Home Tour: Living Room

I have been delaying this tour until my table was finally ready. Now that it is done, and put into place, I will show you around my living room. As a kid, I never understood the 'formal living room'. I mean really, what's the point? No one uses them anyways. Well, now that I have kids, I get it. This is Mommies refuge. A place to put my pretties, a place to relax with a cup of tea while I blog or read, a refuge, if even for just 5 minutes, from the busyness of life. During our house hunt for our next home, I will be looking for a home with a separate living room and family room....a task proving difficult, as this is certainly not a popular style these days. Great rooms abound.

Get some coffee and get ready, as this has turned out to be one looooong post. Who knew a living room could have so much to say?

My room is far from perfect, or finished. I had many more plans for it, that alas, will never see completion due to our pending move. I started from scratch with this room as I didn't have a formal living room in my previous home. While it was fun to create the look, it was also daunting and overwhelming with such a large, empty room!

Before:

These are pictures from when we toured the home, before we bought it.


After:

Hardwood floors were a must in here. Otherwise, the bones of the room were already pretty good. There was crown molding, french doors, a bay window and nice chunky baseboards. We slapped on some paint, and it was a perfect blank canvas to fill.

The first thing I found was this fabric, 1/2 price at Chintz and Co. It was my jumping off point for the feel and colours in this room. I took a swatch to the paint store, and we complimented it with Benjamin Moore's Seaspray. While it is much lighter than the other colours in my home, I absolutely love it; it reads as a rich creamy colour, sometimes with green or taupe-ish undertones. The trim colour is Cloud White.

I started with two sofas, as opposed to a sofa and love seat. The room is large enough, and I prefer this look. I chose a cream sofa (call me crazy, when I have two kids) which is the perfect blank canvas, that will hopefully stand the test of time and changes in taste. You could easily add different style pillows to totally change the look. I am going for a more relaxed traditional feel, but add in some funky pattern and colour, and it could easily be more contemporary. I have exposed legs on my two side chairs, so I opted to have a skirt on the sofas. I added these pillows which I collected over time.

So now I had the seating, but not much of anything else. In came Grandma's furniture. This was a turning point for the room, as I didn't want it to look all matchy matchy, with new furniture. I wanted character and charm, and age. Her pieces fit the bill nicely.



I found this turned base table at a local furniture store for $100, which I thought was a great deal.

The round coffee table is from my favorite furniture store, Cobble Hill Fine Furnishings. I wasn't sure about my choice of a round table, but it's grown on me. You'll notice the lack of accessories on the table....still working on the details. I prefer a room that comes together over time, rather than thrown together quickly. The art work was a combination of gifts and a few found pieces. It takes me a while to find a piece of art I love. I am certainly not fussy about whether or not it's an artists proof, giclee etc. If I like it, I buy it. I also prefer not to have just framed prints on the wall. I'd love to incorporate some other cool wall decor...perhaps some salvaged materials??

My fern, oh, my fern. I am not a big fan of fakies...plants that is. However, this corner was screaming for greenery and after the umpteenth fern death, I bit the bullet and bought this fakey. It is from Chintz and Co, and is a high end (read-expensive) fakey. I like it, but I don't love it. The table it sits on may also be getting a makeover. Perhaps some cream or french gray paint? Distressing? I'm waiting until we move to see where its new spot will be and will then decide.

In my new home, I want to make my living room space a little less stuffy and formal. I still love the bright, feminine space but with perhaps a few more fun accessories thrown into the mix? It's fun to think about all the decorating possibilities in my future!

I love my 'grown up' living room!

Linking to my favorite Parties!