far!
Paint definitely – do not know how to direct you on color w/o seeing more of your home and style.
I would place the larger mirror or artwork over the couch. Yes you can hang something over the piano too.. but it should scale properly.
Definitely paint! As other people have suggested, even just one wall as an accent wall would be a nice change. Paint is an inexpensive way to spruce up. Your furniture is neutral so you can choose any color. I like your orange/reddish pillows and as soon as I saw that I thought of a blue wall color. Or paint a terracotta color and buy some snazzy blue pillows (blue + orange = complementary colors.
Put the piano catty-corner somewhere – adds interest.
sorry, wanted to add – if you need some inspiration, go to http://www.potterybarn.com and look at their roons on the site!
I can definitely relate to you! I can get down and crafty but I struggle with decorating and I am insanely jealous of people who have both talents. Anyway, what I noticed about your living room is that all of the major furniture is about the same height. You could use a tall bookcase or something(s) to add different height. You could also use some different textures… baskets, fuzzy throw blankets, etc. to give it interest. The walls are what I always struggle with but I definitely think you could do a pretty paint job. Then the couches wouldn’t blend in with the walls as much. You could do a photo collage on the wall or add dramatic shelves with large framed photos. I’m curious to see what you come up with. Good luck!
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well i think we need to add a lamp in the corner, red lamp. let the wall in white, coz the theme here is red, white, orange, and little green to balance it. re-finished the drawer, and put a red and some green leaves on it. add another green pillow and red pillow on the sofa… and then add a root bowl (you can take it at http://www.nicefine.net) and fill it with clear colorfull crystal. Nice :)
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