We have FOUR tall bookcases in our living room, and the entire room’s color scheme is planned around them! I second the suggestion to really spend time thinking about how you’ll use this room – how you want it to *fit you* and your life. Books are key in our house, but maybe not in yours. If you choose to use the shelving for storage, take a look at the great boxes available at IKEA. Mixing and matching a few different storage materials and colors keeps things looking interesting, while using all one kind and color could make a really sleek, minimalist look Great room, by the way!

Jacci

Make sure any spaces you create are functional though. I have friends that have a small “sitting area” in their living room, behind the couches, essentially to fill space. I’ve never seen it used. It’s really just to make the room look full. That seems like clutter, even if it does look ok.

I love the floors though, maybe a small rug, but, keep as much exposed as possible.

Also, I’m not a big fan of rugs. I love the look of a nekkid hardwood floor, and would depend on artistic accents for color in the room. Go with what appeals to you!

Those would be the first questions I’d have. Do you have a place for guests to sleep? Do you have a dining area? Is this where you want to watch TV? Do you need a space to get away from it all?

Sometimes, it lovely to have an unfilled space at home. Perhaps a small seating area anchored with a rug close to the fire place and keep the other half of the room empty save a lovely large table to display an art object?

Or perhaps the other half of the room could house a piano to accompany the banjo?

Of course, papering the wall inside of a bookshelf is not a problem. Jon’s idea to showcase board games is a great, but I can’t imagine not needing to store books as well.

If possible, I’d definitely break it up into two spaces. A living area, obviously, and then another area – crafts, a home office, etc – whatever would fit your needs. I’d put an entertainment center on the small wall to the left of the fireplace, and a couch about halfway across the room facing it. A couple of chairs on either side of it, a couple of end tables and accessories, and you’ve got a living area! (Oh, and I would definitely find some art to hang over the fireplace…looks like that area is perfectly sized for a good piece of art, or maybe a really nice mirror. A mirror would reflect light coming in from the window, so it would make the room look brighter as well.)

Then you could put a table or desk behind the sofa (in front of the window) and you have a great area for doing work or crafting. Alternately, if you don’t have a formal dining room or an eat-in-kitchen, you could make that area a dining area instead.

As far as the bookcases are concerned – I think they’re really awesome! However, I don’t agree that you need to fill them with books (and I also don’t agree that you need an area rug – but if you’re going to keep the walls white, a rug would add some much-needed color). Obviously, if you have a lot of books that would be the best place for them. But if you don’t (as is the case with me), you could put board games, kid’s toys (if you have children), a few knickknacks that you love, office supplies if you use part of the room for an office, etc. Something that expresses your personal style.

I think floor plants (specifically the kind that are more like a tree) in a bank of 3 are a cool way to do a divider in an open space. I also think you can use one to set in a corner and not feel like you need a piece of furniture there.

I like the idea of warming up a wall, but my favorite way to do that is with a hanging quilt, or even a series of quilts in the area over time.

I’d really love the quandary of too much space to fill, except when it comes to the price of utilities for heating and cooling. Where I live we have small rooms and low ceilings, so tight quartes are the price we pay for lower utility costs. I’m like Goldilocks, in search of a just-right balance!

Add one piece at a time, using what you have and more importantly, what you love. If you live for several months with just a couch, that’s fine. If done gradually, you’ll figure out what feels just right and hopefully not go past that point to “too much.”

I know this sounds strange, but avoid furniture and home decor stores, and decorating magazines. They always looks beautiful and always tempt you to try something else or something more. You’re better off seeing what you like in other people’s homes, such as a strategically placed mirror, and then trying to add just that one element to your home.

Rearrange the furniture often. Sometimes all you need is a different angle, not another piece. Move the art around on the walls. In the summer, you might want to look out the windows at a beautiful tree. In the winter, you might want to turn inwards to the cozy fireplace. I had a condo where the living and dining room were separated by a fireplace. The dining room had the patio view. I switched rooms seasonally so I could look at my garden as it bloomed. So it was a few extra steps from kitchen to dining room in the summer; big deal. It was a small condo!

Establish right away where your “landing strip” will be. This is the place where you put your keys, purse, wallet, hat, etc. as you walk in the door. If possible, keep it out of the living room. The landing strip can get chaotic and it keeps the living room serene if all that messy life stuff happens somewhere else.

Send more photos as you progress! I would love to see this home again. Thanks for sharing, Eleanor.

Which may or may not be what Eleanor wants, but that’s what I see in the space.

Here are three really good albums that might help change the way you think about the 5-string banjo:

• Béla Fleck – Tales From the Acoustic Planet
• Alison Brown – Alison Brown Quartet
• Bill Evans & Megan Lynch – Let’s Do Something

Yesterday, someone at lunch actually said “I’m going to punch you in the banjo.” The irony.