Julie’s Design Dilemma
Julie’s living room is ready for a little makeover magic. Here’s her letter:
This is going to be fun, and I’m so excited to get a spot on your makeover project list. As a newlywed, I’ve moved into my husband’s home and need help with our living room. I like to have clean, simple lines and neutrals/dark woods in furniture but am not afraid to use vibrant colors and texture in the accents. My husband would probably add a bit of traditional to the mix. If I had to pick a brand that represents my style, I would say Pottery Barn with a cottage twist (I love vintage florals and reds and pinks). We’d like a new sofa, the end tables can stay, the coffee table can be replaced, one set of chairs must stay but can be reupholstered, the fireplace needs something, and the paint color should stay the same. When it comes to color, we like red (as an accent), pink, yellow, mixes of fresh and vibrant colors. We don’t like orange/purple or too much deep color (burgundy, etc). We’re excited to see what you come up with! -Julie
This room will be unrecognizable after we’re done with it. Here’s the plan:
And now for the mood board breakdown.
1. We love that Julie has a penchant for a vibrant space full of cottage meets vintage meets traditional style- and we immediately pictured a cozy room full of neutrals with a few pops of cheerful red (her favorite accent color) and blue to add interest and even more punch. This happy room will immediately come alive and feel layered and welcoming thanks to a variety of metals (nailhead trimmed curtains, antique bronze lighting) and tons of texture (in the rug, the pillows and even the mirrored sconce for above the fireplace).
2. And speaking of those amazing textured nailhead-trimmed curtains, here they are now. We’d love to see them hung high and wide on every window in the room on antique bronze rods for an instantly polished and cozy feeling. Plus the height they’ll add will make the ceiling feel a foot higher.
3. This gorgeous mirrored sconce from Z Gallerie will look nothing short of fantastic in the room. We love the texture that the branches will add, and the shimmer and warmth that the mirror and candle will bring in will really be the icing on the cake. And speaking of the fireplace, the stones on the surround can actually be sealed with a gloss which will not only protect them but will add a luxe and lovely luster so we’d suggest that Julie talk to someone at Lowe’s or Home Depot to find the perfect stone sealant to add a bit of sleek shine to her fireplace.
4. We’ll switch out the existing rectangular coffee table the round “German Coffee Table” from one of Julie’s favorite stores to soften the whole room and add to the flow.
5. And we’d love to see this new sofa take the place of the old one that Julie will be donating to Goodwill. The classic color and shape will work for decades and the price can’t be beat (especially for such a durable micro suede fabric and quality construction). The fun blue textured pillows will really add more of that vibrancy that Julie loves and work with the pops of the red around the room to create something varied and vivid. Oh and we’d love to see this sofa table behind the sofa to make it look just as lovely from the other side of the room and add function and display space to boot.
6. The two wingback chairs that Julie would like reupholstered can be slipcovered in this amazing & vibrant fabric and remain right where they are in the room. They’ll immediately add bright and happy cottage style while feeling updated and crisp thanks to the oh-so-current palette (which we’ll balance by tossing those textured blue pillows on the sofa across from them).
7. Replacing the current ceiling fan with a newer antique bronze model (to work with our nailhead trimmed curtains and new floor lamps) will also add more light to the room while keeping Julie cool (since the previous fan didn’t have a light).
8. And here’s our previously mentioned antique bronze floor lamp now. We’d actually like to see one of these on either side of the fireplace to provide reading light for anyone on the sofa or in the wingback chair on the other side of the room. The clean lines of this lamp are traditional and current while the antique bronze brings in a bit more of the layered metals and vintage-y materials that will all work together in the space.
9. More pops of azure blue (plucked from the chair fabric and the sofa cushions will really make the room feel vibrant and fresh while all the neutral tones in the larger pieces (the curtains, the sofa, etc) will temper everything so it still feels cohesive and not chaotic. We’d love to see this collection of vases (here’s the first one, the second one, and the third one) on the coffee table, the sofa table, and even the fireplace mantel. And snagging other blue (or red) accessories like hardcover books and glass candle holders will add even more of our accent colors to those surfaces in a snap.
