The Living Room Project

A couple of weeks ago, I was a guest blogger on MadeByGirl discussing the good, the bad and the ugly of apartment living. I included photos of my own place and have since fielded questions about the design. As a result, I decided to share with you all my design journey and some additional photos. Read the full story after the jump!


I have mentioned before that my boyfriend and I have recently moved in together. As some of you may imagine, finding the apartment of our dreams (enough closet space, big enough rooms, a roof for my garden, etc.) was only half the battle. The other half, for me at least, was figuring out a way to meld our furniture and styles in a way that represented both of us. While I love pink, its not really fair for a man to live in a home filled with the color and while my boyfriend loves fighter jets and framed posters, those aren't really fair for me to have to live with either.

So as soon as our apartment search began, I began planning out the design of our living room. I know we've talked about Pinterest before, but they really were my saving grace here. Having no background in any sort of design/home decoration, it really helped me hone in on the styles I liked and what could work in our home. For example, I love the Hollywood Regency look, but in my own home, it wasn't the vibe I was going for.

After spending day and night a significant of time pinning and feeding my addiction, I finally narrowed down my vision to a couple of styles. From there, I put together boards that included our own furniture to see what worked. Basically I was putting together a design presentation to present to my client (my boyfriend). Its find of funny, but you gotta do what you gotta do :) Here are the boards I presented.

Option 1: Very light and neutral with light blue accents

 Option 2: Even lighter blue with white touches- almost beachy

 Option 3: Punching up the color with green and chocolate accents

Option 3 was secretly my favorite as it has a bit of preppy/southern charm without being too loud. Luckily, my boyfriend agreed! So as soon as we signed that lease, I ordered the curtains and pillow covers.

While the place is still a WIP and we need a couple more things (accessories,  antlers to hang above the TV, etc.), its pretty complete. Here is where it stands now:

Tan couch, espresso leather club chairs and a cream ottoman for seating

Side table and bookshelf

Leather club chairs, ottoman and cream textured rug

Espresso TV console

Accessories

Antique buffet

Accessories