Kev and I took a little road trip to Atlanta this past weekend, and boy did it feel good to get out and do something different for a couple of days!
We stayed in Buckhead on Thursday and Friday night, but we drove out to Suwanee, GA on Friday afternoon to visit our friends, Alex and Emily Morrison. We had fun helping them re-design their living room for HGTV last Fall, and it’s always a trip to look back at the before photos after standing there in the re-done room… (insert flashback sound effect here)
We didn’t get a chance to take many “after” photos when we were done working on it last year, so we were pumped when Alex and Emily said we could come back and snap some more on Friday…
Their makeover was such an interesting, whirlwind-kind-of-a-project to be a part of. We only had a few weeks to pull everything together before we got to Suwanee last Fall, and because some things had to be ordered online and custom made (long story) to stay on budget (sofa, rug, mantel beam, coffee table) we didn’t get to see them until, like, 2 days before the big reveal. Scary! I don’t know about you, but I’m a fan of knowing exactly what size/shape/color something is going to be before I commit to it (especially when it’s going in someone elses house!), so that part of the makeover was really challenging for me…and the knot in my stomach. Apparently this belly wasn’t built for that kind of bravery- ha!
We did do a lot of on-the-fly decorating while we were filming though, too, and I actually ended up enjoying that part of the process quite a bit. For instance, at one point, a runner brought back two pairs of white curtains (which was awesome) but unfortunately, they were just a few inches too short. I asked a fellow (sewing machine-totin’) blogger if she could lengthen them by using some leftover zig-zag fabric we had, and she did a great job making it happen, lickety split…
And speaking of that zig-zag fabric, another fabulous blog friend used some more of it to create slipcovers for an ottoman and a couple of flea market-found armchairs on the other side of the room…
I don’t know what we would’ve done without the help of so many talented folks that week!
The fireplace was my favorite part of the room to re-design, and I’m really glad we had a chance to take another picture of it this time around…
We got the recycled glass tile at Lowes before they discontinued it, and while it was on clearance for just $2/square foot. We picked up the rustic beam at Southern Accents in Cullman, Alabama, and our production company’s carpenter built the fireplace surround based on a drawing I did in Photoshop. Kev and I couldn’t get over what a great job he did covering the old one up! Here’s a close up of the 70-year-old beam we used…
I knew Emily would love it, based on some of the rustic elements I was seeing on her Pinterest boards, but I wasn’t sure what Alex would think about it. I was so relieved when he told us it was one of his favorite things in the room this weekend! Whew!
To the right of the fireplace, we used a really big potted palm (which is now deceased- ha!) and a folding screen made out of three salvaged windows we also found at Southern Accents…
I am absolutely cuckoo for that thing, and mark my words, I will be going back to hunt down three more old windows so that I can make one for me and Kev!
And speaking of salvaged stuff…we also used some reclaimed wood from Southern Accents on one of the side tables…
(Note to Emily: I tooootally forgot to tell you that you’ll probably want to throw some wax on that sucker at some point so that it holds up better over time.) It was previously topped in a really outdated looking surface, and the base was previously a 70’s style brown color. Our friend, Rhoda, sprayed it oil-rubbed bronze for us, and our carpenter-helper replaced the old top with the reclaimed wood. Not bad for a $20 side table, eh? Emily told me one of her favorite things was the little antique brass & glass piece we placed on the top of it for the reveal…
We picked that one up at Queen of Hearts in Buford, GA- but I’ve seen them at TJ Maxx a lot lately, too.
One big thing we learned while we were filming is that designing for TV is a lot different than designing for real life. (The Nervous Nelly in me repeatedly told Alex & Emily they could feel free to change or remove anything they didn’t like after the camera crew was gone- ha!) One (fun) “rule” our production company gave us was that they wanted us to use lots and lots of color throughout the space so that the room would “read better” on camera. Darker wall color, vibrantly patterned fabrics, etc. We also brought in a cute aqua table lamp, and a bunch of fellow bloggers helped us paint the french doors and the sofa table a color called “Heirloom Red” by Valspar…
I also like using a least a little green in every room, and I absolutely adore the bottom suitcase in the photo above, and the bowl in the photo below. I got them both at Prattville Pickers, and I had a really hard time giving those guys up, too!
(Side note: we had our carpenter-helper screw those two suitcases together so that the top one wouldn’t accidentally slide off!)
