I am so excited to be able to be a part of this series that Julia and Kim put together! Tonight we are showing you our favorite room to cozy up and lounge in at night after the kids are in bed. It’s a place we can unwind and (tightly grasp onto) a little quiet. You will have to check out the rooms of the other bloggers involved to see some of the cozy spaces for ‘A Night In’! Here is a little more about our space…
I had a few posts prepared to go up this week, so excited to be able to share those with you as I continue to re-coop from delivery! As you remember from our Dining Room reveal, I got to team up with my friend Lesley Graham for a style swap challenge with Home Decorators Collection. Today I finally get to unveil her living room overhaul! Lesley’s whole home is a dream. Built in the early 1900’s, her and her husband totally gutted and rebuilt the home to reflect the history and charm in deserved. I had such a fun time getting to dream up this modern farmhouse style living room with her, and felt so lucky to team up! All of the details are on the Home Depot Blog today.
I’m breaking my own no Christmas decor before Thanksgiving rule to share a peek at this year’s Martha Stewart Living at The Home Depot Holiday decor. It was really fun to team up and scheme up a white and gold themed space that would feel welcoming for all who come and go through our house in December. We spend a lot of time in these rooms with family and friends. It’s no secret my husband Gabe dreams of Christmas all year so he was more than willing to help lend a hand. My poor children are a little confused although their excited squeals over the christmas tree had us really looking forward to December 25th.
Here’s a breakdown of how we decorated:
-I loved how the faux boxwood and berry wreaths looked so fresh. I hung those above our double mirrors in the dining room, and the winter wonder wreath above the bar cart. (The removable hooks work great for these if you don’t want to worry about additional nail holes in your wall.
–These ornaments are stunning in person (they are larger than standard size). I put a bunch in a bowl for the bar cart as well as a vintage coffee pot, mugs, gold rimmed glasses, cantor, candlesticks, and a vase full of easy to grab napkins. A little something for everyone.
-For the tree, we found some wooden beaded strands to loop around the tree, the gold and champagne ornaments from this set, and a deep blue tree skirt. I can’t wait to curl up on the couch with the lit tree and garland at night to read a good advent book or two. Here’s hoping!
-Since Gabe added shelves in the living room this year we wanted to bring a little Sparkling Pine garland in to loop across the shelves and underneath a nativity set. (We like to put a nativity set in almost every room!) The two 9 ft. strands worked really well for the 12 ft. wall, and we used nails in the wood board to secure. Makes for a fun winter wonderland effect.
-For the dining room table we used three placemats as the runner and added the golden reindeer (who my children have already named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Rudolph), golden trees, votives, and a few gold candlesticks.
It should be noted our family room tree is usually a wonderfully tacky mix of sentimental ornaments and tacky bulbs and I really love it that way. It was fun to actually have a somewhat co-ordinated tree for this project. Do you all have a tradition around your Christmas tree? We love to decorate it together close to Christmas with the traditions of cocoa, Bing Crosby, and a fire going strong in the fireplace.
Here’s to a peaceful season ahead!
*This post is in partnership with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and all opinions are my own.
When it comes to finding the final details to a room, I tend to tackle textiles and wall art last to pull the room together. Trying to find items that have a unique spin and a little character is always my goal, and the hunt is half the fun. Most of the finishing touches I found at Lulu & Georgia, so I had a lot of fun teaming up with them to finish this space.
A coffee table isn’t really a safe option with active little ones who love to flip, spin, and jump, so I decided to go with a few moroccan poufs from Lulu & Georgia. They make for perfect foot rests, and I fell in love with the stitched design on top. They are probably my favorite pieces in the room!
And how about that octagonal end table?! I must have looked at hundreds online, and due the space constriction between the divider and the couch, this ended up being just the right fit, with just the right amount of sass. Can furniture have sass? Absolutely.
