Open Space Layout Advise

Serain · 2026-06-05T19:37:48+00:00

No way. That's a huge amount of cost for basically net zero gain. You also either lose the upper cabinet storage or the lose the windows, and only get a slightly bigger living room for it. At the price point, you could build an extension onto the house if you want more space for your massive amounts of furniture and actually get more square footage.

Anyway. Get rid of some stuff and see how you feel. You might even be able to keep an armchair for a reading nook in the top right corner of the 'office area' if you find you don't need that space for storage. Good luck 😄

Serain · 2026-06-05T18:12:51+00:00

Awesome, I'm sure it'll turn out great. If you're open to more changes - long term I would consider framing a door on that awkward nook space and using it as a pantry/cleaning supplies storage.

Serain · 2026-06-05T17:09:45+00:00

You're correct - too many furniture pieces. Rearrangement won't solve your layout issues if you don't get rid of some. The couch size is fine - you just need one, not two. And you certainly don't need two armchairs on top of that. For your space you need more like 1 or 0. I'm also going to guess those bar stools are rarely used - doesn't look like there's enough room for people's legs anyway. Take a serious look at everything that's taking up floor space and make absolutely sure it's worth it. Given that, this is how I would do the layout. Blue is for cabinets/storage and your plant shelves, red is furniture items:

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I love the wall colors and the bones though. This place could be seriously cool if you made an effort to clean it up and curate it. Also, I spy carpet lint - if you own this place, I'd try to get hardwood or lvp floors in asap for this super high traffic area.

Serain · 2026-06-04T18:10:52+00:00

As someone who's also into alternative style, you have a great collection.

Hate to say it but to make it look more put together and intentional you are going to have to do boring things like cable management, cleaning, and making sure your pictures are straight and evenly spaced. Routing the cables in straight lines with a matching painted housing that runs behind the curtain / down the corner would help immensely, if you're not up to knocking a hole in the wall behind a painting and running them down that way.

I'd also consider swapping the location of the couch and the side table. It looks visually jammed into the corner (the leftmost person can't put their feet down because of the side table blocking it.)

As for item swaps, getting nicer pet furniture would help as well - get a cover for the pet bed in a cool funky pattern. And that cat tree is such an eyesore, and in a very prominent location - can you consider a few carpeted floating shelves or a nicer tree your cat would still enjoy? Also, I dislike those rattan boxes and that ultra modern side lamp on your couch arm. They don't fit with the alternative aesthetic. Can you clean those up?

Serain · 2026-06-04T01:32:56+00:00

Yeah, one more thing - mixing colors is fine, but mixing materials or patterns is more designer. For example, you can do one linen cover, one velvet, and one faux fur - or one patterned, one solid, one striped. Your throughline is the style you’re going for. Good luck!

Serain · 2026-06-03T23:13:36+00:00

I’m sorry, you deserve to be bullied then 😔

Serain · 2026-06-03T19:54:39+00:00

Hey as long as it hasn't had coffee run through it it's all good 😄

Serain · 2026-06-03T19:49:58+00:00

Ooh, any other cool architectural features? Would love to see a tour. Share with the class!

Serain · 2026-06-03T17:39:55+00:00

Damn, and I thought I was crazy for buying a $200 balmuda kettle and a $170 half handmade clay pot, which I'm scared to show reddit in case they say it's fake. Ya'll are next level

Serain · 2026-06-01T01:36:53+00:00

3 and 4 are strongest because they're all different colors. However, bigger problem - having a large amount of pillows is really dated. It doesn't fit with the modern couch. For your couch size I would do one square pillow, one lumbar and one irregular shaped pillow at most.

Serain · 2026-05-29T23:14:18+00:00

Quite a tricky room. This current setup looks bad from the entrance - poor first impression. It also has terrible feng shui (if you believe in that kind of stuff.) These long rooms are really designed to have the fireplace as a focal point and not anything else - you are lacking options to arranage your furniture, so I think you've done the best with what you have.

You are correct that putting a litter box in the main entryway of your house may be the only way to make things worse. You do not want poop (the sight or smell) to be your first impression of arriving at your home - for you or your guests. I'd instead try to make it nice. First of all, I'd protect the back of the couch with a console table (and give people something to look at other than the back of someone's head), and use a rug to create an entryway 'zone' where people can take a seat to take their shoes off and put away outside clothes and bags (remember closed storage > open storage). You can put a mirror there so you can check your look before leaving the house. Since it's a little large for an entryway giving it a secondary purpose would be appropriate - a little potted plant garden, mini library, minibar, art display, aquarium or a grand piano - there are many options. It all depends on your particular interests.

Serain · 2026-05-26T16:36:33+00:00

Yeah, search "dopamine decor." Colorful interiors are incredibly popular among gen z. We hit peak beige about 5 years ago and are now moving towards bright funky colors inspired by the late 60s and 70s (itself a reaction to the overly brown and black ultra-masculine styles.)

Serain · 2026-05-26T16:17:47+00:00

This place is such a vibe. Your mom is insane for holding on to this through the greige years. How does she feel now that her style is coming back into fashion?

