With the kitchen and primary bathroom finished, we’re currently focusing on the other two bathrooms, the backyard/patio, and living room. I’ll have updates for those coming soon—but today, let’s talk about the living room!
Who remembers how it looked when we bought it? It had the “cheap flip house” dead giveaways: gray vinyl floors and gray walls.
The living room is open to the kitchen with a relatively small footprint. The only saving grace was the vaulted ceilings, which made the space feel much larger and more open. Here was the initial design plan and layout:
The original plan hasn’t changed much at all, and now we’re at the most exciting stage: furnishing! Here’s the progress and timeline:
Progress
First up, a DIY fireplace, paint (and Venetian Plaster added later):
Next came the single biggest and longest DIY challenge on record: ceiling beams and planks:
Followed by our new waterproof wood floors:
And that’s where the living room progress stopped. It has been under protective paper since last November while we focused on other projects… until now!
Design Plan
I landed on a moody, rich and organic Mediterranean-style look for this space:
The sofa and rug have been sitting in the garage for months, and we finally brought them in and installed the sconces yesterday. Here’s how it looks right now!
I had been eyeing this Fabienne sofa for the longest time and knew it would be perfect here. It’s just the right size, color, and durable velvet fabric. It’s also $1,000 off right now!
The Loloi x Amber Lewis Billie rug was another easy choice. It picks up the deep blue from the sofa, with warmer salmon and peach tones mixed in.
I switched out the sconces at the last minute, after finding my dream sconces on sale for $209—the black iron was discontinued so I bought the chrome and painted them. Easy fix!
The next big decision to make are the chairs. I have a very specific look and requirements for these:
- Woven/textured with a wood frame
- Easy to clean
- Compact size to fit our living room
- Budget-friendly
- Good reviews
We need to squeeze a much seating in as possible, so I’m getting four chairs total (two on each side of the fireplace). I found these woven seagrass chairs at a great price last year but I haven’t pulled the trigger because I’m not 100% decided. Here are the other contenders—what are your thoughts?
- Decor Therapy Seagrass chair, $213
- A Touch of Design Wide Armchair, $250
- Safavieh Soliel Brown Leather Woven Chair, $356
- Safavieh Soleil White Leather Woven Chair, $382
- Safavieh Bandelier Brown Leather Woven Chair, $374
- Lue Bona Woven Leather Cane Chair, $150
The other consideration is our kitchen counter stools, which will be just feet away from the chairs so they have to coordinate well:
Cast your vote in the comments!
What’s next?
Here are the remaining pieces of the puzzle, and my plans for each one:
- Coffee table (possible DIY)
- TV (with our DIY Frame)
- Console table (most likely DIY)
- Large tree (possibly another DIY faux-real tree)
- Mantel mirror (bought this one)
We are jumping around once again now, prioritizing the backyard (the pool goes in this week!), bathrooms and one of the bedrooms, so the living room most likely won’t be finished this year (sigh). But at least it’s looking less like a construction zone these days…
Next week: Better Homes & Gardens is coming to shoot our Haunted Heights House for their Halloween Tricks & Treats 2023 issue so follow my Instagram stories for behind the scenes action. Plus, some other exciting news 😉 Stay tuned!
Julie says
I love how Amber Lewis was a huge inspiration for this house and you are able to get one of her rugs and it looks perfect, especially with that couch! I was also looking at the chair options for the most upright and most comfortable, so 3 & 5 get my votes! I’m excited to see a DIY coffee table, maybe something substantial and sturdy that it could also provide a little extra bench seating.
Roberta says
This is not meant to be wholly negative. From a design perspective those chairs are attractive in many ways. But I could not sit in any of those chair options. I am female, 6′ tall and age 51. If I got into one, I could never get out of one. My neck would kill me leaning backward with no support. My back would groan. And my knees would never allow me to get out of one. Unless they are for teens or young adults, they really serve no purpose. My brother has owned a pair of those chairs since college over 20 years ago. They have lasted forever because noone ever sits in them.