My Living Room Furnishings – Two Layouts, One Winner!

Hi Everyone,

This is a follow-up post to answer some of your questions about my living room furnishings and also to try out some of your suggestions. So, if you already read part 1, please click the link below to read part 2. If you’re landing here for the first time, please keep reading from the top of the page.

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re doing well this weekend. It’s the official beginning of the “holiday season,” as most Americans prepare to cook, clean, travel, and block people on Facebook.

Just kidding.

Sorta.

But we won’t go there, now or ever.

 

As for what I’m doing, well, I have a way to go to become more organized.

 

I desperately need Done and Done Home, but they’re in New Jersey. Still, the cleaning service I’ve been using came to help out. And I mean help as I spent the entire hour picking up and disposing of all the light fixtures and rug boxes into the recycling.

In addition, I also beat together (to release the dust) about a dozen pillows.

Yuck, I didn’t handle my living room furnishings properly. Before the renovation began, I should’ve had professional movers wrap everything up in plastic. I’ll never forget how they did that when I moved to Boston.

 

The other day, I contacted Robert, my GC  because I suddenly remembered that Cale is coming next week, and we have nowhere to sit.

 

Besides, it’s high time the living room furnishings came down from the loft, which sits over the den closet and upstairs bathroom.

Robert texted back immediately and said. “Can it wait until after Thanksgiving?”

Sorry, it can’t wait unless we want to eat sitting on the floor.

Robert, being the good guy he is, responded that the guys would be there at noon on Friday. And so they were, and they had everything down and in its place in just over 30 minutes.

While there was definitely too much furniture in the bedroom, I do miss the yellow chairs.

 

However, the living room furnishings are back in their old location.

 

But here’s the thing. My living room feels quite large, and it’s not small. However, without the bay, it is only 22 feet long. The bay does give adequate space for the air handler and antique settee I’ve owned for 25 years.

Okay, it’s taken a day or so to get used to having the living room furnishings back in place, and here’s the thing. I’ve always known that between the fireplace hearth and staircase guardrail. I only have about ten feet to work with. Normally, that would be fine, but I have to leave a path behind the sofa. It’s only about five feet of path between the sofa and guardrail.

Below is where we left off. (minus the temporary game table)

 

So, let’s look at real life.

 

 

I know you’re used to seeing the chairs like this below.

 

 

There’s something else going on and I’m not happy about this.

 

Do you see how blurry the images are? I just realized that it’s probably the LED lights. There’s a mix, but most of the lights are LED. They have an imperceptible strobe effect. That is, to us. But perhaps it interferes with the camera?

Compare the image with the night after I moved in 2020! This is also from an iPhone 10, although I need a new one. My current one is a 13.

 

My screen looked so good there and I am missing the window treatments, too. I need to get cracking on that!

Okay, the blurry images are bothering me. It is 1:30 PM, and I just took a pic of the living room in 100% natural light.

 

 

That’s better. I will give this some thought and research.

 

No matter, I am not planning on keeping the chairs this color. Please remember, this is all of my old living room furnishings, not what it will be.

Anyway, the stool placement represents where the front of the sofa has to be. I have always envisioned slipper chairs instead of armchairs. However, finding the right slipper chairs is not easy these days.

 

Something like the one above or the one below. These are from the 19th-century Napoleon III style.

 

Above is my sofa from the side, for reference.

In any case, the chairs are a lot further back in the floor plan above. I can move the rug closer to the fireplace and, if necessary, layer it with a seagrass rug.

 

 

Above, I pushed the chairs back several inches.

 

The stools represent the widest part of the sofa. I selected the 213c size, which is 84″. There are seven alternatives to the length, and 213 is in the middle and listed as a tw0-person sofa. I’m afraid I have to disagree.

The inside is at least six feet long, which is plenty of space for three people—maybe even four if everyone took a shower that day. We used to sit three on a piece with 60″ of space.

This room has always been tricky, and having a 39-inch-wide stairwell in the back of it doesn’t help.

Of course, I just had to select the coolest, deepest English sofa God ever created. But the sofa itself is not big and bulky. It is only about 30″ tall and has beautiful lines, as you can see.

