To ask your opinion on my living room

[MooMooAchoo]

I’ve just changed colour scheme but I’m not sure if I regret it. The grey was before and brown is now (yes I have posted before with photos of the carpet when it was laid and now NC!)

I mean I love those colours too…but it all seems so dated I’m sorry. Something like the pics attached would be more modern and stylish imo.

So you’ve got a new dark brown carpet and have ordered brown sofas?

You’re going to need to liven/brighten the space up. A lot.

Lots of good tips on here re artwork, lamps, plants and rugs. I’d go further and get the open side of the stairs studded out so you can have a solid wall there.

it doesn’t really look that different in the photos, just looks like you put the light on so it’s slightly warmer. It’s hard to comment on the furniture placement bc can’t see the whole room.

i think it depends on your taste and what you’re going for. I don’t know that the brown carpet is the right shade of brown. I know grey isn’t as trendy anymore, but your specific grey carpet was absolutely fine. Grey that looks warm or can pass for greige is still in. You could have just kept the old carpet but painted the walls beige and had the vibe you wanted.

i personally would find it hard to style this room now as it isn’t cohesive. I’m thinking you’re going to need to paint the rail/skirting boards or doors to tie everything together. I think the wood and the brown carpet are just clashing, the colour palette isn’t working harmoniously

Get on Pinterest and look up living rooms with your colour scheme.

I would also recommend planning things out before buying and implementing. Everything you have seems to be mismatched/impulsive, I think you’d benefit from looking at how everything fits holistically instead of tunnel vision on the individual elements

It definitely looks warmer and more inviting but that could be the lighting and Xmas tree. Some different angle pictures would help

This is what ChatGPT gave me with painted woodwork. Trendy cream sofa and texture added

@Upsetbetty thats a lovely suggestion- op what do you think? It’s much more modern looking, cosy and warm. And light.

Id send the sofa back tbh. See if you can swap it for something different? Not two toned or that fluted shape.

The brown is much better as pps said, but I would go much lighter walls with the dark brown contrasts of wood, sofa and carpet. And maybe not brown. Like cotton white. Still warm but would make the room much lighter. Bit late, I guess

I'm not a fan of neutrals or brown/grey, but the ChatGPT suggestion from @Upsetbetty is lovely and makes the space feel far more contemporary/bright with some personality too.

@MooMooAchoo I don't think the brown carpet is an improvement, sadly, but all isn't lost if you add a large area rug (should be sufficiently big for the front furniture feet to sit on it) with pattern/texture.

I'd want to colour drench the woodwork to match the wall colour (although I would have chosen a more saturated paint colour, but that's me!) as I find the orange joinery very dated. I would also return the sofa when it comes - the examples posted by @Upsetbetty upthread are far nicer/modern, imo, than either of those posted by the OP.

Apart from the ridiculously high clock which has already been addressed, you need to be injecting as much of your personality/style into the room so that it doesn't read as bland/bleak which is how it currently comes across. Art, lamps, books, plants and textiles (curtains/cushions) are all good ways of doing this - but whilst others can make suggestions, only you know what 'speaks' to you in the form of art/decorative objects etc. Even if you lean towards minimalism, a few carefully chosen items will give your room character and personality.

In our home, we have art (and other stuff!) that we've collected over many years - we know what we like and often we take ages to find the right piece. Other times we just stumble upon the perfect item.

What curtains/blinds are you planning? Or do you already have them? Fabric is another way to bring individuality to a space and there's so much choice out there - not just pattern if that's not your thing, but texture too. Cushions and throws can be an inexpensive way to add pops of colour, not to mention making a space more cosy and welcoming.

There’s no personality to the room…it’s drab….it needs livening….I have chocolate brown walls….but then I have a blue sofa….an ochre lamp ….pink and orange cushions ….inject more life OP …the room isn’t beyond hope …..keep on going

Big improvement

The browns lovely it makes the room look much warmer than the grey did.

That isn’t OP’s room though. Where’s the storage closet door? That style of sofa wouldn’t work in that space because of the door. Agree that the white paint on the door trim and railing gives it a brighter, cleaner, cohesive look. That’s the best and cheapest change OP could make.

Clearly…it’s ChatGPT it’s not going to get everything right (it did exactly the same for the OP) the idea behind is what I’m
getting at. Yes the corner sofa wouldn’t work there, I didn’t ask for a corner sofa I just said modern with texture etc. but the idea is she could create a very similar vision

I like the style of sofa in Upsetbetty’s ChatGPT version and think it might actually fit well on the other side of OP’s living room (the part we can’t see). But that carpet is another matter — really hard to work with. A wooden floor, or even a laminate version if real wood or engineered wood was out of OP’s budget, would have looked so, so much better. Even the original carpet was better. It really wasn’t money well spent. In this case, OP took something okay and made it worse. Sorry, OP.

I like the brown better.

Since it's an issue for you OP, I think the brown on brown is maybe just too much brown. You can easily fix this though. I'd start with some throws on the couch, for a bit of contrast and to brighten it up. Coffee table/rugs, other furnishings can also help. If you do the throws at minimum, it will break all the brown and could be lovely.

Honestly OP all the options you’ve posted are pretty drab. If you’re going to stick with a brown carpet and white/grey walls then I’d have a teal sofa, or burnt orange, or dark pink. Just some colour! And a modern style sofa not any of those really old fashioned ones you’ve posted. Alternatively go the other way and get a classic chesterfield or something. The ones you’ve shown look like they’re from the 1990 Next Catalogue.
Also agree you need some art or photos on the walls , and the orangey pine trim
has to go. Either paint it white or strip it and stain it dark.

Im not mad on the carpet but the bigger issue is nothing really goes together.

the walls clash with the woodwork which clash with the carpet.

You need to create layers of similarly toned colours and different textures.

first step if to get rid of the brown woodwork. I’d colour drench and paint it same colour as walls but I think you need to lighten the walls up and ensure they tone well with the carpet

I don’t mean to be a negative Nelly but can you cancel the sofa?
it’s a shame to spend money on a refurb when you’re not sure what you’re going for.
I would cancel it. Or return it.
And look at the sales and start again.
the carpet is fine. It’s a nice room. It has loads of potential