Living Room Tour – Part 1

Hello and welcome to my Living Room Tour – Part 1!  I’m so glad you joined me today as I bring you into one of my most-frequented rooms in our home.  This Dallas {rental} home we are in for the next year while living here has been a blessing but has been interesting and slightly challenging because of the layout.  Our family room is not as large as I’d like it to be the builder wanted this second living area just off the kitchen.  While it may not be my design choice for our future home, I am finding the joy and functionality of it in this home…for the time being.  It’s a place where the wives can leave the husbands {in the Family Room} while they talk about their golf game and come in here for some girl talk I finish dinner and serve hors d’oeuvres.

Wall color…
The homeowner remodeled a few years ago and used a custom grey paint for the walls but it matches exactly to Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray HC-170. It looks light here because of the time of day I took this photo but it’s honestly too dark for my liking the rest of the day because this room only gets good natural light in the late afternoon.  Otherwise I feel like it needs to be a much lighter color to lighten this part of the house.

My sofa….
If you follow me on Instagram you have probably heard me say that I found this sofa and MANY of my favorite pieces while we lived in Waco, Texas, for several years.  This sofa was in mint condition and I paid only $80 for it (gasp).  It still had plastic on it, I kid you not.  So make fun of the ladies that do that all you want but I can totally appreciate it now ha!  While I’d love a brand new tufted ivory sofa, I know I need to wait until we move into this next home to see how many sofas I’ll need in the next living room.  Until then, I took this dainty vintage sofa, that has usually been in my bedroom or office, and used it in my living room.  I also like to call it my “sitting room” because, well….my grandma had one and it just sounds like the perfect description for it as we often sit and visit.  Our dog ruined the bottom flap of the sofa last year so I refinished the bottom and painted it with light grey chalk paint and dark brown stain, using a dry-brushing technique. It was a blessing in disguise because now it definitely looks a little more contemporary and the wooden frame has the same distressed look as the end tables.

Design tip:  Try pulling your sofa away from the wall and closer to the center of the room, onto your area rug, to make it feel a little more cozy and intimate. Sometimes it can even make your room look bigger. If you’re entertaining for larger parties, you can always push it back and bring in extra seating to accommodate your guests.

Canvas art…

Earlier this year, as we found out we were moving again with our company and temporarily relocating to Dallas, I had just found this canvas art and knew I wanted it in my living room in the next house.  I have been a fan of Oliver Gal Art for years and always have one or two {or even three} pieces throughout my home.  This particular piece is called “Serving Roses” and it reminded me of the compost bowl I frequently keep on the coffee table, often filled with white roses as well.

GUESS WHAT???  Oliver Gal knows I’m such a HUGE fan of theirs so they are extending a fabulous deal to all my readers from now until September 22nd!  They are giving you 25% off on OliverGal.com using the code “SUMMER25“! So RUN on over to their website and find some popular favorites to ship to your home.  I know a lot of you have asked about my black and white canvas chandelier print of theirs also, over the last couple of years.  Now is your chance to get a fabulous deal!

I love the mixture of whites and greys and also the gold and bronze colors throughout. It’s so chic and elegant and gives this space that perfect feminine and romantic flair.  The candle sconces I found compliment this piece of art well and bring dimension to the wall.

Rug…

While several pieces in this room are feminine with soft lines, I wanted to off-set that with a bold geometric rug that was bright (again, helping the room appear lighter) but not too busy.

End Tables and Lamps…

The hunt for the perfect mirrored end tables was a little ridiculous.  They were either way out of my budget, the right price but too cheap looking, not the right size or style, and so on.  Then I happened upon these mirrored end tables and they were perfect!  They had the vintage, distressed look but with mirrored sides.  They complimented the soft, feminine lines as well as the bold, strong lines of other pieces in this room.  And the quality?  They’re awesome and I’m pleased.  These Glass Cylinder lamps were the perfect option and complimented the gold throughout the room.  I love, love, love mixing metals (just in case you couldn’t tell).

Coffee Table…

Just last week, I posted about the most popular coffee tables trending right now.  I shared a VERY EASY step-by-step tutorial on how I transformed this coffee table from its original state.  This IKEA hack of the Vittsjö nesting tables is a brilliant and extremely affordable way to have a coffee table with a gold metal frame and marble-like shelving.  I especially love it because I’m always up for changing pieces in my home and wanting to try new things and when I buy affordable pieces, I can afford to do that. So make sure you check out that tutorial and pin it for later!

Chaise Lounge…

I originally wanted to sofa chairs adjacent to my sofa but haven’t found that perfect pair yet.  Instead, I bought this tufted chaise lounge at the beginning of this year and found the perfect spot for it in my living room.  I always have one of four different ruffle throw blankets from my online shoppe draped across my chaise.  It’s the perfect spot to watch tv, read a book, sit and visit with friends, or even work on my laptop.

Curtains…

As I stated earlier, this room often feel darker and doesn’t get much natural light as the rest of the home does.  So in this post HERE, I talked about ways I brighten up my home and one of them being these curtains from IKEA. They are white linen-looking curtains that are sturdy and good quality, letting light flow through the room and into the next.  They were a great find since I’m not a fan of sheers.

Mantel & Chandelier…

Lastly on this Living Room Tour – Part 1….I said it before and I’ll say it again, I love mixing metals!  I adore silver and gold together and I love layering decor with different elements, textures and styles.  I grabbed {from my decor stash closet} some gold vintage frames of different sizes and then some candlesticks, the frame and mercury glass vase in the 3 different elements shown.  My mantel is a place I like to change up often, especially at the holidays, but for now…I’m liking it.

The chandelier…..I found it in a barn…..in Waco, TX…..it was $30.  I can’t even tell you how excited I was when a couple called me 5 years ago and asked if I wanted to come junkin’ (or pickin’ as some call it) in their barn as they were cleaning it out and had a TON of fun pieces and antiques and vintage items.  I never hung it up in our Waco home because I knew we’d be soon moving but I took it with us to Vegas and hung it above my kitchen sink (see here).  I spray-painted it rubbed oil bronze at the time and, after converting the spot from recessed canned lighting to pendant lighting, it gave such a beautiful sparkle when I had to do my dishes.  In May, after moving here, I knew I wanted to spray it gold and hang it in this room.  I sure love this vintage chandelier!

On the other side of the room is where our TV hangs and some other furniture.  However, that will be shared as Living Room Tour – Part 2, since I’m still waiting on something to be finished and I’m also feeling torn on another design decision I made.  That will be on the blog later on in the month.

I’m so glad you joined me today for part 1 of this Living Room Tour!  I hope this has been helpful in making your own style decisions.  Don’t forget to pin this to Pinterest or share to Facebook so that you have it to reference to later.  I’d also love it if you scrolled to the top of the page and subscribed to my email list to receive new posts on the blog and also hear about new items or sales in my online shoppe!

*Note: This blog post contains affiliate links and sources throughout the post. Where a product is no longer available, a similar substitute might be listed.