Hey guys! Last Monday I introduced you to the “Fall In Love” room makeover series I’m participating in with 17 other amazing bloggers and showed you the room in our house that I’ve had the hardest time loving: our living room.
An odd floor plan, poor lighting, and my furniture hoarding tendencies added up to a room that just never felt right and literally kept me up at nights. Which may have more to do with my obsessive nature and less to do with the actual living room, but I guess we’ll never know now that this series is giving me the kick in the pants I needed to actually DO something about it.
Here’s what I have in mind…
Wall Color: Sage Grey by Behr. I searched high and low for a medium gray with the perfect amount of warmth and the perfect amount of green to it. This color changes constantly between gray, green and blue tints and I’m loving it. Spoiler alert: it’s already up on the walls but I’m not ready to share pictures yet!
Sofa: If you recall suffering through my sofa drama with me last week, I finally made a decision… I sold the curved vintage leather chesterfield and am planning on passing on the dragon couch to someone who will love it (if that’s you: I’m serious – send me a message). The one that will stay is this gorgeous high-back tufted leather sofa, shown above with the turned legs* I’m planning to add. (*denotes affiliate link – shop from the couch AND send a few pennies my way!)
Sideboard: Sneak peek – I found this gorgeous antique French oak sideboard on Craigslist for a steal (albeit still more than I normally spend on a piece of furniture for myself). I promise I’ll be sharing it soon; it’s definitely the most beautiful and beautifully made piece of furniture I own!
Malachite Curtains: These babies aren’t going anywhere.
Accent Fabric: This fabric is “Hamilton Wonderland in Opium” and I’ve hoarded a yard of it for several years because it’s my favorite fabric ever (or at least tied with the floral fabric I used to make my dining room curtains). It has all my favorite colors in it!
Agate Slice: Oh baby. I’m not ready to reveal how a pair of gorgeous pink agate slices are going to come into play, but let me tell you: it’s gonna be good.
Yellow Lamps: Does anyone remember this #thriftscorethursday pair of lamps? They are going to help solve the living room lighting shortage and save us from darkness! Maybe they will have crazy shades… Who knows.
Fight Club Art: I did it. After whipping up this fun Fight Club quote graphic for last week’s post and joking that I might get it printed, I went ahead and ordered it as a canvas print! I used Canvas People (they were having a 70% off sale) but I’ve used Printcopia in the past as well – I usually just see who has the best prices at the moment. I’m signed up for both email lists so I get notified when there’s a really good deal going on. This hasn’t arrived yet, but I can’t wait to see it and I hope I configured everything correctly for printing!
Karl Springer Coffee Table: Another #thriftscorethursday find I shared a few weeks ago. Obviously staying.
Leopard Rug: A piece of bound Starck leopard carpet, scored in a shady Craigslist situation involving the seller’s friend being called to saw through the lock on a storage unit… Not going anywhere. And after four years, Bryan has finally stopped telling me how much he hates it. Point: Brynne. Leopard is a neutral.
As you can tell, I’m definitely hitting it hard with the color in this room. I tried playing it safe for over a year with the “white walls and pops of color mantra” that works oh-so-well for Emily Henderson and oh-so-badly in my house-without-fabulous-architectural-elements. And I’m mixing furniture styles with reckless abandon and naïve delight.
In short, I may be making a Skittle milkshake (taste the rainbow!) that breaks rules and burns retinas (*The Gathered Home accepts no responsibility for any eye-damage received on our domain*) and isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but like I said before – I’m going bolder, funner, more-tongue in cheek and more ME with this room and I’m FINALLY LOVING it!
And, you know… I’ve got that sofa problem handled. So there’s that.
Update: See the new wall color here!
P.S. We aren’t posting on any specific schedule for this Fall In Love series, but here are the other lovely ladies participating so you can check for updates (and enjoy their wonderful blogs)!