I have had the Audrey Lamp on hand, and luckily it complimented the other floor lamps in the room. Threw in a faux aloe plant because I feel the amount of live plants overtaking my home is more responsibility than my four children combined. (Just a little stressful keeping the real plants alive….) The plush sheepskin rug was just a fun way to layer the rugs, and add a cozier look and feel. The circular mirrors are a super easy DIY.
Pillows can be really difficult to envision without bringing them home and seeing how they work in the room. I made one too many return trips finding the right pillows, so I have learned my lesson…..wait till the very end and pick your pillows last. They can pull things together beautifully. I will probably slowly add more pillows in. I love when they are large and soft like this Biru Pillow.
We’ll talk wall art next and how we chose and hung the gallery wall. Stay tuned!
Alas! After months of buying and returning pillows (wink), we have finally finished our living room makeover. Just in time for me to get the re-arranging fever all over again. Kidding….maybe.
I can’t wait to share all the details over the next few weeks, but for today, here are the before and after pics! It is incredible what a fresh space can do for your whole family. It has cleared up some mental clutter and become a favorite place to hang for our family. Gabe is particularly fond of the old school feel news reading nook it provides him. I am thankful for the ample couch space for naps;) We basically just had the basics in this room for the last few years. You may remember the last update… VIEW FULL POST
As you all know, we have been renting this little home for the past few years now while we figure out where to settle. I decided not to put making a home on hold, and make the most out of the home we had. I have been taking it room by room and refreshing the spaces from scratch!
Our guest room had many holes in the wall from re-arranged and half hearted attempts at artwork and decor which I started, but never finished. So when you see this before pic, it is probably more accurate to call it a guest room overhaul! I knew I wanted our guest room to feel comfortable, inviting, and on the bohemian side. Thankfully, Anthropologie has that edge to it, and it seemed like a pretty good idea to me to team up again for a room refresh;)
Wall color
The wall color was the first thing I chose for the room. The previous paint color was a pretty dull brown, and I was hoping for a fresher neutral with a subtle hue. We went with a light grey (Valspar’s White Pepper in eggshell finish), and it had the slight blue undertone I was looking for. When the room is small with one main window, it is tough to pull off a dark wall color. I would have loved to try a dark charcoal, but decided I’d keep it light on the walls and go for the dark color in the rug. I really like the result of the grey since it provided a good base to work with varying colors.
The Rug + Quilt
I chose the rug and the quilted coverlet simultaneously to compliment each other. I was smitten for Loloi Rugs, and found exactly the bold pattern I was searching for, but in a more unique design than I had anticipated to find. (I wrote more on choosing the right rug for a room here.) Since there was some pattern in this design I kept the quilt simple. It is a reversible coverlet, and had the tones I was looking for. Not to mention it is incredibly silky soft.
The Headboard
Gabe has been stalking lumber yards in the area for a good live cut piece for a headboard for months, but it seems they are extremely hard to find in the size we were hoping for. They are also extremely HEAVY, which created a hanging problem. I remembered my friend Kristin of The Hunted Interior created a genius live cut headboard tutorial made out of plywood so we based this design using her suggestions. I drew the edge on the plywood and we used a jigsaw to cut it out. We designed the headboard so one side could hold a sconce light as well as a shelf underneath it in place of a bedside table. Gabe used a biscuit jointer to attach the shelf, and drilled out a 2 inch hole underneath the sconce base to string the cord through. We used a light oak stain and semi-gloss varnish to finish it. Tip: put a minimum of two coats of the varnish on, and use tack paper to get all the dust off. We both had fun with this project, and hopefully will get to work on another together soon.
The textiles
Choosing pillows and curtains are next to impossible before you have your main pieces figured out. I have made so many pillow purchases and returns before realizing it is just better to wait till everything else is in place first! Since I wanted to keep most of the textiles in a neutral base, I went with the ivory cut out curtains and pushkar pillows that had some interesting texture and tones in them that worked together well. I am not into being too matchy-matchy, and love a looser organic vibe, so these are probably my favorite pieces in the room! I can’t wait to try the linen sheets, since those have such a soft and comfortable material. A blanket or throw is also a great way to pull colors together and add texture to a space. I used this through to pull out more of the charcoal and ivories in the room.
