The Challenge:

Eliminate the dualing focal points and find better balance for the furnishings. The fireplace is the natural focal point, but it's getting unwanted competition from the tall, mahogany-finish secretary. As a result, the whole room feels heavy on one side.

The brown leather sofa doesn't harmonize with the yellow, blue, and white color scheme, and the Oriental rug is out-of-keeping with the light and airy palette.

The Solution:

Move the secretary to the adjacent wall. Replace the leather sofa with a slipcovered love seat and exchange the Oriental rug for a sisal one.

The Specifics

• Focus on the fireplace by shifting the secretary to the adjacent wall. In its new position, the secretary provides a secondary focal point and also balances the china cabinet at the opposite end of the room.
• Regroup the seating pieces. Frame the fireplace with the slipcovered chairs to create a relaxed symmetry. Position the largest seating piece, the love seat, opposite the fireplace instead of perpendicular to it

• Play up the mantel by decorating it with matching pairs of objects placed on opposite sides of an imaginary centerline. This symmetry suits the formality of the traditional furnishings.
• Lighten the room by replacing the Oriental rug with sisal. The neutral color and coarse, natural texture impart a breezier feeling than wool. And the rug helps pull the conversational grouping together.