Hi All,
As you may remember we recently layed new laminate flooring in my living room a few weeks ago and were expecting new furniture to be delivered. Well, today I thought I’d share the finished room all put together before I rip it apart again to decorate for Halloween.
First though, I thought it would be fun to post some pics of how my Living room has evolved over time. No room in my house is EVER “finished”. It is my pallette and my canvas. I am constantly redesigning, adding and editing. I just can’t help myself!
We have lived in our house for about 6 and a half years now. Here is what the living room looked like in the beginning.
Back then I had a whole Americana Country theme going on in there. My husband had an ENORMOUS fish tank that made arranging my furniture a challenge to say the least. When arranging the furniture I also had to consider TV viewing, the fireplace and the french doors leading out to the back yard. My solution? I placed the sofa and loveseat/chaise lounge on angles, forming a V-shape. That is where they stayed until about a year and a half ago.
As I look at these old pics I am NOT impressed! Have you ever looked at an old photo of yourself and wondered “Oh My God! I can’t believe I had the nerve to WEAR that and holy cow, look at my hair! Did I really think I looked good????” C’mon, you know you do! Well, that’s how I feel when I look at this room. The walls lacked color, the wall decor needed some help. Oh, and by the way I do have some pictures of ME like that too! In highschool my hair was about 10 feet tall. Hey it was the 80′s! I should have bought stock in the Aqua net hairspray company 
Such a photo of me surfaced at a family gathering a few months ago and boy did everyone get a good laugh!
Anyway, as I said my living room stayed the same for quite some time. My husband decided to unload the giant fish tank about a year and a half ago and that gave me the opportunity to start making some long overdue changes. By then I was more into this whole Cottage look. Down came all of the Americana Country decor. (I still love Country Prim, Americana, etc, I just needed a change.) I started by rearranging adding some new accessories.
I found a floral fabric that I just loved that had a hint of aqua in it. This gave me the pallette for the new look and feel of the room. I made new curtains, pillows and table cloth. I loved how the aqua paired with the red of the couch and loveseat. So out came the paint brushes! I painted the “Shutters” by the window, added this coffee table in the same color. I also added the floral china to the wall.
So, after living with that for awhile I decided to paint. Now that the fish tank was out of the room I could also play with the furniture arrangement. I moved the sofa, centering it on the short wall facing the fireplace. I added a new side table I picked up (and painted) at a local thrift shop. I wasn’t in love with it but it did the trick.
Although the fish tank was gone I had a new problem. Because of its size and weight I had the outline of the tank indented into my carpet. No matter what I did I could not get it out. So, what did I do to rectify the situation???? I plopped my loveseat/chaise lounge over it at an angle and HID the problem!
Here’s another view of the room at this stage…..
That last picture was taken about a year ago. This past summer my husband and I decided to take on the dawnting task of ripping up the carpet and laying down new laminate floors ourselves. If you missed that post you can find it Here . After hours of work, sweat, tears and sore muscles here is the result.
I Love our new floor and hope to put the same floor in our dining room someday. Ok, so now we are up to date. Our new sofa and loveseat arrived about a month ago. I am very excited to unveil our New And Improved Living Room! Drum roll please…………..
I fell in love with the look and feel of this chocolate brown sofa and loveseat from Ashley Furniture. We got a pretty Sweet deal on them too. I also added two newly painted side tables I picked up on one of my thrift store excursions. I LOVE them. The other one I had is now in storage. Psst… did you notice the fish tank in the back corner? Yes we got another salt water aquarium but its MUCH smaller and I think it looks much better. It adds some life to the room. I can live with this one!
I bought the two decorative bird cages from Through The Country Door. I love them. I’ve added quite a few accessories inside each one. Can you tell I’ve got a bird theme going on in here now? A far cry from Americana country I think.
I also made a couple of birdie inspired throw pillows from images I believe I got from The Graphics Fairy . Gotta Love that blog!
I snagged this chocolate brown 5′ X 7′ area rug at Ross on clearance for $22! If you are unfamiliar with this store its like Marshalls and TJ Maxx but I find the prices to be even better! They have become one of my regular haunts now. PS… They are a great place to find nice lampshades and their prices can’t be beat!
Our little black pug Olive gives our new living room two paws up!
I dressed up a simple black lampshade with a satin ribbon bow and pretty brooch. I love my collection of mercury glass!
I think the room is so much more inviting now. Its warmer and Oh So Cozy!
Thank you so much for visiting today and taking a tour of my new and improved Living Room!
Thanks so much for visiting today!
~Lisa
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Your new flooring looks fabulous!! I love the new brown and teal color scheme
You’ve done a lovely job!
I agree with your thought about “what was I thinking?!” I look at stuff I’m making & decorating with right now & wonder if in 5 years it is going to make me cringe…. haha!