To make a living room cozy, take the furniture off the walls

Susan Clatchey would like to be able to comfortably watch television, with her feet up, in the 20-by-12-foot family room of her Ashburn home, but she doesn’t know where to put the furniture and TV because there are so many windows. She also needs more task lighting for reading and sewing.

Susan Clatchey doesn’t know where to put the furniture and TV in her living room because there are so many windows. (Photos by Leah L. Jones/For The Washington Post)

The room also includes a small dining area off the adjacent kitchen.

Designer Lana Barth uses Clatchey’s new sofa as a starting point to create a space that is warm and inviting. She floats the sofa close to the television (not shown) and adds task lamps for proper lighting and baskets for storing books and sewing work.

(Illustration by Julius Goyanko/for The Washington Post)

Barth, of Lana Barth Design (301-897-8585, lanabarth
design.com), is based in Bethesda.

Brighten the room with Crisp Linen paint by Sherwin-Williams . Sherwin-Williams’s Red Tomato creates a warm focal point in the eating area (not shown).

Paint the column separating the kitchen from the family room with the same red to bring the color across the room.

Choose an off-white ceiling fan that will blend into the ceiling.

An area rug in warm red tones complements the color scheme of the room and defines the space.

Red leather poufs can be pulled up as footstools or side tables when needed.

Consider painting the kitchen cabinets Sherwin-Williams Dover White when the budget allows, to brighten the space.

Baskets add texture to the room and provide storage for books and sewing materials.

(The Washington Post)

Furniture: Liatorp bookcase in white ($249, ikea.com); Mill console table ($299, cb2.com); leather poufs in red ($299 each, ballarddesigns.com).

Accessories: Knipsa seagrass baskets ($15 each, ikea.com); Ovo table lamp in cherry tomato, with white pleated shade ($140) and polished steel floor lamp with glass tray table ($225), both from lampsplus.com); Raleigh pillow in red ($30, pier1.com); velvet lumbar pillow in spicy orange ($17), Mandarin Agra wool rug ($399 for 5-by-8-foot rug) and orange diamond fringe throw ($35), all from worldmarket.com; natural woven waterfall shades in Fiji/golden (from $109, smithandnoble.com).

(westelm.com)

Sweep arm swivel chair in Campfire linen weave ($749, westelm.com).

(roomandboard.com)

Tyne 42-inch round cocktail table in natural steel with white quartz composite top ($1,339, roomandboard.com).

(overstock.com)

Ranby faux leather wraparound swivel chair in red ($260, overstock.com).

(westelm.com)

Mirrored-base coffee table ($1,099, westelm.com).

More from Home & Garden:

See answers to frequently asked questions about House Calls here

Tell us about your own design challenge here

See past room makeovers by local designers here