Are you excited about the world opening back up and entertaining family and friends again in your home? Have you had a look around your home and realized things have gotten a little cluttered, used, and well……too “comfortable looking” for guests?
After all, we’ve lived hard in these rooms for the last year and a half, haven’t we?
Personally, I’m taking a fresh look at my rooms and I’m determined to make a few updates. I’m sure many of you are too, thinking already about the holidays and how you might want to entertain this year.
I would advise getting things organized now, as the supply chains aren’t fully back and running efficiently yet. If you want things by the holidays, you’ve got to get started now AND consider really only in stock items.
You can read more about the furniture industry’s supply chain issues they’ve been experiencing here.
I’m sharing three before and after living rooms today that I’ve worked on the last couple of years to help inspire you if you need to freshen up your living room!
A Formal Living Room Update
This formal seating area just off the entry to this gorgeous home needed an update to let it really shine. With so much heavy wood moulding in this home, I felt the need to lighten things up and we painted all the walls and trim the same white. The mouldings will be like the swirls of frosting on a monochromatic wedding cake. :-)
That helped form a simple envelope where we reused the existing two chairs, did a custom velvet ottoman, a new textural patterned wool rug and some gilded items to contrast and add a touch of bling.
The new round mirror reflecting the chandelier of the same finish, gave a lightness and the glamour that this room needed.
I love this transformation.
BEFORE Living Room - The pink toned beige walls had to go to achieve a more glamorous and up to date look.
BEFORE Living Room Fireplace Wall - Heavy moulding felt a little dated in this home. The horizontal framed mirror did nothing for the space above the mantel.
AFTER Living Room - A new rug, ottoman, mirror, chandelier, window treatments and paint gave this room new life and a real sense of glamour.
Custom window treatments - Silk drapery panels on brassy rods with custom patterned Roman shades add height and silvery color to the room. carlaaston.com
A new end table with some pretty accessories finished out this living room. carlaaston.com
There were originally no children in the home when this project was first done and the ottoman was velvet. It has since been reupholstered in a Crypton velvet to withstand any kind of use!
Family room designed for everyday living
This homeowner needed some updated furniture that would hold up better than the RH sofas they had. The large chairs didn’t quite work well there next to the column either. It just served to sort of block off the room. A more open, welcoming feeling was desired. A little color would be nice too!
BEFORE Family Room Redo - The column and boxy chairs closed off this living room space. carlaaston.com
The homeowner really wanted to get rid of that center column, which we did in a large remodel that involved the kitchen and other rooms of the house.
A new beam was added so we could remove the column and the flooring patched in as needed. That really served to open up the space.
Living Room Redo - The center column was removed here and the floor patched. A new beam had to be added to enable this structural change but it was soooo worth it! carlaaston.com
Then, a new sectional in a sharp navy with some red accents brought some life to this space. The valance above repeats the navy and a rich caramel leather in the lounge chair adds warmth to this room.
AFTER Family Room - A large sectional and leather lounge chair with a more open seating arrangement made for better tv viewing and a welcoming, tidy, family room. carlaaston.com
AFTER Family Room - A large sectional and leather lounge chair with a more open seating arrangement made for better tv viewing and a welcoming, tidy, family room. carlaaston.com
Read more about this remodel, including the kitchen, in this post.
New Large Living Room
This living room in a brand new home seemed rather lackluster for all the grand space. The fireplace wall needed some attention and the whole room needed furnishing as well.
First, the some of the remodeling details were addressed.
The little bookshelves just had such a builder standard appearance. The homeowner didn’t need lots of bookshelves in this room, there were plenty of rooms with other bookshelves in the house. So, we decided to go for a larger, niched look, with some upgraded finishes.
The homeowner wanted to add some marble to the fireplace too, which was a lovely subtle and elegant finish added to the tall wall around the existing surround.
Living room remodel - The upper cabinetry was removed in the niches. Marble tile was installed on the tall wall fireplace section for a more elegant look. carlaaston.com
Slab marble countertops were installed on the existing lower cabinets in the living room niches. carlaaston.com
New paneled framing and grasscloth in the niches elevate the look of these areas beside the fireplace. carlaaston.com
New furnishings finished off this elegant living room.
A modern design in the rug in our palette of blues and golds helped provide a good base for the furniture. Love that we could ditch the ceiling fan and go with a beautiful chandelier too!
And here’s how it turned out all finished!
Large living room with a fresh, elegant look. carlaaston.com
The light furnishings and gilded touches bring an elegance to this space. carlaaston.com
These custom ottomans were a special touch in this living room. The gilded glass top table let the rug shine too. carlaaston.com
Read more about this living room, with more photos, at this link.
Save this pin below to Pinterest to reference later!
Maybe there are some ideas here you can use in your living room, or maybe you might want to use my Designed in a Click™ email service for some personalized Q&A.
You can hire me for a full room makeover, where I provide the whole package and you don’t have to worry about a thing, just like in these projects above. :-)