The Bohemian Chandelier
I couldn’t find a bohemian chandelier/hanging piece online or at any markets in my price range, so I got fed up and made one! I will share the EASY tutorial tomorrow! *UPDATE: Tutorial here!
The details
The fun part is finding the quirky details that really bring a room together. I bought a bunch of different solid and patterned knobs and pulls to re-vamp a simple white dresser. For the shelf, I found the animal face vase here, and the bottle neck vase here. It’s nice to have some magazine options for guests so these two vases were good bookends for keeping them in place.
The giant plant and planter I picked up at Lowes. I realize it is a risk for me to keep anything green alive in my home, but I find it so much more energizing to have real plants if possible. I mixed faux and real for the dresser top though. No one needs to know;) The admiral hanging mirrors I found at Anthro and the larger wooden one I found at HomeGoods. Mirrors can be a nice alternative to artwork to play around with!
Whew! Did I miss anything? I told Gabe I might leave our master bedroom and move in here…almost serious. We use this room as a guest room when family or friends come to visit, We are still figuring out room situations for when the new baby comes.
Happy almost weekend!
*Anthropologie so kindly sent the bedding, pillows, and curtains for this post. The rest is purchased and created by IHOD. So happy to have been able to work with one of my very favorite companies for this project. You can see the last bedroom we teamed up on here!
Items featured:
*Photos by Chelsey Heidorn Photography
We had just the right spot in our room for a reading nook, and the stack of books on my end table was begging to be read. I really wanted to create a corner in the home that invited us to get cozy, rest, and pick up a favorite read:) We had this hanging chair in our backyard over the summer and since it is not being used for winter we thought we would bring it outside and make sure it was feeling loved.
A few cozy blankets, greenery, and comfortable pillows was all it took to create the space. I keep finding a cute little rugrat or two in this corner, and I don’t blame them:) You can guess where you will find me every evening from now until warmer nights when the back porch calls.
For the rugs in this room, I aimed for a little pattern to compliment the bedding as well as the plush and soft option for face plant in when needed;) My talented friend Katy actually designed these which I later found out! I couldn’t be more proud to have them in my home. You can see the rest of her line at Home Brands.
I conquered the dreaded task of decluttering my dresser top. It lasted a whole 24 hours before mismatched socks, yesterday’s mail, and such have found its way back to the dresser. I tried. This is a $10 dresser I up-cycled from craigslist. I sanded it down, re-stained it a dark mocha, and added mocha steel pulls. Knobs and pulls can be pricey so you can always use decorative ones on just the top drawer. I used the anthropologie pulls on top and some inexpensive ones from Lowe’s for the rest!
What has helped tremendously in organizing the dresser top is bowls and dishes for jewelry, and larger trays for cosmetic or beauty products. Pictured are ring dishes I bought from Object Enthusiast, candles from Anthropologie, and a mirror tray from Target.
What is your favorite corner of your home? Creating just a corner you love can make such a big difference in finding a little solace and peace in your day! I wish I would have done this sooner. Room renovations require a lot of saving up financially, planning, and decision making which are things I am often the worst at! I think a good amount of times we believe we have to have our home in perfect order right when we move in. This isn’t possible for the majority of America! It has taken us three years to even get a few rooms together. And even then it is thanks to the help of some wonderful companies. I feel so grateful even for these few rooms though! Family truly makes your house a home, and the details are just the extras that enhance that time together.
x, Anna
P.S. Part 1 of this room reveal here, and how I did the gallery wall here.
Sources: Curtains: Anthropologie c/o // Swingasan hanging chair: Pier 1 // Throws: Anthropologie (currently half off!) and Crate and Barrel // Plant basket (Waste basket from Target! ) Rugs: Momeni Bliss and Lustre Shag by Home Brands USA c/o
Dresser details: Knobs: Anthropologie // Candles Anthropologie // Mirror: Kenroy Home // Ring Dishes: The Object Enthusiast
