In this edition of Ask A Designer™, Gillian Atkins, senior designer at Lynda Reeves Design Studio (LRDS), shares advice for updating a living room layout.
Q: Please help! We recently bought a beautiful house, built in 2003, that’s showing its age. We painted the walls in Benjamin Moore’s Simply White, used a limestone for the fireplace and had the floors sanded. My husband insisted on having the TV on the large wall so, sadly, it must stay. How do we finish or tie these three walls together? The wall to the right of the fireplace has a niche that’s not very deep. We plan on getting new furniture — suggestions would be appreciated! It needs to be comfy for watching TV. — P.R., Kelowna, B.C.
A: The work you’ve done so far is great; you just need a good furniture plan. Start with a new large corner sectional and set it opposite the TV and fireplace. Place a console behind it so you aren’t just staring at the back of the sectional from the kitchen. Put a media cabinet below the TV and lower the TV by a foot or so. (Tell your husband to get a bigger TV!)
Buy a large square rug — these are hard to find. Try a custom-cut broadloom or woven one. Add a square coffee table in front of the sectional and a tall plant in the far corner. Place one of your black leather lounge chairs with an ottoman near the nook to the right of the fireplace, with a small cocktail table to the side and your existing floor lamp behind. You might want to consider adding some table lamps since there isn’t overhead lighting.
The recessed wall is perfect for art! Try a dramatic vertical abstract painting in a blond frame: it will help add visual weight to that side of the room.
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