Living Room Reveal

Hi, everyone!

My mom was touched by all of your sweet birthday wishes, so thank you!

I've been working on our living room for the past few months, making some big changes to get a more 'farmhouse' vibe going.

This is the 'old' living room, below.
I was gradually adding in some 'farmhouse' elements here and there, but it was still a little more rustic and industrial than I wanted.

For a long time now I've wanted to get cream or white couches to lighten up this room.
I love our really dark floors, but sometimes it can look too dark in here, especially in the winter.

We looked into buying new furniture, but we finally decided to keep the couch and love seat that we've had and just have slipcovers made for them. Although these pieces are almost 15 years old, they're still in excellent condition, they're comfortable, and they're extra long and deep which means that Keith and I can each stretch out and take naps-a bonus! :)

I found an online company called Needle and Shears where you send them the measurements and they have designers that customize the slipcovers, then they're sewn. I was really nervous and took a big chance not knowing much about the company, but after some harrowing measurement taking on my part (you have to be VERY detailed, obviously!) the slipcovers fit pretty well and I'm overall happy with them.

I chose a simple, basic style in a canvas fabric.

Here is what the couch looks like now.

To dress up the couch and love seat a bit, I pulled the shams from our master bedroom to use as back cushions and found some other fun pillows that I've had in storage.  Needless to say, I'm a big fan of typography! I think these compliment each other and keep things from looking too monochromatic.


Here is tailless Bo enjoying the 'new' couch...

The next big change that we made was taking down the vintage schoolhouse map that's been on the wall behind our couch forever. We replaced it with the chippy door that I got at a garage sale this summer, which I first showed you here.

Lighter and brighter already!

I hung the apple picking basket filled with cotton that I got at the Country Living Fair on the door.
(You may remember that when I first got this basket I hung it on the barn door on our back stoop and showed you here.)

I left the little drawer unit between the couch and love seat as a side table.

I love the character and quirkiness that it has with its one stripped drawer!

Plus, it provides great hidden storage for our remotes and coasters, etc.

I kept the top of it simple with an architectural column base that I got at a salvage shop topped with some candles and a glass cloche.  This base wasn't even for sale, but I've really been wanting something like this.  Luckily, I'm not above begging to get what I want (Keith even jumped in to help!) and sure enough, it came home with me and at a fantastic price, too!

In case you've ever wondered about these wall lights in our living room...unfortunately, this room isn't wired for an overhead light fixture.  It makes me sad, because otherwise you'd see a big ol' gorgeous chandelier in here!

Maybe someday we'll have this room rewired, but for now we'll keep up these lights (from Pottery Barn) that we hung many years ago.  Although they're not my favorite, they do the job providing light and don't look TOO bad with my new look.

I debated whether to keep the dark factory cart that was our coffee table in here or not.  I finally decided to move it into the sunroom, which you can read about here.

I found this large white coffee table at an antique mall marked waayy down and thought it would be perfect for the new look I was going for.

I also found this old army trunk that same day, and since it had my favorite number 3 already on it, I knew it was meant to be!  I tucked it underneath the table for a 'layered' look.

For my coffee table vignette I started with a shabby tool box that I got at the flea.

Inside of it I placed a metal crow (for a fall touch) and a couple of grain sacks topped with a dried lavender bundle.

Then I added some dark, rustic candlesticks for height and contrast.

Well, that's your first peek at our new living room!

What do you think?  A bit different than before, huh?

It definitely feels lighter and brighter, which is what I wanted.

Stay tuned 'cause I've got lots more changes to show you!

I always appreciate you stopping by!

Enjoy your day :)