Also have the Chloe recliner--though will say the seam on the seat cushion is starting to tear and it's not detachable. I'll have to fix it myself.

kaatluvr & valinsv thanks for chiming in on the Chloe chairs. Good to know.

I had another chair thought tonight in a totally different direction. I was thinking about "light and airy" like les said and wondered if I could do a wicker/rattan kind of chair in this area? The library is heavy and the dining room is heavy so maybe it would lighten it up some?

The dining room is heavy with French and wood and the library is heavy with books and.

I was thinking of something like this:

A pair of them slanted toward this:

What do you think? Or am I all off base? I thought for sure I had seen some of these types of chairs in a living room/sitting room thing but went looking in the gallery for some pictures to show hubby and couldn't find any.

And if I did that, could I do an ottoman for a coffee table or go with something like the table les recommended above?

Ohhh...I love the wicker chairs too!
I got my Chloe's at a local furniture shop. I was able to get any fabric that I wanted...paying a bit more than the Macy's price. I do love it in their fabric though.

love the Chloe in the red but if you're after airy think the wicker would be spectacular with a nice cushy cushion on it. maybe a small floral in reds and some green to pick up the wall color? I would definitely go with the glass table with the wicker. I'd get a Chloe for the other room.

Love that red wall!

Great find! I love it!!!

You did great. I love the love seat, it's lovely.
joann

Okay, I think I am falling love with the idea of the wicker in that space. A visual break before the library and I think it will be okay next to the dining room that will be filled with antiques.

loribee - oh...good to know. So I can probably go to the place that's making my bookcases and have them order a chloe for me in a different color. The library is a hard room to add another color too so I really want to look at some options. The red walls, patterned couch and burgundy leather chairs that are already there say no more red but maybe a brown or a taupe that I could then use for some chairs around the table in there.

ttodd - thanks! That red is Raspberry Truffle in our library. We love it so much that hubby just painted his office the same color.

I am going to ponder this more today and maybe try to do a mockup though the house is still all torn apart from the painting but I'm thinking the new loveseat, a pair of those chairs (Azteca from Pier 1) with the matching coffee table (a bit more sturdy, I think, than the other one which is important with our dog.)

Not sure what color cushions to go with. The red library will be on one side and the blue and white (with yellow walls) kitchen on the other. I might see if I could find a botanical print that would work or maybe I could have some made in this fabric that I love so much.

I love that loveseat! When the chair height is higher than the sofa, it can throw the arrangement out of balance. Just a thought - you may want to measure.
Diane

Diane, huh, I didn't know that about the backs of chairs/couches. The Azteca chair is about 4" taller than the back of the couch but when I went into my library, my leather recliners are a ton taller than the couch. I guess if people feel unbalanced in that room I can blame in on the varying heights. :)

I'll go look at pictures of other rooms and see how I feel about the heights. Thanks.

I love that botanical print and think it would be perfect to tie it all together.

This chest just came up on craigslist. Could I make it work with the loveseat and those chairs? It's perfect for the short wall in that space I could really use the storage for table linens.

{{!gwi}}

Oh yes...lovely chest, and love the loveseat!

Grab the chest!

I'm rooting for the pheasant fabric. Love it so much I was trying to think of other places to use it in the house, lol.

fillagirl and sheeshare - thanks on the chest. I'm really drawn to it. Now this one came up too, a little cheaper, a little narrower, and a little more beat up, but maybe okay? Not sure which I like better.

{{!gwi}}

sheeshare - I'm sold on the fabric. Two cushions won't be too bad to replace if I ever tire of it but I think it will go perfectly.

What a great deal, I love it!!!

I don't like the wicker chair with it though. I think I would look for straighter lines and bring in curvier elements elsewhere in the room.

Love the first chest!

I like the first chest...

I like the first chest a little better but if the second one fits in the space, depending on the price, I'd go with the second. It's nice too.

Well shoot, I goofed on the measurements of the first chest. I love it best but if I get it, it will take up the entire short wall in that space. I could still put the loveseat there and open the drawers but it means I wouldn't be able to put a chair too close to that short wall. I'm not sure if that's good or bad but I'm starting to think it might feel crowded.

While I like that first chest best I only have the one place I could use it in the house. I'm going to go look at the second one because it's smaller and I could actually put it in a couple of places in the library which might be better.