Just in case anyone is curious- here’s a list of links and store info for everything we incorporated into the room:
Wall color- Oyster Bay, by Sherwin Williams
Trim color- Parchment White, by Glidden (Home Depot)
Red paint color- Heirloom Red, by Valspar (Lowes)
Rug- Anji Mountain Rug Company
Fireplace Tile- Elida Ceramica Recycled Mosaic Moonlight Glass Wall Tile (Lowes)
Coffee table- Custom made by Southern Accents
Mantel beam- Southern Accents
Vintage suitcases- Prattville Pickers
Metal coffee table- Prattville Pickers
Table lamps- TJ Maxx
Picture frames- Ikea
Floor lamp- TJ Maxx
Ceiling light- Lowes
Sofa- Custom made by FunkySofa.com
Bookcases- Ikea
Bookcase doors- Ikea
Flooring- Southern Accents
Curtain rods- Walmart
White curtains- Walmart
Window blinds- Home Depot (Maker- DesignView ; Style- Providence)
Armchair slipcovers- Made by Sassy Stitches
Sequined pillows- TJ Maxx
Floral pillow cover- Ikea
Striped euro sham- Ikea
Small bird pillow- Flea market
Beige floral, aqua geometric, aqua/mustard floral, and yellow floral pillows (on armchairs)- Made from fabric remnants from Claudia’s Cloth Barn in Prattville, Alabama
We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to work on this makeover with so many big-hearted/incredibly talented peeps, and we’re looking forward to working on another one with our own little cameras again very soon!
Beautiful! I love the glass on the fireplace. Great job!
The fireplace redo is amazing, turned out so beautiful. I LOVE the pop of red on the french doors. This is an awesome redo!
I love the colors!
Beautiful-bright and serene. I think the fireplace/mantel makeover is amazing an I love the built-ins around the french doors! AWESOME job!
Beautiful! It looks cozy and nothing feels better than a place to put your feet up and relax. You and Kevin certainly scored a winner with this one!
I love the slip cover chairs!
Wow! I love what you did with the place. I would love a new fireplace – one of the “must haves” when we bought our house was a fireplace, but we’ve got one of those ugly pre-formed all in one units (not even sure what it’s made of). I would love a re-do of my fireplace and living room.
Do you guys make house calls to Texas?
The whole room is just gorgeous! The fireplace is my favorite part of the room, love the combination of glass tile & rustic wood. Wish I could have been in on the makeover, but I was working at the time. If you’re ever doing another project in the Atlanta area, would love to help. And I make an awesome batch of brownies! 🙂
Wow times a million. What a beautiful transformation! The french doors painted red really got me.
Looks amazing! I absolutely LOVE the red console table and the curtains with the zigzag trim. Gorgeous!!!
What a fun time!!! The pictures are amazing…congrats 🙂
I love it and I LOVE the colors! I particularly like the suitcases stacked as an end table. Any time you feel like a drive to Idaho for a redo…Just let me know. 😉
I am bananas over the fireplace area! Soooo cool! Great job guys!
This is absolutely one of the best makeovers I’ve seen! That fireplace redo is sooooo amazing! Great job once again,
Looks great. I was wondering where the slipcovers on the chairs came from? I like the use if color, so often we see neutrals over neutrals these days, it’s nice to see some color pop!
Oops…I see where you got the slipcovers, it’s right in the beginning of the post! HA! I was interested because I am trying to learn more about how they are made or where to get custom ones. I will have to check out Sassy Stitches!
swoon! this redo is totally amazing! 🙂
Ya’ll have such vision! The tiled fireplace is divine.
I had to scroll up and down about five times to see that it really was the same room! You guys did an Amazing design here, WOW!! I’m in love with every special touch!
I am loving everything about this space. Especially the tiles around the fireplace. Are they the same ones you used in your guest bath?
Wish you and Kev could come to the beach and help us with our space!
OOh!! I love it!! The floor is just beautiful and the fireplace is fabulous:)
WooHoo! I have, in my posession, two vintage blue suitcases…would be great to stack as you have, but I don’t need them. A friend gave them to me to pop onto eBay for $20 + shipping. any interest here before I list them?
Hey Layla, just a quick ? I have an art deco bedroom set (moved into a 1930’s house in Dec). The old owner had bamboo shades…can I fit these into an art deco/vintage themed room? They’re brown. Amazing Bedroom Suite, hardwood floors, so that is all brown.
Ready to take them down if they don’t work. I like the look in this makeover!
It turned out just gorgeous, congrats! Love how there’s lots to look at but it doesn’t feel cluttered at all.
I am absolutely in LOVE with EVERYTHING!!! I especially love that teal lamp, and the red on the double doors. Just beautiful. Good job putting this room together 🙂
Your style is my favorite….so light and airy. It’s restful, playful and homey all at the same time.
What a fabulous room! I love it! Interesting tip about the difference between decorating for TV vs ‘Life” – I need to use that in my blog photography. I adore the fireplace makeover – we have an old brick one too. Did you guys take the brick down or just go over the top of it? So glad you got to go back and share some pictures with us – I will be pinning..
