New Series: Answering Reader's Questions. Part 1: Sitting Areas with Fireplaces

A reader recently asked me about her sitting area with fireplace, and specially, how to accessorize it. Although I don't have a photo of her specific space, I thought I'd gather some images of rooms that work, hoping to give her some ideas.

I'd like to make this a regular series if there is any interest in it.  Here is how I envision it - You ask questions like "How do I lay out a long living room?" or "What color furniture works with gray walls?" and the like. Unfortunately, I can't post a whole design plan, like if you were to ask "How should I decorate this room?" That's way too broad and I simply don't have time for it. 

But if you have more general questions, send them to me and I'd love to try to answer them with words and of course images!  I don't want to post my email address here, but if you click the very first link in the sidebar (top right "About Me" section) it will come up with an email form. Or, you can leave it in the comments. If you read by email, you have to click through (click the title of the post) or simple reply to the email.

So, for Anne's question, about how to accessorize a sitting are with a fireplace, I would say that generally symmetry is good, less is more, and mirrors or art over the fireplace work best.  I generally do not like photos on the mantel because they tend to look too cluttered. If there are going to be photos, I like them to be large, like artwork would be, and there should be a limited number of them.  

Here are some examples that work:

 Images

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