After lots of deliberating and hours of hard work, we have finally finished our living room makeover. Though the room wasn't horrible before, it didn't reflect our style as a couple in the slightest. Once Farmer Bubba and I decided it was time to tackle the cottage and finally make it our own, we thought we'd start with the living room. This is the one room in the house that won't be affected when we add up and redesign the rest of the house to make it more functional. Before we get started, here is a little reminder of what the living room looked like before:
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| BEFORE |
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| BEFORE |
One day, while browsing my all-time favorite blog,
The Lettered Cottage, I saw a post about using shutters on your interior windows. It was a great idea and a jumping off point for our living room. It was the one element I KNEW I wanted to use. We have a long bay of four windows across one wall that provides an incredible view up the Potomac River looking towards Virginia, but they let in A LOT of light and specifically, heat. So the interior shutters were a great solution for style and function, keeping out the heat and prying eyes when necessary.
My next hurdle was figuring out what color I wanted to paint the walls. I tend to get overwhelmed when making decisions, especially one with SO many options. I was having a hard time getting out of "neutral land" with creamy whites and light grays, but nothing really jumped out at me once I had it on the wall. During a quick visit from my mom, I mentioned how I love dark blue and turquoise colors and she encouraged me to go for it. And she had a point, the house is full of old baseboards, window and door trim painted white. Not to mention with all the windows and high ceilings we have quite a bit of light to work with. I was hoping the blue color I chose would make the white trim "pop"...and boy was I right!
So, without further adieu, here is the new and improved Point Breeze Cottage living room:
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| View of the entire room - from the kitchen/back of the house looking towards the front. Front wall - "Desert Fortress" Side walls - "Swizzle Stick". We also painted the overhang where the air ducts are white to match the ceiling. It really opened it up! |
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| View from the front door. Sitting area in the front, TV area in the back. |
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| Sitting area - I found ALL of the pillows for the living room in one trip to Marshall's! It was totally my lucky day! |
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| One of my favorite displays in the room. Top shelf of the book cabinet - memories of our honeymoon in Kauai, Hawaii! aka - Heaven on Earth! Cannot wait to go back, hopefully in the near future. (Thanks to my mom for the Anniversary gift/decoupaged serving tray with Hawaiian postcards!) |
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| Another display atop the electric fireplace. Something to represent Farmer Bubba - Four generations of Hill men, a tobacco knife and spear-head, tobacco basket and dried leaves, and a couple of other farm related trinkets. PS- check out the pretty wildflowers from our garden in the backyard! |
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| View from the front of the house, looking at the bedroom doors and old library ladder that leads to the loft. |
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| Ahhh, my beautiful interior shutters and shades!! I was planning to make my own shades/curtains, but I found a GREAT deal on these at Lowes and they brought just the right amount of nautical to the room! |
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| The bay of windows with the shutters closed and the shades down. |
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| A special gift from my mom - a touch of "bling" to bring a little Mindy to the room. |
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| On the top of the TV cabinet I decided to bring a touch of my family's watermen roots to the room. The beautiful, hand-carved Heron was a wedding gift from Bubba's close friend and talented artist, Tommy Deagle. |
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| There is nothing quite like a Southern Maryland Blue Crab :) |
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| I've noticed how trendy antlers are becoming in home decor. Lucky for me, I have a husband with a garage FULL of antler sheds he finds in the woods during hunting season. And it brings a little bit of his style to the room :) |
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| Another shot of the antlers on the coffee table. Can you tell I read a lot of Coastal Living?! |
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| New slip cover from Ikea for the couch - perfect! We were also able to reuse a rug we had in the living room previously. |
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| A couple of aerial shots from the loft. |
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| Again, from the loft. You can really see how great the floors look from this angle! I know the rug is too small, but it is serving its purpose until we can afford a larger one. It was on clearance at Marshall's and is softer than anything else in the house...Harper loves it! |
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| AND we're beagle approved! |
Thanks for taking a look at our new living room. I really am so pleased with the way everything turned out, and owe so much of the credit to my handy husband and helpful grandfather. Without them, I'd still probably be painting right now!
Have you made over a room in your house lately? What was your favorite part of the process? For me, it was the fact that we were able to "re-use" so much. The love-seat in the sitting area, round table behind the love seat, old mirror on the wall and the TV cabinet were left with the house when we purchased it. The recliner and book shelf/cabinet were hand-me-downs from family members, the coffee table, table by the bedroom doors and small bench under the front windows were yard sale finds, and the fireplace and clear lamp were gifts from my parents. Even a lot of our decor pieces, like the antlers, tobacco basket and leaves, and binoculars were pieces we had from everyday life.
This makeover was quick and mostly painless, and I loved every minute of it! Now, to get rolling on some more projects...
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