Our living room was very comfy, warm and inviting as it was. But the warm tones of the soft butter yellow walls, brown, red and orange accessories and hints of green, blue and purples were starting to look worn out, too dull and over done. So instead I have elected to switch it up, go for some cooler tones.
After deciding on paint (I did have to return one color of pale blue which I thought we originally wanted), we got the perfect soft pale grey. We used Parker Paint, (in soft Satin Glow) color is Spray River. It did take two coats, since I didn't prime first to cover the warm yellow. We already have wood trim and some white furniture pieces so we left that as is. We also had to leave our fireplace the color it was before (red), but with the GIANT metal piece we have covering it, it really isn't as noticeable as one would think.
So now it was time to accessorize! My favorite part! We love our neutral grey/brown sectional and large white media cabinet, so I needed to coordinate around those pieces. We also already had the lamps, black console table, bookshelf from another room and quite a bit of chotchkies (knick-knacks). I found the beautiful white reading chair on a For-Sale site I'm part of on Facebook (definitely look into one in your area if your not part of one already. You can sell and buy your goods, like a garage sale all year long!) for only $25. The white was refreshing, calming and just what I was looking for. So next came the fun of shopping! I knew my color palate (soft and dark grey, white, cream and mirror glass/silver along with accents of black and brown to really ground everything). I found the wonderful dark grey distressed basket drawers at Ross for less than $70, along with the burlap looking pillows with French writing. I also found the metal orb, vase filler and some glass candle holders there too for cheap. Then off to Target. There I got the cream and white throw pillows (LOVE Nate Berkus), all the mirror/mercury candle holders as well as the picture frames that I have filled with photos I have taken recently (which I printed at Costco for cheap in black and white). It took a few trips to get the exact layout correct for the frame wall, but my family and I love the way it is now. Lastly was my all time favorite store, one a friend owns and I help her out a bit. It's called Real Deals on Home Decor, in Monroe, Wa. It is a fantastic store full of reasonably priced accessories, furniture, artwork and more. I had previously bought the large metal piece over the fireplace, most of the silk flowers, lanterns and a few other things. So this trip I knew in my head exactly what I wanted. So I picked up the green orb to sit in the white urn (bought at Cost Plus World Market), all the decorative books & the awesome white ceramic artichoke!
From there it is simply arranging. Remember to work with pieces that are a varied height when putting vignettes together and I also usually work in odd numbers. Like candle holders, urns, chotchkies, and what not. I usually do 3-5 pieces in a grouping. Books, or items used just to add height don't usually qualify as a piece unless its in the center of a room, like on my coffee table where you see it from all angles. Speaking of coffee table, my lovely husband and I made that about a year ago from half pallets and copper piping. No 6 days later, a few extra trips to the varied stores and a more than helpful family (who stayed out of this room most of the week), we have a fabulous new living room that is calming, inviting and serene to be in.
I should have definitely known myself better though, because with changing the wall color, the whole house ended up being changed in one way or another! I can't seem to simply work on one room at a time! We got a new dining room table, which made me re-arrange the furniture there (still need to paint eventually), bought a new smaller desk with hutch to cut back on clutter in my craft room and allow more people to sit comfortably for my Stampin' Up! Monthly events, and even had to re-arrange the bedroom a bit and find a new nightstand (Tjmaxx) since I stole the bookshelf out of there. Needless to say, my family is happy with the way it turned out, but I think even more happy with a clean, uncluttered, put back together home!
Hope this post helps you in your own home one way or another!
Thanks, Hanna
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