As we wait for the last piece to arrive before we finish up the office, we decided to go ahead and start knocking out the living room. I mean literally… I started knocking it out. More on that in a bit though! The biggest thing we’re going to do in here is brighten it up! Our house is surrounded by really huge trees which is great because it creates a lot of shade during the very hot Mississippi summers. The downside of that though is that it creates a ton of shade which means it can get so dark in here! To brighten it up, not only are we going to paint the entire room our favorite white – BM Chantilly Lace, but we are also going to remove the existing mantle. It’s very dark which I don’t think is a bad thing in every space because it can add warmth and contrast to a room but in here, it’s just too dark and feels a bit ornate for our taste. We hope to freshen it up a bit!

The ceiling is textured like the other rooms in the house. Womp womp. We talked about it quite a bit and decided that we wouldn’t remove all of the texture from the ceiling like we are doing in all of the other rooms. Since the ceilings are high and vaulted, I don’t think removing them completely would make as much of an impact like it has in all of the other rooms so it wouldn’t be worth the time for us. Instead, we’re (Stephen) is just going to remove the peaks so that that source of dust collection is gone for good.

Here’s what we’re working with to start!

I’d love to do a really cool light fixture in here but ceiling fans are a must in this climate. I think I might have something up my sleeve for this fan though…

This is the view from our kitchen:

Once we remove the chair railing, paint the whole room, and update the mantle (depending on what is behind that wood), the room is pretty much just 4 walls, each with some sort of cut out in them. Ha! My ultimate goal in what I’m calling “phase 2” of the living room update, is to build some built-ins on the wall near the entryway. The room could use some character and some storage for our books and for Ellie’s toys. We need to tackle at least the bathrooms before we do that though!

As for the design, there are quite a few elements that we know that we’re keeping that I need to work with for the design: the dark beams, the tv stand (which actually matches the beams very well), and the dark leather couch. Since we spend the most time in here together, the goal is for it to feel fun, inviting, and FUNCTIONAL. I want to add in color and more texture to cozy it up! This house is going to be more eclectic compared to our South Carolina home! I’m excited! I have spent a lot of time searching Pinterest to find inspiration and I haven’t found much that fits what I’m imaging. Jessica Garvin’s homes always just get me though (peep the built-ins! I am thinking of building something very similar!).

This is what I’m thinking so far. We purchased these white chairs during a big sale to contrast the dark couch (which we got through Facebook Marketplace). We had been eying them for a while! They are super comfy and are easy to wipe off with Thieves. Instead of a coffee table, we’re going to do two poufs instead. I was searching for a coffee table for a long time and realized that the main thing we use a coffee table for is a foot rest. It would take up unnecessary space. With poufs, we are able to use them as a foot rest, the dogs have more room to run around, and Ellie can’t bonk her head on the corner or edge. They are more functional for us in this season! We snagged this rug too because it has so many different colors in it and is a great price!

Poufs | Chairs | Bamboo shades | Artwork | Curtain rod | Fan | Violet pillow | Buttercup pillow | Pom pom pillow | Dark pillow | LVP floor | Baskets | Rug

Here’s the list of what we plan to accomplish in here:

• Remove chair railing
• Patch chair railing
• Remove peaks from ceiling
• Remove wood around fireplace
• Paint brick around fireplace/add shiplap (depends on what is behind there)
• Figure out what to do with the mantle
• Replace blinds
• Replace back door to allow for more light to come in
• Remove carpet and tile and replace with LVP
• Paint ceiling
• Paint walls
• Update fan
• Built-ins (phase 2)

It’s going to be fun to bring you along! I hope you all have the best weekend!

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