Design/ style help for dated living room - pics included

[livingroom]

NC as it is so clearly my house to anyone who knows me!!

I really don't know what to do to improve our living room. I am very bad at picking out style etc.

The stone wall cannot be changed. Neither for now can the glass unfortunately - I could possibly change it to something else. Behind it is the hall with the front door.

I think around the TV/ window looks very bare though. Maybe cornice could help? I was thinking of maybe getting large pictures and nicer frames.

@Marynotsocontrary The view is outstanding to be fair. We have beautiful views from all rooms.

Yes it is stone, I won't be painting it. ILs would go mad. Also I would worry it is a fad/ fashion that we would regret and it would be difficult to reverse. Since there is yellow tones on the wall would you think yellow elsewhere would be good? I have been looking at teal rooms on pintrest and I like those. But I don't know what colour I'd do the walls

I have a relative who has a stone fireplace a bit like yours and she does have a pale yellow on the walls actually. I think the shade is important though, her one seems to tone very well with the stone which has a bit of orange in in too. Her room doesn't get much sun and the colour is nice there.
If you want the stone to stand out more maybe white is an option as pp have said. With your wooden floor, lots of throws, floaty curtains, plants, larger artwork on the walls etc that could look nice.

But I'm not very good at this sort of thing really. Find it hard to get an imade in my mind of how a room will look 😅

(Also not sure toddlers and floaty curtains are a match msde in heaven really - or maybe my lot were particularly destructive!)

@Marynotsocontrary I didn't think of him pulling down the curtains. He's only finding his feet but it seems like something he would do. He is loving the new lay out, he can zoom on his little bike better and the radiator is great for banging toys against

Unfortunately if you go yellow your couch will stick out more than ever! It’s whether you think room would look better trying to blend into the couch or stone!

Don't go for yellow, is the cement /grout on the fireplace grey.

Get a grey colour that will tone down but also complement the yellow on the fireplace. Hopefully it will also go with the sofa.

I would honestly try to take ownership of your home that you could live in for the next 20 years. It sounds bonkers that your ILs get so much of a say

I'd definitely get some curtains or something on the window. Rug and plenty of cushions that match the curtains
It's just needs some soft bits in there to make it cosy.
Gorgeous views

I would try blue accents.

Do you use the door? I’d consider removing it. (And tell the in-laws to stuff it.)

I still dont understand why your in laws wont let u touch it, they arent going to sell or live in it themselves?

@AliceOlive We don't use the glass door. I am looking at teal, if I paint the walls teal though what colour curtains would you think? I'm looking all over pin-trest

@Strictlyfanoftenyears I don't know either

An idea for the stone fireplace - speak to a joiner and cost the use of fire retardent plasterboard/panelling/t&g for example ( they all exist as it is part of the HETAS requirements to go behind or around log burners). Get the joiner to make a covering 3 sided to cover the stone fireplace, covering it but not attached to it - it can be fixed to the walls either side of it. I hope that makes some sense!

You can then paint it whatever colour you want to go with your new interior design scheme, but it serves the purpose of not touching the stone so your IL's cannot complain and it can be easily removed.

I would pursue the safety glass issue especially as you have a small child, if the glass was changed and you knew it was safe the glass wall could become more of a feature. If not, either use lightweight linen or voile to create a curtain wall, or as others have said have shelving in front it.

The changes you have made already make a huge difference. I would also be tempted to reposition the now smaller sofa and remove the tv from the wall.

Curtains and rugs will also soften the room and tie it together.

With ref to my first paragraph in my previous post - battening could also be used (but not attached to the stone but the wall/ceiling around it) then anything added to the battening.

@schloss I was thinking earlier that to leave part of that all exposed would be nice, sort of like a reassessed fire. But it would need to be fire safe and I really don't think DH will be bothered.

I think curtains, something to safe up the glass then put sheer curtain, paint (I'm liking deep plum sort of colours and dark teal) a rug, throws and cushions hopefully the room will feel better. Some nicer photo frames, maybe of just scenery from some of our travel leave the pics of us for smaller frames on the shelves

@livingroom I think covering the top part of the stone fireplace and leaving the bottom part would make a huge difference. Asking a joiner to look at it would not cost anything but may give you some ideas, I do not think it would be overly costly.

I mean the door that you do use. Do you ever close it?
If not I’d take it off and store it away.

This is just personal preference but I would keep the walls a neutral color and use the teal for curtains and other accents. I think painting the walls could make the room feel smaller and darker.

This app is really neat for choosing colors.

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer#/active/colors

There might be problems doing this with the position of the door/doorframe. It seems to be very close to the fireplace?
I would consider rehanging the door so it opened into the kitchen(?). It just looks too close to the fireplace when it's open.

I'm not sure I'd choose teal and plum walls with a grey couch, orange wooden floors and a yellowish stone fireplace OP. Maybe just the plum? I would hide the glass wall somehow I think.

3D room planning tool. Plan your room layout in 3D at roomstyler

I commented before on our living room, but I just remembered that I used the above planning tool before I decorated our bedroom. It worked really well, and the picture that the software generated looked a lot like the finished room (which I painted myself).

Could you put something like this between the back of the settee and the glass? I also know someone who was disfigured by falling through a school glass door in the 70s. Look up room dividers. Probably easy to make but I'm guessing your husband might not be onboard with the idea. Could hang lights and plants if built for that.

https://www.litfad.com/scandinavian-room-divider-screen-in-brown-natural-bamboo-for-indoor-s-4381258.html?currency=GBP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwi7GnBhDXARIsAFLvH4lwa2MjXGMrqh_EtkCHSYxAdsJHCwB5UD56uRlqkp6U9UehwiVgXBwaAoGyEALw_wcB

Can you lose the remaining cup-holder section of the sofa? Then you could get a sofa cover in any colour you like, or just tuck in some big throws to cover it completely. This would open up your overall colour scheme options, especially if you did as schloss suggests with the fireplace which looks great.

I'd also change the door so that it opens into the kitchen, put the (normalised) sofa on the TV wall, and cover the dangerous glass with a floor to ceiling storage unit. incorporating the TV, that completey covers that wall.

At the sofa end. you'd have room for an additional chair and a small coffee table.

The cup holder section is horrific and it would be much better if it was gone.

May have missed a few posts but please don't paint the stone fireplace, find the right wall colour to look good with it. My mum did a rich rusty red against her similar 60s fireplace and it looks great for instance. Houseplants will really bring the place to life and the big Windows will be great for them

I like the idea of a screen for the glass wall. I said it to MIL about it being dangerous for DS, she said her kids were fine (they lived here before). The cup holders are handy

I won't be painting the stone, I think that would be a bad idea. I think it could look bad shortly after. Also it seems like something that when the fashion turns it would be impossible to revert. @schloss I do love the look of panelling off some but it is unlikely to happen.

We can get rid of the door but not swing it the other way. It goes into the kitchen and it would hit a wall before swinging open fully.

The cup holders are really awful, sorry. Consider side tables instead? The idea of a throw for the sofa is a good one - help make it feel more like a living room, and bring in some warmer colours to tone in with the stone fireplace.

I think the cup holders will be staying. 90% of the time it is just us in there and our main goal is comfort. The cup holders make it less likely that the dog will knock over drinks. It feels like being at the cinema a bit.

@MyAnacondaMight warm colours, I had been straying more towards blue/ teal DH does think they are a bit cool. I will probably won't get any of this done before Nov ish, we have a lot on the next few months.