Happy Monday!
A sweet reader named Erin sent me some photos of her living room recently. Her email said:
Hi Layla,
I have been enjoying your blog for years and would love your presto change-o ideas for our living room. We live in Kincardine, Ontario which is on the coast of Lake Huron. The living room is currently painted Benjamin Moore’s Richmond Gold, but I am leaning towards Benjamin Moore’s Quincey Tan to get more of a coastal look. It’s a big old house with north facing windows, so I tried the gold to “warm it up” 8 years ago. The door and baseboard trim is black walnut, which my husband made 15 years ago, and has to be left as is. The furniture is in really good shape, so really can’t justify replacing it. I’ve come to love all of your coastal look ideas and would love your inspiration.
Thanks so much,
Erin
Here is one of the photos Erin sent me to work on:
…and here’s what I had fun coming up with in Photoshop for her:
Here is the interactive version for those of you on a desktop computer. Just move your cursor on and off of the photo below to see it presto change-o!
In a nutshell, I tried repainted the walls a color closer to the one she mentioned in her email, and sprinkled pops of gray, white and blue around the room. I kept it “warm” by using lots of texture, patterns and layers.
I love the dark brown trim her husband made, and think that it ties in nicely with some of their furniture (the couch, trunk and side table in the corner), but I’d love to see a couple of the other wood pieces painted white and/or blue, (not necessarily the pieces I popped into the photo) just to inject a couple brighter colors, and to establish a dedicated color palette.
I went with a larger (but lighter-colored) media unit, just to really make the most of that big wall that the TV is on. That one is from Pottery Barn, but Ikea has a comparable unit for much less. Here’s a link: Liatorp Media Unit.
I would probably try to find a gray-colored slipcover for the recliner, and an off-white or white one (that can be bleached) for the loveseat, again, just to help break up some of the brown in the room, and to bring in more of the coastal vibe Erin’s looking for.
Last but not least, here are links to some of the things I used in my inspiration photo:
Stone and Succulent Arrangement:
That last one gives you an idea of how fun and easy it would be to inject some kind of red into the room too!
I’m hoping these photos help Erin’s creative (cozy meets coastal-inspired!) gears turning, and I hope she keeps us posted on how it all comes together! 😀
What a great transformation! I have an IKEA white media unit in my coastal family room and it’s perfect!
That’s quite a transformation. Always amazes me what a difference wall color can make in a room. Your ideas to further lighten the space with the white wall unit, slipcover and accessories makes a big impact. I wouldn’t have thought of the area rugs as way to lighten it up !
gasp! you are good. SO good.
(blows my mind what rugs can do!)
You are brilliant. Every day and twice on Monday. What a transformation!!!
Impressive!
I love this! The darker baseboards with the colors you chose work so well together. Would love to see how she ends up incorporating your ideas one day!
Wow! What a difference. It feels so light and bright now. Love it!
Amazing! Love the changes! Love your blog and all that you share! 🙂
Love it all!! I spied those vases in my last PB catalog and immediately fell in love. Seeing them here, again, makes me want them all over again.
Everything in the original is soooo brown! I’m sure the baseboards etc are great in real life but everything being brown doesn’t make them pop as special. The media unit is a great way of balancing the size of the tv as the current unit/shelf is too small and makes the room look smaller. If they can’t afford a bigger unit yet like the one you suggest, expanding that wall with larger pictures (too many small would be too bitty) or found artefacts like your propeller would balance the size of the tv better. And definitely hang new curtains high and wide so the whole window is clear when the curtains are pulled back, like you’ve shown.
This looks amazing! Well done. Love the pops of global style mixed into the coastal theme and colors. The flower vases and lumbar pillow are gorgeous.
What a beautiful room! She already had great bones with the beautiful wood trim and lovely window and you made it sing.
Looks great….hope she follows your design ideas.. I noticed Target is now selling Surefit slip covers. That may safe her a few shipping dollars.
Thanks Layla for the inspirations. I’ll keep you posted
This looks great! Where can the chunky natural rug be purchase.
Your changes look really good! I need to rethink my living room along some of your thoughts. There’s a lot of brown. I do have a white tall narrow display cabinet, and some bright throw pillows, but that’s about as far as I’ve gotten. We live on a lake, so it’s sort of a lodge look. I think adding in some more orange/melon/deep yellow could help, but I’m not sure. The pillows have those colors on a natural muslin background.
love it!!
you did an amazing job as usual with the presto chango and when i look closely it really is all doable and not crazy off the wall impossible to do on a budget type of a transformation. She really could do all this with careful attention to all the details and ‘presto’…. a whole new beautiful room. I just love these chango presto transformations. Thanks again Layla
I am doing this in my brother’s bedroom, and I have been looking for the perfect “sand” color for the walls. It is a much smaller room. Any suggestions?
You did such a fabulous job with the presto change changing the look of the room and making it more lively and colorful. Now, it looks spacious and inviting…in line with the coastal appeal. I like it!