Feb 1, 2013

Living room update

Nearly a year ago, I decided I wanted to repaint my neutral living room. We painted it a light beige when we moved in, when we had a dark brown couch. But our big, beige sectional made me itching for some color on the walls. I got lots of advice about this -- and a good number of people suggested I leave the walls neutral and bring in color with accessories. I just knew this wasn't going to work for me, so I followed my gut and got out the paint brush.

I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous about it. I have not regretted it one bit -- I simply love our blue-gray walls! The color is Misty Morn by Behr.

After I repainted, though, I spent a while trying to figure out what to put on the walls. I decided not to rush things and just wait for inspiration to strike. Fast forward like eight months, and I finally put some holes in the wall.

The last time you saw the living room, it looked like this:


And here's what it looks like now with some stuff on the walls.



My inspiration for my living room came mainly from this photo:
Source: hgtv.com via Mindy on Pinterest


I love the blues and greens with a hint of gold accents. I wanted a living room that has a casual feel with a little homage to the beach -- something with a mix of neutrals, coastal colors, warm wood tones and some hints of gold and black to ground it all and give it a collected-over-time feel.

I also used this mood board by 7th House on the Left as inspiration. 


This convex mirror is from Home Depot, and I absolutely adore it.


I picked up this mahogany table at my local antique store for $75. The size is perfect, and I love that it has both a shelf and a drawer for storage. The top is made of leather with a gold design around the edge.


On the other end of that wall is a printing press type tray I found at an antique store for just $30. It already had hooks on the back to hang on the wall -- lucky! I don't think putting shells in a type tray is original, but I love the look.



This corner used to hold our media cabinet...


...but as I was pondering art, I decided to make a furniture switcheroo. I moved it to the opposite wall, where we used to have a console table. The table was kind of useless -- it was decorative, but didn't hold much and just ended up being wasted space. I'm in this total kick of making everything purposeful -- trying to get away from space fillers. So, the console table left and the media cabinet took its place. I'm really liking the change!


I got this gold-and-glass fixture at a flea market for just 8 bucks -- I'm smitten!


This change also allows us to have a lamp in this corner, which is handy because we have no overhead lighting in this room.

I still don't know what to do with the big TV wall. We'd like to mount the TV, but I can't decide if I want to put anything else on the wall or not.


I couldn't bring myself to move the puppy out of his sunny spot!

And that coffee table is on its way out. I've been dying to get rid of it, but I just can't find something I love to replace it with. It has to be small so it doesn't take up too much space, and I'm hoping for something round and airy so it doesn't add to the weight of the room, since that sectional makes the room pretty heavy. Maybe something glass...we'll see (check out my Pinterest board for my latest ideas).

It may have taken a little time, but this room is finally coming along! It's my favorite room of the house. I love the colors and that it has a mix of both antique/vintage and modern pieces. We spend so much time here, and I feel like it really reflects our personality, especially now with some art on the wall -- and a sleepy puppy. :)

Here's a living room progression since we bought our house a little over two years ago.



What a change!

3 comments:

Ramblingsofgeo said...

I really like your living room now!
It looks so fresh and relaxing. You definatly need 'something' on the tv wall, how about a subtle coloured wall decal? Or some more photos in a bunched up collage.
Georgia @ www.ramblingsofgeo.com

Unknown said...

Love it!

Mindy @ Heart Maine Home said...

Thank you! Yes, something is needed on the TV wall. I thought about a photo collage, but I'm worried it'll look too busy. I'll ponder some more!