please can someone help me design my living room?

[jetcat32]

I literally have no clue!!! I have just moved into my house, and the living room is a lovely room - 4m x 5m with huge 3 x 4ft bay window area.

I have just put the lining paper up on the walls (never done that before - its magic what it covers lol!) so no colour yet. Not sure if i am going to put another layer of lining paper to paint - or actual patterned wallpaper.

I have vertical blinds up at the window - mainly because the headrail was there already. So not a problem to change.

Floor is oak laminate, not dark oak.

Furnture wise i am starting from scratch. At the moment i have borrowed a cream suite, but will be replacing that soon (cant keep washing the covers!). I really like brown leather, but not sure what goes with that?

I like shabby chic style, but not the cream sofas that all the sc pics have in them. I need to be practical!

Oh, and there is a white louis style fire surround, which has been glossed white. What can i do with that, as it is wayyyyy shiny lol!

Sorry for the essay, and thanks to those who have read to the end. All ideas would be great, before i spend even more money on home magazines!

forgot to say, am on a budget!

have a look on housetohome.co.uk I am sure there will be something yo like.

My suggestion is this - don't change it just yet, live with it for a while (tbh, it doesn't sound that bad) and then decide what you would really like? Then do it to your taste, and trust your judgement. Then ask for help with anything unresolved (maybe the fire surround - that sounds quite dreadful - but you could do that later?)

Absolutely agree with nightcrawler - people often wade in without thinking how they will use the room, how the light at different times of the day/year will affect it. If you can't bear to have the lining paper, then paint it white and find out some sort of starting point, whether that's the sofa, the wall colour or new flooring and start from there. Keep an eye out for something you like in the sales that will be around in the next two months.

thanks guys. i put the lining paper up as i couldnt bare the green painted old paper with various writings over it (kids who moved out.)

i have been looking around on ebay, and can find some old teak sideboards that i like - i have seen in a magazine today how to paint it and distress it, so am thinking of going down that route. I really do like old white furniture, just not sure how to team that with sofa!

many thanks

you could paint the teak sideboards more of a creamy white & then distress them as they would then go lovely with a brown leather sofa. we have a brown leather sofa & i must say it doesn't half show the dust but i love it. good luck

just to add that i love the sofa not the dust lol

Paint the glossy white fireplace in French Gray oil dead flat eggshell by Farrow and Ball. Paint the whole room in House White if N facing, White Tie if S facing (estate emulsion by Farrow & Balll) and all the woodwork in Lime White (dead flat eggshell) if S facing, Pointing (dead flat eggsgell). The buy furniture that you absolutely love and then add curtains or blinds later. It will provide a lovely, airy, tasteful, neutral colour scheme that won't be bland and magnolia-ish.

Pointing if S facing that should have read.

btw I meant to say. I hope you will be v happy in your new home.

swedes those colours are lovely my faves!Not sure brown leather sofas would look right with them though.I had those colours in my old house and had navy cord sofas they looked fab.if you really want brown leather I would get the sideboard but leave it teak and go for a 50s retro look with maybe olive green and white walls and blinds/curtains.

Oh God, please do not paint over teak, I beg you .

thanks so much guys. lala - i guess you like teak lol!!! i am not desparate to paint teak either - but cant afford the white furniture so needs must!!

Swedes - the room is south facing, and i love your colour scheme!! I was thinking of a very pale green for walls - as i have seen some lovely green floral fabric for blinds. Noddy, i see that is your more idea - but i dont really fancy a retro look.

So so far i am thinking, pale green walls, French Gray for fireplace and brown sofa. Does that sound ok?

That sounds good but don't paint teak it will look terrible!

Pale green is a very difficult colour for walls - it makes most people look ill!

I understand your need for practicality in sofas/armchairs. I have a large squishy sofa with charcoal velvet loose covers that go in the washing machine which I'm very pleased with - it is elegant and comfortable and it doesn't matter if sticky fingers get near it.

