When we buy another house, whenever that may be, I’m going to force myself to decorate slowly, even if it means bare walls for months or years. When we bought our current home (7 years ago) we owned little more than an over-sized bean bag and a bed. Since we had so much work to do on the house (we ripped up all the old tiles, wood, and carpet ourselves!), by the time we moved in, I just wanted to be done.
Our living room circa 2010
When we moved in, we tossed up paintings and curtains as quickly as we could. I figured we’d swap them out as we came across things we liked more, but it never happened. For 7 years, nothing changed because it was really hard to convince ourselves to spend money on something we already had, even if it wasn’t something we really like.
living room “before”
So for longer than I cared for, I loved our house, but never really liked our living room decor.
living room “before”
Then at a ladies Christmas party I got into a conversation with my two friends, Brittney and Bekah, about home decor. These two ladies know their stuff and have quite the eye for design. They don’t typically do anything beyond their own homes, but I all but begged them to help me out. A month or so later, they came through and completely over-delivered with aid! They made a vision board, listened to me about what I loved and what I wanted to change, they got a sense of my style (if I have one?), then they WENT SHOPPING FOR ME.
Talk about my dream come true. They literally walked into my home with arm fulls of knickknacks and blankets and plants to try. My heart exploded.
I am working within a rather strict budget (again, home decor is not high on our “spend”) list, but the changes they’ve implemented thus far have made my living feel completely different. It’s an incredible feeling to actually like walking into a room in your own house.
So while there are things still to change in phase 2 (new rug, add a chair in the corner of the room with table and lamp, an over-sized basket for blankets, etc), I am absolutely thrilled with the progress we’ve made so far and I wanted to go ahead and show you around the “in progress” pictures.
The most noticeable change is the curtains. I am so in love with the curtains. They are the Aina Curtains from Ikea (in white) so the price makes me love them even more.
They really brighten up the entire room, yet still are solid enough to diffuse the sunlight on hot days and offer privacy when we need it.
I need an updated family picture, but like having a canvas as the centerpiece on the mantle. They took the lanterns I already had and added height with books that I bought from Goodwill (turned backwards so it didn’t matter their color = brilliant!). We also have flameless candles in the lanterns that are on timers, which makes our living room so cozy every evening!
One plant is from Ikea (again, they have a ton of cheap and cute pots and plants– both real and fake) and one from HomeGoods.
I didn’t want to budge on our coffee table. We bought it 9 years ago from a Goodwill in Charlotte and I absolutely adore it. It’s a little beat up, but since David and I both love dark wood and iron, it fits our style perfectly. Bekah brought over a couple items from her home to fill it up.
I loved the basket (and the clock and copper pot), but since stealing from friends isn’t a nice thing to do, I did what I could to recreate it.
I found the small pot at Goodwill and the little artichoke thing at HomeGoods. The large shallow basket is replaced by a placemat I had sitting around, and I’m the lookout to replace it with something more like Bekah’s basket, but it works for now.
white lamp (from Walmart!) / pillows from HomeGoods / fern painting on wall from Kirklands
Three other dramatic changes beyond the curtains was pulling our large sectional back into one piece (should have done it sooner!), moving the bookcase into the office and centering our TV consul, and adding large pictures on either side of the TV to fill up the wall a bit more. Such. A. Difference.
I’m thrilled with the way the room looks right now. Sure there are still things to add and swap out, but it feels so much more pulled together.
I know so many of you have an incredible sense of style and I’d love to hear your input on trends you are loving right now or how to make your rooms feel more pulled together.
What small change have you made to a room in your house that has made a big impact?
I think curtains make the biggest difference!
Toni B says
We have a fireplace with a large mirror above similar to yours and I love the idea of the lanterns with candles on timers! With little ones I’ve put up the lamps but would love some more calming light in the evening!
Brittany Dixon says
We joked that our living room looked like a seance set up before (when we had candles by the TV also!), but now it really creates such a cozy atmosphere! It’s so pretty; I should have snapped a picture of that too 🙂
montessoriishmom says
I wish they could come to my house! I am so not good at home decor, we have a very “minimalist” house at the moment lol. I love the idea of using book stacks throughout though. I love to read and using them in several places is such a nice way to tie the room together!
Annie says
It looks beautiful! What awesome friends to help with it all! We’re living in a small condo and I know (or hope) we’ll be moving in the next year or so so I keep putting off decorating or buying anything new. I feel like we live in disarray with only a few pictures and decorations on the wall but it works for now!
Jen says
Your house is so beautiful! I love it! I have the same blue glass jar from Kirklands on my mantle too…I love decorating the house! My husband and I love early American, rustic decor and I really like all the farmhouse things out right now
Laura says
Looks great! I am hopeless at decorating. How nice that you have close friends who can help out on that front.
We have light curtains as well and they definitely brighten up the room. We have a fairly small adjoining dining room/living room so any sort of clutter (mail, toys, sunglasses, etc etc) on the bookshelves or side tables makes the room look messy. So we’ve bought several baskets to store our things in, and it has definitely improved the look of the room.
Laura @FitMamaLove says
It looks beautiful! It’s amazing what a difference small changes can make!
Julia @ Drops of Jules says
Sounds like you have some incredible friends! I love that you’re doing an “in-progress” post. I can’t wait to see the final look! I love love love the basket too that’s sitting on your coffee table in that picture- definitely find a replacement!
Nadia says
You have a gorgeous home! Adding a new rug to a room is a another small change that can really make a difference, too.
Laura says
I agree, it is so much better to wait and see what you like and what fits, than to decorate all at once with things that don’t speak to you. Reminds me of the movie Under the Tuscan Sun (great movie!) when she moves into the old house and talks about starting slowly with design, and allow time for the house to “introduce itself to you”. I’ve found this to be so true! For me, design is about functionality and the character of the home itself. Our Indiana country home felt French country to me in spirit, so I spent years collecting and refurbishing odds and ends from thrift stores, with a lot of whites, blues and pale reds. Our next home in Colorado is pure mid century modern, so a totally different look and feel, but I was able to decorate differently on the cheap by making and swapping out decorate pillow cases and scouring estate sales and thrift stores for period furniture. Staying true to the character of the house has allowed it to really shine!
lauren says
I love the mantle and those curtains! Just sent hubby a link, since I think something like those curtains would be great in our bedroom. He’s got the eye for style in our relationship, and I’ve finally learned to embrace it.
As for big differences, we recently got some white 2″ faux wood blinds for the bedroom and I love them. We’re going to move the white bamboo shades we have in our living and dining rooms to the bathrooms and get these blinds instead, I think it will be a great change. Initially, I wanted white wood shutters, since they face the street, but I am not ready to pay for custom ones.
We bought this house last July and are finally ready to be done painting and such already. When we bought our condo, we did everything in 2 weeks and it was way too much, but we lived with it for 4 years.
Michelle B says
Just this past weekend we painted our master bathroom from dark red (previous owners choice) to “greige” and while it made such a huge difference, I think the biggest impact was whitening the grout. It was SUCH a tedious process but totally worth it. I no longer hate my bathroom when I walk in there! ha ha. If I could upload a pic, I would! Enjoy your “new” room! 🙂
Maria says
I would spray paint the little pot copper! And check out Craigslist and word market for a similar basket tray and/or more decor!
Eva says
You have a gorgeous home! Adding a new rug to a room is a another small change that can really make a difference, too.