Living Room Update

My, my, my. This room ya’ll.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with this room since the day I moved in…Okay more accurately, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with this entire house!

I spent some time trying to figure out my style, and through some painting mistakes, I spent even more time trying to fix the brown wall situation without repainting the entire room. Tony liked the brown, I hated it. First I added some large stripes to one wall…that wasn’t as helpful as I had hoped. So I’d bring in new throw pillows, a new  rug, painted the dresser, I did just about everything I could to brighten up this room. But I still didn’t love it. Unfortunately, I learned a lot of lessons *the hard way*, but eventually we decided it was time to repaint. It was a simple, inexpensive decision with high impact.

Before:

After:

That one little decision changed my entire attitude about the living room, and I can say without hesitancy I absolutely *LOVE* this room!

Story time! I found this blank canvas with some pencil marks out with the neighbors trash–obviously I snatched it immediately. After a few failed abstract paintings, I ended up painting these birch trees. I also made this frame out of stained 1×2’s and corner brackets that I aged with vinegar. This entire piece cost me a whole $5. Win!

Yes, I’m keeping the birch logs, and wintry potted trees up because the groundhog saw his freaking shadow, so it’s still winter!

Forgive this awkward angle taken from the vantage point of me standing on the arm of my couch, it was the only way to get the entire left wall in a shot.

I decided to wait until the nice frames I wanted went on sale, I got these babies on Black Friday for $15 each, marked down from $60 a piece! They’re 16×20 frames with 8×10 mats. To make the room feel more cohesive, I chose to display only B & W photos (with one exception of my husband in his uniform on the bookshelf). If you want large, high quality prints, I will recommend Costco time and time again. *Lesson learned the hard way*

A friend noticed my pineapple lamp and told me that pineapples represent southern hospitality, seems fitting that it’s home is right by the front door.

I’m still loving this light blue rug, it’s great because anytime paw prints make their way across, I simply throw the entire rug into the washing machine.

Yup. Faux succulents, still going strong.

So there you have it. I’m quite content with how the living room is. I haven’t made changes in months (which says a lot) I learned that it’s best to do it the right way, buy multiple trial paint pots and test them on the wall. Instead of  regretting the color, and then spending money on items to fix various areas with out addressing the actual problem. I’ve also learned the importance of being patient and waiting for decor items to go on sale, or save up for items that you love (like the frames, or say a new couch). Rather than just buying something that’s not *quite* what you want, but what you can afford at the time. I also decided to take away a lot of extra decor and only display the pieces that I absolutely love, which turns out to be only green things and photos.

The color I chose is:

Clark & Kensington- Garden Stone Mixed in Behr Marquee.  

The color changes in various lights, from blue to grey.

Till next time

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