Anna green is great if the light is good.Agree on the sofas leather difficult with white painted furniture.Grey is one of my faves.I have dark grey walls white shutter blinds and paintwork exposed brick fire and two big stone coloured squishy sofas plain grey linen drapes and stone carpet with a big afghan rug Stylish but v practical!

Lots of colours are great if the light is good - the trouble is, in our Northern climates, that the light changes hugely over the course of the day/month/year. If you exclude natural daylight from a room entirely and use artificial lighting (as is done in shops, hotels, restaurants) you can get great colour effects. But all too often, when people try to reproduce in their homes, the colour effects they have seen in public spaces with no natural daylight, things get difficult! Just a warning, really.

Pointing if NORTH facing it should have said. Hopeless.

Brown leather sofas look lovely with warm greys and neutrals.

My main sitting room (24' x 24' and S facing) is Zoffany's Fennel green. It is an absolutely gorgeous green - fresh and soothing during the day and warm and cosy at night and in winter. It looks superb with the fire on and with the Christmas tree. But it is a bit 'country house' which might not be everyone's cup of tea.

If the room is N facing, using neutrals with warm undertones just makes them look muddy, i.e. House White from F&B would look slightly 'mustardy'. I would choose Strong White or James white by F&B for the north facing room walls.
Also, teak is a rather boring wood so I would consider painting it.

now i am really consfused lol!!!

The reason for all this indecision - this is my first house where i have had complete control over the decor - before a combination of private rented and a very controlling ex meant i couldnt have a say on anything!

So, the room is south facing (i think - sun all afternoon blazing in, rising in morning on left side bay window, setting on night on right side) and a lot of light floods in, even with the verticals shut (which i need to do as otherwise it is too bright!)

Havent got the sofa yet, so am flexible i guess, i just thought that would be the most practical. I like the idea of grey, and Anna your sofa sounds lovely!!

I originally thought i wanted a brown and cream look, but thought that would look too modern with the fireplace, which i cant afford to replace. So i guess i should use that as my starting point? Would i need to sand it before painting it with the F&B paint?

Ands thanks so much for all your opinions. I go in other peoples houses sometimes and it all looks so elegant, and co-ordinated, i just want my house to look like it is 'put together', rather than thrown together!

Yes sand down the glossy white fireplace first with medium then fine guauge sand-paper.

Good luck and don't be scared because it's only a coat of paint that you can always paint over if you don't like the colour.

saw in magazine

what do people think of this colour? would it go with brown sofas? and also with the french gray for the fire surround?

sorry, so many questions lol!! It is in the Good Homes magazine, with white furniture but a duck egg sofa. Sofa looks lovely, but dont think budget would stretch to that!!!

I was also originally thinking of a feature wall in a mocha type colour, but am thinking that if i get some nice patterned fabric for the blinds, because of the size of them that would act as a feature.

Other option - put the mocha (which apparantly goes nice with blues) on the two alcove back walls beside the fire.

It's always difficult to judge a paint sample on a computer screen, hardly ever seems the same as in real life but, if it is, as I think, a sort of chalky blue, yes, it will go with brown sofa but I might go for a stronger grey than French Gray for the fireplace.

No, no, no to feature wall (am even more against this idea than painting teak furntiure .

Agree with lala no feature walls dreadful tabloid telly invention.

ok, no feature wall then lol!!! lala, i really liked the french gray for fire surround, actual fire is black and silver (electric - see here but with a more rounded top, and between the fire and surround is just painted wall. Not too sure what to do with that bit, whether to paint the same colour as rest of walls, or tile (would have to get someone in to do that though, so it depends on the cost!) Hearth is grey(ish) marble.

Left to my own devices i would have painted teak, a feature wall, white gloss fire surround and no mumsnetters would talk to me!!!!!

You see, I'm torn between saying everyone should do their own thing and sod it if no one else likes it and being incredibly controlling about what I think everyone's own thing should be. I can picture your lovely teak sideboard and the thought of it covered in cream paint makes me weep.

(Tiles for the fire surround, btw, you can do it yourself, easy peasy on a small area.)