My home is an ever evolving project like I’m sure yours is too. Last week I took a few updated pictures of my living room, office, and basement. I thought I would share a few of the living room pictures with you today. Yes, I know many of you will curse the huge TV on the wall, but when you live in a tiny house, things happen.
A little breakdown of the living room items so you can get a feel for how I pull spaces together.
1. The wood mantel – this is my favorite item in the room. When we bought the house, it had a horrible mantel and we new were going to replace it. My mom and dad had found this mantel 20 years ago when they were antiquing in upstate NY. It was sitting in their garage and they offered it to us. Of course we said YES! My husband wanted it to be refinished (not painted) and it was the best decision we made. It really warms up the room and adds the character that we love as well as a family connection and history (this is vintage soul).
2 – The wing chair – This item I found at auction and it was in fabulous condition. I even liked the fabric. I used it as a desk chair for a while in my office but recently put it in the living room to give some height to the corner. I have to say this wing chair (paid $75) is actually now Bai our Anatolian Shepherd’s dog bed; she loves this chair and at $75 I don’t cringe when she sits in it.
3 – Art – All of the art and mirrors in the room (and around our home) are vintage and most were found at auction or while thrifting. I have become obsessed with vintage art. I look around and the quality and character of the art I have collected and incorporated in our home has so much more interest than a canvas art piece from a home store. How do you pick vintage art – I just go with my gut if it resonates with my husband or I we buy it. We don’t care if it’s “an original” or in perfect condition; we enjoy the quirky character of vintage.
4 – End tables – All of my end tables/side tables are vintage pieces that I painted with Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan. The trick with end tables that aren’t matching sets is getting the height right. I’m sure most of them I paid around $75 each and then painted them.
5 – Coffee Table – This is by far the most expensive item in the living room and maybe even in my entire house. It was a gift from my mom (yes, she is the best). When we were renovating my 1st house together (mom was my partner in crime) she asked me to show her things I liked so if she saw them at estate sales she could pick them up. I ripped out a picture of a living room with this coffee table. Mom bought it as a housewarming gift for me, and to this day 8 years later I still love it every time I see it.
6 – Rugs – I tend to use Ikea sisal rugs ($150) as my base layer since we have 4 dogs and things get ruined sometimes and they are somewhat inexpensive. I have a cowhide rug ($200) layered on top. I am considering chenille jute from Pottery Barn but I need to save up for them.
7 – Leather Chair – This is my hubby’s and so it always has to get worked in, it’s his “man recliner,” and in the grand scheme of things it’s not that bad. It gives a masculine vibe and I love the color of the leather.
8 – Couch – The couch is Crate & Barrel, BUT I found it at a Restore for $250! This was a major blessing because we had a great leather couch it was just too heavy but I didn’t want to buy a new couch for many reasons. The main reason was we have the dogs and they put dirty paws on our furniture all the time so spending $2k on a new fabric couch made me cringe:-)
9 – Curtains – These are from Target, I love Target! Nothing more to say about that….
10 – Odds & Ends – On the coffee table I have a vintage Norman Rockwell book; he is one of my all time fav’s and layered on top of him is my Nate Berkus book (one of the designers I follow). Lamps are new, but I loved the modern design of them in the room. The large mirror is vintage and was painted with Aubusson Blue Chalk Paint and gold metallic paint. Pillows are picked up here and there I also have them custom made when I find fabric I love.
My motto for design and styling is modern function, vintage soul. I strive for spaces to be livable yet stylish, and of course, adding meaningful vintage elements to make your house a home.
