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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Op here. Thanks for the informative responses. No $75k living room — we have kids and a dog and the room is small. $5-$10k, maybe more for a nice piece of artwork or if we replace the couch.[/quote]

That's totally fine. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a satisfactory room.

Here's what I would do:

1. Find a photo from a store--ikea, Ethan Allan, home depot, Serena and Lilly, whatever--that has a sofa that looks like yours and similar lighting. Also blinds if you have blinds.

2. Make a list of all the smaller pieces of furniture, lighting, and decor, and buy it. Black Friday is coming up; if it's from a place like pottery barn, wait until then and take advantage of 20% off discounts.

That's it.

Only one other thing: you might consider changing paint color. It can be hard to choose, and white is fine, but maybe at some point you'll feel like it is worth the pain and cost. Pick a color and post it on this forum and ask if it is acceptable (doesn't need to be the best, just acceptable). If it's a north-facing window avoid a cool color.

Rooms from advertisements are said to be lacking in character, but consider whether or not you want to deal with the pain of trying to express your personality via your decor. It's hard and often doesn't turn out well. Also, if you look at those advertisements, they might be bland, but they are better than the vast majority of living rooms. [/quote]

I adamantly disagree with this approach. The most important things to get right are floor plan and scale. They do not show small living rooms in catalogues. It’s usually a giant living room seating area on a set. The walls are way back. IRL this would be an absolutely enormous living room. Even if the sofa is “similar” to yours, you need to check the arm height, because that’s how you figure out how tall and end table you need. And how deep. And how wide. Just buying things from a photo is a good way to end up with things that don’t work in your actual room. 
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