Over the next few weeks, I plan to share pictures of each room in our house – one room each week. I have rooms I have never even shared on the blog (because they aren’t finished or even started!) but maybe this will help motivate me.
Here’s a few things I plan to accomplish with this house tour:
1. I have wanted to add a home tour page on my blog so this will be the start of that. I will add before/after pictures of each room and then link to these individual posts.
2. I also want to share things I love and things I plan to change about each room. Would love to know what you think and any suggestions you have especially about the things I would like to change.
First room is our living room. We spend most of our waking time in this room (well, except maybe for all the time I spend in the kitchen!)
This picture was taken last year – January 2012. This room has not really ever gone a before/after or major transformation. Don’t think I really have a good older shot than this.
We bought the couches right after we moved to the house so they have been there since the beginning. We added the tv console 2 years ago and swapped out the coffee table for my $3.00 yard sale coffee table that I painted and stained. We lived with no curtains for quite a while until I finally found these about 4 years go. I thought I wanted to do red in the living room when I really started decorating it 5+ years ago. But as you know my style has definitely changed to white and lighter neutrals so that I can add pops of whatever color I wish.
This picture was taken last fall – October 2012.
I started making some changes to lighten up the living room right before the holidays – first up were changing out the curtains! I LOVE these bold striped curtains! You can see the full tutorial on how I painted them (yes, I painted my curtains!) here.
So here is the living room as it sits today.
I change out my mantel display seasonally so this is my winter mantel.
I painted this wall brown (Bittersweet Chocolate by Glidden) with a free quart of paint I got a few years back. I wanted to break up the “tan” – white/tan carpet, tan couch, and tan walls.
The other wall color is “Classic Taupe” by Behr. When we first bought our house we painted that color all throughout the house so that is still our primary color. But I have been repainting and changing colors in individual rooms since (such as the beautiful gray color “Urban Sunrise” in our dining room and upstairs guest bathroom.)
Our living room opens up to our eat-in-kitchen (which I will share next week) and the kitchen. That is one of the first things we loved about this house – the open concept!
Now for the things I love and things I plan to change.
Things I love:
- the brown and white striped curtains -( I made those curtains – find all the details on how I painted them here!)
- my $3.00 coffee table (although it could probably use another coat of poly on top)
- my mantel/fireplace that I can decorate all throughout the year
- the layout – because of the way the room is laid out (walls, fireplace, stairs, etc.) there is no other way to arrange the room so I sort of have to love it.
and of course I love the little white kitty (Casper) sunning in the room!
He is definitely staying 
Things I plan to change:
- the floral art on the wall next to the stairs is going – have a DIY project planned to replace it (and of course it is more neutral/white )
- I need to make some more DIY envelope pillow covers and add some more pillows – want to find some brighter colors, whites/creams to bring in.
- I am over this chocolate brown wall color and the things I have hanging on it. It is too dark for me. I actually have some paint swatches painted on the wall behind the couch but the husband said no to the robin’s egg blue color.
I am debating about doing some kind of wainscoting like Tonya at Love Family & Home did. Love her gallery wall above the couch too. I just don’t know what color paint I would do above the wainscoting?
- I also plan on changing out the things on this end table. I have been looking for a new lamp (found it this weekend so look for an update on that soon!) and I will shop the house for some new accessories too.
- And see that open area by the curtains? I want to add an arm chair and ottoman and maybe a small side table? We could really use some more seating and I also think that it would help balance the living room.
- And I would really like to repaint. The room needs a new coat of paint since it was done 9 years ago. But the paint has faded since so just touching up with the original paint doesn’t match. I would like to go with more of a grey/beige color or greige. Any suggestions?
So there it is! Our living room and what I love and plan to change. Overall this room is put together and “done” for now so I am happy with that. The changes I want to make I can do as I have time and still have a livable/pretty room. If we were to look for a house again though, we would definitely try to find a larger living room – would love to have a little more space to have larger groups of people over but we make it work.
What room do you spend the most time in? Got some things you would like to change this year in your living room?
I Love your living room!! What about doing the wanes coating and keeping the brown above then add your robin eff blue in picture frames? Just a thought! Love your room though
I like the deeper blue in the throw you have on the sofa. Can’t wait to see all the rooms and changes 🙂
I think a rug under the coffee table in a bold color would look good. Get the IKEA rug you can paint and make it reversible..
I seriously LOVE your curtains! Every time I see them I have to fight covetousness…ha ha! 🙂 Of course your mantel is always stunning too!