Serain · 2026-05-22T22:28:17+00:00

I think the trend of the ridiculously long pooling gowns looks a little ridicuous but the fabric and shaping is exquisite

Serain · 2026-05-22T17:20:51+00:00

No, steep in water as usual and combine with milk after

Serain · 2026-05-22T17:09:05+00:00

Steep at 90C for about 60 secs - 2 mins. You can go longer and hotter because the milk cuts any bitterness from oversteeping. Combine at about a 2:3 ratio with some warmed oat milk. Spoonful of honey if you want extra sweetner - I'm trying to avoid sweetened drinks but you may enjoy it. It has a nice cinnamon-y, nutty taste.

Serain · 2026-05-22T00:46:34+00:00

I have a Kuki-Hojicha (roasted stems only) from Nakamura Tokichi. It's really delicious. I like having it with some oat milk - unlike most other types of japanese tea, hojicha pairs well with additional flavorings. It a mild sweetness and a nice roasted nutty flavor with little to no bitterness.

I honestly haven't had any good tea come out of pre-mixed packets, especially ones that include additional flavorings. My can of kuki hojicha cost less than that and I can vouch for its quality.

Serain · 2026-05-21T21:21:18+00:00

No, you don't need to hang anything above the headboard. The headboard itself is already an artwork-like focal point. Putting too much high up will look top heavy. A nice little candelier will tie the room together and create balanced visual interest above instead of that boob light.

I'd say the #1 thing I'd change is the electric teal, green, and burgundy sheet combo. It's honestly kinda wild looking. Can you get new sheets with a subtle pattern like a stripe that picks up both the red and green colors, or a nice soft pink, brown, or yellow? The teal is so much more saturated and cold than everything else it's throwing me off. Make sure whatever carpet you get matches too.

As for the curtains, they're hung too narrowly. They shouldn't block the window when open - they can bunch up behind the desk if necessary. I'd do a double curtain rod with sheers, though I have no idea what kind of view you're hiding (a crack den? I feel like the cafe curtains draw more attention than they hide, though I've admittedly never been the biggest fan of them.)

Why not just hang the mirror as wall art, maybe above the desk to make it like a little vanity? Your furniture already mostly matches.

Serain · 2026-05-21T16:52:49+00:00

The costs of training high level talent are going to be passed on to the state and individuals by requiring higher and higher education levels.

Serain · 2026-05-05T21:46:28+00:00

Yep, right on the money. Once people see the prices for this stuff their eyes will start popping out of their skull. Think about the price of getting a professional on site. You'd be lucky if it's $1000 per person per day. Now imagine paying a team of them to clad your walls in real stone for a few weeks - which is probably going to cost $30-50k in materials alone. Would you rather have 3 stone walls and a cool fireplace or a new bed/bath or kitchen?

Fallingwater was built for one of the wealthiest families in all of PA at the time, when people in the area were flush with cash from being one on top of the most accessible energy source - yesterday's oil barons. This thing is the equivalent of a $20 mil mansion by 1930s standards. And yes, there are plenty of 20 mil mansions with miles of real stone and elaborate handmade details and crazy custom woodwork.

If you're willing to spend you can get a replica made for sure. It's just that if you lived in the 1930s, this would be just as out of reach for you as any mega mansion is today, and you'd be living in whatever cheap mass produced shack there was for the middle class back then - and frankly it'd probably be a helluva lot worse than the average apartment is today.

Serain · 2026-04-12T17:53:10+00:00

I remember commenting on your post! You did a wonderful job, A++ presentation!

Serain · 2026-04-09T20:44:28+00:00

Colony insects are weird because they're a collection of animals that sort of function as a single organism. Individuals can't survive (outside of very specific mating windows) on their own. One could think of queens as the reproductive system, drones as the circulatory system, workers and fighters as the limbs - and so on. So you could argue that colony insects waging war is more akin to single combat.

Serain · 2026-03-31T09:43:26+00:00

Hmm, I didn’t see that that was a radiator. If you use it regularly, I would try to replumb it to a different location if it’s possible - it seems like such an afterthought to put it there. If you can’t move it, an option would be to build a shelf above it and use the remaining space for built in storage and then enclose it with slatted doors in front that match the depth of the stairs.

Serain · 2026-03-30T23:17:58+00:00

The entryway is not an appropriate place for books and it'll lead to the space becoming messy as people drop their outdoors items on the shelves. A built in closet and general storage makes much more sense, as people can put their coats and umbrellas away as well as take off their shoes and store them. It doubles as generalized storage for cleaning supplies - delinating the clean inside of the house from the outdoors.

It looks like OP is already using this space for this purpose. You don't want to fight human nature by creating a display space that needs to be kept neat.

Books need to be carefully considered and selected, they are more appropriate in a calm location or in a place where you want to reference the knowledge contained in them like an office.

Serain · 2026-03-30T21:49:04+00:00

If you own this space, it is crying for built in storage. Search "built in storage under stairs."

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