WEDNESDAY Walk Through...The LIVING ROOM#1 AND LIVING ROOM #2 - 2 Colors Explored

My Living Room did not always look like this!



This is where we started...there was no way to go
BUT UP!

However...
Before we continue to tour my home and explore my color palate, 

I would like to take a moment

and talk a bit about 

BALANCE.

I have people tell me all the time

"You have such an eye for this!"

"You really know how to put things together."

and while, I like a good compliment as much as the next gal

I really do believe that MOST successful decorating and design

 is about Achieving Balance.

Putting too much of any ONE thing, be it  color or pattern or texture 

...on your walls and your floors and your furniture is like

having a dinner with only entrees.

 It is too TOO much. There is NO Balance.

You need to balance out the big things like colors and sizes and textures and patterns

with small things like solids and soothing neutrals and small pieces and patterns. 

Before I Re-did my Living room, I had a BIG balance problem.

the walls spoke too loud and they competed 

with the loud furniture and the loud pattern on the sofas.

 I fell victim to a common problem. I lacked balance.I had ALL Entrees. 

 I craved quiet.

 I craved something "Dreamy and Light"..... 

I told a friend that I was wanting to do something crazy like paint my Dining room Pink and she said "OMG I just saw this home of a friend of mine in Domino Magazine!!! and she has a pink Dining room". The home belonged to Katie Ukrops and actually is only one hour South of where I live. 

Coincidentally, a blog I followed at the time, (called House Crashers, but now called Young House Love) shortly thereafter featured this house. Done deal. I found my colors!

My Inspiration

There is that Chandelier again!

This look is timeless.

Now- 

My Living Rooms #1 and #2 

and my Colors

Living Room #1 is Painted Benjamin Moore's "Spring in Aspen". This color is a  cousin 

to the Hall color, Feather Down...

soothing and neutral but far from bland. It does not
compete with any of the Art or colors, but in fact enhances everything in the room.

in the beginning it was quite simple....

just the pales sea blues and the ivory...then I began to layer on more color...

The Lagoon Blue Table (I spray painted) was another $10.00 Yard sale score.
It had "Bombay and Company"label on the underside, and when I looked it up, I found it listed for $499.00! Ha!
The inside of the Pink Cabinet Springtime Boom by Benjamin Moore. 

  The pair of framed fish paintings are by my daughter a few years ago when she was in the 5th grade. I got the mats cut at Michael's and bought frames cheap at a going out of Business Ben Franklin store. Rug - Pottery Barn. Orange and Pink lamp - Slip Lamps. Coffee Table- Ballard Designs. 
I recently had a Pink and Gold Velvet Giraffe cover made for the chevron ottoman...I like changing it up...

I  (9/2012) added drapes, made from my own fabric design. 

POSTS HERE and HERE

The fabric will be on sale to the public in 2013!!!

LIVING ROOM #2 - the two living  rooms are joined by 8 ft pocket doors. 
For the first 6 years...we used this room as our dining room...

at the time..it made sense, the kids were little, and I put their playroom, right next to the kitchen...
so I could keep an eye on them...YOUR house should grow WITH you....

My Living Room #2 Walls are Benjamin Moore's "Pink Cloud"

The trim color in both rooms is just plain old "White".
The fabric on the Chevron Sofa was less than $7.50/yard from Fabric.com
 The Pink Zig Zag Pouf (now Giraffe) is Missoni for Target!

The Chandelier was purchased on ebay.
It was from a pre-Katrina mansion in new Orleans...appraised for $2500 I got it for $114.!!!
Missoni for Target platter. Miscellaneous pillows from Target and Pottery Barn
and Mom!

 Spring 2012 - we added a sleeper sofa to Living room # 2...it was a welcome addition for many reasons....

 ...a fun place to sleep, read and try new colored pillows...

 ...and loved by all...I specifically chose natural colored slipcovers, so they could be washed...

...and I decided Pink Giraffey...needed a friend...BALANCE right!

Some where...a long long time ago,
 I read that every room (or maybe it was every outfit?)
oh well...that it should have ONE item of black.
This end table, which was a coffee table, I got at
a yard sale of $5.00 and spray painted satin black.
One week later, I found a  nearly identical table, also with a glass insert and it lives on the other end of the sofa! They were the answer to my photo clutter problem

Living Room #2 Item of Black.
NEW Missoni for Target Bowl with antlers found in the front yard
and a piece of driftwood from our Spring Break beach trip.
I love THAT kind of souvenir.

Both rooms have televisions and I have put a fair amount of effort into making sure that they don't dominate the room...at least visually!

 

...So there you have the Living Room(s) colors. We LIVE in both of our living rooms. Ironically, the Pink room is where the kids play their Video games and all of the chairs get used in a multitude of configurations. Being 130 years young, My Old Country House does not benefit from an open floor plan, but we do enjoy 12 foot ceilings and the giant pocket doors keep everything open and airy!

What are the colors of your Living Room? Do you Love them or yearn for a change?