I have one vote against the wicker chair in that spot but everyone else seems to be in favor of it. I'm still liking the idea.

Cassie has claimed the new loveseat.

I'll bite. I do think the wicker chairs look too casual and more suitable for something like a tropically themed porch setting. If you want something airier and wicker like, try looking for some caned pieces that are suitable for comfortable cushions. They'd also be light to move and well fitted for a library.

I liked the Chloe or the Zoey. What do the guys think? You might want to have your dh test all the chairs out for comfort.

Too bad the first chest is too large. It's more refined in style and finish. It appears to have an elegant bowfront. The other looks Early American and in need of some work. It's also more of a bedroom piece, although bedroom chests can often fit into other spaces nicely. I don't think it blends well with your furnishings though.

My $.02 since you are looking for opinions here.

Susan,
Great looking loveseat! Even better looking with that sweet baby taking a nappie on it :)

Have you played around with furniture in your new space? I do like the wicker chairs if the scale is right with the loveseat. Can you go get one from Pier !? I would play around with your chairs & loveseat b4 purchasing a chest (which I really like the 1st one, too!)

And I spy the pheasant fabric...it would look very pretty as pillows on your loveseat.

Smiles:)

spring-meadow - thanks for weighing in because yes, I did ask for more opinions. I'm less a fan of rattan than I am of the wicker so that might influence my direction. I'm not as worried about comfort for the chairs here because they will only be used once a month, at most, when there are people over. It's not the main sitting area for our use.

Yes, that first chest is a lovely bowfront but I think I am going to have to let it go. I have space for a chest in the library, and would like one there, but I can't go that large on the two short walls I have available. It wouldn't go any place else. I'll keep looking. A chest is not as pressing as finding chairs to go with the new loveseat in that small space.

scoobyruby - thanks. The painters are packing up (sorta) today so I am ready to get hubby to help me move the buffet out of that area and down to the new dining room (old living room). Then I can push the loveseat back and see what we have. And then I'll go down to Pier 1 and pick up one chair to see how it looks.

What do others think of powermuffin's comment about keeping the back of the chairs the same height as the couch?

I keep looking at the table les posted, and I like it, but seeing the way Cassie hangs her head off the couch I'm thinking an ottoman might be safer.

Yum....sage green sofa with 2 wicker chairs! If I remember you have some beautiful french antiques....
{{!gwi}}

Smiles:)

ooh, scooby! Thank you for this beautiful picture!

Wonder if hubby will drive his car over to Pier 1 for me tonight?

And yes, I do have a lot of French antiques in the old living room/new dining room and the kitchen.

Yes, I too was thinking that the chairs you posted do look like the backs are pretty high. I was thinking more of French caning, rather than the tube rattan.

Beautiful garden room/porch! What a beautiful space for inspiration. I do think that the chairs used there have a completely different feel than the Pier 1's though. Everything in that space is Old World earthy and English/French garden style. I still question the height and the style of the Pier 1, with the sofa being used (and thinking of other furnishings in the house). Thought the chest was going in there too, not the library.

I'm not real clear with the way your living room fits in to the general layout of your home. I recall it as being in a rather open area to the adjacent spaces. If it is, I would keep those areas closely in mind when pulling this area together as they will offset and backdrop each other.

spring-meadow - Thanks for letting me know when I'm as clear as mud. hahaha :)

I've let go of the idea of a chest in that area at the moment because I really think it would be too crowded. I need a chest for linens but I can put it in the library. For this space I'm just trying to concentrate on the chairs right now. And I agree that the chairs Scooby posted have more of an Old World feel. Would love to find them at Pier One prices. :) Do you (or anyone) have some suggestions where to look?

The Pier One chair would be 4" higher than the back of the loveseat. Too much?

You're right that the whole downstairs is very open. The place where I want the living room/sitting area is the old dining area (made from a remodel by the previous owners.) Then I'm making the large living room the dining room.

This pics will walk you through the space. This is all pre-painting.

When you walk in the house, this is what you see. Stairs are in front of the first column. Old living room, new dining room between columns to the right. Old dining area, new sitting area to the left. Library straight ahead to the red. My office is through the French Doors.

Standing in the old dining area looking at the old living room.

