about hanging the curtains higher - should I be aiming for the rods to be just a couple of inches from the ceiling, and the bottom of the curtain to just cover the windows?
Letās try this. What items are you willing to change?
No sense in us telling you to change a rug if buying a new one is off the table! (especially if you just bought this one).
Iām also a fan of shopping your home. Can you borrow a few things from other rooms to trial here? Some lighter items or small plant for the coffee table. Some pillows or a throw with some blue in it. Try and few things and see what makes you happy and what seems like an improvement.
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A different question. Has anyone here used or installed a chandelier winch system?
Our current foyer chandelier hangs 18 feet above the floor and is more than 6 feet away from all accessible sides on the second floor.
Weāre renovating the house and replacing the chandelier but I worry about the cleaning and replacing bulbs etc., current one has only been cleaned twice when we got the foyer painted. Luckily no bulbs to replace in the 25 years we have lived here 
but I hardly think that is going to last.
If you are going to use the same curtains do not raise the rod. You do not want the curtains (IMO) hanging inches above the floor. They should end just about at the floor or pool a bit depending which you prefer.
I like the examples in this link as far as how to hang and examples of hung curtains. This is also a interior designer/DIYāer I love. https://www.chrislovesjulia.com/are-you-hanging-curtains-correctly-plus-our-favorite-curtains-and-rods/
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I like the curtains to just float above the floor personally but Iām seeing that some designers do have it end at the bottom level of the window.
A couple of inches below the ceiling is what I have for our windows. It eliminates that dead space above the windows which I donāt like.
So I guess Iām saying that you may want to change your curtains lol. Sorry for the confusion. Although I think it was more a response about the color of your curtains (works well in that room).
I really appreciate all of these ideas.
As far as whatās off the table - really the only things that MUST stay are the couches, the wall color and my husbandās ridiculous audio setup (LOL). I did just buy the rug, but I can repurpose it in another room. The coffee table has sentimental value, but I could get over it.
re: window treatmentsā¦would custom shades be better? The existing curtains donāt owe us anything - we literally ran out and bought the first set we found after our first night in the house when we realized the whole neighborhood could watch us, a la The Truman Show (half the house has these huge windows). Theyāve been in place ever since (16 years).
Hereās what Iād do: move the loveseat forward so that the table is accessible to both it and the couch and centered on the rug. Put a console table behind the loveseat (can be cheap or resourced because it wonāt be very visible) and put a table lamp on it.
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Someone upthread suggested accessorizing the coffee table so it doesnāt stand out. Perhaps a large decorative tray that pulls in some of the other tones in the room? It would allow the eye to skim over rather than sink into the table, and distract from the ornate legs.
A few ideas:
@DeeCee36 Iām a nerd and this may go against your āno matchy-matchyā but I am a big fan of the fancy trim section at the local fabric store and my hot glue gun. To personalize my stuff, I have done things like adding grosgrain/velvet ribbon or gimp braid as trim on lampshades and adding pom/ball fringe or cording to the hems of curtains or edges of pillows. If it were me, I would pick a color from the rug that contrasts with the wall color and add a few pops of color using things like these
Iām not an interior designer, but I really donāt like the look of those curtain rods up near the ceiling.
See? Different tastes. All we can do is make suggestions. Especially if the curtains are open some of the time exposing rods I think itās awkward to have them NOT at the ceiling but also NOT just above the window/window trim - makes it look like they are floating.
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Agreed. I donāt think thereās any right or wrong really. I did work for an interior designer for several years, but it was in the early 1990s and the main project I worked on was a hotel called āThe Castleā - as you might imagine those curtains were very very fancy! (All mine are pretty simple sheers with the rod on the window frame.)
This. The color and the style seems to be at odds with the rest of the decor. Also, I think the table is undersized. A lighter colored wood or stone-top table in a larger size would work better imo.
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are big square coffee tables still in style? If so, maybe something like thatā¦?
There are multiple large, light colored square coffee tables at Crate and Barrel that I can see in this room. Crateās style just seems to go with the windows and loveseat/sofa so well IMO.
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I also wanted to either move the furniture or the rug so that the rug was equally underneath both couches and to do something about the distance between the two couches - one with the coffee table near it, the other kind of left on itās own.
Coffee tables all sizes and shakes! Round, oval, squareā¦. To me a coffee table is not the focus of the room - the furniture is and the coffee table is pretty and purposeful but not the only thing you see when you look.
But I also didnāt know if you need a āwalkway ā between the two couches to get to through the room
No walkway needed, this is just one area in a rather large open space.
My husband is a professional furniture maker, so getting exactly what I want with the coffee table is probably the easiest step in this whole effort. For me, anyway 
. I guess I just have to figure out what it is I want.
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We had an electric winch for our foyer chandelier in the last house and without it those bulbs would never have gotten changed (or dusted) until we hired painters with scaffolding to repaint that space. It operated by a key in the wall and was slow, which meant my hand was cramping by the time the chandelier was down to a reasonable height. It was also rather noisy, so I would not have used it if anyone was sleeping in the upstairs bedroom next to the foyer. It was installed by the builder, so I have no idea of the cost.
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Thanks, @Silpat, that is exactly what I was looking for, feedback from someone who has used it. I have seen installation videos and estimates of cost so I know the amount of work/expense.
In the videos that I watched the whole operation seemed painstakingly slow. Iām sure that would be an annoyance but I think Iād rather deal with that than to have to rely on painters with tall ladders every time.
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I played around with your photo a bit @DeeCee36 - itās ok if you donāt like any of this but consider these different changes - one or more! I personally like the coffee table.
Just gives a little feel how if you lightened the coffee table or shape, added a little color from the rug and accessories the room becomes a little brighter!
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