OUR FORMAL LIVING ROOM connects directly to the family room. The previous owners of this home had the walk-through between the two spaces blocked off by a sectional couch. I opted to keep the space open and re-formatted the layout so that the two rooms would flow nicely together. Now, while hosting guests, it can sometimes feel like one big great room where everyone is included in the party. My goal for this room, overall, was to create a space that was a bit more formal/contemporary than the family room, but still cozy enough for us to spend together as a family. Kiel and Alec spend a lot of time at the piano together and all the natural light has made the sofa a perfect spot for me to catch up on some reading during Alec's afternoon nap.
Because of our small budget, we tried to transition as much of our old furniture into this space as we could. We hung our ivory linen drapes from Pottery Barn, and our sectional floor lamp stands behind our brown leather arm chair. We purchased the Crosby Sofa from West Elm. We opted for the pebble weave material in a deep blue shade that I absolutely fell in love with in the store. We also purchased an ivory wool area rug to add a bit of texture to the space.
When I first envisioned this room, I knew I wanted to incorporate music somehow. Just as we moved in, a free piano sort of fell into our laps, which really sealed the deal for me. The piano couldn't have fit more perfectly into the space. We did our best to bring it into the 21st century by re-upholstering the seat with the a basic ivory fabric from Jo-ann's. Above the piano, we hung an old sheet music map canvas print that I found online for a great price. We have our Crosley record player displayed on our old shelving unit from our previous home (similar here). Above the record player, we created a gallery wall of framed black and white family photos and two different art pieces, one of which Kiel made from old pallet wood. Many of the frames displayed are from Homegoods or the Threshold line at Target.
There are still a few tweaks, here and there, that I would like to make, but overall this is probably the most 'complete' space in our home. I hope to eventually replace the tree in the corner with a live plant, but nothing I have found thus far has been quite large enough to fill the space completely. I would also like to eventually purchase a coffee table for this room (I've go my eye on this one), but for four hundred bucks, I think we will remain as is. Overall, I really love this room. Being that we were limited to a small budget, I think we did a pretty decent job. (For the record, I realize that I am by no means a talented 'interior decorator', but I do enjoy it so I thought I'd share. Any suggestions welcome!
The kitchen and dining room still need quite of bit of updating before I am willing to share. Over the fall and winter months, we are hoping to focus on these two areas of the house. We would really like to replace the kitchen cabinets, but the budget is limiting us a bit…so it is looking more like a fresh coat of paint and some new hardware. If we decide to go all out, we may try and create some open shelving and possibly a subway tile backsplash. Kiel is also planning on building a farmhouse table for the dining room. We've got big plans, here's hoping we can deliver. Stay tuned, our outdoor space will be up sometime soon!
