How to brighten up the living room

Autumn
by Autumn
I've purchased this condo recently..love the court yards.open kitchen, etc..except the living room.about 12x15, carpeted, only natural light is coming from the sliding doors (looking in to the court yards). I've tried to brighten up by adding hanging pictures, bright color rug...it's still not quite right..please help
just hung up the pics. flowing rug..taking from by the sliding doors.which entrance door is near by..noxt to the couch(right)stairs leads to upstairs.
  17 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on May 20, 2016
    In addition to what you have done I think adding a piece of art work over the couch would give the room a more finished look. A nice arrangement of colorful flowers (real or artificial ) on the coffee table as well as adding colorful plants within your room.
  • Jean Myles Jean Myles on May 20, 2016
    I would add some bright coloured throw cushions. Looks like you have yellow in the side chair so that yellow and some burgundy in the area rug. Turquoise might work. Designer trick is to bring home any accessories you think might work and if you dont like them you can always return them. Larger art work and l think the art work you have is hung too high. The lamp and shade need some colour , maybe spray the base of the lamp silver or some other metallic and then add something in the same metallic on the coffee table and side tables. . You could try getting the same metal that you have in the coffee table. Move the sofa away from the corner add a table and maybe a standing lamp in between the sofa and the wall. If you need to get another side table you could go with glass and metal. the area rug is too small . At least the front legs of the sofa & chair should be on the rug. Please don't take this the wrong way. I think your coffee table is too high, it would look better to me if you could remove the round disk that is on the bottom, just my opinion.
  • B Vasel B Vasel on May 20, 2016
    Too many patterns going on! Keep rug and eliminate any throw pillows. Large green plant in center of table. Mirror over couch. Simplify this room! Good luck!
  • Lori Lori on May 20, 2016
    What about using mirrors, a big one, on the wall? I love that rug so a burgandy throw thrown over the end of the sofa would work. I agree with Jean about the coffee table seeming a bit high but that's nothing to do with colour. I personally like a big piece of art as opposed to groupings so a big colourful piece behind the couch and mirror on the wall above the lamp. The other thing you might think about is an accent wall, using paint or wall paper, or stencils. One last thing is you can never go wrong with beautiful green floor plants ( put tiny white string lights in them for night time). Have fun with your new home.
  • Sarah Sarah on May 20, 2016
    The first thing you notice is the rug, I think it over powers the room, it doesn't look like it matches anything. If you don't have to have the rug in this room I would remove it . Put a nice big picture over your couch and maybe some blue accents in the room to match your pretty print on the wall. My house is all done in white colors. White makes your rooms look larger and has a bright clean look. Just try different things make it like you like it. I wouldn't ever said anything like this, but you ask for some help. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings or offend you. That is a great space. You'll figure it out. There are a lot of people on here with great ideas. Take the best ones and try them. Have fun
  • Dmg3224724 Dmg3224724 on May 21, 2016
    Recover your existing throw pillows to coordinate with your happy round rug.Do a red one, a yellow one and a soft blue one. And get a pretty throw for your couch, like red or yellow. Get a silver or espresso framed mirror for over your couch, and then you need a couple of faux succulent plants on your coffee table. Plants make a room seem alive. You'll have fun!
  • Bar822173 Bar822173 on May 21, 2016
    I think this is when you should go to Pinterest and search "accent walls" for inspiration. Your furniture pieces seem on the large side so I think anything that's hung on the wall should either be large or should be grouped together to form a more grounded grouping. A solid color throw over the arm and back of the sofa in a color that is pulled from the rug would help to anchor the pillows. The deep red would be a good choice. I might even suggest changing out the lampshade for a deeper color. There's a lot of very safe beige going on around that vibrant rug. (Been there, done that.)
  • Peggy Moore Peggy Moore on May 21, 2016
    Barlerinyc is correct. Wall color is the answer. Maybe pull one of the colors already present in the rug or room and paint at least one wall, or more walls with a lighter tone of the first. Think of what the blue picture might look good with, when the picture is lowered to eye level and paint the adjacent wall that color. Also, as Sarah said, a large over- the - couch picture or graphic would look good, too. It can be a piece of great fabric stretched over whatever frame you can find for an economical solution.
  • Chris aka monkey Chris aka monkey on May 21, 2016
    autumn5509 can you center the couch on that wall and move the rug in front of it, i would hang a mirror over the couch to bring in more light, you could purchase one of the inexpensive door mirrors and turn it sideway, i would stick with the blue from the rug to use for accents because it is the lightest colorif you are crafty try painting the lamp base blue and covering the pillows in blue, good luck and enjoy your condo xx
  • Patricia Norman Patricia Norman on May 21, 2016
    I think you do need different color pillows to match the rug. I love your rug. You could paint your lamp to match the rug. And you need to add color behind the couch, but I am not sure what.
  • Liz Liz on May 21, 2016
    Everyone has given some really great suggestions. An inexpensive way to get a large framed print over your couch, or even a grouping of framed prints is to go to yard sales, thrift stores, etc. and buy frames with glass. Then, order inexpensive prints on ebay to coordinate with your beautiful rug colors. You can paint your frames any coordinating color, or you can "stain" them with brown liquid scuff coat shoe polish. I know it sounds goofy, but this produces a beautiful, quick stain, with a satin finish. I wax over this, when dry, with brown paste wax shoe polish, and buff it with a soft cloth. Have fun!
  • Bobbie Bobbie on May 22, 2016
    I would paint the walls a pale sage green. It will brighten up your area making it seem brighter and cozier by bringing some of the outdoors
  • Carole Bisby Carole Bisby on May 23, 2016
    I would paint the wall behind the couch a dark purple that is in your carpet and get dark purple pillows for the sofa!!! Add some pic's also above the sofa, I think that would look great!!!
  • Nancee Nancee on May 23, 2016
    I would paint the walls a pretty color. Someone suggested the blue from the rug. That would be nice. Also gradually replace the beige accessories with more color (beige lamp, beige round table).
  • Carol Carol on May 23, 2016
    Mirror are helpful because they reflect light. If your HOA allows, you could put in a skylight or two, or even a Solatube, this would greatly increase the light. Finally, and this is not what you asked advice for, but if you could move the couch down a little so that the end table fit into that corner the arrangement would look better. Also, in my opinion, your pictures are hung too high. This is a common mistake people make when hanging their art. Peace.
  • Autumn Autumn on May 27, 2016
    Thanks everyone for the advice..hints,etc.. I think I'm gonna paint the empty wall (where the couch is) and go from there.. wait,see..again !!Thank you so much to all the readers,who submitted the advice.
  • Sharon Sharon on Jan 28, 2021

    One thing that bugs me is the height of the table is too high for a coffee table. And the art work is hung too high, the correct height is eye level. Personally I like the rug and would pick up the burgundy with solid burgundy sofa pillows, and add burgundy frames or matts around the art work to bring the color up the wall. I might even swap the lampshade for a burgundy one, or hot glue some trim around the bottom of it. And I agree behind the sofa could be an accent wall with paint or add another large piece of art or a mirror.