This room is going to be so wonderful Brynne. I love that Leopard is a neutral. Maybe I will print *that* on a canvas 🙂 Love all the plans you have so far. That sofa is just so out of this world. I LOVE it!!
It's definitely not my saying, but I had to google to see where I heard it – the full quote is: "As far as I'm concerned, leopard is a neutral. Jenna Lyons." I bet you could design the cutest print around that 🙂
Taste that rainbow girl!! *snaps fingers 3 times in a Z* Leopard is definitely a neutral which is why I can pull off wearing leopard shoes with everything (all the things). Plus the glass coffee table doesn't give the space a lot of weight, so I think you can go nuts in here without it actually looking crazy.
I agree – the glass coffee table and a glass console table (that didn't make it into the post) will help keep everything from being too overwhelming! I just *might* pull it off! 😉
Your room is going to turn out so lovely! I'm really looking forward to see how you incorporate that bold Agate! And your Fight Club print will be fun to see as well!
Thanks hon! Mmm… I am so excited about that pink piece of rock – I just hope it turns out as fabulously as I'm envisioning!
i am so relieved the malachite isn't going anywhere! PHEW. though if it was going somewhere and showed up at my house, i'd be ok with that.
Haha. No, those are STAYING. They are still my favorite ever! Okay, I hyperbolize a lot – I think at this point they are my 3rd favorite fabric? I can't keep track. You get the point 🙂
looks like it's going to be awesome! in my world, leopard is also a neutral. As is zebra print. and giraffe. Really, if it's an animal it's probably a neutral. 🙂 haha
Haha, I agree! The whole reason those animals have patterned fur is to blend in, right? So naturally, those prints should work anywhere 😉
Sounds amazing!!! I'm glad the malachite is staying too and the sofa will look fabulous like that!
Thank you Julia! Hopefully the finished product looks as good as it does in my head!
i love your craigslist stories so much. yes, that sounds like a very shady but very awesomely memorable experience.
Oh yay! I'm glad you enjoy my Craigslist tales. It just makes it a little more special when a piece comes with some excitement in its past 😉
I'm so excited! Everything seems so edgy, between the shady Craigslist rug and the Fight Club quote. And I'm with you on color; in theory I love all white and bright with restrained use of color….in practice, I am apparently incapable of restraint. Anyway, I'm going to come over and watch Fight Club with you in this room when you're all done 😉
Thank you Gretchen! I agree – "I'm just a girl who can't say no" to color 😉
You are so welcome to come here to watch Fight Club with me, but *I* won't have an epic basement movie room with a projector and a hang out room where our cats can chill together while we watch… Just sayin'.
I'm so glad you are keeping the leopard print rug!! Love love love it – and of course, as a crazy colour loving girl myself, I think the room is gonna look amazing. Bring it!! xxx
Aw, thanks girl! 🙂
You think you had a living room problem? I live in 300 square feet so my living room is also my dining area and TV area. Somehow I managed to have a antique table, a dining table, a sofa and chair all beautifully designed and making it just right. Yours is very creative to.
Talk about design challenges! That's wonderful that you were able to make your space something you love – it sounds great!
Omg we're going to be pink agate slices in the living room twinsies. I have a feeling I'm going to want to refer to your living room as sexy (just like your fabulous dining room). Oh well. Those things happen.
Haha, that's what I'm going for – a "sexy" home! 🙂
If you ever want to feel that it's un-sexy, just check out the exterior… Our lawn/landscaping is SO BAD and I just don't care enough to do anything about it when I could be making the inside pretty!
I love love love that couch. We're having a major sofa problem and I refuse to buy a generic store couch – especially an L shaped one. I hate couch shopping. I wish I had better luck on craiglist
Oh, I feel you on the sofa problem! It's so frustrating! Here's hoping for the best of sofa-finding-luck for you!
You are seriously a genius-level thrifter. Such good pieces! Can't wait to see it all together!
Aw, thank you so much Alexis! It's definitely starting to come together now and I'm really excited!
Solid design! I'm excited to see it come together