I love this photo, the mix of the fabrics, colors, materials–it makes my house look so cozy. But here’s the cold, hard truth…
I’ve got this wall in our family room that I’m not crazy about. Actually, I have two walls out of 4 in this room that I’m not crazy about. It feels obvious that I had to find something to try to fill the space. People do actually sit in those chairs from time to time so that part is nice but they seem crammed together. Part of the problem is what is on the wall it’s not balanced. And one of the culprits is that light switch next to that blue shelf on the right. See it? Why, WHY? It’s a switch that we use too.
When I have a place in my house {usually many} that doesn’t quite feel right here’s what I do:
- stare at it a lot
- think about how we need to use it
- ask myself why it’s not working
- think about what we have that could possibly work there
- move stuff around until it feels right
- put it on the blog and ask you for ideas
By the way, lots of you have asked about painting those shelves. They are the Southern Living at Home things that I could never afford when everyone had them years ago, but then last year over the course of a month I found 3 {$1 each} at yard sales. I just painted them with my armiore paint.
Anyway, back to my walls. I’m not looking for perfection, otherwise I’d have to burn everything I own and start over, but sometimes, I just get the feeling that there is a better way, use, idea for a certain area. A way that I will love, will serve our family, and that will actually feel right. I really love this wall in my sister’s house. Lucky her, she doesn’t have a ding a ling light switch. She gets everything.
UPDATED::
Here are the chairs straightened and junk down from the walls–I need an intervention with the red plates, I put them everywhere. Somebody stop me.
Is this better? Is there too much space between the top of the chairs and the bottom of the frames?
Here goes, what would you do? Please don’t tell me to burn everything and start over.
I would never tell you to burn everything and start over. I am not even remotely good at this stuff, but I say just take those shelves down, maybe even the red plate. Less is more? The chairs with the photos above and the lamp between seems like it would be nice and simple and cozy to me!
With all the color and texture already going on there, maybe I’d like to see a large piece of art to bring some height beyond the height of the armoir. Don’t you have a window with curtains hung high on the other side of that cabinet? (is that stalkerish that I know that?)
Is that little corner lost over there down low? Maybe that would bring it up a little? I don’t know, I’d have to see the whole wall because I may be mixed up over what is in that room.
You are right…adding more photos
Yes, that red plate? Why did I put that there…something about filling up empty space. I just took it down. Thank you.
I agree. Less could be more. Take everything down but the three framed photos and live with it for a while. I’m thinking even the lamp could go. Do you need the light there? Could you use a smaller lamp? It seems big for the table. Love your blog. Very inspiring!
Hi- I didn’t really notice the switch until you mentioned it but I know what yoou mean. I have a thermostat that bugged me for 2 yrs! Have you thought of a small table placed underneath the switch with a lamp tall enough to block the switch? I hope that helps. Can’t wait to see what you decide!
Good Luck!
I love your sister’s house. I love that wall the fireplace is on and how she has pictures and knick-knacks arranged there.
I agree that your space looks too crowded. I’d go with what Amy said and try doing without the little table and lamp. Definitely get rid of the red plate. I don’t know what is on the other side of the fireplace, but is there a possibility of having a chair on either side?
tina
Um, do you have a job or activity that takes you outside your home for 9-10 hours a day? Because that wall looks pretty damn perfect to me. If you were held prisoner in that room all day and night, I can see where it would start to annoy you. But, personally, if it were me taking the time to write and photograph all of it and wrack my brain for how to improve it when it already looked decorator-done and magazine-ready, I’d know it was time I got a new hobby. :-)
YES–you are so right, that is so true. I am in this room lots {hmm, and have been for the last 3 days straight with a sick child, maybe that is part of the problem!}
PS, writing and taking photos of my home is my job! tee hee.
I’m not even going to attempt to offer advice. I’m still working on the parade that is on my mantle.
Move the armoire outta there. Tall mirror between the chairs (to add height). Bigger table between chairs.
Love the chairs. Love your colors. Love your style. Love that you ask for our humble opinions ;)
I CAN’T!!! It’s a real house and I need that armiore, other wise it would be a great idea I can move it about 2 more inches to the left though.
My first thoughts while looking at your photo was to remove everything on the small wall except the pictures. I would try to move the chairs apart a little more. It is a beautiful spot and i’m sure you will find a solution that works for you.
