Question: We have a perplexing interior design dilemma regarding arranging the furniture in our new living room. The house is a late Craftsman, one-story farmhouse built in 1925.

Our goals are to see the incredible view from the living room out to Golden Gate Bridge and to be able to sit around the brick fireplace. We have a sofa and a stand-up Baldwin piano plus a rectangular coffee table and a couple of sitting chairs. The bedroom's closet walls stick out into the room, but we do not want to lose that closet and wish to work around the strange configuration. Can you tell us how to place the sofa and piano in order to take advantage of both the view and the fireplace?

Shirley and Travis Fretter
El Cerrito

Answer: You're fortunate to have such a wonderful view. We'll solve this design dilemma with a creative arrangement and not have everything squared to the walls.

Use a 9 1/2-by-12-foot area rug to anchor the furniture. If you can't find one this size, have wall-to-wall carpeting cut to this dimension. Have the edges either self-bound or use decorative edging.

Place your sofa on the diagonal, with its back to the awkward corner where the bedroom closet juts into the room. It's strategically placed to face both the view and fireplace. Behind the sofa is a narrow console table with a table lamp that's 30 inches high to bring some interest and illumination to this corner.

Off-the-wall Solution Furniture is "located" on an area rug for best exposure to the view and fireplace in this living room.

In front of the sofa is a coffee table, and on either end of it is a pair of comfortable chairs. I suggest that they be on the small side and without arms so they don't overwhelm the room. Opposite the sofa is an upholstered bench for additional guest seating. At 2 feet by 3 1/2 feet with a low profile, it won't obstruct the view, yet offers more seating. The piano is placed against the window wall. Next to it is a tall potted plant. The plant is in an ideal place to receive good light, and it shields the piano from too much sun. An uplight beneath it will create a dramatic effect at night. Your fireplace creates a nice focal point, but its style is somewhat dated. Giving it an updated look is easy; all you have to do is clad the brick surround and hearth with stone slab fall-off, decorative tile or stone tile. The mantel can be enhanced and brought into better proportion by adding either a prefabricated mantel or one that you can easily construct from wood moldings.

In front of the sofa is a coffee table, and on either end of it is a pair of comfortable chairs. I suggest that they be on the small side and without arms so they don't overwhelm the room.

Opposite the sofa is an upholstered bench for additional guest seating. At 2 feet by 3 1/2 feet with a low profile, it won't obstruct the view, yet offers more seating.

The piano is placed against the window wall. Next to it is a tall potted plant. The plant is in an ideal place to receive good light, and it shields the piano from too much sun. An uplight beneath it will create a dramatic effect at night.

Your fireplace creates a nice focal point, but its style is somewhat dated. Giving it an updated look is easy; all you have to do is clad the brick surround and hearth with stone slab fall-off, decorative tile or stone tile. The mantel can be enhanced and brought into better proportion by adding either a prefabricated mantel or one that you can easily construct from wood moldings.

The bookcases on either side of the fireplace can incorporate recessed lighting. Window coverings are an important detail, not just for adding visual warmth but for protecting the room from the sun's heat. Because you don't want to block the view by covering it, use layers of window treatments. Sun-screen, solar-type shades allow some transparency, but they're not particularly attractive, so let's explore other, more interesting alternatives.

The layer closest to the window is the practical layer that protects the room from harsh sunlight. Use a honeycomb-style shade, perhaps with a bottom up/top down mechanism. This type of shade completely blocks the view and gives full protection. It also adds a layer of insulation to keep the room warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Have it made as an inside mount shade, that is, one that's seated inside the window's casing.

In front of this shade is a more decorative, transparent shade that adds texture and style to the room. This layer could be made of natural woven materials like rush or bamboo. During the day you can see through it as though nothing were covering the window, so you can leave it down all the time if you like. It even offers some sun shading, so on overcast or foggy days you won't need to use the honeycomb shades at all. It can also be inside mounted or over-mounted.

Some window covering manufacturers sell shades that are made with this double layer, with each layer individually operable. Otherwise, it's not difficult to put shades on windows in layers if there's enough depth to the window casing.

Make sure that all the materials you use to decorate this interesting room work with one another, both in the color scheme and the layers of textures. This will ensure a comfortable room in which to listen to music.

 

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