 

I just had another thought about 45 minutes after publishing, and that is to push the sofa back about 15″ from the railing and then walk in front of the sofa.

Below is what that would look like.

 

I think this could work since the back of the sofa is so low.

 

Laurel,  if the back is only 30″ high, then the seat must be ridiculously low. How do you expect people to get in and especially out of it?

 

haha. Oh, are we on that topic again? I don’t expect anything. ;]

But guys, I love you, even when you’re crabby.  Sorry, I know you don’t want to hear what I’m about to say any more than I don’t want to hear that banana cream pie is bad for me. (please scroll to the bottom of that link) ;]

 

However, ya gotta use them leg muscles! Yes, I know it hurts.

 

In any case, I tried out the Jules chair at the Charles Spada showroom right after Labor Day, and I had absolutely no problem getting in or out. The chair was very comfortable, too.

 

I’m finishing off with a view into the den. My vintage sofa is coming on Tuesday. Still, I am deeply disturbed by the lights’ effect on my nighttime photos. The only lights that are not LED are the recessed lights (halogen) and the Anglo-Indian sconce bulbs, which are incandescent.

 

You can definitely get the tubular bulbs needed for the picture lights in incandescent.

 

Screw it. (yes, a pun) I don’t care. I can hire someone once every two or three years to change the freaking lightbulbs. I never turn them all the way up; they are all on dimmers, giving them a longer life. It’s the heat that burns them out.

xo,

 

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Part 2 Begins Here

 

Hi Everyone,

Whew! Some of you have strong opinions! That’s okay, but I had to delete two needlessly snarky comments. Differences of opinion are fine; put-downs are not allowed. 99% of you are beyond fabulous.

 

But this is an important thing to remember about my home.

 

This 1215-square-foot condominium in a converted brownstone has always been challenging. That’s because it was never meant to be what it is. We’ve discussed this a few times, but it’s okay if you missed it or forgot. The spaces’ limitations are what they are.

For example, the room that’s my living room was meant to be a formal dining room. Now, it’s a living room. That’s okay, but who puts a 39″ wide (with guardrail) stairwell running along the back of their living room? However, there is no other place it could go.

Please keep this in mind when you’re nitpicking making suggestions. ;]

I could put bean bags in this room with orange crates for coffee and end tables, and it would still feel incredibly luxurious. Cale is here now, and we had our dinner in the dining area. Eating there has always felt wonderful and cozy. But it’s also quite spacious. The view of the interior, no matter where one sits, is lovely.

 

Okay… Some of you had an interesting idea to put the sofa in the bay and in front of a console table.

 

And then, you didn’t know about the rest of the room, but that would be devoted to the dining area.

I call that a blind spot. Your idea is a good one, except you’re neglecting the star of the show.

The glorious fireplace. And let me tell you, that antique marble mantel with the regency-inspired mirror is my favorite element of all. Every time I walk past, my heart beats a little faster. Therefore, it’s not just any old star—it’s a superstar!

It’s not a terrible idea, but here’s an important point.

 

I feel that, in most cases, the functionality of a space supersedes all.

 

However, aside from the table being about 12 feet closer to the kitchen, there is no huge advantage in the functionality of switching locations of eating and lounging. But there is a big deficit in a balanced space.

It makes more sense that the primary piece of furniture, the sofa, faces the fireplace, thus the symmetry is maintained.

In addition, if the sofa is in the bay I would lose my side view of the sofa from the entry, kitchen, and dining area.

Now, if this were a dining room, it would be an awesome treatment.

 

Still, I tried to keep an open mind and worked on this idea.

 

See what I mean? The star is getting ignored. Incidentally, the plaster rose from which the chandelier hangs is not centered on the fireplace. It is about 6″ left of center. Could I center the dining table on the fireplace?  I could, but it’s tight, and then there’s a big space by the kitchen. I could fill it with more furniture, but I feel that’s too much.

Ramona, who always has insightful comments, pointed out that the dining area looked “busy.” She’s right—in the photo, it does because there are a lot of legs. However, this is not the table I want. I want a table with a pedestal or birdcage-type base. Not only will it be less busy, but it’ll be much more roomy for guests.