Stop fighting with the light switch! You won’t win. I would have to take down the little shelves and the red plate. I guess you already took down the plate. Then see if the lamp still looks too tall. If you have something a smidge smaller, see if that looks better. Oh, love the urn with the red things in it on the mantel. What are they? I’ll be sanding down my mantel today. Got some glass stuff on clearance at Pier 1 yesterday dirt cheap to redo it. TIP: look up high in P1!
Have you thought about leaving the SL little shelves and maybe balance a small wreath on the one where the switch is . That way you would no longer see the switch, but you could still slide you hand behind to turn it on and off. Just an Idea, I also hate switches and thermostats, why da we have to have these things, I mean life would be so much prettier if we just had clappers.
Good Luck,
Cha Cha
Hey if you decide to burn it down and start over can I have those chairs before the fire? Hahaha
I would move the armoire over and place a chair on each side of the armoire. Then do wall art and lamps as needed. It looks a little off balance and crowded the way it is at the moment. Love the fabrics and colors and the feel of the whole room!
Okay I admit I didn’t take the time to read all the comments before I wrote this so this may have already been suggested but, have you ever thought of moving your armiore over and putting a chair on either side and then adding your pictures over each chair? I only say that because you have a lot of chairs in there and they seem to be very close together. But in all honesty, I looked at the picture and thought it was very warm and cozy. Okay I’m wishy washy, I admit it! LOL!
Good Luck!
Kim
To me when you took down the extras (the plate, etc.) and left the pictures, it looks clean and crisp… great :). The pictures looked nicely spaced above the chairs and lamp.
The chairs are cute together, both as a little nook and in the context of the room. Removing those triangle-shaped shelves and the red plate was a good idea.
What do you think about lightening up the picture frames and the black lampshade? They create two strong horizontal lines. If you need light there, could you use a smaller lamp with a lighter-colored shade?
Thanks for asking for our opinions!! Looking at the big picture, I say there are too many chairs. Take the small one in front of the window, and relocate to another room. Move one of the two yummy plaid chairs into its place, so that one will be on either side of the fireplace, and free up some wall space next to the armoire. Also, can you switch the tiny blue table out with something a little bigger now that you would have more room to work with? Looking from left to right, it would go like this…Armoire, chair, table, fireplace, chair……. That wall could now “breathe right” a little, and the lamp could shift over, partially hiding the light switch.
I think you should paint all the walls, pull up the carpet, knock out the windows and add a light switch. And burn the armoire. And get a job.
{I hope nobody takes me seriously. I just looove leaving comments on your blog because I am so helpful.}
hearts.
I love the after. Removing the shelves and the red plate and leaving the blue and black looks so much more sophisticated and serene. I’m a less is more girl so that’s part of it, but I just think the after is a hit. BTW, I never noticed the light switch until you pointed it out.
You are on the right track! And there must be something in the air, last week, I got fed up at staring at a room I was not really happy with and it inspired 3 room makeovers, I am still in the process but have been updating along the way, check it out! I think there is too much going on in the room. I would move things out and just start over, making sure to try new placement for all of your furniture, sometimes a clean slate really helps. I would start with your couch, it is the biggest piece, get that where you like it and add from there. You may be surprised at what you come up with, and whatever you dont bring back into the room, make work somewhere else! Your colors are great, I love them! I can’t wait to see what you do!
Okay – now that we see the whole room – I’ll be honest with you. FROM THE PICTURE and this may not be how it looks/feels when you are actually in the room, it looks like a little too much furniture in one room. How about taking out the black plaid chairs and centering the armoire on the space between the window and fireplace? Maybe there’s room the the area that we can’t see in the pic for them? I’d also like to see how Joyce’s suggestion looks – a chair on either side of the armoire.
Just throwing suggestions out here. I usually have to more furniture around MANY times before getting it like I like it.
tina
Here is my suggestion from first glance. It seems like you have just a tad of space between the window and armiore. I say shift the large piece a little closer to the window and then adjust the two chairs. Your space there is so tight that even a little shift over will make a difference.
If you cannot move it down, then place one chair in that space with the table and lamp and then place the other chair on the other side of the fireplace where the rocker is.
Also, get rid of the flowers on the shelf of the table. It clutters it up. One more thing…as if I know any thing at all and am probably offending you totally now, but can you find a fabric that maybe draws in the armiore color, the red in your pillows and the other colors in the room and recover those chair cushions? I love mixing fabrics, but I think your mixture is too overpowering and that is causing the room to feel claustrophobic.
