Style Cure Day 3: Feeling Out the Space

Alack! The 3rd day challenge from Style Cure I unfortunately cannot yet fulfill, since I don't currently have access to the new apartment. What I am supposed to be doing is sitting in my chosen room for 10 minutes for further inspiration, then taking some "before" photos.

Well, I know I'm doing the living room, and I think I can remember it well enough to imagine what it's like right now. I will update with photos later.

Lucky for me, however, I'll be moving in after a deep clean has already been done (hopefully...) and when it really is vacant, so I don't have to imagine those things for myself.

Imagining the room as is, I see the most problematic issues as such:
-the weird muted brown wall color (what to pair with it, how to make it not seem drab)
-the area around the entryway (how to separate this from the living room space)
-the lighting (with only one chandelier, the place could definitely benefit from some floor and/or table lamps)

Additionally, the current resident didn't do much in the way of furniture, so now I know what this place looks like when it's too bare bones (= not inviting, not comforting, simply a place to move through.)

I see some kind of separation between mud area and living space -- maybe a little bench to rest on, some hooks for coats and bags, a basket for shoes, and a welcome mat. Then I see two couches, facing each other or forming an L around the TV and bookshelves. I see J's art on the wall, and some of my postcards hung over a desk in the southeast corner. I see another desk against the back of the couch, allowing me to catch flashes of J's favorite shows while I balance my checkbook. I see J and I on our laptops, in our separate worlds, but enjoying one another's company all the same. I see a funky floor lamp somewhere in the midst of it all, making me giggle whenever I look at it. I feel a rug beneath my feet. I see blankets on the couch for snuggle time. I see a futon folded down into a second bed for visiting guest, who has borrowed a book from the shelf, and reads comfortably by the warm light of a vintage table lamp. I see all our friends milling between here and the kitchen with cocktails, chatting with one another and looking comfortable, not distracted with the scenery, but just interested enough.