A living room where the furniture 'floats'

Karen Lyons, owner of Comfort by Design of NY, says she wanted a living room where she could curl up after a long day to watch television or read a book. She also wanted a ready place to entertain. “Most people don’t like to float furniture in a room,” says Lyons, who has lived in the Melville house 25 years. “They push everything against a wall. If you’re going to float furniture, the important thing to keep in mind is traffic patterns. Do you leave enough room for people to walk?” Lyons remodeled her adjourning dining room at the same time. She used the colors from the reupholstered dining room chairs as inspiration for the entire makeover. Here’s how she went from mauve and pink to a more contemporary look. TOTAL for living room: About $12,900 (Lyons says her fee for this makeover would have been $4,000); dining room $2,500. — Sylvia E. King-Cohen