10. This fun and textured red felt throw (it has an awesome cut-out edging detail that we adore) couldn’t be more affordable if it tried. Ringing in at just $3.99, we think Julie should grab at least two or three for backup!
11. A nice large 8 x 10 area rug will really pull everything together (always a plus with a floating seating area). And this textured seagrass rug with red trim will add more of Julie favorite color along with warmth and cottage charm to spare.
So there you have it. A living room full of happy layered style. We can’t wait to see what you guys think!
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 am in love with that mirrored sconce from Z Gallerie. Great job, Youngsters!
http://www.thesouthernnest.blogspot.com
I love the mix of blue and red and those pillows are super fun!
Okay, youngsters. I normally love what you come up with for people’s design dilemmas: you usually find a way to interpret people’s preferences and personal style into something cohesive, fresh, and stylish. But I have to say, this mood board almost feels like it was made for a different design dilemma. Julie described her style as “Pottery Barn with a cottage twist (I love vintage florals and reds and pinks).” How do those blue textured pillows and mod vases fit with what she’s describing? And where are the florals?
Sorry if I’m being a downer, I just think this one missed the mark a little.
Hey Beth,
Our clients actually fill out an extremely thorough questionnaire to help us pin down their style and then we shorten all that info into a quick little paragraph that we share with our lovely readers which explains why Julie’s simplified description above might feel a bit different than the mood board since we were pulling from a lot more info than we share on the blog (we try to keep things short and sweet for you guys). I can assure you that Julie loves her mood board and is already ordering away- in fact, here’s her letter back to us after receiving it:
Great job! :) The Sea grass Rug is already on order, and I am going to measure for the curtains tonight and order those right away. Who knew there was a Room & Board here (I obviously didn’t), so, I am planning a trip down there this weekend, along with Ikea! Hopefully, I can order a few more things later today, but this is a great start and I can’t wait to see the ideas come to fruition. Thanks so much!!! Looking forward to trying it out!! – Julie
Of course we’re thrilled that Julie is excited and we can’t wait for those after pictures. Stay tuned!
xo,
Sherry
I need to say that I’m so jealous of Julie that she gets another great job from you guys and I can’t! Baaaaah!!
Love the couch,the curtains, and the red and blue accents!
(I’m still digging around in your other mood boards Sherry, before choosing one for the sitting room, I got this one for my bedroom: http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/04/hannahs-second-design-dilemma/)
I love this moodboard! Great mix of colors. The first vase link is not working, and I would love to know where to find it!! Thanks youngsters!!
Hey Julie,
That first vase is from Crate & Barrel just like the other two but it looks like it has recently sold out. Boo! Maybe you can dig one up on ebay or it might even come back into stock at C&B so I’d keep an eye out! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
I so love it!! My fav so far. I think this is totally my style! I have a question about the walls. Do you suggest to your clients which paint color to use (I’m assuming yes, LOL)? For this room, which of those color swatches are for paint? Just curious. I think I’ve spent the last year trying to figure out what color to paint.
Hey Carla,
In this case Julie asked that the paint color stay the same so we didn’t suggest a new wall color (but in the mood boards where we do, it’s always listed under the number “1″ on our breakdown). As for the swatches, the light tan one in the front represents the existing paint color along with some other neutral things that Julie will be bringing in. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hello Youngsters!
I just got finished sealing the slate floors in my kitchen in order to achieve a wet look, and I used Behr Interior/Exterior Wet-Look Sealer. I think it would work great on the stones in Julie’s fireplace. It’s about $25 per gallon and can be found in the masonry paint section at Home Depot.
