Hi everyone! Thank you so much to those of you who wrote after my post yesterday. I tried to get back to everyone individually because your notes meant so much to me, and if I missed anyone I’m sorry.
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In order to keep busy to help the days pass, yesterday I caulked every crack in every molding in my house. I imagine a therapist might say I was trying to stop the virus coming in, and he or she would probably be right, but it felt great. I also sanded a bunch of walls with a power sander. It was my first experience with that tool, and I have to say I really enjoyed it.
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Today I want to show you these photos from a reader who wanted help with her living room. She wants to replace the sofa, curtains, and rug. She is partial to neutrals, but would also like a punch of color.
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Here is her living room:
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Isn’t that lovely? I love everything she has done so far. Here are some ideas to finish the room and add some color:
Pop of Color
Three pops of color that I think will work in this room are chartreuse, orange, or teal (or some combination of those):
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So, I’d start with a neutral rug and sofa, and then add one or more of the colors in the accessories. There is already some orange in this room, and orange works great with chartreuse, so that’s the way I would go in the new accessories (also it’s my favorite color):
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The same idea works with orange or teal accents, or, for even more variation, we could use a little of all three colors, like this:
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In more detail:
For the base, I like neutral rugs and furniture. A sisal, jute, or seagrass layered with a hide would work great with the furniture arrangement here. This particular rug is a nice choice because it is customizable to the quarter inch:
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Here is another favorite base rug:
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Tip: Make sure the base rug is big enough for all the furniture feet to be on it.
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Then, I love the idea of a hide over it for more interest and texture:
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The layers would look like this:
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For the sofa, I would do neutral cream or beige, like one of these:
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Then I would add accessories like this long lumbar pillow on the sofa for color:
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And some art, pillows, throws, and accessories in bold colors. Here are a few ideas:
For More Color
For a bit more color, you could use an orange or blue accented rug (instead of the sisal), like these:
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After addressing the color and furniture needs above, I would also consider the following ideas.
Minimizing the TV
I would hide the tv, preferably in the recess over the fireplace. If that’s not an option, I would use a cabinet with doors. If that’s also not an option, I would wall mount the tv where it is and add art around it, like this:
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Blank Wall Right of Fireplace
This wall looks a little lonely, so I would add art here:
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Lighting
I would remove the fan if possible and add a chandelier instead, maybe like this:
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or this:
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Chair Rail
Finally, the chair rail is already up, and it is generally relatively short money to add picture frame moulding and I love how it looks, so I would do that if the budget allows:
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I really hoped this helped, and that you send me an after photo!
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What I Buy:
Happy decorating everyone!
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