AFTER // Claire's Living Room Makeover

Back in January I started a Living Room Makeover. Almost two months later and it's finally complete! There were a few things that held up the project, but I'm so happy with how everything turned out. I purchased a couple new items, created a few DIY pieces, built a piece of furniture (yes!), and did some rearranging to make the room meet all the goals I set out to accomplish.

One of my main goals - DECLUTTER! I got rid of some underutilized furniture, gave a lot of my little plants to friends, and picked out some light colored accessories that make the room feel lighter and a bit larger. Curating the room and paying attention to small details gives the space a more cohesive and polished look.

Getting rid of the shelf that held all our DVDs instantly made the room feel less cluttered and less overwhelming to me. I swapped the shelf out for a table I picked up in Michigan a couple of years ago. It holds my knick knacks and vintage radio perfectly. Originally I was thinking of putting a circular side table in that space, but once I put the rectangular table against the wall, I ended up really liking the way it looked. Eventually, I might make a piece of furniture that better matches my new TV stand, but for now, this works.

I moved the amber lamp to another room and purchased a floor lamp. At first I was worried about not having a side table between the couch and chair, but I'm not missing it at all and am glad the space is less crammed with furniture. I picked up some new couch cushions from West Elm, grabbed some lovely new ceramics from Gather Home + Lifestyle, purchased new curtains from IKEA and had the biggest Craigslist score of my life (thanks Ali!) with a light colored rug that I absolutely love. I moved our wall hanging that was above the couch to a space that works better with it's vertical layout. My husband is working on a painting for above our couch so in the interim, I created an inexpensive temporary piece of art. All these little improvements have a huge effect on the room.

What I struggled with the most was a TV stand. I looked all over and couldn't find one that was both in my budget and fit the space. My solution...IKEA hack! This credenza brings the TV higher off the ground, holds all our DVD's, and hides miscellaneous items. Also, it feels totally awesome to have built a piece of furniture! It definitely gave me the courage and confidence to build more pieces for my home.



Thanks everyone for the great makeover suggestions. I hope this inspires you all to tackle any redecorating projects you have in the future. We'll continue our home makeovers next month so stay tuned!

{Claire}