Brightening a dark living room on a budget!

The materials cost for my clients living room, kitchen, dining room and entryway came in at right around $300. With hard work, paint and careful shopping, I can change your homes look and feel, even on a tight budget!

Painting the walls Benjamin Moore Barely Beige 1066 really lightened the room. This color is a true beige neutral, but carefully chosen for its gold undertone. You can never just grab a white or beige off the paint shelf! They ALWAYS have an impact, because a gray or cool neutral will make the walls feel dirty and the room, cold.

Other changes: Spray painting the family frames white and arranging them in a grid. Swapping the white kitchen armoire for the heavy cherry one. Painting a long low dresser white (another clever Craigslist find!) and using it as the new TV credenza.

BEFORE:

 

 Notice how much better the deep red sofa looks with this wall color? It's because they share the same undertone! The beige wall is warm and so is the red couch, where the previous green is on the colder, blue side and was clashing. Usually, if a room feels "off" and you can't tell why? Look at the undertones and you will see the colors are quietly fighting each other.

 

AFTER:

Living rooms that have a main walkway right through the middle of them are very difficult to arrange furniture in. This is a common problem, and I am left to wonder just how architects think through their layouts?! Design rules such as "Never line your furniture up along the walls" must be thrown out, and practicality made the newer, more useful, rule.

 

There weren't many options, so I merely switched the sofa to the longer wall, and put the love seat up against the window, making a bit more room for the side chair. The most critical design decision: all of the men in the family are "gamers" and having the same issue at my house I knew this--TV placement was critically important!

 

God blessed immensely (I truly believe this client is one of His favorite kids!) and I found heavy velvet drapes, in a perfect golden wheat color, to hang on the large picture window. From Restoration Hardware, these retail for $269 each, but at the thrift store in perfect condition they were just $19.99 each.

 

She loves them because they add a touch of luxury and could easily be hanging in an English library. He loves them because they block sunlight, making movies and Xbox easy to see, any time of day.

Another amazing find was this area rug:

 

Even though the plans are to eventually replace the upholstered furniture, it was bothering me as we were finishing the project, that the deep red couches didn't "quite" blend with the beige and white tones of the room. Then I found this large rug with a pattern which couldn't be any better: the same bark red of the couches, with the brown of the new chair and the gold of the curtains, with just a touch of ocean blue!? It was EXACTLY what was needed to tie the entire design together!

 

$20 at the Goodwill, solid wool and with the price ticket still on the back, we saved around $200! Her youngest son didn't care about the colors or the perfect pattern, he just immediately threw himself upon it and yelled happily "Yay! A soft rug! Now the room is perfect!" I quite agree, though when I bought it I admit, I wasn't thinking of how 13 year old boys watch TV, but he IS right. For both his reasons and mine, this rug is perfect!

 

An example of how I coordinated the room colors, this is the wall entering the kitchen:

And looking into the living room, from the kitchen:

This is the hallway, just off the main entrance, before:

AFTER:

 

The fireplace wall has a birdcage on one side, a piano on the other and neither could be moved, but I still managed to change things up! I replaced the purple chair (covered in the striped blanket) with a soft brown chair and ottoman, found at a yard sale for only $50. Rearranging items, adding in old books, soft lighting and lots of texture via baskets, plus a few throw pillows in light colors was all this side needed!

 

The oil painting on the mantel in the "after" was the rooms inspiration piece. Taking cues from its setting, I added just enough accessories to add that beachy coastal feel, careful not to overdose on lighthouses and shells. You have to be careful with a themed room! A theme can bring direction and cohesiveness to the party, but then quickly turn overdone and kitschy on you. As with all creative endeavors...editing is the hardest part.

Before:

 

After:

When decorating, remember:

Make sure adjoining rooms flow, especially if you can see them, but even if you cannot.

Use the same undertones for walls and main furniture (choosing either cool or warm...but warm is better!)

Add small lamps to brighten dark corners (2-3 minimum per room, more if it has low ceilings, or is large)

Use themes carefully, editing as needed.

Plan for how the room is actually used, not just for how it looks--checking that everyone can see the TV, the main walkways are clear, there is a lamp for the bookworm, a rug for kids to sprawl on, a throw blanket nearby, etc!

And most of all-add more of what makes YOU feel at "home" For this client it was books, and the beach, and pictures of her children. And life doesn't get much better than those three blessings, does it?

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