Just trying to help. Please don’t ban me from your site. I love it.
No banning! I do have that color represented in other parts of the room–a door in that color on the wall, a wall of plates in shades of blues and greens.
But, over the past 2 years I’ve been transitioning my home from reds/blacks/golds to adding more blues in. So, it’s just part of the process of using what I have–I actually have a post about that coming soon!
I’d move your red wing chair to that spot angled toward the sofa, put those 2 chairs by the window on either side of your round skirted table (you may have to recover the table to coordinate w/ the chair fabric) and put the ladder back on this side of the armoir angled toward the room, or take it away if it doesn’t fit.
Okay, you can tell this is my mom making the suggestion, because I was about to post the same idea! Haha. I found your blog through her and love your style, colors and the warmth of your home shown in every photo. I would def. try moving the wingback chair in place of the two chairs, so it’s more conversational with the couch, and try the two chairs over by the window. The best part is, you don’t have to go moving a heavy armoire back and forth – just some quick chair switches.
Would love to see the final results of your tweaking!
Great minds think alike! Putting the red chair there and sliding the other 2 to flank the table was my 1st thought as well!
I love the updated pics. I don’t think there is too much space. I really think that we tend to think we have to fill spaces, but sometimes spaces are freeing.
Leave the lamp. I love it.
Yes, space is freeing. I have a sickness where I fill every available space, I need an intervention! Learning to edit!
I like the simplicity of just the frames and minus the shelves and that red plate. That was too much. The lamp does seem a little tall now. Maybe a shorter but fatter lamp so it still fills some space, but doesn’t reach the top of the frames? Good luck!
You might try and mimic the line of the lamp with your pictures. Keep the center one where it is and just move the outer ones to a lower level. Or you could reposition the armoire and center it and place a chair on either side. That corner does look a tad crowded though so you might want to lose a chair.
Is it feasible to move Armoire to left…and a chair on either side…with the little table under the light swithch…YOu can still use it that way…. you still have both chairs…one by the fire for reading (with the little table) and the other for additional seating? Just a thought.
As you changed it is great….if you are concerned about the width of frame to chair…maybe use your sticks here? A small bundle (painted to match frames) on each side of pics? Just some thoughts…not necessarily brilliant or workable, but worth a go?
I like what you did. I think the shelves drew attention to the light switch. Now you don’t even notice it. I don’t think there’s too much space between the frames and the chairs because the lamp takes that spot.
Also, what about some of your plates ABOVE the frames? I don’t know, but that might be cute and bring in some of the color without jumbling it all around the chairs. I love it though and it looks great! We ar all our own worst critics :)
Try creating a triangular photo grouping. Lower the right and left photos down on the wall. Closer to the chairs. Now I understand that these are your children and you don’t want Mr. “I am King of the Mountain over the lampshade” getting a big head, so rotate the photos. Whoever gets an A~ yep, they’re on top. Finished his peas~ON TOP. Birthday month? They’re on top. Then for repition of the triangular element use your beautiful blue triangular shelves somewhere in the room.
Mr. King~too funny
I think I’d move the 3 pictures up so that they are centered at the height of the armoire. Visually it’s a line and I think it might be more interesting to break it up and raise it a bit. LOVE that room!
I definitely think less is more. Looks a lot better since you took down the 2 shelves and the red plate. What if you just lowered the two pictures on the end a bit to fill that space? I also agree with Kathrine. I don’t remember how the room looked before, but looking at the whole room now, it does seem like a lot of chairs. Maybe if you moved some out and used the chairs on that little wall to flank the fireplace and rework the space altogether. But, what do I know. I should be getting advice from you!
Your lampshade is too high. Get a lower table, saw the legs off the one youve got, whatever. Then you can bring the pictures down so that the *line* of the top of the frames is not at the same *line* as the top of the armoire. I think this will cozy this up and make this area “its own”. These matching lines just make my eyes keep traveling sideways and not resting or going up and down, make sense?
I do have a yearning for some “white space” there beside the fireplace; your arrangement there is so lovely and my eye wants to rest there.
Thats my 2 cents – have fun!
I agree, the lamp is too high. Maybe I can switch tables or lamps. You are right, the reason I had to hang the pics so high is because of where my lampshade ended.
Hmm, I think I have a table that I can use there up in another room!
