This was the state of my living room back in August. After moving from a much smaller townhouse with one main living space into a home with both a living room and upstairs' den, we found ourselves with exactly nothing to put in here. Zip. Zero. Nada. Since then, we've slowly been adding pieces to this space, first the rug, then a chair and floor lamp -- and, as of Friday, a sofa, lamps and console table! And just in time for Thanksgiving, too.
After over two months of waiting, our sofa finally arrived yesterday and I love how it looks in the room (and Dave loves how comfortable it is!). It's hard to tell from this picture, but the fabric isn't actually a solid, it's more of a tweed, with navy, slate blue and tan shot through it. I'm hopefully that the subtle pattern will make animal hair less apparent. I'm also loving how great my greek key table lamps look now that they've been released from their temporary home in my upstairs' closet.
A few more shots of the room (please forgive the bad lighting -- those two-story windows make it nearly impossible to avoid a glare): 
While the sofa and the wing chair could certainly use some fun, colorful throw pillows, can you guess what's next on my shopping list? An ottoman or coffee table, naturally. I've decided to veer from my original plan and go for a piece that's a bit less heavy. I've also decided against investing in one of these (which proved to be a very divisive piece as about 50% of you all loved it and another 50% absolutely hated it!). Just as I'm not the kind of person who believes that wine stains on Carrera marble add "character", so too am I not really the type of person who repurposes "found" objects as furniture. In other people's houses, sure; in my own...notsomuch.
So here are three options that are both more "me" and more appropriate for this particular space:
I think there are advantages to all three of these choices, and before you run off and vote for your favorite, let me make a case for each of these:
1). Smart Round Marble Coffee Table ($299; CB2). I think the size and round-shape of the is a great choice for a room that, like mine, is a bit tight on space. I also like how the traditional marble is paired with such a sleek, modern base (a nice counterpoint to what's shaping up to be a fairly traditional room). The open base will also not obscure the fabulous pattern on my rug.
2). Nate Berkus Hexagon Cocktail Ottoman ($399.95; HSN). I'm sure you noticed how both the wingback chair and the sofa are sporting some lovely stems. While I have nothing against flaunting great legs when you have them, I think a nice skirted ottoman would be a nice counter balance to all that leg. I also happen to know that Dave vastly prefers ottomans to coffee tables and once we get a TV in here, an ottoman would certainly be a more comfortable place to put our feet up than a marble or acrylic coffee table. Of course, I'll need to switch out the black grosgrain ribbon with a blue one, but that's nothing that a quick trip to JoAnn's and a sewing machine couldn't fix in an afternoon. [Oh and, while this ottoman is a good bit more than the other two choices, I do have a 15% off coupon that would bring the price closer to the others.]
3). Peekaboo Clear Coffee Table ($249; CB2). While the size of this coffee table is larger than the other two, it's clear acrylic form ensures it will take up absolutely zero visual space and allow full view of my rug. Again, I'm thinking that a more modern piece to this space might really work.
So what do you think? Which would you pick? And as always, if you have a better suggestion, please feel free to leave a comment and let me know all about it.
