On to the living room

On To The Living Room

Well now that the bedroom is pretty well finished it's time to move on to the living room! This, however, will be a much more extensive project. So my plan is to tackle it one small project at a time. My idea for this room is the "grown up Goth" living room that I've always really wanted. Heretofore my "style" has been a war between just that and a more traditional English library look in burgundy and hunter green. I DO really like that look and the day will come when I will indeed go with just that... in an actual library. But since I kept acquiring black pieces and things in a monochromatic color scheme, and since these things really don't go with the green and burgundy color scheme I've decided to do away with all the green and burgundy and get serious about monochromes. Below are pictures of my "inspiration rooms" which have been gleaned from... you guessed it... HGTV! Yes, they have a website too!




"Old World"



"Transitional"

The styles of these rooms are "Old World" and "Transitional." What really appeals to me about them is their color schemes. Now obviously since I have black pets that like to sit on my furniture (and also because I'm a klutz who's sure to spill things on any pale colored object!) white couches are right out, as is pretty much white anything. But I'm in love with all the pale silvery grays. My master plan is to go with this pale gray palette with some splashes of deep red. Since my own stuff is definitely a mix of modern and Old World my "new" living room will be a Transitional style.

For a splash of color I'm thinking about going with a rich, really dark red rug and red accent pillows. The rug may also be a fairly spendy item. I'm hoping for something kind of like this:



Or I could go with something that pulls in both the gray and red like this:


Or possibly I may stay with the cooler gray tones and just do accent pillows and throws in the reds so perhaps something like this:

This rug could be a really good option as it would blend really well with the pale shades of gray scheme so I'm giving it some serious thought.


And lastly, I could just go black. 'Cause nothing is cooler than black!


Anyone care to vote on the rug issue?
Replacing our current ugly sofa with a new one will likely be the most expensive part of this redo and will therefore probably be one of the last things to get done. But once I got to thinking (always a dangerous pastime for me) I realized that the design above was basically just a couch with a double wide ottoman pushed up against it. While the piece above (for over $1,700 from Target) IS a sectional because the sofa portion is actually 3 separate pieces that can be broken apart and configured as chairs if you’d like, since I want it to sit in exactly the design pictured above I developed a cunning plan. I am going to shop for an ottoman and then I am going to make matching slipcovers for the couch and ottoman and arrange them like this picture. Then at least I’ll have something that has the look I want at a price I can afford until such time as I can afford the real thing.

I'll be recovering my currently green wing chairs in a pale silver gray. I really LOVE the stripped chairs in the Transitional room but I'm afraid reupholstery might be beyond my skill set. So I’ve decided to make tailored slip covers even though I fear this may be beyond my sewing skills. Of course 16th century Italian gowns used to also be beyond my skill set so I know I can do it, I just also know a lot of teeth gnashing and swearing will be involved! But I haven’t liked any of the premade slipcovers I’ve been able to find and having them done is very expensive. So I’m gonna have to go for it. However, I do have a Plan B if it turns out I just can‘t accomplish it.. It involves stretch velvet and a staple gun. Be afraid, be VERY afraid... I don't hate my green chairs, in fact I'm still pretty fond of them. But they are getting rather shop worn and since I got them for free to begin with I don't feel too bad about experimenting on them. Say bye-bye trusty old green chairs!




I love this curtain in a silver silk dupioni. Even if I don't do the curtains in this fabric I'm at least going to do some accent pillows in it.



Here's the exact TV armoire I'm planning on buying from Target. At $250 the price is reasonable and I should be able to save up enough for it in the fairly near future.


This is the perfect ottoman. Not only is it the right size but it provides some desperately needed storage. And it can always be used as extra seating when I finally get the sectional sofa I really want. At $100 at Target, this is an item I'm seriously thinking about.

One of the projects I'll be embarking on soon will be to paint a "feature" wall in a textured gray. I'm hoping to end up with it looking rather like the wall in the Old World inspiration room. You'll see the wall I'm talking about in the "before picture" portion of this blog.

Well, that's it for now. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with me. I need all the help I can get!