A Client's Formal Living Room

I recently shared with you a before and after of a built-in bookcase. Well, that is in a formal living room space that I have been decorating.


Here is what this space looked like when I was hired to warm it up and put personality into the room.

It had the basics, two sofas, two end tables and a coffee table...and a couple of wood side chairs.

Now I will step you through my decorating process. First, I borrowed the rug from under the breakfast room table because it looked like it would go better in this space and it was too small for the breakfast table.

Here is the room 90% complete.

Remember when I started, the bookcase looked like this...all white and boring. I decided to add a pop of color to this space by painting the backs of the bookcases the brick red color used in the adjoining formal dining room. I deleted a shelf from each bookcase and added all the decor by shopping,


shopping,


and more shopping.

The painting in progress.

Next, I found the most perfect fabric at Hobby Lobby to make additional pillows for the sofas.

I made black piping to coordinate with the other black pillows and to pull in the black from the rug and iron tables.

Then, while shopping at a furniture store, I found these pictures that I knew were perfect for the space.

They were delivered today and I was right...but boy were they big. See them beside the bookcases? However, with these 9 foot ceilings, the large pictures don't look out of place.

My client had purchased a picture of wine bottles that she didn't know where to place. Off to the right of the new art, is a wine and beverage room, so with the colors right for this living room, I placed it leaning on the fireplace mantel. Perfect again.

And you can see the hint of that brick red feature wall in the formal dining room on the other side of this fireplace.
I also found a faux plant for an empty corner and more decor.

I couldn't believe it when I found this clay pottery piece...I knew it was meant for this space.
So for a room with little color and no decor, it came together well, don't you think?
I say it's only 90% done because I feel there is alway a bit more that can be done to any room. Enjoy!

NOTE: You should be able to click on most of the pictures to enlarge to see further details.
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