I fell in love with my house the moment I walked in, even as the realtor was trying to convince me to look past the small front room, I already had visions of white paint and a sectional sofa dancing around my head. 

This week, I wanted to talk about my plans specifically for the living room. During the closing process, I spent hours looking through Pinterest for design inspiration, and eventually designing a floor plan (with some furniture ideas that fit my plan included.)

After I had an idea for the space, I made a composite plans in Photoshop with the furniture, paint color(and all my other ideas) overtop the photos from the house listing. For the past year that I’ve been in the house, I have been slowly(SLOWLY) making those ideas into realities. 

I like to think I have a style similar to Joanna Gaines– a little industrial, a little farmhouse, a little clean & modern – but I’m also working with a grad-school student budget, which has been the biggest reason for the slow progress!

Dark Space - Use Light Paint

In my case, I wanted to use white paint to open up my (once bright olive green) living room, since the windows are kinda small & face away from the afternoon sun. 

I used Behr Swiss Coffee paint from Home Depot, and added a few knick knacks to the walls. Painting the brass on the fireplace is next on the list... The two windows have been a sticking point in my plan as well. I haven't decided whether to take down the blinds and add curtains(which would let in more light) or leave them the way that they are. 

Wall Art - Draw the Eye Up - Heighten Your Room

For wall art, I added a few canvases that I painted with a palette knife that I made by mixing whites and a a few accent colors, with some plaster and other paint products to make the paint really thick and add some texture to the walls. I also added these little clocks from Hobby Lobby, I set one to the local time, and the other is on Central European time, (since I'm proficient in French & my thesis topic will be about a church in Normandy)

Small Space: Keep Down Clutter

I've accumulated quite the collection of pieces that I love, and wish I could display all the time! But its been really helpful to try to keep everything to a minimum – so I've been trying to swap everything out each season, so when I do get that special piece down from the attic, it feels like new again! This is my mantle for spring & early summer, I'll probably change it to something more fall-ish towards the end of July.

Seating: Not Just for Couches!

Last November, I had a full house for Thanksgiving, and my couch and arm chair weren't nearly enough seating. Thankfully, Target had these little poofs on sale, and coupled with a Cartwheel discount, they ended up being quite the steal! I added a pillow to one of them, and the other usually acts more as a footstool than a seat, but I really like how versatile they are!

Follow the Pickers:

One of my most favorite accents in my living room is this old door from New Orleans, that I found from a vendor at the Nashville Flea Market. For a while I had it next to the fireplace, but I recently moved it so that its one of the first things you see when you come in the door. I've also found a few other furniture pieces at thrift stores that I stripped & repainted/stained, they make for fun summer projects! 

Here's one of the more current pictures of the room: