gallery wall

Lately, I've been considering switching up the art in our living room.  I love the look of a gallery wall around the television... And we have a lot of smaller framed pieces that I think would work together if I kept the frames to gold and black.

Here is a little of my current inspiration...

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What do you think?  Would it add an eclectic feel?  Or would it just look cluttered?

new pillows

I was so excited that our new pillow covers for the living room arrived this weekend!  These new editions marked the second time I worked with Lauren at labdesigns.  She has an incredible Etsy shop and was so easy to work with, even with my custom requests.  The pillow covers are great quality and the best prices I've found for Schumacher fabrics!

I ordered two custom 20 inch pillow covers in Schumacher Betwixt fabric (in the water colorway) and couldn't be happier with the texture and color.  I also ordered one 18 inch pillow cover in Schumacher Imperial Trellis fabric (in the citrine colorway).

Before:

 After:

I feel like the new pillows give the room a more sophisticated and complete feel.  Can't wait to get the painted campaign dresser in here to finish our latest updates.  In the meantime, be sure to check out Lauren's shop!

rug options

Since our ever-so-brief attempt to go with an oriental rug in our living room, I've noticed that my inspiration images almost always feature a natural area rug.  I absolutely love the neutral palette and casualness that the rugs bring into a room.

Jeff, on the other hand, is not the biggest fan of the sisal rug in our living room.  We purchased it with gift cards from our wedding almost two and a half years ago, and I've been so impressed with how well it's held up.  It started off under the kitchen table and then moved into our living room... the two heaviest traffic areas of our home.

I love it, but the hubby feels like it's not soft enough for the living room.  Our compromise is now to move it off to the sunroom, and find something softer for the living area. 

So I've been scouring the internets for something that is soft but has the neutral color palette and the ability to hold up as well as natural rugs like sisal or seagrass.  Luckily, Lauren from Pure Style Home has an incredibly comprehensive post on the pros and cons of different rugs.

My favorite option (as of right now) is to find a wool rug that looks like sisal, and have it cut to size and bound, like Lauren did in her own family room... 

Here are a few of my favorite options so far:

{Granada}

{Kalahari}

{Mirage}

{Softer than Sisal}



I think this seems like a pretty solid compromise.  According to Lauren, wool rugs are pretty low maintenance (and work with her family of two little ones).  Have you ever used a wool sisal look-alike in a high traffic area?  What did you think?

dresser as a tv console?

Once I get an idea in my head, there is usually no turning back (much to Jeff's disappointment).  Lately I've been obsessed with using a pretty dresser as a tv console.

Because let's face it, there is not much attractive about a tv stand.

But using a beautiful dresser?  Much better...

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I also love that the dresser would add valuable storage for toys and other odd & ends once we have some wee whittakers in the picture.  But for now, I think I'm already sold... And making plans to paint our $25 campaign dresser this weekend for it's upgrade to the living room!

What do you think? Would you use a dresser for your tv console? Or do you like the dedicated space for equipment in a tv stand?

Spring Project Updates: Living Room

As I mentioned last week, I've been behind in posting all of our before & afters from the spring project marathon a couple months ago.  We've continued to make small and large tweaks to our living room.  In our ranch home, it's the room you walk straight into from the front door.  And the room where we spend the majority of our time.  So I think it feels extra important to me to get it right.

Check out our house tour button (still in progress) to see the earliest 'before' shots of our living room... It's thankfully come along way!

And for a glimpse into the most recent 'before'...

And After....

Not really a huge difference, but we just wanted to declutter and make the room feel more open.  So we swapped out the yellow love seat for a wing back chair we already owned.  Eventually, I'd like to get an off-white chair to replace it with, just to break up the blue tones by the new ottoman. 

We also moved out the bookshelf and flanked the tv console with two gray ottomans, also already owned.  They're perfect for extra seating!  We had my family over a few weeks ago, and everyone had a seat in the living room.

We also took the speakers off stands (finally!) and added some new artwork to the wall (post to come!)  I also splurged a lot a little and had the tufted ottoman made with my new favorite fabric.  It's on casters, which makes it perfect for when Jeff wants to pull it over to put his feet up & watch tv or when we put a tray on top to double as a coffee table.

