Please tell me all about your front room.

[FloralPuddles]

I'm so stuck!

We bought an ex authority house and our front room is very square with a huge picture window and it's south facing (north facing back garden :() which is actually the bane of my life! The sun shines in ALL day, no matter the weather, that may sound lovely but sometimes it's to much and we have ended up drawing curtains on some days, which is a shame. We are going to get some blinds up soon to help with that.

Sorry for the novel already!

So, at the moment the front room is a shade of white, its just the mist / under coat on the newly re plastered walls! We don't have carpet down yet or anything, just a huge cheap rug as I was worried about things getting ruined as we have literally rebuilt this house from scratch! But it's time now to start thinking of colours, schemes etc for the front room, excited!

So what colour / style is your front room? Especially if south facing? What colour curtains do you have to go with the rest of your room? We don't do wallpaper, it will be only paint.

I'm liking a couple of sofas in Next, which will be a mink/ natural colour! We were thinking of two, two sweater couches.

Please tell me all about your front room, I thought having a blank canvas would be so exiting but it is so, so hard :(

Thank you!

[Mandy21]

We have 2 x 2 seater M&S sofas in 'mocha', walls in elephants breath which is a grungy beige, then built in (white) shelving either side of the chimney breast where the wall behind the shelving is dark grey. Curtains are from John Lewis - beige & grey with bit of yellow. Big crystal chandelier & table lamps.I really like it!

[Jbck]

We're redoing our lounge just now but it it's north facing so I'm doing the exact opposite to you.

I've googled lots of sites that tell you how to make the most of north facing rooms so I presume there'll be similar for the other way. Channel 4 site has a lot of good ideas.

I just googled other interior design sites for ideas on colours etc.

I'll be posting looking for advice on all sorts as our house has reached that stage where lots need replacing 'cos it's past it or I'm fed up looking at it

[Selks]

Mine is rectangular, it's an old cottage so has a big original stone fireplace with a woodstove in it. It has one large window overlooking the garden and views beyond, and has an antique barley-twist legged table by the window. The other end of the room has three tall white wooden bookcases from Ikea, and the TV on a handmade pine bench.
It has a solid oak floor with a large striped rug in earth shades (rust, sand, blue). There is a large charcoal coloured sofa, a 'snuggle chair' (oversized chair) in light grey and footstool in rust, all from Next. Mix and match cushions in green, rust, grey. Various framed artworks on the walls - mainly lino and screen prints.
Walls are a light mid grey - chic shadow from Dulux. Looks great. Long off white slub cotton curtains at window.
Various lighting - two wall lamps from Original BTC, two floor lamps, an ikea Kroby table lamp.

[Selks]

My friend describes my living room style as 'modern elcectic', whatever that means!

[Selks]

Forgot to mention the large vintage 1930's pie crust edged mirror over the fireplace - v fond of this as it was £5 on the local flea market.

[missinglalaland]

Grey is the new neutral colour in the US, replacing dark brown which was so hip for the last 7-10 years. If you go with a shade of grey you like for your neutral, it will tone well with everything else because everyone will be producing furniture, pillows, curtains, etc. That tone well with it. At the moment charcoal grey is the new in colour couch to buy apparently. It makes a lovely back drop for clear colours that are popular at the moment.

Not that you have to be "on trend." It's just sort of easier though, because if you do something unusual, you might find it difficult to find accessories that tone well with your individual choice since all the mills coordinate their colour schemes together a few years in advance (think Pantone, etc.)

I really like Sanderson new silver for a wall colour right now. It looks fresh and clean and very elegant against white trim.

[Selks]

Grey's been around for a while in the UK, Missinglalaland, interesting that it's just hit America. I fear my grey walls and charcoal sofa will be quite unfashionable here soon! Not that I care

[Me23]

Your living room sounds gorgeous selks! Sounds similar to what i'd like mine to be like. Has to be done on a low budget though as many things in the house need replacing.

[Selks]

Thank you Me23 . Mine was done on a modest budget....only things that cost much was the oak flooring and the sofas. Everything else was all ebay bargains or inexpensive finds.

[missinglalaland]

You sound well ahead of the curve selks.

[Selks]

Nah, far from it, and I appear to have killed the thread....sorry OP!

[PotteringAlong]

Very light duck egg colour, brown leather sofas and a tartan wing backed chair. Wood burner. But it's a very old house!

[BeaWheesht]

Our living room is square with a bay window on one side and a fireplace on the other. Behind the fireplace the wall is teal coloured, the rest of the room is about to be painted a very pale grey.

We have one brown couch and 2 natural coloured big armchairs. Also have a dark brown ottoman.

Accessories are gold and fuschia pink.

I like it.

