Lindsey’s Design Dilemma
Lindsey’s living room is bursting with posh potential. Here’s her letter:
We need help with our living room. It has ten foot ceilings and lots of light, but we need help just making it all come together. The style that appeals most to us is a more casual with a modern (clean lines) beachy twist. Most of all I want our living room to be a grown up cozy style. For colors, I like the softer earth tones and blues. My whole house is pretty much lighter shades of blues and different shades of browns and creams. I don’t likes reds, burgundy or bright orange. You can replace the coffee table, the demilune table and the shedding shag rug. I love the two side tables and the items that need to stay in the room are the curtains and the two matching chairs. I hate this sofa and wanted the Keaton sofa from Mitchell Gold, but we don’t want to spend that kind of money right now so I’d love to slipcover it (I’d like a darker color because my yellow lab sleeps on our sofa and has ruined the lighter colored one). Two other things that I have been having a hard time finding is something for the mantle and the hearth. I have such high ceilings and with the TV over the fireplace it just looks out of wack! I really appreciate your help! -Lindsey
This space is primed for a major makeover. Here’s the plan:
And now for the mood board breakdown.
1. Lindsey requested a brown, cream and light blue palette and you know we’re happy to oblige. Adding in some subtle pearly-gold tones will bring a bit of glimmer and a whole lot of personality. The existing sandy tan paint on the walls will work perfectly with our clean and beachy color scheme, and we’ll bring in a few vertical objects to make the most of those fabulous tall ceilings.
2. Here’s one of our hammered gold accent pieces in the form of a chic twig bowl. It’ll bring a nice dash of shine (and some sculptural interest) to the new coffee table that we’ll be introducing. And look, it’s super on sale!
3. Lindsey requested some help with her hearth, so we found these lovely oversized vases that we’d like to see grouped on one side of the firebox (some asymmetry will complement and offset the balanced furniture arrangement).
4. We’d love to see some light and airy side tables on the inside of each of the angled chairs and these delicate hammered gold beauties fit the bill.
5. These pretty pillows will tie in with our color scheme while complementing the armchairs and the sofa alike. A striped pillow (just $6 each on sale!) on each of the armchairs will add so much, while two leafy blue silky pillows cozy up the couch. And speaking of the sofa, we’d love to see a mocha colored slipcover to stand up to pooch wear and tear, work with the chocolate curtains and really make those blue pillows pop.
6. Here’s a gorgeous Mitchell Gold + Bob William’s rug (Lindsey has a gift card she can use for it) that will really make the space. Bringing in an 8 x 10 will help ground the seating area and visually connect all the furniture (the front legs of the chairs and the sofa will all comfortably sit on the new rug). And the watery design and moody tones are nothing short of stunning.
7. Bringing in some vertical objects (like these candlesticks, the art and the etagere between the windows) will balance the ten foot ceilings and add drama and height to the room. We’d love to see two of the candlesticks on one side of the mantel with the third on the opposite side for a bit of asymmetry and a whole lot of sinewy style (to take a bit of focus off of the TV screen). We also love how the antiqued bronze finish will work so beautifully with our hammered gold pieces for a rich, layered look.
8. This large square coffee table will add texture while visually connecting the slipcovered sofa and the armchairs by the fireplace to create a cozy and inviting seating area on that lovely rug.
9. We’d love to see this tall, nature-inspired print on the wall behind the sofa to add height while tying things together for a polished effect. We also found this similar print for the wall to the right of the door.
10. This great etagere will look clean and add even more height to the room when placed between the windows in the place of the demilune table. With a few decorative accessories (like those pretty blue vases and candlesticks on the fireplace) the entire room will come together and feel warm and inviting.
So there you have it. A clean-lined and stylish room full of welcoming, beachy touches. We can’t wait to see what you guys think- especially you Lindsey!
Update: We sadly can no longer find the time to take on client commissioned mood boards (we now whip up general inspiration boards instead) but if we ever reinstate them we’ll make a big announcement!
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I have the striped pillow from Target – a clearance find several months ago. You won’t regret it! They are great quality.
Love the board, especially the color scheme and the coffee table.
I was just browsing the Mitchell Gold and Bob Willim site and I’m in love with their gabriel sectional. Does anyone know how expensive theirs pieces are?
I was so excited when I got the mood board! All I’ve been doing since is ordering things and waiting for them to arrive!!
What a gorgeous room! Would someone mind telling me where those chairs come from? They’re amazing and I want them! :)
Sherry!!
I love your blog and read it religiously for inspiration (I’m a graphic designer). I just wanted to point out that the Oxidized Copper piece you suggested was actually painted here in Richmond, VA by an artist I work with at The World Art Group, a local art publisher. SO excited to see some of our stuff on your amazing blog!!
Hey Jarman,
That’s amazing! Yay Richmond. Thanks so much for adding even more meaning to something we were already so drawn to. Now we want one!
xo,
Sherry (& John)
Hey Grace, I ordered those chairs from a local store that carries a line called Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams or Mitchell Gold. They run a bi-yearly sale one in the spring and the other in the fall I got them last spring and love them so much. The price points are a little expensive, but if you can get in on one of those sales its really not that bad. I bought those chairs during the sale and where cheaper than chairs at Pottery Barn I was looking at buying.
It was already pretty in there to begin with. Your suggestions will really make it gorgeous.
The side tables are totally yummy…great call. And I am loving how the gold touches will pull in their existing chandy…I am sure it will look fabulous!
Lindsey, you have great instincts. And I love your door and windows and lighting. Sherry, you just brought this room to a whole ‘nother level. Loving the glimmer.
Beautiful! I second Grace’s comment: I want those chairs — where can I find them?!
I love her carved-looking side tables! Where did she get them?! I’m gleaning ideas for my own living room – two weeks into our new house! Anyway, I love a dash of rustic, and that table is perfect.
I love the chandelier currently in the room – is that Crate and Barrel, or someone else? Would love to get the name/model number. Thanks!
Hey Lisa & Laura,
The old side table already in the living room is a great antique I found at a local store that I LOVE. Its called Atchison Imports here in Mobile,AL. That is where I also ordered those two chairs. What I love about that side table is you can not hurt it because its already old and worn and does not have a varnish on on it. The chandelier I got when we built our house almost two years ago. I ordered it from a local lighting company. Its polished nickle and I have a sconce going up our stair case that matches.
love the mood board!
Love the colour scheme and pieces you chose for this!
Regarding the area above your fireplace and the TV. You have two very tall shapes, the window and the door and them the TV placed lower for viewing. That makes the eye jump up and down. Even the newly added items that are large and vertical don’t diminish the strong dark horizontal your TV creates. I suggest adding some white moulding in a rectangle shape over the fireplace. The top in line with the top of your window and door casing. You might even ad another rectangle of the moulding inside the first above the TV in approx the same shap and size as the TV. you could also get fluted moulding and run it up on each side of the TV in line with the sides of the fireplace and top to with a wide (8 -12 inch) of moulding similar in style to your exisiting door and window casing and at the same height as your window and door casing. Buy doing one of these two ideas, you give the eye a nice horizontal to follow all the way across the room and effectively frame the TV and keep with the dramatic height of the room.