We are at the midpoint of decorating our living room. Things are slowly but surely coming together and I can’t wait to finish. All the basics are finally there! I took a long time searching for the coffee table. We have our lamp from Joss & Main. Here’s where we started earlier this year…
We are going in a different direction then originally planned. I ditched the rug (moved to dining area) and decided that a pale turquoise would accent a lot of the small details we already have. I am still hopping to find a small sofa/settee to place in the window.
Usually our sofa is facing the window, but whenever we host viewing parties we flip it around to face the television.
We found this amazing little coffee table while visiting Monterey last week. I’m a sucker for vintage furniture and this was a great steal! Yes technically it should be a few inches larger (the rule is 1/2 to 2/3 the size of your sofa). Oh well, it compliments our peacock blue dining chairs in the adjoining dining area. When we move one day, it will perfectly fit our future settee in a 2nd bedroom or bay window.
I’m ready to dive into the details. Our living room looks best with a rug (yes even though it’s carpet) because I can’t stand staring at beige carpet all day. Plus if we move to a place with hardwood flooring, we’re all set! I’m planning to browse Lulu & Georgia :)
Pillows are next on my list. I would love to make my own using the guidelines from Randomly Happy, but I’m having trouble finding fabric that I love. Plus, I’ve found a few online that I enjoy daydreaming about. To make or not to make, that is the question.
And the blank walls! Argh, they are driving me nuts! Adding wall art is probably the toughest part because I debate buying something mass produced versus unique. The truth is our budget will force us to be very creative in this department.
And the ottomans are sort of floating around at the moment. I’m still searching for a really great fabric to cover the dark grey. Sounds like I have a few errands this weekend.
What design challenges are you having in your home? Let’s help each other :)
You’ve done a great job so far – the coffee table is so unique and personal and I love the pop of color the orchids bring to the space! Our apartment is still very much a work in progress as well… I’m afraid it will always be!
I think it’s good to refresh a space every now and then. We started out in one direction and changed our minds. We’ll probably will change our minds again! Home decor is always a work in progress :)
Hello,
So I stumbled upon your blog and have become some what invested in your living room. You have a very dark (warm colors) and masculine entertainment center and very light (cool colors) with your accent pieces (your coffee table-which is fantastic, your side table and your accent chair and lamp. And you have a warm neutral floors and sofa and cool- neutral walls. The purple is nice but you need to even out the colors and the feel of the room.
So here are my thoughts:
– neutral but abstract (stripes, chevron etc) rug, colors should be a medium dark warm color with a cool light color that is white-ish but warmer and darker than your walls but not darker than the carpet or sofa.
-the black and white of the accent chair and lamp is creating the focus on one corner where most of your furniture is. Even this out through the room by blowing up a large black and white photograph and framing it (this can be done cheaply at kinkos with an ikea frame–great way to get nice big original art that doesn’t cost a fortune) and place smaller frames–maybe a picture wall collage sort of thing (matching or mismatched frames) with art that has color in it closer to the entry to pull the eye into the open space when you enter the room. This way the room still feels big and open but not empty, and the eye isn’t immediately drawn to the corner of the room with the small pieces of furniture (which will look unbalanced with the big dark entertainment center on the other wall).
-accent pillows: look for a subtle pattern (ikat is very popular right now and lovely– but anything works, you might do best with floral, you can find lots of options online fabric.com has a ton of stuff and you can order swatches)
but have this fabric mix the bold cool and bold warm colors, like say an aqua (to match sort of with the coffee table) and a bronze. this will tie in with the rug and provide continuity between your soft, delicate pieces and your large heavy dark pieces.
– the art over the tv should be bold bright and cool colors. This way is isn’t fighting with the boldness of the entertainment center but you are balancing out this area of the room, which has a dark warm wood, with cool colors to help it flow with the rest of the room.
-then last do the ottomans, has to be darker than the sofa.
Sorry if that was a mouthful, just my thoughts. And more pictures please!
Thank you for sharing Sarah! It’s funny, I did a lot of brainstorming this and came up with some of the same ideas after reviewing my notes and pins. Will definitely keep everyone updated on the process!