A New Look for the new Living Room

I've been looking forward to sharing this new living room space with you at the new house. I've taken photos several different times in here, but the light hasn't been "right", and to top it off, I left my tripod at the other house. But I decided to just show them anyway. This house is just darker because of the wall color, so photos just aren't as easy.

But I do love how it's come together and that it's cozy and comfortable. When we knew we were leasing this house we decided to buy a new sofa and loveseat. They're not the most expensive, but I really love the new look. I'm sort of fickle with furniture, I get restless for a new look long before they wear out. What I love one year, I'm often over, five years down the road. But I DO, and always have, loved a Chesterfield Sofa. We found these at the Ashley Home Store. The fact that they are classic styling and a neutral color will make it easy to change things up. I wanted a more casual look at this house, with a more masculine vibe. After all, hubby has to hang out here and feel like he can relax.

These shots show the wrinkles that are starting to ease out. They had been wrapped in plastic and sitting in a warehouse for weeks, I'm sure. I couldn't use my other sofas and white furniture here...they are just too big, and the white furniture looked bad with these sofas. The white just looks "dirty"next to these walls.

I couldn't have picked a better color if I'd designed these sofas myself. It's a nice taupe/beige/gray in a looser weave, almost looks like a linen-y burlap. At the showroom it looked lighter with all the bright lights glaring down on it, but when it was delivered it was darker. Fine with me, I prefer the darker colored fabric.

I didn't have a coffee table that was the right color or size, so I painted an old cedar chest that had the most horrendous finish on it. I painted it before I knew what color the sofa and loveseat were, but it turned out a pretty good match. The finish is a coat of Old White ASCP, the taupe from our bedroom walls, and a little wash of some gray paint I snagged in a Valspar paint sample pot at Lowe's. I did a stain glaze and liquid poly on top. It received some "extra" distressing during the move.

I had this gray washed wood tray on my coffee table in the other Living Room, which adds to a rustic look.

My good black rug from the lower level family area works I think, it's a nice contrast, and pulls the black in the lamps and pillows together. Miss Jenkins approves.

The arched window above the loveseat was becoming a cat perch so it needed something to deter "bad cat" behavior. Looks sort of cluttered, but it does the trick. You can see the kitchen through the arched pass through. A little of the Entry is shown here. There's not much to it; I'll share that a little later. (I tweaked my little white dresser)

Gray washed wicker basket with a galvanized tray from Pottery Barn.

We are short on space in here, so I had to improvise with this little accent table from the other Living Room. It had been white, but got the taupe paint on top, like the cedar chest. We bought 2 bronzed lamps from Lamps Plus on a 2-fer special. I liked that they matched the legs on the sofas and the rest of the hardware throughout the house.

Southern exposure almost drowns out hubby's leather recliner.

Here's the Inspiration Board I created on Polyvore right after Christmas. I kept pretty close to the plan, and it worked to help me see how to bring all the different elements together.

I knew before I even found the sofas, that I wanted to use leopard print pillows as accents. I found these at Pottery Barn. They even feel like real fur...meow.

I've always loved Charles Faudree's designs, where he used animal prints often. So I felt I had approval for the leopard print pillows on these sofas.

I think my Restoration Hardware pillows that were downstairs

 work well with the leopard print.

I'm keeping prints, paintings, and wall decor to a minimum, so just a few things are up.  This old print from the '40's matched the color scheme in here.

I had this little wing back traditional chair in our master bedroom. It had been reupholstered with two complimentary fabrics which I love, and just matches the rest of the room. I didn't have room for a table so this little floor lamp with a shelf from WalMart filled the bill. Since we have dinner in here with a tray on our laps it works for juggling a glass. WalMart...who knew... Miss Wrigley is waiting to lounge on the fuzzy blanket on top of the ottoman, which is usually here.

I debated on whether or not to show these last couple of photos. It's just part of renting a house. Like most houses there are things we'd like to change, except with a leased home you usually don't get to make those changes, like you would if you were buying. Case in point, the black marble fireplace which is in the corner has a piece of wallboard at the top, creating a functional place to have a tv or mirror or art. Only problem, someone painted what a 5 year old might consider a faux marble accent. My valiant attempts at convincing the landlord that it would be much better with a coat of the wall color, fell on deaf ears. This will be the one and only time you see it. I stressed about it for days and although we have an idea or two how to make it disappear, for the time being a large painting and some faux ivy will have to do. I'm not sure what looks worse, the yucky faux marble or the yucky faux ivy... The mantel may stay bare, I don't want to draw attention to it.

Maybe if I make the photo real small you won't see how bad it is...

the good news is the gas log part works great and really warms the room.

And another issue is the monster flat screen tv, I really dislike an uncovered tv. Call me picky, but it has never worked for me. The large entertainment center we had planned on using didn't fit, so we were left trying to come up with a quick replacement. At least the monster entertainment center would have camouflaged it somewhat. An old "Partner's Desk" that my husband used downstairs has had to work. Be sure to notice all the wires and cords underneath...such a great look. I guess more yucky faux ivy could be stuffed in there to hide it.

OK, there you have it, the good, the bad, and the extremely ugly. I'm really not complaining, I'm so glad to have this house to get away from all the work that's going on at the big house. They're tearing out kitchen stuff this week, so I wouldn't want to be living there. This place may be small with some quirks, but it's also clean and cozy. This weekend the Dining Room is the deal...packing upteen million dishes. Hope you have a great weekend!

joining in on these parties:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings

Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
The Scoop at Cedarhill Farm
Inspire Me at A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Inspiration Gallery at City Farmhouse
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

                                                                

xoxo,

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