I’m finally ready to show you more updates from the living room makeover! You have no idea how hard it’s been not to share every little update with you guys, but I wanted to wait until the space was at least semi-finished before I blogged about it. Will you forgive me? I figured a post titled, “Hey, the living room is a total disaster, but I GOT NEW LAMPS!” would probably not be the most exciting thing to read, so now that I have some good stuff to share, today is the day, my friends. I promise it is well worth the wait!
If you haven’t seen the living room “before”, I suggest starting with this little video tour I put together. It’s always more fun to see the dramatic before and after! The living room started out dark and boring with outdated wood trim and a whole lot of gray going on. We first added a board and batten treatment to the bottom half of the walls, which lightened up the room and added tons of dimension and character. After seeing what a difference the board and batten made, I wish we had done it sooner!
You’ll also notice that the furniture arrangement is COMPLETELY different than the last time you saw the space. I spent a good week moving furniture back and forth, trying to determine the best spot for everything. I’m pretty Jeremy thought he walked into the wrong house every night after work… 🙂
I decided to center the couches around our big picture window, which created a great conversation area for entertaining. Rather than pushing all our furniture against the walls (which seems like the normal, logical thing to do at first), I floated the couches in the middle of the room, and again… why didn’t I do this sooner?? The room has a much better flow now and doesn’t feel awkward and cluttered like it did before. The couches flank both sides of the window, the coffee table fits perfectly in between, we have a nice walkway on either side of the room, and the big, beautiful picture window becomes the focal point, allowing plenty of natural light into the space all day long.
sofa table // glass lamps // rug // curtains
We moved the TV and media console to the wall across from the big window, and I ordered some nice, thick blackout curtains to hide any glare on the screen. That was the ONLY way Jeremy was going to let me switch the TV to this wall, so the new curtains ended up being a great compromise!
// floor lamp //
The old couches and J’s beloved recliner didn’t go anywhere, but I did replace the old glass coffee table with a new farmhouse-style table that I built myself! This was my first big-girl solo furniture build, and it was honestly way easier than I anticipated with the help of some new tools I’ve fallen in love with. The table has that rustic farmhouse vibe I was going for and warms up all the cool white and gray tones in the room perfectly. More details and plans for the table coming to the blog in the next few weeks!
roman shades // fringe throw blanket
knit blanket // faux fur pillow
The couches were in desperate need of some pillow love, so I made a bunch of new covers for our old pillows using a cheap drop cloth from the hardware store. A $10 drop cloth gave me a TON of fabric to work with! I love the neutral color, and the cozy, slightly-wrinkled texture is perfect for the farmhouse look.
Making your own pillow covers is a great money-saver and an easy way to change up your space quickly and easily. I’ll have a tutorial for you soon on how I made these pillows, along with the story behind this sweet printed design I created. I won’t spill the beans completely, but it’s a very special reminder of where we started our family!
Remember the gallery wall that used to be displayed in our living room? I was so sad to take it down when we started the board and batten project, but I knew that I could probably re-purpose some of the pieces in other areas of our home. Do you remember the awesome arrow I made out of old pallet wood my sister brought me? I used some of the pallet scraps to make a rustic box for this little side table! It’s perfect for holding some candles, mason jars, or seasonal items.
Just around the corner from our living room is a tiny hallway (if you can even call it that) that leads to the front door, a coat closet, and my office.
I painted all the trim and doors white to match the office and living room, but when you open the front door, you find a gorgeous muddy turquoise blue color on the outside and an antique door handle I might have to steal if we ever leave this house. It’s the little surprise details like this that make me LOVE our house!
Since we use the side door instead of the front door to come in, our tiny coat closet up here rarely gets used. I have plans for fixing up a little entryway space by our side door (details coming soon!), so this closet may get re-purpose for other storage in the future.
// light fixture //
All these updates have taken weeks of long days and late nights, but man, am I proud of this space. It finally feels like “us”! Okay guys, your turn… tell me what YOU think! Leave me a comment below and share your thoughts on the new furniture arrangement, board and batten walls, and farmhouse style. I can’t WAIT to hear your feedback!
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Love how everything has come together. The board and batten walls are my favorite part of your space because I think they really bring the room together. It isn’t necessary to have a bunch of excess decor because those walls complete the space. I’m totally crushing on the basket hanging from your door, too!
What beautiful, clean, simple, lovely, stunning style you have! This room is a dream! So glad I found you!
I love the soft colour palette of this room and your gallery wall is stunning!
I really like it! The board and batten makes a huge difference. And I cannot wait for the coffee table tutorial.