Up next:  Hopefully mounting the tv to the wall (to level it with the frames), painting the tv console & swapping out the knobs, styling the mantel and finding a new side table...

Keep It Fresh, Part 2

I’ve mentioned decorating in a traditional style without feeling stuffy before. But I continue to look around our traditional-style house and think of ways to keep our home from becoming just that… especially after seeing Bijou and Boheme's home, featured on Two Ellie recently.

I’d love to swap out our current living room TV stand for a mid-century modern credenza, like they did...

Perhaps this one from Craig’s List?

I also love their Lucite chair in the living room…

Perhaps I could replicate on the cheaper side with either a coffee table, or the Tobias chair from Ikea…

And while we're on the subject, I’m totally inspired by Bryn’s reupholstered wing back chairs... What an amazing spin on the traditional wing back!  Plus you can easily find this style on Craig's List for under $50... making the reupholstering not quite as budget unfriendly.

Sometimes I wonder if my mind will ever stop redecorating?  But then again, it's way more fun to imagine all the possibilities... Unless you're Jeff's never-ending house to do list!

Sofa Art

For your Saturday yard sale, Craig's List & general weekend design-scouting inspiration... Here are some of my favorite living room art arrangements...

An eclectic grouping (which has quickly become my personal favorite):

{Peter Dunham via ?}

{Betty Burgess via The Newlywed Diaries}

{Martha Stewart via The Newlywed Diaries}

A large mirror (be sure to note what is directly across from said mirror, since that is the image/light you'll be reflecting)...

{Timothy Wealon via Little Green Notebook}

{both images via Two Ellie}

Or a combination... like this grouping of a large mirror & two framed pieces that I love...

{Ashley Whittaker}

Or a more structured group of prints...

{via The Newlywed Diaries; my absolute favorite in this category, with two of the top framed pieces subtly horizontal}

{Jenny's own living room via Little Green Notebook}

{Ashley Whittaker}

Or you can always go with a large piece of artwork... But I have a feeling that the groupings or a mirror would be a little more budget friendly?

{via ?}

{Ashley Whittaker}

{via Little Green Notebook}

Happy weekend!

Living Room Progress

We've been in the slow process of redecorating our living room... As I've mentioned before, I was a little too quick to purchase at first and am learning my lessons slowly but surely on what I like style-wise.  I'm so happy with the progress we've made, and while we still have work left to do, I thought I'd share a few before and after pictures.

Before:

After:

It feels so much larger, and without a doubt brighter, now... Not to mention much more like home.  I'm still eagerly awaiting a sunburst mirror for over the fireplace, with our new substantial mantel replacing the 'ledge' that was there before. 

Other items on our short list... We have plans to frame a series of 9 botanical prints from Wild Flowers of America, via Jenny, above the yellow settee.  We also have two paintings of New Orleans, by Jeff's grandpa Zeke, for the opposite side of the tv console table (these are two of my favorite items - as in, they are on my list of things to save in case of emergency)  Finally, we need to get some curtains up to soften the look of the wooden blinds.

Trading out that old, rust-colored dual recliner is also on my short list... Unfortunately, it is not even on Jeff's long list.  Any tips to disguise it's old, 80's furniture look would be more than welcome.

Hope to have some more living room updates and project details for you in the next month or so!

Keep Dreaming...

After a weekend of pleading (and yes, there was some crying), it became clear that Jeff was not going to budge on letting me completely redesign our living room.

As a reminder, my inspiration (for the room and ensuing weekend-long fit) came from designer Ashley Whittaker (no wonder I love it) via The Newlywed Diaries:

So I'm living vicariously through my blog... If I could start all over again, this is what our room would look like:
Sofa: Our current sofa purchased on Craig's List (Rowe)
Bookshelf: Our current shelf from Crate & Barrel (Sloane)
Loveseat: Ikea Karlstad loveseat in sivik light blue
Ottoman: Target
Brown Leather Chair: Charlotte Craig's List
Glass Coffee Table: Crate & Barrel
Curtains: Ikea Aina in yellow
Pillows: Etsy
Rug: Jute 9x12 with a faint diamond pattern that I am just dying to have from eBay

While the room is my 'dream' room, it was still put together on a realistic budget... Not as jaw-droppingly chic as the original, but I'd be pretty happy with the results!