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June 23, 2017 · 9 Comments

The Living Room Update

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Do you have one of those rooms in your house that just feels…meh? No matter what you do, it just seems like it’s kind of blah and boring, and you can’t seem to make it all come together – and sometimes you wonder if you should just scrap it all and start over?

Yup, me too. Our living room has always been like that for us – we didn’t go into decorating it with much of a plan, and things kind of just came together randomly. But, it didn’t come together well. It’s a room that’s always bothered me because it’s not like it’s ugly or anything, it just didn’t feel right. Something was off.

This fall home tour is so cozy and inspiring. The decorations are so pretty and it makes it look so easy to decorate your home for fall!

Well, we’ve made a few minor changes in this room that have added up to major change. We’re not done quite yet, but I actually smile a little when I walk in this room now rather than feel totally neutral, so I’d say that’s a plus!

Before I share the changes, though, let’s talk about how we got here. I recently preached the importance of creating mood boards for rooms and, while I didn’t actually formally create one for this room, I have a kind of “mental mood board” that has guided me in making decisions for this room. I spent a lot of time browsing the internet and magazines and putting together an idea of what I wanted the room to look like, and it wasn’t until I had a clear direction in my head that I was able to start making some good decisions.

I also went through the process of determining what mistakes I was making in the design of this room and fixing those mistakes. There were plenty of things that were contributing to the “off” feeling of the room, I just hadn’t managed to find ’em yet!

So, how’s it looking now?

Well, it’s still a long ways from finished, but it’s definitely a lot better.

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

So, let’s chat about the changes we made.

The first big change that we made was replacing our ottoman. We loved the one we used to have in here, but dogs and children had not been kind to the white fabric over the last few years and it was looking pretty rough. The leather in the one we chose brings a fun new texture into the room and it’s also way more durable and easier to clean.

And you know I’m all about making things easier on myself.

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

Next up, we got some new curtains. The blue ones we used to have in here were fine, but the busy pattern created a cluttered feeling for me, and we wanted something a little more neutral. I am in love with the neutral gold color and the simple pattern on these, and I can’t get over how much they brighten the room up. Once we added these, I really started to feel the room start to come together rather than feeling totally disjointed, and I knew we were on the right track.

I love it when I get something right. Doesn’t happen often, but it’s a dang good feeling.

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

I always get questions about that cute black globe when I share photos of it, so if you’re curious about the details you can see the full tutorial for how I made it at the link right there!

And finally, we swapped out the ugly white blinds for bamboo blinds that match what’s in our dining room – and they really brought it all together. It’s one of those little projects that makes me wonder why in the world I didn’t tackle it sooner.

(It’s because I’m lazy. That’s why.)

I really love how the blinds tie into the ottoman, and the tones are similar to the wood on the credenza by the front door…ooh it’s just all so good.

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

Of course, like I said, it’s not all perfect.

We still don’t have baseboards in here (how embarrassing is that?!).

I want a new rug (this one is pretty but cheap, which means it holds onto stains and smells like nobody’s business).

I want to do a new accent wall (I know what I want, it’s just a matter of making it happen).

We probably need a new media console (even though I love our old gray dresser).

And I’m sure other tweaks will come along the way.

All that to say, this room is far from finished. I like to share the in-betweens with you guys, because I don’t ever see our blog as being one of those blogs where everything looks like it came right out of a magazine – this is a real life house with real life messes and real life mistakes and budgets. We will never get it all right, and I have a feeling we’ll never really be done. We’re just bopping along, doing the best we can with what we have. And we’re slowly but surely taking steps to get a little closer to where we want to be.

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

A gorgeous living room tour, with ideas on how to fix design mistakes you're making and turn your space into exactly what you want!

Speaking of things we still need to do, I would love to hear your suggestions on rugs. We’ve been talking about saving up for a new one for this room that will be a little higher-quality and hopefully won’t hold onto stains and smells quite as bad. I love the look of what we’ve got, so we’ll probably stick with something pretty similar.

What are your favorite sources for thick, good-quality rugs?

If you want more details about anything in this room, I’ve gathered up most of the things below for your convenience. Let me know if there’s anything I missed that you want more info on!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emily says

    June 23, 2017 at 10:48 am

    I love the changes you made – simple, yes, but they make a noticeable difference!

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      June 25, 2017 at 5:22 pm

      Thanks, Emily!!

      Reply
  2. Amanda Z says

    June 23, 2017 at 8:47 am

    Oh, and this is the rug:

    https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Safavieh-Handmade-Moroccan-Chatham-Dark-Blue-Wool-Rug-9-x-12/7754026/product.html?CID=208011

    I absolutely love the size of this rug, and you really can’t beat the price for something that big. I’m sure that you can find a coupon that gets it just under the $500 mark. I paid $480 for mine three years ago.

    Reply
  3. Amanda Z says

    June 23, 2017 at 8:43 am

    I bought my dining room rug off of Overstock. It’s a Safavieh, wool rug, really thick, and it has held up wonderfully so far. It gets covered in cat hair, and it vacuums so easily, and even stains come up easily, as sometimes my cats puke on the white parts of the rug. (For some reason, my cats will only throw up on rugs and not tile floors – helpful…)

    I have also bought rugs from RugsUSA before and have had good luck with them, too.

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      June 25, 2017 at 5:23 pm

      Thanks, Amanda! I like your rug! We’ve used Rugs USA a lot, and I really like them, but I need to be careful to get a thicker weave rug next time – the one in our living room is basically flat weave and it’s just so hard to clean!

      Reply
  4. Jenn(ifer) says

    June 23, 2017 at 6:23 am

    one more suggestion: ask Corey to use his mad skills on the lathe
    for a free update on the sofa legs that could look super fancy
    ornate like this
    https://www.pinterest.de/pin/215609900887566433/
    or mid century like these
    https://img1.etsystatic.com/027/0/5447157/il_570xN.629830925_ate9.jpg
    or these
    https://www.pinterest.de/pin/204562008046814444/

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      June 25, 2017 at 5:24 pm

      That’s such a great idea!!! Maybe I’ll try to talk him into that soon!

      Reply
  5. Jenn(ifer) says

    June 23, 2017 at 6:12 am

    Hi Amanda.
    Love what you did here, I think it still looks very much you but more elegant and grown.

    Just one thought on the bamboo blinds: I think you could trick the eyes to make the windows look larger like so (and make the curtain rod above the window feel more connected to the window):
    http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/06/curtain-call-2/

    Greetings from Germany
    Jenn(ifer)

    PS: we started playing “the game” – love it, so thanks again for your game suggestions and the helpful short descriptions!

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      June 25, 2017 at 5:24 pm

      Thanks, Jenn! I totally agree that the blinds would look better raised up a bit, but unfortunately with the way the window is set up behind the couch, it’s not possible (the blinds are currently attached to the ceiling area above the window back there, so they can’t go any higher). I’m so glad you’re liking The Game!

      Reply

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Overwhelmed by DIY? Let's do it together! I'm Amanda, and I live in the suburbs of Austin, Texas with my husband and two sons. I've taught myself how to make simple updates to help make my house a home, and I want to show you how to do it, too. Click here to learn more about us.

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