Spraypaint your ceiling fan. I’ve seen that on other sites and it works. I plan to do it myself. Maybe go with a brown color similar to your TV table. I like that you lightened everything up..it looks “Happy”. Love all you do 🙂
I personally love your LR the way you have it right now. The darker brown wall gives a nice contrast to the lightness of your furniture, other walls and all the neutrals/white you are bringing it…it kind of “grounds” it a bit. If you change the decor on that wall, it might make a big different. All that being said, I can totally understand wanting to change! LOL Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
We have that same yellow-undertoned-brown on most of our walls. I so want to bring in more “cool” colors to the house, like a cooler grayish brown instead…..but we have 20 foot ceilings in our living room, foyer and staircase and I’d have to have scaffolding to repaint. So, we’re making do with the yellowish color for now 🙂 This is why I’m interested in see your neutral touches because I think the cream/white actually helps to negate that warm yellow tone in the paint color. Just like getting rid of your warm red curtains really helped to negate some of the warm undertones in the wall color.
I really love your living room! I’ve gotten so many ideas and inspiration from it! I cannot wait to see what you do next.
Hi Christina,
Nice room. Have you thought about punching things up with either turquoise, pink or spring green, to contrast w/all the beige/brown? May I also suggest a larger piece of furniture to ‘disquise’ the TV. You could even build a ‘hood’ to add to your media table, with doors or curtains. I banished TV from living room (it’s elsewhere so no worries). BTW, my living room is pink w/white trim, veering towars French/English country w/blue & white & toile accents. Have you thought about adding some ‘”French-style” pillows with script or other black/beige/white images? I am slowly converting some of the blue and white to black and white. I like to look at things on Joss and Main site for great inspiration and if one is in the mood to purchase, some very awesome sales, esp. when they do furniture finds <$300. Just got rid of sofa from living room (it served its time and purpose well), so rethinking my dining/living rooms that flow into each other. I live in a circa 1870s home and both rooms have bay windows, stained glass and lots of SW exposure. Thanks for sharing. Jeanne
Your kitty is so cute 🙂 Your living room is nice too. Our living room has a lot of red in it, and I wish I could change that. But, I’m not sure how quickly that is going to happen because everything in it is less than 5 years new. I don’t want much red in my house anymore, so I won’t be able to use any of it again (i.e. curtains, a chair, etc). Just like you, I’m more into white and neutrals now, but my home doesn’t really reflect that. I’m just going to have to site tight, and be patient.
A tour page of your home is a good idea. I’ve started mine recently too, but have lots more to add.
I think adding the board & batten to the wall behind the couch would look great! I know you said that you are over the chocolate brown color, but adding the B&B may give it new life!! Especially if you are going to add a gallery wall above it!
I love the idea of adding the board and batten on the wall behind the coach but leave the brown to break it up and to also keep your curtains in play. Put a chair in the corner like you suggested. Then maybe pick a new 3rd color as your accent color to brighten things up. Use that color for your pillows, rugs, frames/mats in your pictures, etc. Do you look at “Pinterest” online for ideas? Pinterest is a gold mine of ideas! Good Luck!!!
Oh, it’s so pretty and clean! I have to chuckle, though, because I first saw the red curtains and thought, “WOW, I love those!” then you said you’d changed them out. Next I saw the chocolate brown wall and thought, “Oh, I LOVE that and how it breaks up the beige/tan/white in the room”, and then you went and changed that, too!
Tell ya what, I’ll move into your house, and you can come redo mine. 😉
I am loving your living room Christina! I can’t believe you painted your curtains. They look awesome! I think your ideas are going to make this room extra great! Your darling kitty sure is adorable. Just like you, I am going room by room until my house is complete. Then a house tour will be revealed. I really like what I see so far, and by the way, the beautiful French Provincial piece is gorgeous. 🙂
I love your living room (before and after!) It is always nice to see how much a change in things like your window treatments can change the atmosphere! I am mentally moving more neutral in my decor as well which is funny coming from someone who had burgandy walls for many years! Thanks for sharing your home!
I love the colors, especially the striped curtains. Where did you get those?
Also you mention that your coffee table only cost you $3? Anywhere I can get one of those. 😉
I love your lounge now – it looks so amazing!! I wonder if the owner of my house would be upset if I painted his curtains?!?!?!?! I want to do something but am just not sure what to do. I need something on my walls and two years later I just can’t think of what to put over my TV.
Love your room, drapes are so awesome, good job! Recently painted a bedroom BM Cotswols..love the color!…I actually had Home depot mix it for me. it is a nice greige.
The living room looks so awesome and the cute cat is so adorable!!