Before & After: The Insanely Transformed Living Room

I strongly believe in truly "living" in things. I'm not the type of person that buys a pair of shoes and never wears them because I want to keep them clean; I'll just wear them and repurchase them over and over again. In a similar way, I celebrate furniture getting nicks on it because it means we are enjoying the pieces (most of the time).

The living room is such a hub in the home that I wanted it to be a space that obviously looks beautiful, but more importantly, a space that you WANT to go sit on the couch. Like my goal of someone walking into the space is for them to have an immediate reaction to go sit on the couch and see if it feels as comfy as it looks.

I don't like anything too "sticky", and this room does an amazing job at looking as put-together as it does livable.

Let's take a tour of the space...

BEFORE:

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for an even better look at the before, click here

AFTER:

I feel like I need the "hallelujah" music playing in the background. hah!

The picture above was taken when kitchen cabinets were still being fixed, so ignore the island situation and focus on the cute living room ;).

The biggest transformation in the entire home was opening up the wall to the new kitchen addition. I've gone on and on about this in our previous GBOGH reveals, so I don't need to harp on it anymore, but it really is incredible how different the entire home feels.

Ripping out the plaster was another HUGE change. It really brought the home back to feeling clean and in this decade ;).

Black Bistro Table | Bistro Table Chairs (similar) | Chess Set | Reading Floor Lamp | Vase

This chess area is one of my favorite spots in the home. I talked about this in the before + planning post about this room, but I had a hard time laying out furniture in this room because of how long it is.

I thought that this little corner would be the perfect spot to put a chess table. When I found the cutest chess set in the world, it was confirmed that I had made the right decision.

I really wanted to keep this corner budget-friendly since it was a last minute add on. I splurged (kinda) on these Zara chairs, but the table is from Amazon, and the light is from Walmart. Pretty good, right?!

Basket | Chunky Knit Blanket | Leather Pouf | Rug

CHEF'S KISS!

The home had beams that we think were added in the 80s. They definitely weren't original, but we loved the look of them, so we wanted to bring back some character with new beams.

I was recommended by one of my friends to check out Heritage Beam and Board. For all you midwest people, if you need beams, fireplace mantles, etc, they are awesome!

The beams I decided on are from an old factory, and I love how imperfect they are. They are solid wood, i.e. HEAVY. They really pull the whole space together and make it feel separated from the kitchen.

Mirror | Candlestick Sconce | Black Vase

What a perfect completion to this downstairs living area. Love this home so much!

Oh wait - I forgot we still have the office! We kind of already did the office reveal with our oh-so-special partnership with Framebridge, but next week we will be diving into all the dark paint colors we almost painted the room.

Now, here's where we got everything...