Living Room Redo

I never know when and where inspiration is going to strike.  Like one Saturday morning, when my plan was to finally put my office together - build the bookcases and finalize paint decisions.  That didn't happen.

I shared this last update of our living room in March a few weeks after we bought our house. I knew when I shared an update back then that I would restyle it soon - a room is never done. Change is constant in life.  And in this house.

I just needed to find the right mix of décor to make this room stand out a bit more to reflect our personal style. So when inspiration finally hit I had to take full advantage of it.

The living room looked more like this by the end of the day. 

We originally painted the mantle in the living room white 11 months ago when we first moved in. But a Saturday morning at 8am found me craving change. So I tossed aside the plan for the office, and brought out my new favorite can of paint.

Oh yeah, this won't be the only update about my new favorite paint color.

The new black-painted surround on the fireplace looked too heavy in the light-colored room.  So I brought in some warmer colors to complement the new look.

Don't be fooled by the quick transition.  It took a full day of playing around with different items from around the house until I finally found a good mix.

The best part of this update is that I didn't spend a dime.  I shopped the house for all decor.  And all of the furniture is from our last house - I just purchased a rug and sofa table to accommodate for the larger space.



The mantle is adorned with meaningful items - a wine stave that we picked up while in Traverse City for our wedding, a window from an old home in Romeo (picked from the trash), a mercury candle stick I bought from an antique store, a wreath I bought from our last girls' trip to the Country Living Fair, and two gifts from my mom - a mercury candlestick (to match my antique one) and a vase I had been lusting over from Pottery Barn.

The frames surrounding the fireplace previously resided on the wall in the dining room.  I change out the images frequently throughout the year.  Botanical pine prints adorn the frames in the winter.

I haven't replaced the blank space in the dining room quite yet - I'm still waiting for that strike of inspiration...

The green trunk was one I picked up 6 years ago at a garage sale for $15.  The owner had this stored in a garage for years, and it was COVERED in spider sacs.  I wanted this trunk so bad that 8 generations of spider families wouldn't keep me from it.  It was locked shut and the owners didn't have a key, so they sold the trunk to me for a small fee.  I picked the lock and discovered a beautifully untouched steamer trunk on the interior.  It's like it hadn't been opened for 90 years (I suspect it was used around 1910). 

I was so excited to bring it home and clean it up, but then, I never found a good spot for it.  So I dragged it around for the last 6 years from house and house and stored it in garages and basements. Until it was dragged from the garage for the last time...

Nothing like 18" of snow to get the creative juices flowing.

It's such a simple change and it really warmed up the place. Here's a look back at where we started about 12 months ago...

And today.

Here is where we currently are with the living room.  Not quite done... but nothing ever is.

- Remove window seat
- Refinish hardwood flooring
- Replace base molding and window casing with chunky white trim
- Update mantle by painting it white
- Paint brick surround black
- Hang drapes in the bay window
- Tile hearth with slate to match the floor in the family room
- Install 'floating' crown molding beneath the coved ceiling
- Wire room for overhead lights
- Tile brick surround on fireplace
- Build bookcases for the opposite side of this room (to flank the opening to the entryway)
- Convert the room to a large dining space (maybe)