Your living room is looking good, girl!! Love the neutral colors, the walls and that coffee table! So cool you made that! Can’t wait to see more farmhouse goodness! Have a great Saturday!
It’s GORGOUES Liz! All you work definitely paid off ; )
So beautiful! I love the nuetrals and farmhouse style and that door hardware is crazy gorgeous!
I would love for you to stop by my blog and share on our link party Something to Talk About!
Have a great day and I hope to see you there!
Karen
Love your living room… I pinned it as my dream living room… someday
It looks fabulous! The arrangement of furniture can be so hard to figure out, lots of moving pieces around! I think you came up with a great layout. Love the drop cloth pillows and the board and batten wall treatment. 🙂 I would feel so cozy in this room.
Love the new living room. When you show us the new coffee table, could you sneak in a couple of seconds on the frame tray – it looks like 3 pieces of flooring surrounded by a frame. Would love to know if you added extra support below the flooring pieces or do anything special to make them stay snug! Love your style, j
You bet, Jeane! I have a post for the frame tray on the schedule, it just may be a few more weeks! Stay tuned… 🙂
It looks amazing!!! The word that comes to mind is “fresh.” It looks welcoming and relaxing. I love it. I’m new to your blog and anxious to explore more info about your life in Indiana and your beautiful farmhouse. I live on a farm in Missouri, but we raise cows and turkeys, not crops. And instead of a beautiful farmhouse, I live in a very dated 1968 ranch style home with VERY LITTLE CHARACTER so I’m always looking for ideas. Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful new space. Blessings from Missouri!
Welcome to Love Grows Wild, Robbin! I’m so happy to have you here! I love hearing from fellow farmers. 🙂
Liz it looks amazing! Great job! I’m glad you feel happier with it, very cozy
It looks beautiful. Good job!!!! What color is the muddy turquoise? Just what I’m looking for for my inside front door!
Isn’t that a pretty color? It was already painted before we moved in (ONE project I didn’t have to tackle!), so I’m not sure what the paint color is. Sorry I can’t help more!
I am in complete and total AWE!! I cannot believe that this is the same space from the video. It is so fresh, inviting, modernized, yet cozy and not “sterile.” Your coffee table is gorgeous and I am completely blown away that you made that yourself. Using a drop cloth to update pillows is pure genius and so cost effective. All of your touches are spot on and beautiful!!! Enjoy and thank you so much for sharing with us!
Looks great. Love the board and batten ! Also the furniture placement. Great job on the coffee table. Someday I will get up the courage to try my hand at something like that, without supervision, lol.
Absolutely beautiful, Liz! I love what you have done to your home. I am still jealous of the beautiful lighting. Love the pillow covers too!
Looks amazingly comfortable. I want the board and batten and plan to follow your tutorial.
Holy cow! Cannot BELIEVE this is the same space from the video! It’s absolutely fresh, light and gorgeous, while maintaining a bit of the “rustic” charm that you want from a farmhouse. Can’t think of a single thing that could make it better. Can’t wait to see how you re-work that side door entryway!
I love the cozy but uncluttered look.
So pretty, Liz!!
Hugs, Jamie
I love the soft colours and textures. What a soothing, tranquil space!
I found your blog on pinterest through Bre @Rooms for Rent pin! I checked out your video and just loved the “after” ! You did a wonderful job to keep the grey couches and walls but brighten up your home with the white board and batten! I also love your new arrangement!
Thank you so very much, Dianne! I’m thrilled to have you here! Welcome to Love Grows Wild. 🙂
I love your rug! Is it a comfortable rug? I’m looking for a new area rug similar to that style. The whole room is beautiful!
Thank you, Carlie! Yes, it’s really comfortable. We’ve had it for at least a few months now, and the family loves how it feels on their feet!
That’s very good to know! Comfort is important to me 🙂 Does it clean easily?
Yes, fairly easy. I try to vacuum regularly and keep shoes off the rug since it is a light color, but it still looks beautiful so far!
I love what you’re doing. I’m slowly but surely transforming also. Have you thought about doing wood valances over your windows? I bought some painter’s dropcloths and made curtains from them. Making a wooden valance to go over that. We also just put down a plywood strip floor in our bathroom. LOVE the way it turned out. I whitewashed it. Going to do my hallway next. I absolutely love your table. Great job. Isn’t it so much fun.
Any chance you know the color of the walls? I love it and am looking for something similar in our dining room. Beautiful!
Hey Donna! The gray is Woodlawn Colonial Gray by Valspar and the white is Du Jour by Valspar!
Love! Do you mind to share where your couches came from?