I vote for this plan. Change something with the lamp – like give to me :) I really like the lamp itself. Just too tall or too big or something…
Could you leave the middle frame where it’s at but bring down the other two to be closer to the chairs? Also, maybe a bit smaller lamp to go with the scale of the table. And, angle the chairs back, they looked so cozy that way.
I love your blog and read it everyday. You are so inspiring!
Personally, I really did like the first photo. I didn’t even notice the light switch really because there was so much going on. In the second photo, however, it seemed more peaceful without all the extras. I like the chairs facing toward each other a bit so it doesn’t look like a time out area! And maybe throw the red toile pillows back on to bring a little color if you like. Thanks for sharing. Always good to get new ideas!
I think it looks better they way you have it now. I personally would have put the pictures higher up away from the lamp. That could just be the angle of the photo though. I think the lamp is just too tall perhaps, over powering the table? Just a thought. Now that I am reading the other comments I see they were saying the same thing. lol
I am torn. But because you like to move furniture….. I think the armoire centered on that wall could be good. Move those chairs around til they look right. Since you are home all day anyway! LOL! :)
Hmmm…I love your color scheme, accessories,etc.
As I love symmetry-I would try moving the pair of chairs in front of the window or on either side of the fireplace. Then possibly move the red chair next to the armoir. You then might try lining your pictures vertically on the wall next to the chair to help make the transition from the tall amoir to the shorter chair. Hmmm…not sure how much space you’re working with..I know you’ll find the perfect solution!
What if you took one of the chairs away? I love just the three portraits.
Remove one of the chairs. Angle one chair either toward the sofa or the seating group in front of the window. (I’d probably go with toward the sofa.) I think the pictures are competing with the armoire and the items on the mantel. Remove a chair and leave the wall blank for a few days. Then decide if the wall needs anything at all. I think the lamp may be enough by itself.
I would try lowering the two outside pictures. Bring them down closer to the chairs.( Just a few inches should do it.) You have the heigth of the lamp in the middle and it could balance it out better.
Have you considered moving the armoire down towards the light switch and have the chairs on either side of it? And then place the lamp on top of the armoire along with some other floral or decorative arrangement to bring your eyes along the height line up and then back down? I think the photos are both adding clutter and too much symmetry into the room. However, that being said….I just love everything IN the room! LOL!!!
Love the MR. King idea….and actually like the arrangement after you edited. On the other hand, I am thinking I see a LOT of horizontal lines and I am aching to put something round there……..I guess because I am round and like round things….lol. You are asking our advice….comical. What you end up with will look great….enjoy the journey!! ;D
Suzanne
I like the chairs. I agree no red plate. I suggest moving one plaid chair to either side of the hearth, leaving the small table and lamp on the armoire side. Remove the extra wicker chair that moving the plaid chair would displace. I might opt for a different lamp that would allow for a cozy vignette with the table.
Your room is beautiful. Let me know before you burn it…I would love to come and scavenge. ;-)
NO’ WAY! i love the other stuff being removed! LESS IS MORE, AS THEY SAY! the focus is the great pictures little table lamp and beautiful chairs. Love the whole room and that armoire, all the color’s and patterns look great! JGG
You’ve got a lot of comments, so this may be mentioned already. I think the pictures are good where they are otherwise the lamp will be blocking one if you moved them down any. What about putting the red chair there and moving these two chairs into that area {where the red chair and the other chair are}. That other chair can go on the other side of the armoire and still be a part of the seating area. Okay, that’s my two cents!
See, that looks better! Now there is no switch, it disappears! Less IS more! As another option you could move the two plaid chairs in front of the window. The red chair next to the armoire with a table and relocate the smaller chair elsewhere. You can always move it back. Can you do that real quick, take pics and post so we can see? K, thanks ;)
I’m spending waaaaay too much time staring at your family room.
You read my mind…removing those shelf things and that red thing behind the lamp was the first thing that popped into my mind. The switch…..only a man would put a switch there! We women know better. Revamped area is much better..more inviting.
I like the after much better. The problem I had with the before was symmetry overload, it was just too much I think. I think the red toile pillows would look nice there again, or maybe two different pillows that will still balance each other out. It would help if I took my own advice I suppose, I decorate everything symmetrically in this house, I probably need therapy!
I rather like the less cluttered look, bravo!
Beautiful space! I think I would remove one of the chairs so your fabulous fireplace isn’t so crowded.