Kev and Layla! Thank you so much for posting this! I love your style and have told everyone what a wonderful, blessed opportunity it was to work with you…….I’m the sewing machine toting reader!! It was such a fun day. You two AND your crew are just awesome!! Keep it up!
WOW! What a great job you two did. I love it.
Layla! This is AH-mazing!! I love what you guys did to this room! Those red doors! The fireplace! All of it!! I’m off with my hubby today to try and find a piece of wood for our mantle just like that – thought it was pretty funny that it should turn up on your blog… now if only I had a Southern Accents up here in the Northwest! 😉 Fingers crossed.
WOW….what a makeover! You did an absolutely amazing job Layla. Plus, you give credit to others, but bottom line…it was your makeover. I still can’t believe those blind mice over at HGTV didn’t give you the show. Tells me something about the future of HGTV. 🙁
Reclaimed wood, woven blinds, gallery wall, stacked suitcases, mis-matched pillows, and even mason jars! This room is like CANDY for my eyes!! LOVE IT ALL!!! (too bad the palm passed away, I would have loved that too 🙂
Baileywife
Great job!! It looks just fantastic!!!
LOVE this! The glass tiles around the fireplace + the rustic beam = great texture!!
I’m sharing this on my FB page & pinterest!
This room is gorgeous! I was wondering about the wood trim throughout the room. Did you replace it all with white or just paint it? I have all dark wood trim and doors in my house and would love to change it all to white. Just not sure which route to go.
I love your blog!!
Hi Barbara!
We primed and painted all the (existing-and-in-great-shape) trim and wainscoting with “Parchment White” paint. 🙂
Hi Barbara–this is my living room and I thought I’d give you my two cents on painting the dark-stained trim. When Layla and Kevin were here, the crew used a paint sprayer and got the job done very quickly with a couple coats of primer and paint. If you have the $, definitely go that route. The rest of my house had (some still has) dark-stained trim as well and it took me 2 coats of primer and one coat of paint. It’s time consuming but OH SO WORTH IT. 🙂
Thanks for the additional information Emily!. It will certainly help in deciding what to do. Hopefully I can get started with the master bedroom soon. Your living room pictures have certainly helped me in deciding the look I was leaning towards was definitely the way I want to go. If I ever get it done I will send you some pics.
I fell in love with the picture “gallery” on the wall. Would you please share how you picked the sizes of the frames and how to space them correctly? =)
Hey Susan! I actually just played around with a bunch of different frames on the Morrison’s front yard to figure out the configuration, and a fellow blogger helped me “eyeball” them on the wall when we hung them up! 😀
Thanks Layla! Sounds like something I would do to figure it out. Haha! The method to my madness is to take broken down cardboard box cut in different sizes and use painters tape to hang it on the wall to see if the sizes would work together
No wonder my walls are still blank after 8 years! =)
I love the red touches throughout the room! Could you share the wall color please?
Sure thing! It’s up there at the top of the resource list! 🙂
Love it as always, Layla!
This is absolutely beautiful. I am pinning several of these pictures. We are looking at possibly buying a foreclosure and the den is really similar to the this living area. I could incorporate a lot of these great ideas.
Beautiful!
I love everything about this room it’s beautiful, but the fireplace surround and mantle are my favorite!
Can you please explain how the mantle is attached to the wall??
Thanks,
Beth
Stunningly gorgeous transformation, Layla and Kevin! You guys are amazing! 🙂
I am such a huge fan! Love your style and everything you touch. What a gift 🙂
The room is just beautiful! Great job!
Y’all did such an amazing job on this room. I can’t wait to see another room re-do of yours!
Hey Layla, I was just wondering about how the Alex and Emily like the placement of there tv. We have a similar fireplace and have always thought we couldn’t put the tv above the mantle because it would be too high. Do you know if it works for them?
Hey Katie!
We were actually wondering about that the whole time too, but I’m happy to report that Alex and Emily said they love it up there! 😀 (Whew!)
LOVE the entire look! Remindes me of the color scheme and feel of our living room. Rustic mixed with a touch of cottage. Just perfect:)
Wow-this looks fabulous-the fireplace is divine!
ohmydog, LOVE! yinz are so crazy talented.
The entire room is gorgeous! You guys are so stinkin talented:) Pinning this for the fireplace-totally what we are thinking for ours!
OMG! I LOVE THE RED DOORS!!! I assume you used the Heirloom Red on both the sofa table AND THE DOOR. I really really want a four season porch out my living room! I’d totally paint red doors. What a fun pop of color!