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Julia at Hooked On Houses started a new Linky. I love Linkys. They’re a great way to find information in one general post, or share a great idea or promote your blog. Problem is I never seem to have anything worth linking.
When she proposed Freaky Houses I instantly thought of some of the houses we saw in our house hunting days. Man, what WERE those people thinking? But then I realized I could use some help.
While not really freaky, my loft is… well, helpless is how I would describe it most days.
This is what up see upon coming up the stairs. Notice the blank, the bland, the blah. The main purpose of this room is a media room. Suspended from the ceiling is a projecter which shines on the screen that’s rolled up in the above picture.
Standing at the top of the stairs, here’s the view to your left. That sad little shelf there had good intentions. At the time, we needed something super cheap yet strong enough to hold a receiver and a couple game consoles. Matt and his dad made the shelf, which IS super strong, but there was a measurement mishap. Not everything fits. AND none of the cords are really concealed. Huuuggee pet peeve of mine.
Continuing to the left we have our behemoth couch. You see no laundry. -Jedi Mind Trick gesture- It was purchased for our old house. Maximum seating and small price point were the cause behind this one. It seems very overwhelming, which is surprising considering the room is about 20′ x 15′. End table and coffee table need to be refinished but waiting on that until I have a sense of the room.
This is the view basically standing under the ill-fated shelf. Down the hallway to the left is laundry, craft room, kids bedroom and a bathroom. The door to the right is the master bedroom. That cord should be gone as soon as we get our delivery from NewEgg.com this week.
Here’s a couple panoramas. Click for larger versions.
Normally I would define a few seating areas, throw some rugs and call it done-ish, but there are some special considerations here. It needs to be able to be as dark as possible in the middle of the day; due to the projector, nothing can block your view of the screen and the media devices need to stay close to where the shelf is. They’re hard wired in and out of reach of small people.
This is the screen in full down position. It’s about 2′ from the ground and maybe 3′ from the right wall. That makes it really hard to put anything seating wise along that right wall. I do have a futon that was given to us that would fit, but watching the screen from it would be uncomfortable. And, let’s face it, futons typically ain’t cute. The paint color is from the previous owners, so no need to keep it, per se.
I don’t necessarily have a budget, or a general time frame but a fresh set of eyes on this would be nice. If I know what I want I can start keeping an eye out at swap-meets, thrift stores, etc.
If this was your loft, what would you do?
Please don’t forget to visit Julia and add your own Freaky House Photos.
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This is a tough one! I think I’d put a warm, dark color on the walls and get an area rug for starters. Maybe you could frame some movie posters or something. I’ve never had a room like this to have to work around. My husband wants one, though!
Thanks for joining my party–have a great weekend.
Julia @ Hooked on Houses´s last blog ..Freaky House Photos Friday
I’m a little bit stumped! Why are there lights attached to the wall right above the couch? I would get rid of those if possible and if they are not important for some reason. Move the sectional away from the wall at least far enough to put a console table between the sectional and the wall with no window. Accessorize the console table with lamps, etc… Find some art work for the walls – maybe framed posters of movies you like. I know that’s not really imaginative for a media room, but that’s all I’ve got! The console table should be fairly long, you don’t want it to look dinky next to such a large sectional. Get a large round coffee table. Get two swivel, upholstered chairs and a modest sized end table to put between them for the blank wall to the right of the movie screen (art work above!). Get rid of the corner cabinet to the left of the movie screen and get one or two tall cabinets to put on the window wall to the left of the screen. Your curtains are hung high enough, but they should be hung wider, and look more substantial (maybe two panels for each side instead of one). I would get new curtains if at all possible and in a more definite color. I can’t tell what color they are but they don’t seem to play well with the brown. Once you get new curtains, you can figure out accent colors for pillows from there. See if you can find a wall hung cabinet, like you would hang over a toilet in a bathroom or even a kitchen cabinet. Cut out the back and hang it over your husband’s mess.
