It’s been 2 years and 2 months in the waiting (who’s counting?) but I finally feel like I have assembled the living room that I’ve always imagined when we first moved into this home. What took so long, you may ask? Little hands that wipe food on what’s closest to them and have a fixation with taking markers to furniture. My son’s nickname was the ‘Marker Bandit’ for a reason.

While I miss those little hands, we’ve finally entered a stage where the kids know to treat furniture kindly and go wash their hands (most of the time). That, plus our 10 year old blue sofa was past it’s prime. It’s since moved up to the playroom and it’s time for a new star to shine, albeit that was the last entry to the living room update.

I assembled the new living room piece by piece, being intentional about my overall vision but starting with the most economical and working my way up to the bigger ticket items. I’ve included all of the links below.

Here is the Before to get a sense of the full transformation:

Area Rug
I often get impatient and while I should have been saving my pennies for a new couch, I sprinkled in updates over the course of many months. An area rug is one purchase that can completely transform the look and feel of a space, introducing a new color palette and giving the room dimension with new texture.

I’m a fan of a more traditional space and knew I wanted a vintage-looking rug but didn’t want to break the bank over it. Introduce the Loloi Amber Lewis Georgie rug. I would always come back to this one during months of searches so pulled the trigger. The Bordeaux had the warm color palette I had in mind with brown, tans, deep reds, and hints of navy throughout.

Window Treatments
The curtains came first and woven shades second because the latter is more of an investment and commitment. In hindsight, I should have swapped the order to make the shades the foundation and curtains the accent. I would likely choose a bolder curtain today.

I ordered different samples of roman shade fabrics from Two Pages curtains, selecting the Natural Ramie Bamboo Woven shades in Wall White. I preferred a woven texture that resembled fabric compared to the thicker wooden shades and this was the perfect balance.

–Curtains
–Curtain rod
–Woven bamboo shades from Two Pages Curtains

Sectional
The long-awaited grand finale was a beautiful sectional from Crate & Barrel. I knew we needed more couch space for our family of 4. Our living room set up makes two different sofas a tight squeeze. The Gather sectional fit perfectly. I opted for the bench seats (no one likes to sit in the crack!) and a regular depth as I’m not a fan of sitting with my legs straight out with deep cushions. The Icon Stone chenille fabric provided a nice blend of white and cream colors and the performance fabric should be good for hiding what will no doubt still be spills and smudges from my little ones’ hands. It makes for a very clean looking, yet incredible comfortable sofa for our family.

Accents
-An economical but classic-looking floor lamp with a wood and silver base provided the final touch.
-Full pillow breakdown here.

Long story short: Rome wasn’t built in a day. Patience and careful selections layered over time will pay off!