The Living Room

Hey! How's your day going? So I realized yesterday that I haven't shown most of you much of my living room yet. Oooh, goodie, instant new post:)

Our "living room" is the room directly to the right and at the front of the house off the foyer when you come in the front door. Here's what it looked like on move in day. That opening on the left takes you down a step into our "family room", which was part of an addition to the house before we bought it.




You've seen my fireplace. Right now it looks like this for fall. It will change soon for the holidays. (Every year we host an annual holiday open house...its like our thing. Usually its the weekend right before Christmas, this year we have to have it on Sat. Dec. 5th, which is in like 2 weeks!! Yikes. I'm thinking I have no choice but to start the decorating this weekend. Sorry, Thanksgiving.)





The living room has a bit of an awkward layout but we tried our best to work with it. There's 3 doorways and 3 windows and 1 fireplace...lots of things to arrange around. We ended up with 2 club chairs in chocolate brown leather (from Boston Interiors) on either side of the fireplace, facing away from it towards the wall with the sofa on it.




I took most of these pics sometime over the summer (oops), so a few things are different now. Above was summer, below is fall.




If you back up and take in more of the room, it looks something like this. (Not the greatest pic, sorry.)



Turning around, the only place we could see fit to put the sofa was on this wall, opposite the fireplace. (That doorway on the left leads out to the foyer and the front door. There's another doorway on the right that you can't see that leads into the kitchen.)



{the sofa is from Bernie and Phyl's...here's 2 of my favorite things in the room, this hand-made wool throw my mother-in-law brought us back from Ireland and my Pottery Barn little knubby stitched floral pillow covers}


The coffee table and end table are from Target. We bought them 3 years ago when we moved in and before I really got more into home decor/design, started figuring out my style and what I like. So I'm not thrilled that they both match completely and I think they are a bit too much dark brown/espresso in this room with the dark brown leather chairs. But they're not terrible either.




Another issue with this room is the flooring. Right now its this nasty cream carpet. See the foyer in the back left down there? It and the kitchen have hardwood floors in a cherry finish. We are currently debating about what to do with the floor in here and the rest of the downstairs...this will have to be a separate post).





I've painted this room twice now. First I did Benjamin Moore's Danville Tan which turned out to be darker and greener than I wanted. Now its BM Smokey Taupe which I like alot better. The family room on one side a soft yellowy-gray-green (Sweet Spring) and the kitchen on the other side is a warm beige (Barharbor Beige), so I wanted something to bridge the gap in this room.





Does anyone remember the Crate and Barrel Dubois Mirrors? They're square, with a beveled edge and an antiqued look to some of the glass? These were my cheap knock-off finds at Michaels one day, mine were $14.99 each, the C&B ones were $150 for 2!! I flanked them with these botanical prints from HomeGoods.

I suck at window treatments. They totally scare me. They are expensive and permanent. When Layla from the Lettered Cottage made her drop cloth drapes, I loved the color and texture of them. Of course, I don't sew, am impatient and don't have alot of extra time on my hands..so instead of buying the drop cloth panels for $9.99 each and turning them into curtains, I just purchased these lineny drapery panels from Target for $19.99 each. Hee, hee.



I didn't want a lot of contrast between the drapes and the wall, I just didn't realize these were going to be the exact same color as the walls when I hung them. Hmmm. The windows in here are a longer story than just this, so I also think this requires another post.



So for now, this is our living room. There's some things I need to work on, some things I want to do, a whole wall I didn't show you because its frankly just too embarrassing:) But at least now you've met.

Comments

  1. Very serene and sophisticated room! You did a great job. I like your grouping above the sofa too :-)

    pk @ Room Remix

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  2. Hi Sarah! Your living room is so homey, I have always loved those mirrors. I think I asked you about them in the past, they are from Michael's correct? I wonder if they still have them. I would really like to do something similar with them in my living room. The C&B ones are so expensive.
    I read your comment on my blog and just wanted to wish you the best of luck!!! You are in my t&p and will be keeping my fingers crossed for you. So exciting!!!! I have been doing well, no complaints so far which is great. I can't believe she will be here in a month!!!! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Take care.

    Karen

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  3. I love how your living room oozes calm. Great job!

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  4. It looks so nice! You really have the touch!

    Janet

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  5. My favorite part of the room is the arrangement over the sofa. I love the four small mirrors with the larger prints. Great score on the mirrors!

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  6. Looks great. You used a wonderful mix of textures which really gives your room a comfortable feeling.

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  7. I just love the colors and textures in this room. It's exactly my style. My favorite things are the curtains and the wool throw.
    Love it!

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  8. Very pretty room! Love the arrangement over the sofa. I have a similar window situation with the only one in my living room being slammed up against the fireplace so I think I relate to some of your frustration. I had a lot of different treatments up there before I arrived at what I have now... two panels like a regular window even though the one on the left is a fraction of an inch from touching the mantle. It is what it is. : )

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  9. very pretty! I love the idea of two chairs flanking a fireplace -- so cozy. is there a coffee table in the family you could swap with this one? if you do upgrade, something metal and brass-y would be so pretty with what you have!

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  10. Wow, thanks, everyone! This the room in our house I am least happy with, so thanks for your great comments.

    Tracy - that skinny window next to the fireplace has been a pain in the butt!!! I'll have to look at yours to see how that looks. And of course I forgot to tell you all that my 5 Target panels ended up all being different lengths, even though they're all 84". So the first two I hung perfectly drape the floor and the other 3 are too short:(

    Jennifer - Hi! I know, I would love something metal for a table in this room. We have a white coffee table in our family room which would work here, but then we'd have that espresso on in the family room with a gray couch and black entertainment center. Hmmm. Great idea though, thanks!

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  11. There is so much inspiration I can get from this room - thank you for sharing!

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  12. What a great space! I love all the decorative little touches all over the room. I guess I have very similar taste...we have a similar color couch, 2 chocolate brown club chairs, and dark espresso table and side tables, too! I also have chocolate curtains, so I've definitely got one too many dark things in my living room I think. Yours looks great, and I'm taking notes on how to lighten up (and better accessorize!) my space.

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  13. Beautiful room! I really love the club chairs on either side of the fireplace. You did a fantastic job on this room :) I love all of your accents on the fireplace, coffee table and walls!
    Toni

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  14. Sophisticated yet comfy = perfect!

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  15. You know your living room is one of my favorite inspirations. Still wanting to do mine and it still has painted samples on the wall. One of these days...I will get to it. I need vacation to catch up on all of the projects.

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  16. I love it! Don't second guess yourself...you did a wonderful job and it's very inspiring!

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  17. It's beautiful...looks like a magazine!

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  18. Your living room is lovely and I really like that the drapes match the wall colour - it keeps the eye moving and doesn't chop up the space.

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  19. Such a beautiful family room. Do you remember what is the name of your target curtains? I really like the color but i cant find it on their website. thanks for the help.

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  20. Wow, your living room looks amazing! I love the cozy atmosphere and the beautiful decor. The "it was all a dream neon sign
    " neon sign is such a cool addition to the space. It really adds a pop of fun and creativity to the room. I can imagine spending time in this living room, relaxing and enjoying the ambiance. The colors and textures you chose are perfect, and everything looks so well put together. Great job on the design!

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