Sponsored by Wayfair - Easy Living Room Refresh

09 September
Thank you to Wayfair for partnering with me to bring you this living room refresh post! Financial compensation was received in the form of a gift card to purchase blinds for this post. The ideas and opinions expressed here are my own. This post also contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission which helps keep my blog up and running but it won't cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Believe it or not, it's about time for the start of a new season with fall right around the corner, can you believe it?!


The arrival of a new season always invigorates me a little bit. I like to change out some decor and give my home a good cleanup and refresh. Just like the arrival of a new season gives you a pep in your step, waking up your living room with a little refresh can feel equally as invigorating. So whether you want to recharge your space with fresh new furniture or make décor updates, there are numerous ways to reshape your living space.


As you know (unless you are new to LVC😊), my boyfriend and I have been working on freshening up his house lately. We have started on the main living area now. His house has a "great room" concept so this includes the living room, dining room, and kitchen.


Easy Living Room Refresh


Easy Living Room Refresh


It's always nice in my opinion to start out by purging some things and working with what you have for a quick win, so this room definitely isn't done, it has only just begun! (channeling my inner poet 😁)


So, we did just that... purged, rearranged, and cleaned up. We began the refresh by painting over the robin's egg blue color with Polar Bear White by Behr. This is the color we are using throughout the house.


Then we replaced the old, brown cellular shades with new Shelba Top Down Bottom Up Shades from Wayfair. If you're not familiar with this kind of shade, you can open and close them from both the bottom and the top! There are a ton of sizes to choose from and we were able to find them in the perfect size so no cutting involved! 


His house has two large bay windows and these shades are so nice because the view from one bay window is the side of the neighbor's house so we open them from the top down.


Easy Living Room Refresh
(Side note: I really love this couch so I'm trying to come up with some ways to modernize it a little bit and maybe visually tone down the patterns... pillows? throws? If you have any ideas, let me know!)

The other bay window is at the front of the house so it looks out onto the street. We usually open those from the bottom up. They have so many more options for window treatments!


Easy Living Room Refresh

As you can see, we also added side curtains. They serve no purpose other than to soften the room and make it feel more homey and warm. 


To save money, I made these from two king-size flat sheets. This is such an easy way to get inexpensive curtains. Sheets come with a pre-sewn pocket at the top of the sheet that you can use for a rod pocket and the edges are already hemmed!


I only needed one sheet for each set of two curtain panels. To make them, lay the sheets flat and folded in half vertically, then cut right up the middle.


Easy Living Room Refresh


Open up the top hem on the side that is not cut and resew it so that you can slide the curtain rod through. Add a straight stitch along the top edge of the entire width of the panel to add a ruffle. Hem the cut edge.

Easy Living Room Refresh


Here's a little diagram to help illustrate what I'm saying, the dotted line is where you add the seam to create the rod pocket and ruffle along the top.

Easy Living Room Refresh


Easy Living Room Refresh


Like I said, we are working with what we have right now in the way of furniture and decor, there will be changes and additions to that as we work on this room.


But for now, it feels so much nicer just with a little paint and new shades and curtains! Here are a few before and after pictures.


Before

Easy Living Room Refresh


After

Easy Living Room Refresh


Before
Easy Living Room Refresh


After (never mind the partially painted wall next to the door, this is a BIG room and so we are painting in stages!)


Easy Living Room Refresh

I'm excited to keep working on this room and to tie the living room, dining room, and kitchen altogether!


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Easy Living Room Refresh




Posted by: at 09 September Tag:

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  1. It looks immensely better with curtains and rearrangement of the furniture! I'm not too sure about that plaid couch, so interested to see how you deal with it!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! It's actually a southwest design on that couch.

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  2. I especially like the curtain idea on each side of the windows--it makes such a nice look. I am definitely checking out those window shades!! I have similar ones from Smith & Noble, but they are a piece of junk. I like the lines of the couch very much and think it's a keeper--if you can get around the fabric. (That must yell at you wen you come in the room!) Looking forward to the next installment.

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  3. The room looks very welcoming.
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. The new paint color, blinds, and curtain panels already make a big difference to this room. As for the plaid couch, girl you're going to need a miracle. LOL Looking forward to seeing how you pull that one off.

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  5. I love that couch!You could just put a light colored velvet or faux fur throw over it but personally I love it!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, I love it too! I think a faux fur throw is a good idea too and a few neutral pillows with the colors from the couch.

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  6. The new design looks nice and I’m liking the whole design but I’m curious as to what you did with the dining table? Doesn’t look as if there’s much room for it with this design.

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    Replies
    1. We moved the table to the actual dining room just a few feet away, lol. I'm not sure why he didn't have it there in the beginning. We are working on that space now so I'll be sharing soon :o)

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  7. Paint, curtains, and rearranged furniture always brighten up a room! Had never heard of that type of blind before so it was interesting. A throw over the back of the couch would disguise a bit of it! Is a throw cover or couch cover out of the question (or budget?) I have camoflaged an old couch with a cover successfully. I was married to a man who was laid off in the wintertime. Come February when cabin fever was at its worst and there was NO money for re-decoring, I would put up clean curtains, put the living room pictures in the bedroom and vice versa and rearrange furniture. Thirty years later, I still do it--some!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love rearranging the furniture and shopping the house to switch things up a bit! I really like the couch so don't want to completely cover it, just tone it down a little. A throw is a great solution!

      Tania

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