Test test..... Not sure this thing still works. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you know our life has been pretty uneventful lately. You'll hear no complaining from me- it's been really nice to have a little less stress in our lives. The new job is going really well (working from home is a dream), the animals are all healthy, and Hank and I are slowly getting back into a regular running routine.
The biggest news is that our living room makeover (that's been over a year in the making) is finally complete! When I moved into Hank's home, my goal was to get rid of everything brown. We wanted a more "modern coastal" look for the home, and have tried to stay true to that in all our decisions and purchases. Over the years we've made small improvements here and there, doing most of the work ourselves. We've collected some furniture pieces and painted the walls, but knew that it wouldn't all come together until we tackled the main living room wall. After moving the TV from the cabinet to above the fireplace, we were left with a giant hole, and a lot of unsightly cables. After a lot of careful thought, serious Pinterest browsing, and saving- our dream is finally a reality.
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| Living Room Wall "Before" |
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| Living Room Wall "After" |
The biggest transformation is the main wall. It was most definitely inspired by our love of
Fixer Upper. Hank has a man-crush on Chip, and we love shiplap almost as much as Joanna does. When you walk into our home this wall is definitely a focal point, and it was a really sad first impression. Our DIY skills are slightly above average, but we knew this project would never get done the way we wanted to if we didn't call in professionals. Luckily we knew a contractor who came highly recommended, and I credit him with making our vision become reality. I highly recommend
Peglars Custom Cabinetry if you need any work done in the Austin area. Jesse is the utmost professional and timely person I've ever worked with.
To round out the modern coastal look, we stuck with neutral fabrics for furniture, and accented it with a bold blue rug from Pottery Barn. For the past year we've had just a couch and a random chair in the living area. Today I found the absolute most perfect coffee table and set of chairs at
Back Home, a local Austin home decor store. I splurged on a few pieces, and shopped at Home Goods and World Market to find affordable decorative items to fill in the gaps. (Frugal tip- find a used or half-price book store for inexpensive books with pretty spines or covers. It's an easy way to fill in shelf space without spending a fortune.)
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| Living Room "Before" |
The coffee table is one of my favorite new pieces. I love the modern touch that it brings to the room. Several of the furniture pieces are wood, so I wanted to balance that out with a piece that wasn't so heavy. Katie the cat seems to love it too.
We're thrilled with the finished product. The room feels light and airy, and is such a calming place to sit and relax. I love the combination of new and old- you can see my grandmother's old desk in the background, and I love that we were able to keep it in the space. Hank even upcycled a piece of live edge wood to make a sofa table (that still needs to be accessorized), using inexpensive
hairpin legs he found online and then painted himself.
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| Hank's sofa table |
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| Accessorized shelves, courtesy of my mom |
Thanks for stopping by! I've got one other home project to share and hopefully I'll be able to get those pictures up soon.
