You don’t want to miss this living room before and after reveal. It’s been 5 years in the making.
We moved into our house August of 2011. Our daughter was only 7 months old. Previously, we rented an apartment and that sufficed. But we yearned to have our own personal space. Something for us and our growing family. Brandon and I love homes with character. When we were looking for a home, what we loved was always too old, needed too much work, or was out of our budget. When we first viewed the home we later bought, it was love at first sight. It was only approximately 30 years old. However, it was built with great character and details that didn’t compare to any other home we’d seen. Purchasing a home was a stressful process, but in the end, we purchased the home that we loved the most. That was priceless!
Today, I wanted to share a before and after of our living room. {You’ll have to view some bad photography /iPhone images to get the full idea.} In spite of having over 2800 square feet of space, the living area is actually not that big. It’s the only room that I sometimes feel constraints in. It’s also the room that I’ve put the most love into. I knew that we’d spend a lot of time in here so I’ve always given it priority over other rooms. What is unique about the living area is there is extra space in the back of it that leads to the back door and then to the kitchen. That keeps it feeling open too.
Here is what the living room looked like when we bought the house. The windows in the back lead to our back porch and driveway. The wet bar is that little nook to the right. The back left corner is that space that is still in our living area that allows the space to feel open.
I fell in love with the wood floors, and I still love them! The blue walls, not so much.
Here is a glance at the living area once we painted the walls Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams. The walls were now bright and airy. This would provide the perfect palette for finding my style in our home. The decor is a conglomerate mess but it was ours. That little black antique piece was purchased from a friend. It’s still a part of our living area but has been updated. We were just happy to have a house to call our own. Little did we know how long it would really take to make this into a space we loved.
Here is that little back corner that could be a mudroom area or additional seating space. It’s been a little bit of everything and seems to finally have found itself. See here how the sitting area is transforming.
After 5 years of figuring out the space, I’m happy to finally present our living area to you. I still have a few small critiques, however, I love it so much better now. We still have the same Accessible Beige on the walls. It’s one of my favorite “go-to” paint colors for a space.
A year ago, we purchased the Ikea Ektorp Sofa and Loveseat. It’s been one of our best purchases in this space. We just switched out the white slipcovers for these gray ones last week. The gray is a nice change for the winter months. I definitely love the white in the space though too. It’s currently a toss up. The custom pillow covers work with my decor, even when I make changes.
The mantel is currently decorated for the fall/winter months and provides a nice playground for decorating. If you took note, you would have noticed that it’s not the same color as it originally was. I painted the mantel! I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk paint, and love the dramatic look of it now.
Here is that back area that’s transformed over the years. It currently houses a late 1800’s Strauss piano. I do have plans to paint it in the near future, but I’ve been a little hesitant. That chippy, old door to the right showcases the kids best art pieces. The little green plant came from Ikea a few weeks ago. He’s still living! Yeah for that! I’d definitely like to re-do the decor on and above the piano.
When I don’t know what to do with a design, I like to wait it out. It’s the best approach, I find, to help make decor decisions…wait it out.
There is a little space behind the love seat and there you’ll find this clock gallery wall. Also, my vintage painted desk and chair is back there as well. I like sitting by the window when I work. Plus, this room in our home is inspiring – most of the time.
If needed, I could push the love seat against the window to expand the seating area a little. But, I like it as it is now. It’s come a long way, and it will continue to transform.
Who knows how long it will take to complete another room so let’s look at the before and after one more time. Here is what the living room looked like before.
This is what it looks like after.
In the 5 years we’ve lived here, something significant has happened with me. I found my style! Contrary to what I thought, I love color! Ha! Now that I’ve found my style, I do my best to only include items in our home that fit into what I love. I’m still purging lots of old things that are still in rooms, but we will get there. In another 5 years, I hope my style has taken over another room or two, or three.
I hope you enjoyed seeing our living area! What’s your favorite part about it?
-Crystal
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