Design Dilemma | January 23, 20082 Comments

Design Dilemma: A Country Living Room

This week’s Design Dilemma comes from a very patient reader, Julia Fitton. She wrote to me after the New Year with a request for design help in her living room. Julia’s mother-in-law gave her a new sofa for Christmas, as well as some Thybony fabric so that Julia could refurbish her favorite chair.

Julia sent me photos of the room and told me that, besides the furnishings shown, she had purchased a striped rug from Pottery Barn. Her sister-in-law was kind enough to offer a round coffee table, but would that fit?

Also, the ceilings are very low – just over 6-feet (standard is 8 feet). Julia says a spectacular water view makes up for the lack of ceiling height. And, part of the 12’ square room doubles as a passageway from the front door to the rest of the house. Julia wanted to know how to create a warm, cozy room for her young family.

For this kind of room, it‚Äôs important to maintain the scale set by the living room sofa, which is large. This means paring the room down to a few elements and remove any clutter. Let’s look at the new floor plan to see how I think this can be accomplished.

First, I removed the demi-lune table. It interferes with the flow of traffic. The sofa looks nice where it is, but the end table looks cramped. Move the table next to the wing chair. It appears that the bookshelves (hand crafted by her husband) are built-in. They look great just as they are. The Dhurrie Rug from Pottery Barn will fit the room perfectly, too.

This leaves room for some new elements, which I’ve chosen from Pottery Barn, since I know Julia has an outlet nearby. First, I think a round coffee table would take up too much space in the room. And it would be nice to take advantage of a new piece that can do double duty. I like this bench from Pottery Barn ($399). It can double as extra seating when company comes over.

Julia will need some lighting by the sofa. I like this Botanical Floor Lamp ($190). The style fits in nicely with a country home look. Tie everything together with toss pillows on the sofa. I suggest a solid pillow. Pick up on the red, or other color in the Thybony fabric. I’d leave the windows as they are – better to enjoy the view.

Julia asked about her art. Again, scale is important. The one problem I see with what she has a large portrait, which you can’t see from these photos. It‚Äôs a much larger scale than her other pieces, so it I would place it elsewhere – maybe in the front hall. Next, move the landscape over the sofa to the area by the stairs. The bird prints can be grouped nicely over the bookshelves. That just leaves finding something for the sofa. Here, I suggest a series of 3 botanical prints ‚Äì in keeping with the style of the bird prints that Julia loves so much.

I think the finished room will look warm and inviting. Arrange the books neatly and keep the room as free of clutter as possible – at least when company comes!

Are there readers out there who have more ideas for Julia? Feel free to comment.