Living Room

 

We really do live in our living room. We watch Sharks hockey games, tons of travel shows, Cartoon Network, movies, HGTV, The West Wing, and countless hours of TiVoed TV here. We frequently eat in the living room, as well as read, surf the net on an iBook, listen to music, entertain friends, you name it. Our burgundy-velvet slipcovered couch is one of the comfiest spots in the house (as the cats can attest to!). So it was very important to us that our living room be filled with colors, textures, and things we absolutely adore.

The sofa, coffee table, and Indian rug (the sofa is more burgundy than the red this photo shows).

Closeup of the Indian rug and the hardwood floor (colors are much more true here).

To choose our wall colors, we went backwards a little and matched our walls to our furnishings (some designers recommend starting with the walls and floors and building up from there). We started with our large pieces -- that burgundy-velvet slipcovered couch, a burgundy tapestry wing chair, a cherry wood entertainment center, and an oriental-style rug in burgundies and creams that we bought in India. These are the core of our living room, and we weren't going to replace these things anytime soon.

Paint chips, truest colors (esp. on a Mac).

The foyer and front door, closeup on the colors and border (the walls are more grey than blue in person).

I gathered a ton of paint chips and started narrowing it down to colors that worked with all four of these items. From that group, Thomas and I picked out a medium grey for the walls, light grey for the ceiling, and black for the trim. Surfing around the 'net, I found this wallpaper border that combined grey and black with a classic architectural motif. We hoped these colors would create an elegant background with a subtle contrast for our dark furnishings.

We got the keys for our new home on 12/14, and the next day, we got to work! Thomas' dad and my mom arrived that Saturday with paint rollers in hand, and we started on the living room (meanwhile, Thomas was moving boxes from our old rental into our new garage). We managed to get the whole room done in that day, or so I thought...

Sunday morning was the first revelation that would resonate through all these decorating projects:

Dark colors of paint require
at least two coats to look good!

So everything would take twice as long as I'd hoped. The grey walls needed a second coat before Mom and I could start on the trim. And then the glossy black trim took two coats and many touch-ups. But these dark colors look so good, they're worth the extra work in the end.

All three bookcases, with Melusine on the wing chair in front.

Mel, the chair, a round decorator table, bookcases, and the door to the hallway.

About two weeks later, I began installing the wallpaper border. Another lesson learned -- this is a job for two people! I guess that's a big "duh," but it didn't seem like it'd be as hard as full wallpaper. Thankfully, Thomas helped me out, and we got the border up, right below the black crown molding to cap off the room beautifully. And a few weeks after that, I painted the fireplace mantel entirely black, which is a huge improvement over the very "blah" white. So finally, the outer layer of the room was done!

Gargoyle atop the center bookcase.

Closeups of the left and right bookcases.

Over the next few weeks, I unpacked the contents of our bookcases and organized the books and photo albums. Then I added framed photos, candles, decorative items, and wall art. One of the first things to be unpacked was our big plaster, stone-look gargoyle that we named Hermes. It was a wedding gift from my aunt, who's an interior designer and uncannily knew how perfect this would be for us. Hermes sits atop the center bookcase as if protecting us. Sometimes, when I'm coming through the hallway door, I see him out of the corner of my eye and think one of the cats has got up there.


Over our mantel, I hung a large candelabra that was a gift from a friend. It's actually plastic that she faux-finished to look like antiqued silver. Nine metallic burgundy candles grace the candelabra. On the deep black mantle is a collection of mostly silver-framed photos, including several of our own wedding pictures, my mom and stepdad's wedding picture, Thomas' grandparents' wedding picture, and pictures from two dear friends' wedding that we were a part of. We like to surround ourselves with pretty things that remind us of good times and pictures of people we love -- that's the kind of stuff that makes a house a home

Media towers and entertainment center.

Things to Come:
I'd like a more attractive lamp on the little round table. The current lamp is far too utilitarian and was never meant to go in the living room anyway. A pretty, Victorian-looking lamp -- gotta scour thrift stores and Antique Row for something to fix up and make a fancy shade for! Someday, I'll re-stain the large, marble-topped end table that's by the couch. It's third-hand and from an estate sale and needs spiffing up.

The front picture window, the sofa in front of it, and Melusine atop the wing chair.

All the windows came with Hunter-Douglas blinds, which are great for keeping the light out but look very boring. I want to sew burgundy velvet valances for the two small windows on either side of the fireplace. The big picture window needs a treatment too. Maybe long black drapes edged in fringe for the cats to play with.

We want to cover up the dull, pale stone surrounding the fireplace -- Mom offered us some gorgeous grey and black granite leftover from one of their remodeling projects, and at some point, we'll hire a pro to cut and install it.

And we'll never have enough seating for guests in this living room -- it's a bit too small for more than three people. But 98% of the time, it's just us, so it works. We can live here quite comfortably and beautifully too!

 

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