This living room refresh is all about taking the space from dark and dull to bright and fresh! We’ve brought in several shades of gray (less than 50…wink), ivory, and natural wood to really lighten up the room. (sources below)
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Living Room Refresh: Gray, Ivory, & Natural Wood
My client’s living room was full of large pieces that they had owned for years. Before she contacted me, she began picturing a light and sophisticated space on a reasonable budget. To begin the transformation, she found a brand new Pottery Barn sofa (still wrapped in the packaging) at Habitat for Humanity’s Restore! It is a beautiful linen sofa, and the perfect background for lots of neutrals in the room. It’s the Buchanan Roll Arm Upholstered sofa. So jealous!
Her original sofa was a dark brown leather. While it was certainly a unique look, it was just too heavy for the bright and airy room she envisioned. She returned the favor to Habitat for Humanity and donated the huge leather sofa to them.
This room was HARD, and I mean HARD to find a paint color that showed true all day long. She wanted a very light gray. Seems simple, right? Wrong! Everything either ended up showing pink or blue. It sounds crazy, but the undertones in the paint were so noticeable in the space. It gets some light during the morning, but way less as the day goes on. The color would look fresh and clean during the day, but it would be pretty different by night. Isn’t it amazing how this happens!? Make sure you test your paint in different spots around your room and live with it for several days before jumping right in and having your husband paint two coats…like my client did! He’s a good man!
After trying Benjamin Moore’s Classic Gray, Pale Oak, Stonington Gray, and Intense White, we finally decided to go with Pale Oak. Well, after it was on the walls, it ended up looking more beige than gray. It turns out that it was slightly different from the sample. Benjamin Moore was great and “fixed” it, or technically gave her a custom color from Pale Oak. Honestly, most people wouldn’t even notice the difference between the Pale Oak and Pale Oak custom color. I even had a hard time seeing the difference at first. I’m glad we went with it though, because it was just a hint cooler.
In order to bring her vision of a comfy and classic room to life, I created two vision boards using neutral furnishings and accessories. She already had the linen sofa and a gray flatweave quatrefoil rug. I worked around those pieces and came up with these two boards. Don’t be fooled, they are different, even though they look quite similar! Think of vision boards as guides. Sometimes you buy every item on the board. Other times you find pieces that give you the same look and feeling as the ones seen on your board.
Living Room Refresh Vision Boards
Source Details
round gold mirror | white ceramic lamp bases | lamp shades | extra long console table | gray tufted accent chair | coffee table | similar ivory poufs | dark gray textured pillow | paisley pillow | rug | similar sconces | tv console table | seagrass baskets | similar faux fiddle leaf plant | blinds
Source Details
quatrefoil gold mirror | white wooden lamps | extra long console table | ivory tufted accent chair | coffee table | dark gray textured pillow | gray striped pillow | tassel lumbar pillow | round wooden wall decor | rug | similar sconces | tv console table | seagrass baskets | similar faux fiddle leaf plant | blinds
As the room has evolved there have been a few tweaks here and there, but we are sticking with this basic idea, and I’m obsessed! I’ll be sharing some sneak peeks on my social media, so be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook if you aren’t already!
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