living room - where to start?

[cricketwife]

I've never been on this board.  I HATE everything related to home decor, decorating, painting -- any/all of it. I need helllllpppp!

We moved into our house two years ago and have left the living room empty since then.  We are ready to furnish it but I don't know where to start.  I've never done a whole room - I've kind of pulled things together in my younger (poorer!) years and it was never coordinated.  We have a den which is where we have our tv.  I see this room as more of a sitting room/reading room and it's where we will recieive guests (which isn't terribly often).

I really feel like I need a designer.  Our budget isn't huge (10K) but it's hardly a shoestring.  Where should I look? I know that Ethan Allen, Crate & Barrel, and Room and Board all have free design services. I really want someone to do all the work for me but for me to love the final product, lol.  Does this exist?  

If helpful - the room is about 13 x 13, so not huge. 

[lacey]

This is probably horrible advice, and will definitely not get you high fashion, but if you’re not particularly interested in making it a whole thing go to a couple of the stores you have listed and look at their room displays. See if you can find one that you like and just buy those pieces. If you need to swap out colors or a different shape (aka it’s showing a sectional and you want two couches facing each other or 4 club chairs or whatever) the sales associate can likely help you.

Spend an hour or so googling pictures of living room with no tv or something like that to see if you can find some inspiration on the big items.

I’ll note that matching furniture is not “in” right now. I think in order to do non matching well you either need to have interest and style or money for an interior decorator, and with both of those solutions there is still an element of time needed to figure out what you like and be able to either relay that to the designer or find and curate a collection of things. I’m pretty similar to you - interior design is not really my thing but we are getting ready to start a kitchen and fireplace remodel and basement finishing project so I’m trying to be cognizant of what the heck I’m going to do to not make these rooms look awful!

[mrsukyankee]

We aren't matchy matchy designer people. I worked on having similar colours in our living room (grey and brown with an accent of blue). Honestly, I loved going on IKEA's website and looking at their 'rooms'. I got ideas. Same with other place - they present rooms on their websites. I also would look at pinterest.

[nicolewi]

I would definitely try to work with someone. Local furniture stores ALSO usually offer design services, as does Pottery Barn. I'm actually looking at doing this myself right now b/c we have a room that's really hard to figure out that we've mostly left open for kids, but we now want to furnish in a more grown-up way.

I have looked into Ethan Allen. Apparently their sales people are really good, but also on commission based on what they sell to you. My mom worked with a guy who we did not like...and once you start, you're kind of stuck with that person. If she had someone she really liked, it would have been a better experience. He DID help her pull things together for a new condo but he wasn't the greatest and frequently tried to upset her (i.e. a more custom option/size/color that cost a lot more than a similar model that was readily available). BUT they do say they will work with you as long as you have SOMEtHING you would buy from them.

It might work this way everywhere.

I think I'd try to find someone who would actually come out to your house, not just talk to you in the store.

[julygal]

My MIL had multiple stores’ design service out then picked and chose what she liked from each. It came together very well.
I don’t have that sense of design, so I did something similar to lacey’s suggestion. I found couches I really like online, went to the store to see in person, and since I liked the rug and coffee table from the show room the couches were displayed in,I also ordered those to get a base. Bonus was they threw in the coffee table for free. Then I added things like end tables, a bookcase, lamps and artwork more slowly.

[sandandsea]

I would search living room styles you like on Pinterest and Houzz. See what pieces they use and styles you are drawn too and start there. Then you’ll probably get an idea of stores to look at from there as they’ll have links of where to buy. Once you know a store you like you can use their design services or find your own designer in person or even online.

[maudefindlay]

Definitely no matchy matchy. I got a solid colored sofa and then my chairs are different style than the sofa and are in a print with colors complimentary to the sofa and then I have a mix of solid and print pillows for fun punches of color. My rug has stripes, but it's in more neutral/muted colors.

Start by figuring out if you want chairs, sofa, sectional and then figure out the best placement and measure so you know how big you can go on furniture size and allow ample room for walking between furniture.

I've done free virtual design appointments with Room and Board and the other was either PB or Crate and Barrel. Also with Sherwin Williams. We ended up mostly getting furniture from Arhaus, but I learned a lot from the designers and we did get some pieces for other rooms and some accents from those stores. We get all our paint from SW.

Eta we also used different textures for added interest. Consider your flooring when choosing colors as well especially for coffee/sofa tables.

[deadwing]

I used a designer at my local furniture store and had a fabulous experience. He came to my house, took measurements, discussed my needs/tastes and put together a plan. As long as I spent a certain amount at the store, the design service was free. If I didn't meet the minimum (which was very reachable for a full room), I think the charge for the service was only $250 or so (this was a few years ago). I love how my living room turned out. I ended up with some things I never would have chosen on my own, but I love.

[definitelyO]

there are online services like Havenly, arden interiors, and others (those just pop to mind) that will do that for you and link you to all items.

we redid our living room and went with a darker gray couch, teal accent chairs and pink/white/gold pillows, accessories, etc... furniture was under $10K - custom couch with chaise, 2 larger chairs, rug, coffee table, 2 end tables.

are you in the south? I've not heard of "receiving guests" in a really long time...

[k3am]

I also hate the planning process. I know what I *don't* like, but I'm never confidently able to say what I *do* like, which is problematic.

We used modsy for our living room. And while it was clunky, it was relatively cheap, I wasn't limited to one store, and I loved how it turned out.

pandce.proboards.com/thread/603960/modsy-living-room-pic-heavy Some of the photos are dead because the image hosting platform is gone, but some are still in there.

[cricketwife]

Feb 20, 2024 15:11:04 GMT -5 definitelyO said:

there are online services like Havenly, arden interiors, and others (those just pop to mind) that will do that for you and link you to all items.

we redid our living room and went with a darker gray couch, teal accent chairs and pink/white/gold pillows, accessories, etc... furniture was under $10K - custom couch with chaise, 2 larger chairs, rug, coffee table, 2 end tables.

are you in the south? I've not heard of "receiving guests" in a really long time...

I signed up for Havenly and am super excited!  I really hope they come up with a design I like!

[cricketwife]

Feb 20, 2024 16:15:10 GMT -5 k3am said:

I also hate the planning process. I know what I *don't* like, but I'm never confidently able to say what I *do* like, which is problematic.

We used modsy for our living room. And while it was clunky, it was relatively cheap, I wasn't limited to one store, and I loved how it turned out.

pandce.proboards.com/thread/603960/modsy-living-room-pic-heavy Some of the photos are dead because the image hosting platform is gone, but some are still in there.

1000% this.  Modsy doesn’t seem to exist anymore so I decided to try Havenly.

[dr.girlfriend]

I think Room and Board has a design service also!

[Roc A Bee]

Post pics here

[cricketwife]

Feb 21, 2024 0:04:45 GMT -5 Roc A Bee said:

Post pics here

I will come, back and do that. My design consultation isn’t until March 7.