The area below it may look a little bare, but I think it will look okay if you put a lamp on that end table and then some sort of storage piece for either toys, or blankets in the space below. An area rug would be nice, as you already mentioned. I hope this is helpful. If you want some more specific ideas of the furniture pieces I’m talking about, send me an email and I’ll see if I can get you a few links.
LOL, now you guys see why I have such a hard time with it. My husband is very obstinate when it comes to this room. I needs to serve its function and who cares what it looks like is his thought. Thing is when we host people it’s the first thing he wants to show off.
We’re just coming out of that young adult phase where you decorate with cinder blocks and beer posters. We don’t have nearly enough furniture to fill this giant house, and the budget doesn’t give me much leeway to just go pick out what we need or want.
I can easily build a console table for behind the couch. I really like that idea. I also agree that the curtains don’t really go. But it was a function over beauty purchase. Behind all the curtains are navy blue sunblocker rollup shades. So I have to try and hide those as well. The room gets beautiful sun while the curtains are open.
I really would like to replace the sectional. It was bought on the thought that it seats six comfortably, but honestly I think that could be accomplished with regular couches and not be so overbearing.
I’d like to stay away from movie posters too, as most of HIS favorite movies wouldn’t be very “art-like”.
The lights behind the couch are mainly for me so I can crochet or craft while watching shows or movies. Otherwise the room is pitch black. But if I put a console back there, that should take care of the issue.
Thanks for the thoughts so far guys! I would LOVE any links or ideas.
It’s not THAT bad!! This is what I would do to your room. I would repaint the walls a few shades lighter than your couch. I would get rid of those two random lights over the couch and the fan (unless the fan is necessary) I would put in recessed canned lighting that has a dimmer switch. There are a lot of videos on youtube on how to do-it-yourself if money is an issue.
On the wall with the husbands handmade shelf I would take it down and place a large glass bookshelf there (something like Ikea’s Markor Glass Door Cabinet) You can cut out holes in the back for the wiring and then you can have other random wires go to the ground and along the floor (by the baseboard) but it would be hidden by the bookshelf. You get rid of the other shelf that looks like it has dvds in it and your dvds would go on the extra shelves in the bookcase. I would get a large square coffee table to balance out the large couch, not a rectangular one. I think dark wood for the coffee table and for any other furniture pieces would go nicely with the dark leather part of your couch.
On the wall to the left of the projector, right when you walk up the stairs, I would put a console table there with a couple of wicker baskets underneath to put blankets or whatever in. Above the console table I would make a photo collage of vintage movie posters or a photo collage of your favorite movies. On either side of the console table I would get a couple of chairs (perhaps some that can move around so when watching the movie they can move them to wherever.) Since you have kids I would get a beanbag chair (like a love sac, do they even sell those anymore?!?!) that it the same color as your couch. When not in use I would put it in the corner to the left of the projector (where the dvd case is right now) For art above your couch I would do something like a movie reel with the film coming out. There are ideas for that if you google image “movie reel art”
You could even put the “movie reel art” over the console table then do a photo collage over the couch instead.
As for window treatments, I would get a set of regular blinds of your preference then put the curtains over it. They could be in a deep red color (like the curtains at movie theatre’s) I wouldn’t put an area rug down, but thats just preference, not a big fan of rug on carpet.
Hope this gives you some ideas for your media room. If you want I can draw you up a design, if any of what I wrote seemed confusing. Just email me or whatever.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!!
I have a large room like this in my house too, and when I added our couch that is similar to yours, I turned the couch around, so that the back of the couch was somewhat of a divider for the room, giving it a sense of a regular sized room on the one side. My \office\ and a play area were on the other side. I definately agree with getting an area rug-with re-arranged furniture, and the area rug, along with throwing in a few green plants, or one on the coffee table, you’ll have a simple, yet inviting room. Even tho all seats of the couch face the screen, unless you have company all the time and use all the seats, moving the couch can still work for you. Pillows and a soft blanket add to the coziness too! Two more things–an accent wall would be great, and big walls need big pics or mirrors.
The best way to start would be a quick paint job in each room. Something really bold bearing in mind what furniture and accessories you might add later on. I have a new home with magnolia on every wall. I can’t wait to get painting when I have a couple of free days.