–Dee
Thanks so much for the tip Dee!
xo,
s
I was trying to see where you picked the fabric to recover the chairs, i am looking for fabric to reupholster a chair with, but the link isn’t working. and if you have any other places you would go to for upholstery fabric would be awesome as well would be appreciated.
thanks,
lauren
Hey Lauren,
So strange that the fabric link isn’t working for you. We checked it out and it’s working on our end, but here’s the direct link just in case: http://www.cottagechicstore.com/item193168.ctlg
It’s a company that Julie asked that we check out since she likes it, which is why we went with it. But we’re also huge fans of local fabric stores (like William’s & Sherrill here in Richmond) or even places like Hancock Fabrics or JoAnne Fabrics which are national chains with some pretty great stuff if you dig around a bit. Of course you can also google “affordable fabric” or “upholstery fabric” and see what you find. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
The nailhead curtains are AHmazing. I’m going to try to talk my husband into letting those invade our space.
Loved the mirrored sconce so much that I went and bought it today – thanks for the great idea. It was just what my bedroom was needing. Love, love your website!!
Hi,
I just wanted to pop by to let you know that you were featured on gnomeangel.com as part of my Friday Fancies @ http://www.gnomeangel.com/friday-fancies/
I also have a banner available for those wishing to promote the fact they were featured. It is available at: http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i194/gnomeangel/gnomeangelfbanner.jpg
I love your blog and regularly stop by to see what magic you’re creating.
Thank you for sharing your brand of wonderful!
Hi,
I have to agree with Beth, I was expecting something totally different too. As I was reading Julie’s letter I was getting excited thinking “Ooh this is going to be good…vintage florals, pottery barn”, and when I scrolled down to see the mood board I was like..What?? Oh well, like you said, there’s more to it that we don’t know about. It’s still fabulous anyway.
Wonderful job yet again. I can hardly wait for the “After” photos. I am so jealous that i can’t get any of these things in Australia, i just have to keep my eyes out for similar products. Oh except Ikea products at least there are those.
I can’t wait to see if she recovers those chairs with that great striped fabric!
Firstly, I’m with L@JourneyChic, really want to see if she goes through with that fabric and if so the end results!
also must admit my initial thought was with Beth and I was thinking no way on that sofa for this couple, ( I would have thought slip-covered down ) not to mention are those blue pillows really meant at that proportion?? but I am not surprised that young ones have a detailed questionnaire and am glad their taste has, as ever, prevailed with the client.
Oh geez, sorry about the giant sofa pillow depiction- they’re definitely not meant at that proportion (they’re standard accent pillow size) but we had to keep them bigger in photoshop to cover the existing pillows on the sofa that we dug up (which didn’t work with our plan).
We also have similar textured pillows from Crate & Barrel in both our living room and our den and even though ours are cream they don’t really get dusty at all. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
those pillows look like dust magnets. thumbs down on those.
Julie might not have to replace her fan if it works and the color/style matches all of the rest of the new stuff in the room — a good contractor/electrician could attach a light kit to the existing fan for about $10 (supplies) plus the cost of labor. When we had some renovations done in my husband’s former apartment here in Manhattan, in a pre-war building, we were expecting to have to take down the vintage white metal fan in the bedroom, and replace it with a model that had an overhead light, but our contractor said that wasn’t necessary. We were really glad we didn’t replace the fan because the old one worked well and looked great, and for very little $$, we also gained a light.
Great tip Lisa. Thanks so much for chiming in!
xo,
s
From someone who has an Ian sofa from Room & Board, you won’t go wrong! I switched up the fabric from something which is no longer available but I couldn’t be happier with my choice, I have the Ian chair, too!
I am totally lurvin this mood board! The couch! The fan! The floor lamps! The nailhead curtains! Ooh la la!
I like the lamp choice and have been wanting something similar in antique bronze — but when I went to the link it is antigue brass ;-(
Hey Yvette,
Good news! You can make over a lamp for a few dollars with a can of spray paint. Check out this amazing lamp makeover that we featured this morning. Snagging hammered bronze spray paint should do the trick. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
HEY! Nice plan. :) But may I ask where are the AFTER pictures? I’ve been waiting for one year. T_T
We share ‘em just as soon as we get ‘em! Sometimes financial snafus or just a lack of spare time can cause homeowners to take a while to complete them, but if you click the “Other Redos” tab on the top of the page (under our blog header) you can peruse a nice collection of after pics in the meantime. Hope it helps!
xo,
s