<p>If you had a nice big living room to decorate, what pieces would you use? Sofa/love seat/chair (in use currently)? 2 love seats/2 chairs? Other combo? Are you fond of a particular brand name or store? Is there a particular fabric type you’d recommend? Are there ‘rules’ to remember? I have what could be considered a blank canvas. Hardwood floors. Area rug in seating area now…Lots of windows w/simple honeycomb blinds…The room doesn’t get a lot of use, but it’s a great room. Probably good to remain somewhat pet friendly. We don’t live a formal lifestyle…Red brick fireplace/white mantle is focal point, although I’m not crazy about the red brick. Room’s shape is rectangular/almost square. There is enough room to ‘float’ the furniture away from the walls. Will need furniture for seating and end/cocktail tables. Existing furniture is almost 30 years old and has seen better times!</p>
<p>How about painting the red brick off white, with a matching mantle? Are you opposed to hiring a decorator? If you are going to buy new pieces or art for the room, they get a discount that usually pays for their cost. Are you going to reupholster or buy new pieces?
Any plants, art, vases, piano, desk, etc.? Are you into Feng Shui? Are you changing colors or window dressings? Will there be a TV or entertainment center, bar, etc.? Do you want to take certain window views into consideration?</p>
<p>When we were looking for new LR furniture a few years ago, my DH only had one request: that it be comfy. I was looking around and one of my stops was the La-Z-Boy showcase; now I remembered La-Z-Boy for my dad’s leather recliner. But they had a complimentary 1 hour consultation where they sent someone to your home and looked at the layout, chatted with you and then drew up plans. We went back to the store a couple of weeks later and they had print outs, fabric samples and a floor plan. Even included lamps & artwork. Worked out well & didn’t cost us anything but the furniture. We didn’t buy everything they suggested, but there was no hard sell on their part.</p>
<p>We have a sage green sectional sofa in our family room that is so comfortable. You just curl up there and never want to leave. It’s a sort of velour or velvet-like fabric, but quite sturdy. We have dogs (who also love it) and it has held up well. It’s an angle shape and there is a large ottoman covered in the same fabric. You can push that up to the sofa to put your feet up or push it out some and use it more as a coffee table. I would buy this again and could also be used in a regular living room. We got it an Costco Home Store, which is not there any longer. It’s much more comfortable than a leather sectional we had earlier. </p>
<p>Christopher Lowell on his decorating show advocated always using a plain, neutral color for sofas so you could change the look of the room or redecorate later. I think that’s good advice.</p>
<p>Of course it’s a personal choice, but I’m never comfortable in my own living room where the only option is to sit UP, as in two loveseats. When I visit others, I’m happy in their loveseats because I’m not going to sprawl all over their living room. In my own home, however, I want to have the option to recline fully in my living room.</p>
<p>I learned this as a newlywed, when my spouse had a living room with two loveseats. I brought in my long sofa, ditched the loveseats and we got two upholstered side chairs. Then there were choices in the room, for ourselves and guests. </p>
<p>I also prefer 3-seater sofas with one long pillow, rather than 3 separate ones. I guess I’m a sloth. I also like sectional L-shaped sofas with an additional ottoman so it makes the letter “U” These are nice for family chats where everyone’s on one same huge piece of furniture. To me, that’s cozy and fun.</p>
<p>p3t, great minds think alike. With 3 pillows, one of the people sitting on the sofa always ends up sinking between the pillows, unless, of course, the sofa is a Stressless. This is my dream setup:</p>
<p>Probably not going to hire a decorator, rather look for ideas in mags, catalogs, stores, etc. I think I’m set with the artwork, etc. Most of our pieces, while not expensive art, are family pieces or are from places we have visited when traveling, etc. Piano was given away as nobody played it. Using our antique console table would be nice, but not necessary. It’s our makeshift bar when entertaining… I’ve been able to ‘pull off’ using a couple of antique pieces regardless of other furniture. Primarily looking at furniture for seating…</p>
<p>For sectional fans, do you find them to limiting when you’re in the mood to re-arrange the furniture? We put our big Christmas tree in the LR and are forced to move furniture to create space for it…Love the sectional in BB’s link!</p>