 

Finally, I have contacted Englishman’s Furniture four times in the last 30 days and was promised I would have an answer about the table last week.

 

That did not happen, but I sent out the 4th reminder on Thursday. Still, nothing.  I’m not expecting a 100% free table, but in exchange for publicity, I feel it’s only fair to give it to me at their cost. It’s a win-win situation. This saddens me, but I may have to let that one go.

Therefore, I’m working on a new idea. I did find a beautiful antique table hugely marked down. It is 54″ in diameter, but it doesn’t extend.

 

Boohoo. Still, if I get some extra sturdy table pads, the table can be extended to be a 60″ round table.

 

A 60″ table can seat eight people. And do I really need to seat more than eight in the dining area?

However, I would love a buffet table and the logical spot is near the kitchen. You may notice in the dining room switched plan, I put a buffet behind the settee because I don’t like to enter a room with the back of a sofa facing the entrance.

 

Next, I drew the sitting area closer to the railing, which I added to part 1 of this post several hours after publishing. While it could work, right now, I don’t like it for two reasons. One, I still have the inclination to squeeze behind what would be the sofa, and it felt roundabout having to go in front of the sofa.

 

Overall, below is the plan I like the best. (with the buffet table near the kitchen)

 

 

In other news, I got my new old sofa today. It looks fantastic in the den, but you’ll have to wait a while to see it as it has been transformed into a bedroom for son one. For fun, I brought the rug to my bedroom. One reason is because the bedroom looks quite stark now with all the furniture gone.

 

Oh! Here’s a big thank you to our young reader who suggested I turn off the live photo pre-set on my phone’s camera. It made a huge difference in the quality of the images. I’m also looking at some other settings to get the photos to look as good as they used to.

 

Below is a blurry image before the setting was changed.

 

And below is a shot I took last night with the live photo turned off.

That’s more like it!

In closing, I want to stress that the living room has always been lovely, except for the hideous spiral. But now, it looks like it’s been to a spa in St. Tropez for several months. It’s rejuvenated. My friends gave me the biggest compliment.

 

“It doesn’t look like a renovation; it looks like it was always like this.”

 

Okay, I have to go now. I’m working on putting the finishing touches on my updated Laurel’s Rolodex and the all-new Etsy guide. (That post is a small fraction of what’s in the guide) This year, some amazing new sources are included. The updates should be available on Sunday. But, you’ll also receive notification and a fresh copy of your download link(s).

 

Also, anyone who orders any guide except the Etsy Guide will automatically receive the Etsy Guide and the Rules & Tips Guides for free.

 

If you place orders ahead of the updates this Sunday, I’ll ensure you receive your free guide by this coming Monday at the latest.

Folks with questions about your guides, where they are, how to download them, etc., please check out this FAQ page that answers 99% of the questions I commonly receive. The most important thing to know is that your download links never change. If you search SENDOWL in your email, your links should pop up unless you deleted the emails.

I probably won’t send out another email until Friday, so please have a joyous holiday if you celebrate Thanksgiving! Thank you again for your immense kindness after my post about my health issues. I’m feeling quite well this week. So, there is much to be grateful for!

xo,

 

 

***Please check out the recently updated HOT SALES – It’s Black Friday week and the sales are amazing!

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Also, please check out the newly updated HOLIDAY SHOP filled with Christmas and Hanukkah decor and gifts for everyone!

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And very exciting, the entire VISUAL COMFORT wonderful lighting is 20% off – Yes, EVERYTHING is 20% off through December 4th.

 

There is now an Amazon link on my home page and below.

 

Please note that I have decided not to create a membership site. However, this website is very expensive to run. To provide this content, I rely on you, the kind readers of my blog, to use my affiliate links whenever possible for items you need and want. There is no extra charge to you. The vendor you’re purchasing from pays me a small commission.

To facilitate this, some readers have asked me to put

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Please click the link before items go into your shopping cart. Some people save their purchases in their “save for later folder.” Then, if you remember, please come back and click my Amazon link, and then you’re free to place your orders. While most vendor links have a cookie that lasts a while, Amazon’s cookies only last up to 24 hours.

Thank you so much!

I very much appreciate your help and support!