Decorating Dilemmas is a weekly column in which our stylists answer your design questions, so you can tackle your home decorating project with complete confidence.
Dear How to Decorate,
My husband and I just built our dream home and had a baby. Do we know how to have fun or what? Seriously, it is such a joyful time for our family, and we are loving every minute of it!
We moved into the house in late September, I went back to work in October and our house is still a mess. We spend all of our time in the kitchen. We have a great big island, breakfast nook and keeping room all in one space. The problem is furniture arrangement in the keeping room. Please help!
I love your catalog and have actually ordered the braided jute rug in natural (9×12) and it should be here any day. But, what’s next???? Thank you so much for your suggestions!!
Amy
Amy,
Congratulations! A new house and new baby? What more could a girl ask for?
Scale is very important in design, and in your space, we feel the sofa and loveseat are overpowering the room. We suggest you replace the sofa with two chairs and move the loveseat to the sofa location. This will allow for better traffic flow and provide better scale.
The 9×12 Braided Jute Rug you have already purchased will be the perfect foundation on which you can build the layout of the room. We suggest placing two of our Eton Club Chairs with Trilby Basketweave Bark Slipcovers, at an angle on either end of the loveseat. Next, we think you could liven up the upholstery pieces with pillows that add color and pattern. Our suggestion is to introduce two 22” pillows in Hadley Taupe to the loveseat. Next add one 12×20 pillow in the Ryder Stripe to the loveseat and two 20” Ryder Stripe pillows to the chairs.
The Concorde Medallion Drapery Panels in Taupe will frame the window and add a texture punch to balance the room. Opposite the window wall, we suggest adding the Ananda Serving Table in Rustic Black. Top it with two Maria Buffet Lamps in Aged Silver, and finish off the space with a collection of Red Rhododendron Prints.
Happy Decorating!
The Design Team
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