I don't exactly need a decorator. What do I need?

We’re finally having our floors redone, which means we have to take everything out of the living and dining rooms and are getting an opportunity to rethink our spaces. Our problem is that our house was built in 1928 before, you know, TVs. So the living room has always been a bit awkward because we have to have somewhere to put the TV and somewhere to put a couch, etc., etc. The couch is looking kind of ratty, so we might want to replace it soonish (or maybe just recover it) and the TV stand was built for the old TVs, so if we got a new one it wouldn’t be nearly as deep.

We don’t need a decorator - I mean, I don’t want somebody to pick out dustables for me and change the colors or anything. I need a… layout expert? I don’t know, somebody who could help us maybe think of solutions we haven’t thought of, help us figure out what we need and arrange it in a way that works for us. Maybe help us pick out a new couch. So what do we need?

A decorator.

No, seriously: good ones do layouts with already-available items, not just “purchasing stuff for you”.

Alternatively, a friend with a good eye for space. I’d offer Middlebro or myself but we’re both a ways off.

Piece of advice: your TV stand isn’t a TV stand. It’s a side table. Often, changing the mental labels of something helps you see half a dozen different places it can go. My former TV stand is now in my bedroom, storing shoes.

Do you know anyone who works in real estate? Sometimes real estate agents hire home stagers to make homes more appealing before they go on the market. I’m not terribly familiar with the process, but I gather that they usually work with the existing furniture and just help improve furniture arrangement and the overall look. Maybe someone like that could be a good resource for thinking about rearranging and updating your living room.

If you get a decorator, you get to determine the limits of what they do. If you don’t want new colors and knick-knacks, tell the decorator that. Tell the decorator exactly what you put into your OP and let them do what they do. They will, of course, charge you for this service.

If you are going to buy furniture, Ethan Allen advertises that they will give you some kind of room layout makeover if you ask for it. Of course, while doing this they will try to sell you more of their furniture, but it might give you some ideas.
Roddy

Ask around on facebook or in your social network. I guarantee many people will come out with a good eye for practical lay-out and will be more then happy to advise you. You’ll be doing them a favour. For many people, thinking about such layouts and decorating is a kind of hobby. The best ones can separate the practicality of an idea from the matter of personal taste .

Just say you are “collecting ideas” and would like to “re-use as much furniture as possible” to get them to keep it practical and for them not to be disappointed when you use only a couple of their ideas.

Maybe check out a couplebooksfrom your local library.

Then visit an Ikea.

Fluff Your Stuff Interiors posts lots of before and after photos of rooms they’ve redone using items the homeowners already had.

There must be designers willing to take the same approach in other cities.

Hey, this is America. Our TV stand isn’t a side table, it’s an aircraft carrier.

Another place to look would be a home stager. I usually hear them used when a house is for sale, but if they can do that, I assume they could work on layout for everyday living as well.

Modern TVs go on the wall. If you have something hanging there already, take it down. Use multiple TVs if a common viewing angle is difficult. To purchase a TV, measure the size of your largest wall. Ignore unnecessary doors and windows. Get a TV no larger than that.

A stager would help you arrange your furniture to its best advantage; however, I agree with the previous poster - think about your TV hanging on the wall instead of on a stand and then look at you space. You may not need help after all.

I’m deep deep deep into a home remodel**. My General Contractor has a great eye for changes, and a lot of experience for what can and can’t work. He knows when it makes sense to tear up a wall, and when to let something be as is. When you can poke a wire through something, and when you can’t. If you can find someone with experience like that, he could help.

*In my case, it’s a guy who used to live three doors down from me. Your millage may vary.

** Yeah. Still. But the kitchen is being done this week! Weee…

-D/a

“Use multiple TVs”? That “aircraft carrier” thing was a joke, did you catch that?

Seriously, this is a house built for staring into the fireplace, not at a TV. That means that there are a ton of windows and fireplaces but if you want to have a modern-sized TV you can either put it over the fireplace (way too high) or you can put your couch in front of the fireplace (kind of sucky). Or you can do like we did and put the TV on a stand sort of in the corner in front of a window.

I think you definitely need an interior designer for your layout and redesigning your TV stands etc

So turn it into a low library :slight_smile:

Modern TVs can go on the wall, but don’t have to. I’ve only seen them on the wall at hotels, because most people prefer a location which doesn’t involve the dreaded Holes In The Wall - the holes needed by TVs are quite big. The wall mounts also have a more limited range of angular motion; yes, you can see the image from a wide angle, but if the TV was set thinking of watching it from the bed, it won’t be movable to an angle that doesn’t leave the image tilted when watching from the sofa. (The decorator for this hotel is a man about 6’4"-6’5" and likes watching TV from bed - we can figure this out from what things he did/did not put in and from where he put things!)

Zsofia, can you send me plans? I love doing this kind of stuff but damnit, I’m too far! My email is in my profile.

Of course I caught it, that’s why I responded with another joke.

I’m in the same boat. Our living room is 12x24 ft. The only wall big enough for Wonder Boy is opposite the fireplace in the 12 foot direction. One day my wife will approve of some plan to reorganize. In the mean time we sit at the far end of couches perpendicular to the TV to watch it. It’s pretty easy to see from any point in the room when people appear larger than life size.

I don’t want you talking to my husband. He has enough loony ideas as it is.

Make Room - enter the dimensions of your room and start placing stuff in there. Really cool way to see if things fit and move things around.

Actually, once this whole Wedding Thing is over, I think I’ll start a thread here and let you guys at it.

Don’t call them “decorators”. The preferred, and correct, term is “interior designer”.

That’s what you need, whether it’s a one-hour consult or whatever.