Decorating and Design - Help with Living/Family Room

I am so glad that I have found this forum! I need help with my family room. Okay, here goes:

The space used to be a living room and dining room. We have 3 very active boys and want the space to be informal, comfy, and casual (with a touch of class--of course!). We took out 3 1/2 feet of wall to open the space up. Our goal is to have multiple uses for the space. There will still be an area designated for the entertainment ctr, sectional, and oversized chair for tv watching. The other space (once the dining room) will have a desk/computer area, breakfast bar, and armoire to keep the kids outdoor items (rollerblades, skateboards, etc.). This space has sliding glass doors to the backyard.

This is my dilemma: I need help with wall colors and the use of chair rails. The space which was once the dining room has chair rails, the remainder does not. Question about this is, can I continue the chair rail, partially, into the "sitting" area (where the oversized chair is), without it looking weird? When you walk into the living room from the front foyer/hallway, there is a long wall on your left, which will have an 8 ft. wide x 6 ft. tall (approx) entertainment center on it. The wall facing you has a double window. The wall on the right is about 3 feet wide (the wall with window and short wall will house the sectional to create separation to the other space), and a large opening (to the new breakfast bar, computer desk area, which is just off the kitchen), then a wall that 4 ft., that has a little cove/nook look (for oversized chair).

Confused yet? This is hard to explain without seeing it. I can give actual dimensions, if that will help!

Back to the chair rails: I was thinking the chair rail could continue along the two walls in the living area where the oversized chair is to create a cove for reading, if desired. But I do not want the chair rail on the longest wall in the living room, the wall that has a double window and the short 3 ft wall (before the big opening). Will this look ridiculous? Should I remove the chair rails all together?

Okay, next issue: Wall color/colors. The carpeting is a cranberry color (I refer to it as "kool-aid" color....great when you have kids/boys!). The sectional is a goldish color with hunter green and cranberry stripes (sounds weird, but it is beautiful!). The oversized chair is hunter green, breakfast bar is a mix of hunter green/cranberry and the furniture is honey oak. See a theme? Yeah, hunter green and cranberry-I love it! The focal wall will definitely be the longest wall with the most important element on it...the ent. ctr with the tv/ps2 (if you asked my kids). Maybe a green faux finish on 3 walls (left wall with ent. ctr/wall with windows/and 3 ft wall - where the sectional will go. But, what do I do with the rest of the space? I want the space to flow, without being too dark/small, yet comfy. I want a sense of three spaces (tv area, sitting corner/cove, breakfast bar/desk). :wall: :wall: :wall:

I will stop here. Please reply with any questions, comments, suggestions.

Thanks! Lisa G

what?!?! :eek:

Confused yet?

YES!!!!

Hi! and welcome to DIY.com!

i want to help you, but could you please describe the room again, but describe the space in terms of "the north wall", "the south wall", etc. if it's basically a rectangular room. that will help me a lot as i try to sketch out your floor plan!

also, what part of the breakfast bar is "a mix of hunter green & cranberry"? the countertop surface? or the low wall part?

and lastly, how is the chair rail (and the rest of the trimwork in the house) treated? i.e. stained or painted?

thanks!

P.S. also, please separate the different subjects/topics/areas with paragraphs, so it's easier to read! thanks!

i got your floorplan, so now i know what you're talking about! thanks!

i also think i know what's going thru your mind. in reality, you've got 2 rooms there. but you want them to flow into each other more. so, yes, you can continue the chair rail from the "kid's area" into the LR but just on the 2 walls by the big chair area. that will tie those 2 spaces together. then you can paint just the 3 walls in the main LR area the same (big wall, window wall, and little wall).


in using such strong colors, i'd be careful what you put on the walls. this could get really, really busy if you're not careful. you want your furnishings to be the focus, not your walls. with such a bold color on your floor (the cranberry), and bold colors on your furnishings, i'd go more neutral with your walls, and use the gold there. i'd use gold on all the walls and just use green below the chair rail. (think of your color scheme more as gold & cranberry, with ACCENTS of the hunter green. you shouldn't have equal parts of the hunter & the cranberry - and since the entire floor is the cranberry, that's the dominant color).

if you're really talented with faux finishes, i'd use a combination of all 3 colors below the chair rail (like a multicolored marble/sponged/mottled look - mostly green with splashes of gold & cranberry - maybe a marble that's mostly green with shades of cranberry blended in, and then a gold vein running thru it here & there, for example).

or if you're not artsy, find a multi-colored wallpaper to use below the chair rail. it'll be far enough away from your striped sofa that it should be easy to find something to coordinate. it could be a plaid or a stripe that's larger or smaller than your sofa, or a faux-printed wallpaper (sometimes hanging that is a lot easier than painting it yourself!), or a print of some sort (or a floral, but i have a feeling, with 3 boys, you're not wanting florals!). but you get the idea - something that could incorporate more than just one color. too many solid colors just doesn't work as well. and your solid green big chair will look better in front of a multi-colored area, than just a solid green area.

does any of that make sense? or have I confused YOU now?!?! :D

:thumbup:

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are awesome! It makes alot of sense. I will let you know how it goes! Also, what are your thoughts on putting a large area rug in the living room (included in the room design I sent you). It has hunter green and gold in it. It would go on top of wall-to-wall carpeting....tacky? I'd love to rip out the cranberry carpeting and go with oak hardwood floors...but my husband is against spending anymore money (i.e. new/renovated kitchen).

Thanks again! I really appreciate it!

Lisa G :)

i think an area rug over carpet is fine (and not tacky), but i wouldn't position it as you had it pictured in your floorplan. it needs to be smaller & it should more accurately define a space, such as in front of the sectional with a coffee table on it, or under the big chair only, to further define that little nook. but not a huge room size rug. that just doesn't do a thing for any of the spaces.

also, area rugs on top of carpeting will walk. so either put a coffee table on it, or the front legs (at least) of the big chair, or you'll be battling that thing right up until you heave it out the front door! (and no, the little gripper under pads don't work!! :thumbdn: )

and please DO post back after you've got it all done & let us know what you did & how it looks!