[GreggsOnLegs]

I've been googling for ideas for our house. I quite like bohemian style with lots of colour without the clutter though, is minimalist bohemian possible?
Another idea I've considered is breaking the rules on white ceilings and going for a really striking purple with neutral coloured walls, after seeing some examples on google images.

[TracyK]

www.harveysfurniture.co.uk/products/living-room/categories/corner-sofas.aspx We have the Senator corner unit of couches. It says 1695, but usually on bank hols it drops to 995. It is huge but sooooo comfy. We have cream walls, this dark couch, dark floorboards and chocolate rugs. We are south facing too and have the curtains closed in the summer! I really want some remote controlled blinds.

[FloralPuddles]

Thank you all so much, this is so helpful. You didn't kill the thread Selks! I'm so grateful hearing about 'real' front rooms as the magazines and pictures on the net are hard to translate sometimes into real life.

I think I'm struggling because the front room really is a square box,no fireplace, alcoves etc...it's a late 70's house and has nothing of note to it :(

I am a bit scared of grey but I really love it on other peoples walls lol I do think I want the new sofas to be a mink-ish/ natural colour, would that go with grey? I have my eye on an oak tv corner unit, we have to have a corner unit as my boxey square front room is not a huge boxey square room!

Thank you all so much for the input.

[FunkyBoldRibena]

Grey. original 1880 floorboards so rug on floor. Fireplace with woodburner. the areas to the side of the woodburner - library shelves and heaving with books. Pic above fireplace [mantlepiece is an old wooden lintel - again original], some art on the wall opposite the fireplace, and £2 fleamarket black and white toned painting above original 1970s Danish sofa. Another 1970s Danish recliner next to the window. Hand made blocky wooden coffee table made by the bloke across the canal. Heaven.

[FloralPuddles]

Thank you for that link TracyK. You suffer the wrath of a south facing room too? I was thinking about having a strong colour on the walls but I know the extremes of way to much natural light that we get, the colours would not look as intended!

I wish I could turn my house 360 degrees lol

[FloralPuddles]

360 degrees?! I meant 180 lol oops.

[TracyK]

Do you have another room you could use as the lounge? And use the south facer as a breakfast, lunch, reading room?

[hiccupgirl]

Ours is east facing and the front half of the lounge/dining room.

We have a 2 and a 3 sweater sofas both in brown leather, sail white walls with a sand coloured chimney breast, cream, black and brown flower curtains and a leaf green rug. Neutral carpet and a mix of cushions.

I do like grey in other people's houses but I've resisted it for ours. It's too on trend for me.

[foxdongle]

ours is south facing too but I love that,

toffee walls, with purple walls either side of chimney breast, beige carpet (too light but we inherited it and it is in good condition so will stay), pale gold curtains and rug, huge four seater sofa and spinny sofa, purple and silver cushions, white table and tv stand, fireplace tiled with candles instead of fire, as had fire taken out, never used as got too huge radiators, silver side lights and lamps, two photos and nothing else as I hate clutter!

[BornOfFrustration]

Ours is south facing too and I love it apart from in the middle if summer!

We have magnolia walls with white above the picture rails. Bit boring for some, but I like it

On the floor we have a naice oak laminate, we were going to get wood but due to DH dragging furniture around and DD dropping plastic shite, thought better of it because I couldn't stand the scratches. I also have a big fake Persian rug down that I love.

Furniture wise we've got 2 tan Ashanti hide sofas couches from John Lewis, love love love these. We've got a chunky oak cabinet for the tv and a pine ottoman stuck in the corner that shouldn't really be there, but I'm too tight to buy something else.

We had a woodburner put in with brown flagstones for the hearth and a gorgeous big fat oak beam across the top.

On the windows we have chunky white wooden Venetian blinds , and beige curtains that have a burgundy satin ruffle across the top.

I bloody love this room, it's so cosy.

[Lagoonablue]

Kind of 30s looking and probably a bit too brown! Nice off white walls, 2 brown sofas, a brown poufee, neutral carpet, original fireplace. Lovely vintage looking curtains in duck egg and beige. Trying not to make it look too Nextish and boring so has a nice 30s style print and am looking for some nice bits. I want a round Art Deco mirror but haven't found one yet.

[lessonsintightropes]

We have a south facing living room too, 16ft wide by 14ft deep. It has dark wood stained floorboards, parchment coloured walls, shelving along one narrow wall with books, our dark wood long dining table, a red sofa and rug and two poangs, one cream, the other red. We've got lots of plants in front of the windows including two massive ones, an un real plant and a rubber plant to soften the sun, and a collection of orchids (make the most of your light!) and plantation blinds. I don't think I'd choose a south facing living room again, but you can make it work.