<p>We have leather in the family room and are open to more leather in LR or might go with fabric… DH also likes to be able to stretch out, so he’s advocating for a 3-seater. Curious to learn from others’ experience…</p>
<p>Beil, Ekornes makes wonderful 3-seater reclining sofas that contour to the body as you sit down. Ekornes can “build” a custom sectional using their modules. These sofas are $$$$ but oh so comfy. The only problem I see is that your furniture style sounds to be “classic-antique”, whereas the Ekornes/Stressless line is more contemporary looking:</p>
<p>I love sectional sofas but my living room/den is the size of two normal rooms so we use the sofa to “divide” the room into two spaces. I have a Clayton Marcus (mid range in cost brand) sectional that mixes well with antiques. It is firm and sturdy and they offer a lot of fabric choices.</p>
<p>I have a sectional in a family room - 4 pieces - and I often rearrange it separately, as well as keeping it as a sectional. Its main problem was when it was on a wood floor - it would slide - but on carpeting is fine. I like the flexibility of the sectional</p>
<p>Also have lots of leather, which I love because it stays clean (even white), and LR sofas have teak accents - something Danish - one is a love seat which seats two. All the leather pieces are very comfy and well padded. Sofa and love seat are opposite, round area rug between them, covered by round, glass coffee table on ornate pedestal (so ornate rug is visible). </p>
<p>Another room has the reclining sofa which is great - main problem is items fall inside the sofa sections which are reclined. This and sectional are light, multi-color fabric, which also hides stains well.</p>
<p>You haven’t mentioned anything about the style of your house or what you would prefer in a room. There’s no such thing as a blank canvas when it’s a room in an otherwise-decorated house, and the fact that you’ve bought a fair amount of furniture in the past means that you should think through your preferences. But I will suggest that you consider this “moving on” furniture, and keep it on the smaller side so that it would fit in a townhouse or apartment in five or ten years. Two smaller sofas, a comfortable chair or two, smaller scale tables, or tables that work together or separately…you get the idea. It is well worth your while to visit the best furniture/department store in your city, give them your ideas, and get some recommendations. You can start with the sofas and do the rest of the selecting on your own.</p>
<p>We have the sofa against one LR wall with the matching loveseat opposite it with coffee table between. The loveseat is floating just inside the archway to DR.</p>
<p>It allows pretty easy flow from one room to next and good conversation seating.
We have casual stuff even in our LR.<br>
The furniture is Broyhill. Kind of cozy but not too sloppy.</p>
<p>I think a sofa you can lie down on is crucial. We have an ultrasuede sofa that has stood up very well and is extremely comfortable. It’s this one: [furniture</a> - Macy’s](<a href=“http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=255656&CategoryID=29391&cm_mmc=bazaarvoice-_-RLP-_-255656-_-productname_link]furniture”>http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=255656&CategoryID=29391&cm_mmc=bazaarvoice-_-RLP-_-255656-_-productname_link) I’d definitely consider painting your fireplace some shade of white. That’s what we did to ours. Our walls are Benjamin Moore’s Hawthorne Yellow and the room makes me feel happy when ever I’m in it. We also have three arm chairs - all different - one is from Pottery Barn, one is a swivel reupholstered rocker that has been in the family since 1967 and one is a Danish modern piece the neighbors unloaded on us. That third chair is really one too many for our room. Our coffee table is a real conversation piece - it’s 8 feet long, elaborately carved, from Indonesia. We also have a Zanzibar chest that I love and was a birthday present to me when I was 16. (similar to this: [Zanzibar</a> Chest](<a href=“http://www.authenticafrica.com/zanzibarchest.html]Zanzibar”>http://www.authenticafrica.com/zanzibarchest.html) ) Our carpet is very plain, something I fell in love with when we lived to Germany - it was in a shop on the corner where I changed busses. I’d probably get a straight oriental if I were buying now. I think you also need some reading lamps and probably side tables to put them on. Personally I like a mix of old and new and I really like having things with family history. The room also has a spinet and an armoire to hide the TV and stereo. Our living room is our family room so it has to work hard and be comfortable.</p>
With 3 pillows, one of the people sitting on the sofa always ends up sinking between the pillows, unless, of course, the sofa is a Stressless. This is my dream setup:</p>