franco sofas & avery chairs MGBW / mirror FROM GMA WITH LOVE / white vases, grape wood branch HOME GOODS / head sculpture GIFT from friend / coffee table SCOUT DESIGN STUDIO / accent table, tray, gold vase TARGET / pillows JONATHAN ADLER, ETSY, WEST ELM, HOME GOODS / gold candle holders CB2 / ceramic candle FORNASETTI / chinoiserie vases VINTAGE {similar} / tall white vases Z GALLERIE
Happy Monday Friends! I am SO EXCITED to reveal our living room. Again, this happened because I was under the gun and had to finish by a deadline (in my own head). A photographer was coming over to take pictures of me and Little M for an article.
It’s so funny because I got the WHOLE HOUSE ready… painted “last minute” pictures for the living room, “styled” a bar cart, bought flowers, etc. When the photographer came over, he told me that the art director thought it would be great to have pictures of us in my closet since I was a style blogger. WWWHHHHAAAATTTTTT! That was seriously the ONLY room that I did not clean, organize, etc.
Of course, we shot in my closet! You have to laugh at stuff like that! I staged a little corner of my closet while the photographer set up the lights. Hopefully, it turns out! We’ll see soon enough.
Without further ado, here is my living room!!
DISCLAIMER: I took these pictures when Little M was napping after our photo shoot. Normally, all of those cabinets have unsightly child-proof locks and there is a toy store against the wall under those pink abstract pictures. (They were shoved into the stairwell closet for the shoot!) Also, please excuse the baby bumper on the coffee table. Safety is my first concern, and I don’t want my little man to crack his skull open on the marble table that I refuse to remove from the living room. (Mr. S said that I should get a different one while he was growing up!)
STYLE // MIDCENTURY GLAM meets ZEN
I’m giving total props to Emily Henderson and her book, Styled. She helped me identify my style(s) so that I could run with it. Like my closet, I LOVE so many different pieces from different eras. It drives Mr. S crazy because I have so many “likes”, and he simply wants the house to look put together and not an eclectic mish-mash which is sort of how I did it in the past. For example, check out our previous “modern eclectic” living room! Anyhow, I digress. After taking the quiz, I was most drawn to the modern glam style. Duh! And the complement was Zen. Epiphany!! Now, it made sense why I loved such crazy things AND such minimal things!! Thank you THANK YOU thank you, Emily Henderson!
I was on my way to mixing all of our vintage finds with modern pieces!
FEEL // BRIGHT and AIRY
I wanted a living room that would be glamorous but still comfortable, and I ALWAYS LOVE natural light. It helps that we have large sliding glass doors, but I also chose an almost-white paint color, Benjamin Moore Classic Gray. FYI, Classic Gray is really more of a greige color. It was a total pendulum from our previous house in which every room was a beautiful but saturated hue (of yellows, greens, or grey). Mr. S hated it, so I chose a “neutral” color for this house. I LOVE WHITE but decided on a little color!
MAJOR PIECES
COUCHES // Can you tell that I’m afraid of color?! It’s not apparent with my clothing, but I only stick with neutrals for my furniture. I add color with my accessories (like throw pillows and paintings). Maybe it’s because I’m a Libra, but I felt the need to have matching couches flanking the fireplace. Balance, people, balance. Both are from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. I got them on sale, and they were a compromise between a couch that Mr. S liked at Restoration Hardware and one that I liked at Jonathan Adler.
WHAT?! Why would you buy furniture in that light color/material if you have a small child? Are you CRAZY? I know what you’re thinking! My friend told me about this awesome company in Dallas, Fiber-Seal, that would keep them looking like new. They coat it with fabric protectant, give you a cleaning kit, and warranty it for a year. They’ll come back for an emergency clean if something happens that you can’t handle with your kit.
I WISH I had known about them before Little M threw up a whole bottle of milk on my grey chenille tuxedo sofa. Ouch! Long story short, we got it cleaned.
CHAIRS // The gray and brass Avery accent chairs are also from MGBW, purchased at a later date. They were a floor model sale. I had been eyeing these Ansel fur and brass chairs, which were COMPLETELY non-functional for us and trying to figure out how I could get them into the house. My cat AND dog would likely take up permanent residence in them, and the fur would be a dirt/food/gross stuff trap. When I saw the Avery chairs on sale, it was a no-brainer. They were comfy and classy. Bonus with the brass accents! Done and Done!
TABLES // The marble coffee table is from Scout Design Studio. I LUUURVE it! It was an amazing deal and has “character” stains on it. I just think the lines are classic and perfect. That cutesie marble and brass accent table between the two chairs is from Target. YES, Target. You know I have major love for Tar-jay! <3
MINOR PIECES
MIRROR // That gorgeous baroque Venetian mirror was a vintage piece from Mr. S’s grandmother. YES, her amazing things even show up in our house! BTW, if left up to my own vices, we would have a house filled with mirrors and chairs and nothing else! You can find amazing Venetian Mirrors at Last Call Neiman Marcus in Grapevine and other awesome mirrors at Home Goods. You’re welcome (kind of kicking myself for sharing those secrets)!
PILLOWS // Mr. S wants to burn all of our pillows. I’m joking, but he does feel that we have an over-abundance of pillows in the living room and bedroom and wouldn’t mind if the dog ate a few! These are like my shoes and handbags of the living room. They are what give the pop of color! Since I’m OBSESSED with Kelly Wearstler and Jonathan Adler, it’s no surprise that my first major pillow purchases were those Jonathan Adler Bargello pillows. (Of course, I waited until they were on sale – story of my life.) I couldn’t live without that vivid menagerie of colors and fun graphic. Oh wait, Kelly Wearstler needed to make an appearance in my house so the Channels print pillows arrived from Etsy. The white fur pillows are from West Elm, and the pink flower motif pillows were a Home Goods find.
If I every get tired of the current look, I can change out all of the “accessories” for a different look!
MANTLE // Honestly, I had so much trouble with the mantle because I didn’t want to compete with the gold and ornate carvings of the mirror. Luckily, I got some sage advice on Instagram and went for pieces with more height, more modernity, and less color. Most of the mantle pieces, the large vases and grape wood branch, are from Home Goods. That spiky gold thing is from Target, and I set it on an onyx piece found at an estate sale. The head sculpture was made by a friend who knows how much I love Kelly Wearstler but not the price of a piece. He made it out of plaster, wood, and the spikes are construction pieces. WOW, right?!
SHELVES // All of those pieces has some special meaning because they were given to us for our wedding, from a late relative, or just because. I dispersed the Chinoiserie items throughout the shelves to balance the other items. The Jesus statue was gifted to us for our wedding and has been on display at every house. I’m still trying to figure out how to get the bronze statue and peacock lamp to show up without painting the back of the shelves a different color.
COFFEE TABLE // Like most gals, I feel like a tray makes the coffee table set up look so pretty. It keeps everything nice and contained. Mine is an oldie but goodie from Target via one of those fab collaborations. The gold vase is also a Target find placed next to a beautiful Fornesetti candle and coffee table books. Of course, I had to add a Kelly Wearstler piece, the brass foot, significant for Mr. S’s line of work. The geometric candle holders from CB2 add some masculine angles to the feminine decor.
If you made it this far, then THANKS! So there you have it, my living room! What is your style and have you “finished” decorating your living room? (We’re never truly finished, but this is a good start!) Have a great week!