Standing between the columns looking toward kitchen:

The space I'm trying to make a sitting area:

spring-meadow

I do have another chair that I will probably work in there because it has the same "look"I'm going for:

Right now it is nick-named the "chair of pain" because the gal I bought it from put plywood under the cane to "protect" it.

Okay, would these chairs work? They just showed up on CL for $120 for the pair. That picture is as big as it gets. I wrote and asked for a better pic and the dimensions but I was thinking if they were in good shape, the price was right and I could use them elsewhere if I find something else down the road. The ad just says they are on the small side.

I hope you get a bigger pic but yes, they look like they'll work really well~

They do look like they would work shape and colorwise. Hard to tell what the fabric quality is like or the styling closeup. Your sofa looks perky and new, so keep that in mind.

Is the rug you have rolled up a keeper or trial? Also think about your other patterns.

I'm not sure about this sitting area, myself. I'm afraid you'll end up with something that looks kind of like a lobby and it doesn't feel right next to your kitchen. Did you say you rarely use the living room? And those chairs are also too large to use in the new seating area? You might just want to pull them in to check things out even though it might be too cramped.

It would seem that the dining room table would be lost in the living room, even extended. Would it fit horizontal to the fireplace? Where the front half of the room could also have an area to relax? Though that particular sofa wouldn't really fit in with the antiques. If I remember correctly, you are recovering the dining chairs?

If it were a viable option (and I don't know that it is), thinking of all of your books and style preference, built-ins of some sort (not necessarily solid) flanking the living room entrance (rather than the (unfunctional?) columns), maybe anchored on the lower living room side for corridor width, might give you a more cozy room like foyer area and not so open a floor plan to work with.

I'm confused. But did you get a Pier 1 chair last night?

loribee - she didn't send a bigger pic of the chairs but she did send a pic of the fabric.

And I think it would look good with the loveseat.

spring-meadow - The rolled up rug is a keeper for now but it goes under the dining room table. I'll need to get a rug for this space but I'll worry about that later. (I don't buy expensive rugs because of the dog.)

I didn't go get a chair last night because these new ones popped up on CL and I really liked them. If they're comfy, they'll do good double-duty when we need to move them to the library for gatherings.

I don't think it would work to split the living room into dining and relaxing because of the step down. It's very odd. And if we did that, then there's still that giant space where the dining area used to be.

The dining room table will be far from alone in the living room. There will be bookcases on each side of the fireplace, the china cabinet, the sideboard/bar and the buffet.

I'm hoping to move some of that furniture around tonight once the painters get their rolling cart out of that room.

Eventually I would like to do a half-wall with shelves coming out from each of the columns but that's a ways away because it's more $$. The columns are very functional, holding up the bedroom because the previous owners took out a loadbearing wall.

An aside - I wish I wasn't so insecure about this. I waver back and for on other people's opinions.

So that looks like it might be a woven tapestry type fabric instead of a print? That would be a good thing. Looks like some reds and yummy colors in there too that don't come through either in the distant shot. I wonder why she didn't send a better picture of the chairs. Hopefully not far to go see. If you like them and they're comfy, then you will save a bundle for other things. When do you plan on going?

spring-meadow - yes, I'm hoping it's a tapestry. I don't think she really knows much about posting pics. :)

We're going tonight. I'm first in line as soon as she gets home from work. They're only $160 for the pair so I'm hoping that they are comfy and in good shape because then I can use the extra $ for a rug for that space.

Oh, and you asked about the chairs that were in the living room...yes, way too large for the space. I just traded them for some of my painting bill.:)

I found some old pics from when I tried to do the living room/sitting room before. I'll post them in a sec.

You posted $120 earlier. $80 per chair really isn't bad if they're nice chairs though. Did she quote a different price today?

I was wondering if those two bookcases by the fireplace could work in the new living room somehow. Or are they the ones you were referring to above, which would then be staying there?

Here are a couple of pics from not long after we moved in and we wanted to make the living room the dining room back then. The living room as a dining room was never a problem in my eyes, it was that the old dining area didn't work as a sitting area because I had a hodgepodge of leggy French pieces and nothing that said "comfort."

I think the new wood floor which will also go into the new dining area, will help unify the spaces.

The china cabinet will be moving down to the other side of the French doors. The bar moves where the china cabinet. The buffet (you can sorta see it under plastic behind the loveseat at the top of the page) will go where the bar is now.

