Decorating and Design - Living/Dining Room Combo (pics)

Hi - my husband and I just bought our first home - a remodeled 1914 schoolhouse. We have not spent any time/money in decorating thus far and need some suggestions. The main room we're having trouble with is the living room/dining room area. It is the first thing you see when you enter the house. We have 14' ceilings and 11' windows. We have the original chestnut floors and painted plank walls. We also have a black woodstove in the center of the room. My husband likes neutral colors and I'm a big fan of prints. If you could offer us any decorating suggestions, we'd be very grateful. We need ideas for furniture, furniture arrangement, colors, window treatments, and anything else you may have to offer. We are very open to suggestions. Thanks!!

Pictures:
http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk63/garbovt/

There was no a photo showing what was to the left of the kitchen bar area. I felt that the diningroom area was too far from the kitchen and that it needed to be moved more in the area of the kitchen. Is there room to do that?

The wall behind the stove has too much going on. I like the bookcase to balance the vent to the left. I would center it in the space between the vent and the door frame. Get rid of the waste basket and use by a bed or desk or in a bathroom. Use the big lidded basket as a coffee table. Move the clock to the wall above the kitchen bar and hang it over 'Teach.' Remove everything from the overburdened bookcase.

A row of hardback books on the bottom shelf would give the piece some visual weight. If you have no books, you can find them at yard sales and flea markets for a quarter or so. Look for books similar in size and/or color. Use upper shelves for decorative items. Keep things organized and limit the number. Always go with an odd number.

One simple way to begin is to place a taller item off center and to either left or right. Objects of lesser height can be placed to left or right. Items should be in scale with size of shelves. Nothing enormous and nothing so tiny that it is lost. That tiny seashell from the beach can have greater substance if perched atop a small box. Taller items do better at back of shelves, medium ones toward the middle, and shorter ones in front. Larger, heavier items should be reserved for lower shelves. You don't have to display everything at once. Keep some items stowed away for changing your displays. Study magazine pictures for how shelves and furniture are arranged.

The mirror above the bookcase needs to be hung on wall at a height where the lampshade remains within the bottom one third of the mirror. The mirror will give you a place to check your nose before you head out the back door. The basket/bowl is too large for the shelf. I can't make out what else is there, but declutter. Remove the pictures on the wall and use elsewhere. A large green plant would look good to right of bookcase. Take care to protect wood floors from water. Move fireplace set up by stove on the firemat.

Once you decide on a color scheme, you can pick some print fabric for the country kitchen windows. I see some bits of blue in the kitchen. Lots of sunshine coming in. A few pieces of cobalt blue glassware from the fleamarket look stunningly brilliant on a window sill with the sun streaming through.

I like the placement of the table beneath the stairs, but the photo does not show what is on top. The heart picture is flying. If there is nothing else hanging above the table, move it down and over to make it part of your vignette. One picture does not have to be centered.

I like the loveseat. It could use a couple pillows to give it a splash of color. If you like blue, then carry the blue from the imaginary cobalt glass in the kitchen into the livingroom in pillows. Blue and yellow would make for a stunning color combo with your white walls. If you are more into country cottage decor, you may prefer softer, more worn and muted looking colors. You can paint the folding end table black to give it more visual weight. Add something tall on top--a small, but tall potted plant, a vase of fresh flowers, a collection of three candlesticks of varying heights.

Oh, I see in the next photo the rest of the table by the stairs. You have done a good job there with the basket and grouping of candles at the other end. I can't make out if that is the same heart picture flying high or if there are now two pictures above the table. If there are two, lower them to where they are no higher than six inches above the table and four inches apart and center. This will pull your vignette together.

I love the door and tall windows. I especially like the wreaths. They can be seasonally decorated. Such fun. Oh, is that green on the horizontal boards on the door? Aha, you have a color there. Green would be great to work with in your home. You could paint the folding end table green as well as the diningroom furniture.

I can see long, flowing curtain panels on windows. The problem is that they have to be so long. You will not be able to find them. JC Penney boasts long length window treatments, but they just go to 108". You need 132". Custom would be too expensive. If you can sew, you can make your own. If privacy is not an issue, then you can get by with covering just the bottom half. That would make the wreaths happy. And, the budget will be happier. One of the least expensive window treatments is plain shirr on sheers from the discount store.

The window where the dining table is would be a great place for two comfy chairs turned somewhat facing each other for conversation and taking advantage of the view. A small table between with a lamp for reading would be nice. The couch has to be in the middle of the floor because there is a traffic pattern behind. Sofa tables behind couches are always a nice touch. Definitely need an area rug to ground the couch and the stove as the conversation area. The lidded basket will make a nice little coffee table. The picture to the left of the door looks somewhat cramped in that small space. I'd move it someplace where it could be put to better use and opt for something tiny there or nothing at all.

I love your house. What a fun place to live. You have done a wonderful job. You don't have a lot of room for furniture. I do wish you could move the diningroom table. That would open up that area for more seating. If you can't do that, then at least add a comfy chair and ottoman at an angle to the right of the couch.

Thanks a bunch for all the advice!! :) I'll send updated pics when I get a chance. I have already taken your advice on the bookshelf and the pictures/clock on the wall, and it looks much better. :)