Today I’ve got an overdue update for you on the TV/living room I introduced in the how to shop your house post from a few weeks back. (If things are feeling stale and you’re looking for ideas on how to decorate with what you have, that’s worth a read.)
Here’s the mantel before, where we started off in the shop post. Yes, those are TV remotes as the sole décor on our mantel. They say it’s a good place to display a collection, right?? Oh if you’re new here, this blog may be a little more real than you’re used to seeing in the interiors blogosphere. A lot of this is done off the cuff with the kids just out of frame, and things aren’t perfectly staged every step of the way because that’s just really not how it goes down. Before and after shots are after the jump.
Mid-shop, I had brought some accents in, permitting a slight upgrade to the remote collection with my white ceramic houses.
…and here’s where we left off, with a lighter rug brought in that I stole from a bedroom, and some fake flowers added to the mantel – which was still pretty sparse. All in all, a majorly successful shop around the house if I do say so myself, but I wanted more pattern. We found a bin of old curtains (hoarding really pays off sometimes) and swapped our plain off-white panels for gray floral ones we had in the master in our second house.
I also swapped out the throw pillows, but they shift around the house on a daily basis for fort stacking and such so they’re already gone. I was really surprised by how warm the patterned curtains made the room felt compared to the plain panels. I’m usually one for more contrast with curtains, but I’m glad I decided to just give it a shot – it really made me hate the gray walls less. Kind of like when you decide to try on that dress you think you’ll hate but it ends up being your favorite.
We actually have 6 panels, but I only hung two per window because I didn’t want to slice and dice em and have a seam to deal with, so they’re a little scanty. It’s definitely more livable now and more inviting with them, so they’ll stay up until we eventually paint. If they work with whatever new color we go with I’ll probably commit with a curtain surgery.
I brought in a tiny hobnail glass vase that was small enough to fit in front of the mirror, a gifted drawing from my brother, and a ceramic bowl made by a local artist. More faux floral stems soften it up a bit.
Comparing the two shots taken head-on of the mantel wall, it’s a tough pick, but in person the gray curtains make it a no-contest win. It’s just so much warmer and cozier now. A final reveal will come soon. I still haven’t finished hanging artwork – I need to pick more prints and hang the frames.
C’est tout for now. Links will be up tomorrow. Happy almost Friday!
Maura
