Before and After: The Living Room Transformation

This blog post is about the before and after living room transformation in our new construction home.

Over several months, we watched and waited and planned for how we’d furnish and decorate our living room in the new house.

Before: the construction process

When the builders got everything framed up, we could begin to imagine how it would look when all finished.

But the REAL transformation happened with the installation of the drywall!

Everything suddenly felt real once we had actual walls. The brick around the fireplace is the same brick used on the exterior of the house.

After: The living room transformation

The living room is the center of the house – metaphorically and literally.

So as we were thinking about the design, it was important to keep in mind that we would be walking through this area as we moved to different areas of the house.

With the two chairs placed on the far wall, and the sofa acting as a room divider between the living room and kitchen, this layout allows for an easy pass through on one side of the room.

Living room decor mood board

I started shopping for furnishings as soon as the house was framed. We brought measuring tape on one of our early site visits to begin measuring for the sofa, coffee table and chairs.

1 – The statement piece of the room is this huge forged iron chandelier.

2 – This art print reminded me of our wedding in Iceland.

3 – We got a pair of these velvet barrel chairs from the Studio McGee line at Target.

4 – This white oak coffee table from Crate & Barrel is a huge solid wood table and probably my favorite piece of furniture in the whole room.

5 – This double shade floor lamp is the perfect height for ambient lighting.

6 – Our sofa is made with durable performance fabric – an absolute MUST if you want a white sofa!

Neutral living room decor

If you didn’t notice from the mood board, all of the largest (and most expensive furnishings) are neutral.

Color comes in more with accessories that I can swap out easily: throw pillows, throw blankets, candles, and other decor that line the built-in shelves.

The decor in the built-in is a mixture of:

• items that are purely decorative (like the brass marble statue)
• items that are useful (like the boxes that are used to hide things like playing cards and cords away)
• items that we reach for often (like the books), and
• items that are sentimental (like the photographs)

I wish I could say that the living room transformation is 100% complete…but like most things in our home, it’s still evolving.

While we have all of our larger furniture and decorative accessories, I’m still looking for the perfect martini table.

Right now, the table we’re using between our velvet chairs is actually a side table I bought for our bedroom.

I’m also still looking for a bench or a couple of ottomans that will add more seating options in front of the fireplace.

But this evolving styling is all part of the joy of designing and decorating a home!