The Plan For Small Living Room Changes

So excited to share this plan with you today! It’s been months in the making, but I just recently finalized lighting for it, which is always what takes me longest!

I love this space! There’s nothing wrong with it to want to change. I’ve said this before, but if you’re new here- I like to change things around here… for FUN. I’m growing and changing all the time, and I like that to be reflected in my surroundings. I’m not changing the paint color. I love these dark walls! (BM Jet Black) Believe it or not, it’s actually the brightest room in the house! I also love love love the glass cabinets. Great spot for all of our treasures! Here’s what we’re changing up…

So, I’m going a little warmer by adding some earth tones in this space. Starting with-

Some furniture changes…

Notice something I stole from our office?

I love this sofa so much, and it looks amazing in our office, but I kinda love it so much that I want it seen more. I love the idea of having it be one of the first things you see when you walk in our home, and I also love that the olive will look great across from our dining room.

So, I figured, why not move it to the living room? The tan sofa that’s currently in the living room will work fine in the office, so I’m shopping my house and swapping! As for the chairs, I’m taking out the orange chairs (they’re awesome and comfy, but brighter than what I’m going for- if you’re local and interested in buying them, please let me know!) These chocolate brown beauties from Arhaus are so rich and just what I was going for:

Speaking of Arhaus, I also snagged this side pedestal table. It’s the perfect mix of contemporary vibes next to a more traditional chair…

The rug…

Ok, this color of orange is more like it! Went with this gorgeous copper rug from Jake Arnold’s line from Lulu & Georgia. I love how thick and comfortable it looks! And great news- it just arrived so I’m able to confirm it actually is as thick and comfortable as it looks! So good under foot!

Lighting…

This is, by far, the part of design that brings me the most joy AND the most angst while putting a room together! I love lighting and it’s so hard for me to narrow down. I tried so many different combinations of new sconces and chandeliers. And this is what I’ve decided on…

Gah! There was a million different directions I could’ve gone here. Modern? Mid-century? Traditional? Victorian? I had to really think about what I wanted out of this space. How do I want it to feel? Over and over again, I find myself being drawn to interiors that feel like old world cozy libraries. And over and over again, I’ve used some sort of trees in my interiors- whether in wallpaper or art. When I saw this I really loved the idea of bringing something super three dimensional to the room. So I went rustic in a big way.

There were so many I loved, but I’m also really weird about everything in our home being different from one room to the next. We already have a rattan pendant in the dining room, a large globe in the kitchen, a traditional candelabra in our bedroom, a fluted shade in our office, and a modern asymmetrical light in our family room. A huge gathering of branches? Ding ding ding! A bit “cottage core,” if you will.

And because I love a good mix, I went with these wall lanterns

Let me expand a bit on that, since on Instagram stories I told you all that I’m leaning towards these Victorian sconces

I really loved those because they reminded me of the candelabra in Beauty and the Beast, Lumiere. Lol. I’ve referenced that movie in my designs before. Funny how an animated movie from your childhood can influence design decisions in your adult life! I’ve always loved Belle’s library, and these feel fit for one, but once we moved the olive sofa in here, I realized it’s much shorter than the last sofa, so there’s a lot more wall space; so much black. This meant that the skinny arms of this sconce would probably get lost on the wall. So, I started leaning towards lanterns. I really like that reflective glass and brass take up more visual space on the wall.

I want this space to feel so charming! All of these new layers feel cool but comfortable to me. To add another bit of charm and character to the space, I drew my attention to…

The ceiling…

I thought a lot about this. Initially, I was going to to wallpaper the ceiling. I considered this small brown leafy/floral pattern

… and even came across wallpaper that looks like book pages…

This had me actually start considering gluing real book pages to the ceiling. Yup, another (but different) book ceiling. (See our office book ceiling HERE). I’m still toying with different ideas, but my husband actually suggested just bringing the wall color up on the ceiling, and it dawned on me that maybe simple is the way to go here, and that black would look amazing with ceiling beams I have planned! Going with the five inch, and probably staining them darker to match the floors. These are from Ornamental Mouldings

Drapes…

Let’s address the windows! We’ve never had drapes in this room, and I thought now was a good time to add them. Especially when I found this stunning plaid Morris & Co fabric from Decorator’s Best!

I mean, it’s perfect. The background color leans a smidge on the olive side and it’s got the rusty/copper color of the rug. Plaid heaven! And I’m thrilled to be partnering with Martha & Ash who will be making these drapes for me!

Let’s talk art…

While I was waiting in line at the grocery store recently, I browsed through a magazine and came across this image:

I wish I would’ve taken note of who the designer was (or even the magazine!) but I wasn’t thinking about sharing it later, so that didn’t cross my mind! Just snapped a quick pic to come back to. I love the art in this room. I love that it’s hung in a grid, and I love that the illustrations look like pages from the same book. I want to recreate it! Except instead of landscapes, I’ve been really drawn to equestrian art. I found a shop called Arteex online, with a great selection of vintage horse prints! I’m not quite sure how many prints I’ll do, or how big, but here’s a mock up of an option:

Peep that Into the Woods fabric on a new pillow I found from Kings Road Home Decor on Etsy. Also, speaking of art, I also ordered these gorgeous prints from Lulu and Georgia because they remind me of our trip to Italy! Wanting to flank the cabinets with them.

So, there’s the plan in a nutshell! Just waiting on our contractor to let me know when he can fit us in, so hang tight for this project!

Shop the post…

Cheers,

Haneen

*** Thrilled to partner with Arhaus, Lulu & Georgia, Novo Building Products (Ornamental Mouldings), Decorators Best, Shades of Light, Arteex on Etsy, Kings Road Home Decor on Etsy, and Martha & Ash for this project. All opinions are my own.

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  1. Esther Jordan says:

    Really really cohesive and beautiful

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