The space under the stairs is getting a door and I'll put either a chair or a cabinet or something in front of it. Wow, it's weird looking at that space now.

We tried the table the other direction but it chops the room in half. I didn't like it at all.

I goofed on the price before. $120 was for another pair of chairs that I had bookmarked. $160 for a pair is fine for me.

I got the bookcases for each side of the fireplace. I had originally thought of putting a wall of bookcases in the sitting area for all my husband's cookbooks. It would put them closer to the kitchen for him. But then there's not much space for seating in front of them if you want to get to the bookcases, which we do. So he moved all the cookbooks into his office (three bookcases full) and these two will stay on either side of the fireplace.

Went to look at the pair of patterned tapestry chairs from CL tonight. Loved the design. Loved the fabric. But they were really beat up. They'd have to be recovered and there was a ton of fabric on them. So we passed. Then in the car hubby says, I'm really liking the idea of a wicker/rattan kind of chair in there. Huh. Who knew. :) hahaha

So tomorrow we'll go pick up a chair from Pier 1 and see what we think. These are the two I'm considering right now but I'm looking around online for some others. Only trouble is that some of the really nice ones are $800 a chair and I'm not going to pay that for something that gets sat in maybe once a month.

bennu

azteca

Oh well. We went to Pier 1 and looked at all their chairs and none of them appealed to us. It wasn't even close so I didn't bother to buy one and bring home. Tomorrow we'll go to Macy's and look at the chairs there.

I really like the idea of the Chloe and it gets such high marks from everyone but the Chloe is 38" high and the back of my loveseat is 34". If I measure to the back of the pillows it is 37" The height difference doesn't bother me but I understand it's supposed to bother me.

My Chloe's are a bit higher than my loveseat and couch...
I never even gave it a thought~
sorry about the tapestry chairs. :(

Your sofa reads as high as the cushions so I wouldn't worry about it. What a shame they wasted your time with the tapestry chairs. I was hoping they'd bring in something not too new for your other adjacent antique pieces while still being not too old looking for the sofa.

Thanks, Loribee. I'm glad I'm not the only one. Hubby says we can head over to Macy's tomorrow to look at the Chloe and a few other chairs. Maybe look at ottomans too because Cassie has decided she loves the loveseat with the ottoman from my office for her head. :)

springmeadow - I was hoping that too. But the backs of them, where you place your head, were almost brown with dirt and wear. Ditto the arms. Threadbare in those places. Then we checked them over to see if they would be worth recovering, even though it would be expensive, but hubby said there was evidence of breakage at the bottom of one and on the leg of the other.

Still looking. I would really like to keep it at around $500/$600 a chair, if possible. The Chloe is on sale right now for $449.

Well I ordered my Chloe's today. Went to Macy's where they are on sale and got a pair of them in the sage green. So they should look nice with the loveseat. The only downside is I don't think I can find a place for the bird fabric in the house now. Bummer. :)

Now to ponder where to do a rug or not underneath them, and if so, what colors?

good for you, you're moving forward quickly! Really like those chairs.

Thanks, fillagirl. I'm anxious to get them in here next to the loveseat. As soon as hubby is available today we'll move the buffet off of that area so we can push the loveseat back and get a better idea of the space. It's so frustrating not to be able to do more now but I'm in limbo until that tile comes up and the new floor goes down.

I'm a bit lost as to what colors to consider for a rug right now. I keep looking but nothing jumps out at me and for that space I fear I need such a big one that maybe I'll just go rugless.

How exciting! What do you think about a sisal rug??

The chloe chair on their website is listed for $599 with no mention of a sale price. Was there a newspaper advertisement that I missed?

Good choice on your part .. everything you're doing looks wonderful.

phyl345 - Thanks for the support. I just checked the Macy's site and it looks like the sale is over. They were $449 when I bought them on Saturday.

loribee - Sisal looks so interesting in photographs and the option came up when I was looking to recover my dining room chairs but when I went to look at them, well, they are too scratchy. I go barefoot almost all year long and stepping on one makes me cringe. :( So I think form needs to dictate here and I need something softer.

I've bookmarked at few at Overstock (needs to big and needs to be cheap because with a dog, well, you know how that story goes.) I'll try to do some mock-ups here in a bit. As soon as I wake up. :)