Living Room Refresh

It feels so good to refresh a space. I’m so glad I let our living room have some breathing room. I was craving a little change, which I talked about HERE, so when I simplified our living room, it allowed me to bring back only what I absolutely wanted in the space. Of course finding the right shade of bright white paint helped me not rush the process of refreshing our living room, and really added some impact to the refresh. Even though our walls were light before, a fresh coat of paint makes it feel so crisp and bright. I can’t wait to see how it will feel in the summer.

We spend the most of our time in the living room, especially this time of year, so making it warm and inviting is always a priority around here. I know I’ve shown a bit of how are living room has looked lately, but here is one last photo of what it looked like before: 

And After : 

I ended up painting the walls White Heron by Benjamin Moore, which if you caught my post yesterday won over Simply White. I shared about our new couch HERE. We also added a new cowhide to the space from Rugs USA, and I love the look of the layered rugs, not to mention it is super silky to walk on.

One of the easiest ways to refresh a space, especially your living room, is with throw pillows! It’s probably the most inexpensive way you can make a space feel different without painting or doing something even more dramatic. I was ready for an update on pattern, and wanted something a little more trendy, without going over the top. We all remember the huge bold rug that was a mistake, RIGHT?!

I purchased the new patterned blue pillow covers off of Etsy. I was just sharing with a friend the other day, how adding new pillow covers is such an easy way to change out your look whenever the mood strikes. You may remember the feather fabric from my refresh post, but it’s actually a dish towel right now at Target, and I just loved it so much when I saw it. I thought it was way to pretty to be a dish towel, and instantly knew I wanted to make it into a pillow cover, so I did just that. I also added the smaller metallic pillow, from Target clearance for $7.48. One of my goals for 2016 is adding more mixed metals to the space, I’ve already started with a few small pieces, including this pillow. 

I kept things simple on the coffee table. Neutral elements, mixed metals, and a pop of green, always good for adding some life to the space.

I love that there are no rules when it comes to mixing metals. I remember when I was mixing frames for our gallery wall, and the key is balance. You don’t want one finish out-weighing the other. Same is true with metals. Here both the brass candlesticks and the antique silver bowl are tarnished. One isn’t brighter than the other, which help add to the relaxed feel, but also make it fuss-free to mix metals effortlessly.

I filled the silver bowl with a faux arrangement of moss, and what I like to refer to as “baby” succulents recently purchased from Target. They add the perfect little pop of green, and require no maintenance, which is perfect when they are in a high traffic area. Keeping everything else on the coffee table neutral, allows the metals to stand out, instead of compete for attention.

I wanted it to feel simple, but leaving the coffee table completely cleared off, felt too empty. A few simple accessories and I have accomplished the look of just enough, while keeping true to the season we are in. We are covered in snow outside, and I know winter decor can be tricky, but there are items that will always work in any season.

Books, candlesticks, succulents, moss, candles, and other small knick knacks can help your decor transition from season to season without feeling too committed to one season, or like in this instance you jumped on the “Spring” band wagon early.

I didn’t change things too much around our tv, however the gallery walls were starting to contribute to it feeling like the walls were starting to close in. So behind the tv I chose to create some DIY canvas art, which I will share with you next week.

I already added a tiny brass frame to this part of the gallery wall after I took this picture. I mentioned earlier how I wanted to incorporate more metals, and mixing finishes is a great way to add metals without committing completely to one type of finish.

Things can tend to feel bare in the winter months, especially once the christmas decor is put away. Here in New England it doesn’t start to feel like spring until May most of the time, so finding ways to make your decor feel complete can be tricky. I love demijohn bottles. Empty, in collections, with flowers. To switch things up, I added some fresh eucalyptus branches to add a subtle touch of green and add some life to the space, without having to keep up with fresh flowers. Finding fresh eucalyptus can prove to be tricky though. This particular kind is considered “seeded eucalyptus” even thought it doesn’t have any of the seeds with it. If you ask for just eucalyptus you could end up with the branches that look like they came straight out of every dried floral arrangement from the 90’s. Gosh I hope our kids won’t feel that way about our things when they are old enough to decorate, lol! A few places I’ve been able to find it around here is my local florist, NOT the floral department at the grocery store. Trader Joe’s and sometimes your local greenhouse. I think depending on the part of the country you live in, will depict where to find some.

Next week I’ll share how I “simplified” our built-ins that lead into the dining room.

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