Last week I wrote about the epiphany I had revolving around a certain desk being relocated to our living room in favor of being placed in attic storage until God only knows when. This made Tim very happy because we paid a decent price for the desk and he didn’t want to see it languish in the attic unused or worse destroyed in the attic when our roof decides to be a fickle pain in the ass and leak just for funsies. I was very happy because I would essentially be getting the study that I’ve always wanted albeit no French or pocket doors are involved. But like most projects that I get involved with, it’s either go big or go home so it’s not just us moving a desk down into the living room.
I’ve wanted to repaint and redecorate our living room for at least two years. I painted it once before about a year after we moved in but I think I was hasty with my color choice but just needed the awful green that blanketed our main floor to be gone. I vaguely remember having plans to bring in lots of bold colors through my accessorizing but thanks to the lack of Pinterest at the time and my meager Target quality budget I wasn’t able to do much with the room and my attention was turned to other rooms and other tasks that I could accomplish. Long story short I had no idea what I was doing with this room, which is an utter shame because it is the very first room you see when you enter our home.
Here is what we’re working with (ignore all the miscellaneous crap; I can’t throw it out faster than it’s coming in most days):
(The view from where the desk will be.)
(The view from the front door, desk will be to the left. The long couch is going & the love seat & coffee table are replacing it.)
(The view of wear the desk will go.)
(The view from the hallway that leads to the stairs & dining room/kitchen.)
(The desk that sparked a remodel.)
I want to give the walls some new life with a fresh coat of paint, preferably in a bold yet traditional color…like this blue called Newport Gray by Valspar.
(Source)
The ceiling, the trim, and the front door (inside & out) will all need a fresh coat of white. Maybe I’ll get crazy and get some new hardware for the door instead of that bland door knob we have now.
I’d also like to repurpose the furniture we already have in the room save for the long couch which needs to go because it’s saturated in cat pee. At first I wanted to save the lamps and spray paint them silver/nickel but the time, effort, and cost of supplies would be way more than the $40 I spent at Target eight years ago. For the windows I’m torn between putting up new sheers and curtains or putting up plantation style blinds in white and hanging new drapes to accent the room. We get a lot of sun in this room for the majority of the day so it would be nice to be able to control the light with blinds.
This is about as far as I got though. I need major help or else it’s going to end up looking just as it does now with blue walls instead of cream. What do I need to finish this room and create the illusion of a bit of separation between our “formal” living room and our “study”? Would a rug under the coffee table in front of the love seat accomplish this task? Since we treat the room as a formal living room and have a family room (that I’m in the process of displaying family photos in) what do I do for art work on the walls? I need suggestions…lots and lots of suggestions. HELP!!!
For your walls….. From experience I’d stick with a lighter color and use that accent color that you like for rugs, pillows, ect. It’s really pretty, but it might turn out really dark.
For art work you can do a small collage of family prints and maybe a couple really big prints. You can buy photos or make some cute diy subway art. Since you have a family room I’d find a photo you really like and make it HUGE. Pick something that isn’t too busy. A black and white of flowers or a sea scape.
For the windows I’d do blinds or rolling bamboo shades (you can black out) with an accent curtain panel. Cheaper. Good Luck!
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I think using light colors for your wall are beautiful, simpler but elegant. I am so much excited to see how you will repaint your walls.
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I’ve been meaning to comment on this post for days now! But this is the first time I’ve been on the laptop and I couldn’t bear to type such a long comment on my phone.
Ok, I totally think you should go with the bold blue! Lighter colors can be beautiful and elegant, but I love the bold statement that a deep color makes. Plus, I get compliments all the time on my blue living room…it just takes some guts to commit to a dark color.
Because you have windows and good lighting in the room, you can TOTALLY pull off the dark color. Keep the trim and ceiling white and stick with white window treatments. If cost isn’t prohibitive, I think the plantation shutters would really add interest. If you do drapes too, make sure they are white or white with a light pattern…to keep the room from getting too dark.
As far as a rug goes, I’d get a big one rather than a smaller one for under the coffee table. A large rug can really “anchor” a room and add nice texture. Rugs are pricey so I’d recommend you check Lowe’s or Home Depot. We got really pretty neutral (oatmeal color) shag rugs for our bedroom and office at great prices (<$200 for an 8×10).
For the walls I'd say a large mirror above the couch (white or silver frame and hang it a little lower than you'd think – low hanging art is an interior design tip). The mirror will bounce light around and keep the room from being dark.
For other walls I'd suggest white frames from IKEA (if you have one near you) and fill them with black and white photos, pretty scrapbook paper, or free internet printables. Those are great ways to get "artwork" that doesn't break the budget.
Those are just some of my thoughts
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Jennifer Reply:
January 22nd, 2013 at 9:50 pm
I think you just redecorated my living room for me.
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