Drumroll, please! I'm excited to say that our living room is *finally* finished! After almost five years of adding things here and there, waiting for just the right item to come along and a few DIY projects, it's complete! I absolutely love this room. Every time I walk in our front door, I smile as I take in the view. To me, it's perfect.
The final touch was this gallery wall that I've been planning forever...
A month or so ago I posted this photo on our Facebook page. I had bought all of the frames from IKEA. (They're the Ribba frames in white.) and finally got around to figuring out how I wanted to hang them. I went a little "frame crazy" and actually ended up with about 7 left over. Whoops! Don't worry, I'm sure they'll all find a home on a wall somewhere in our house!
Next, I put my hubby to work hanging the frames. He's an engineer, so he actually enjoys things like this. He even uses a level. Me? I'm more of an "eyeball it and hang" kinda girl. He's not a fan of my technique. ;)
Once he finished hanging the frames, we noticed that they were a bit crooked. We used Command Velcro to keep them straight and secure on the wall- worked like a charm!
And, here is our completed gallery wall in all of it's glory! It's simple, colorful and bright. Exactly what I wanted.
A little rundown of what we hung up:
1. Custom State Printables from Olive and Birch. (I made the "Home is Where the <3 Is" printable in the middle.)
2. My favorite photos of my boys taken a few years ago by Kiss the Moon Photography.
3. A beautiful pet portrait, painted by LauraKG, of our beloved boxer Charlie who passed away a few years ago.
4. One of our wedding photos taken by Corey Ann Photography.
5. Our wedding "Guest Book Tree" that we ordered from Peachwik.
6. Family beach photo taken last summer at Carolina Beach
Here's a more close-up look at our Guest Book Tree. I love how personal it is and that it's out for us to look at all of the time! My favorite "leaf" is the one that my husband signed when I wasn't looking on our wedding day. He wrote, "I can't believe I got to marry the girl of my dreams! So much love, Jason"... He's definitely a keeper. :)
The gallery wall was the last piece of what felt like a never-ending puzzle when it came to completing our living room. It's evolved a lot since we moved in almost five years ago. It's been repainted three times, been furnished with different furniture and has been rearranged more times than I care to mention. But, finally, I feel like it's done! Whew! And I'm so happy with it. :)
Here's the wall across from the couch. We had to hire an electrician to come and run the wiring for us to hang the TV up over the mantel and hide all of the loose wires. It was worth the money. We spent almost a year with wires hanging down from the TV onto the mantel and I couldn't stand it! The brown reupholstered chair was an easy project that turned out beautifully. Isn't it wonderful when paint and/or fabric can breathe life into an object? And behind the chair you'll notice the glass bottle wall sconces that I made last year. They're still one of my favorite projects. I'm looking forward to when the peonies are back in bloom so that I can fill the jars with them!
None of the furniture in the room was purchased new, other than the IKEA Billy bookcases flanking the fireplace. Everything else was found on Craigslist, a local painted furniture site, or at Goodwill. It pays to wait for exactly what you're looking for. A lot of times you'll get a really great deal out of it! :)
I get a lot of questions about all of the white furniture. I love it. It's bright, cheerful, clean and neutral. The couch and chairs are slipcovered. We've had everything from red wine to coffee spilled on them and there's never been a problem getting the stain out. I simply throw them in the wash with some bleach and they're as good as new! I live with two toddler boys, so it's hard to keep their dirty little feet and hands off of the couch! Our house is lived in, but still looks nice most of the time. If you're on the fence about getting white furniture, I say to go for it! If I can do it, so can you.
A happy spot by our front door. I made the A-Z bookends, tweet sign, and coffee filter wreath. And I also painted the coral, monogrammed tray and the picture frame. The trunk is from Target and holds most of our DVDs. The curtains you see were a Target clearance find. It took me four years to find the perfect curtains for this space. I'm so happy that I held out, because I absolutely love these! :)
What do you think of my "finished" living room? Are you a fan of white furniture? Is there a room in your home that makes you smile every time you walk into it?
Have a great weekend, friends! Thanks for stopping by. :)
Linking up with:
It looks beautiful I love all the neutrals and whites with the pops of color! Excellent work! Thanks for sharing. Lesley
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lesley! I love all the neutrals and white, too. It's so bright and refreshing! :)
DeleteBeautiful!!
ReplyDeleteI love it!! It's beautiful...so fun and inviting!! Love it all!! You did a fabulous job!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Crystal! I love it, too! :)
DeleteI love your gallery wall! The colour combinations are so bright and fun, and the letter is such a cute and unique touch. I actually have a stack on 9 Ribba frames sitting on my kitchen table right now. I went to Ikea earlier this week and couldn't resist.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words! What are you going to do with your frames? Do I see a gallery wall in your future?!
DeleteThe room is beautiful! I love the touches of happy colors! Your gallery wall looks awesome! I have been wanting one in our hall for years and have been collecting prints, but still haven't got frames yet. I hope mine turns out as cute as yours!
ReplyDeleteAww... thanks, friend! That means a lot coming from someone with such a keen eye for design such as yourself! Can't wait to see your gallery wall!
DeletePretty curtains. Thanks for posting the gallery wall approach. I'm so busy doing these for clients that I never think to write about it. I love that you added something with dimension, the letter. It works great with a mirror, plate, or even a dimensional ceramic item as well.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of hanging plates on wall. It's something I hope to do someday! Thank you for your kind words, Darla. :)
DeleteGorgeous room! You did a wonderful job pulling it all together! What is the paint color on your walls? I love it! missashleigh at juno dot com
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'll have to go out to the garage and check to see what color we painted the walls. I absolutely love it! It's the perfect grey. :)
DeleteYour living room is so homey and inviting! Love it and love that gallery wall.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteYour living room turned out so beautiful! Thanks for sharing it with us! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marti! I love your party! :)
DeleteThank you for the blog hop - I am your newest follower & will be delighted to have you follow back. The blog is lovely & I know I will enjoy it. All the best, Mimi
ReplyDeletehttp://inmyprimetime.blogspot.com/
Thank you for the follow, Mimi! Heading over to check out your blog now! :)
DeleteThanks for sharing your decorating ideas with us at Four Seasons Blog Hop!! I love the seaside, beachy feel to your room:) Stop back again~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
ReplyDeleteNow following your lovely blog~
Thanks for stopping by, Lynn! We're big fans of your blog hop! And we appreciate for the follow! :)
DeleteI absolutely love your wall. It is the perfect balance of eye-catching and simplicity. Can you post the size of the frames, canvas, and letter that you used? I want to replicate your wall.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shannon! The frames are all from IKEA... they're a little off-size, because that's how IKEA is. But, the largest frame holds an 11x14 picture, the next size is 8x10, the triplet frame holds 5x7 the smaller horizontal frame holds 5x7 and the two small frames of my boys next to each other hold 4x6 photos. The letter is from Hobby Lobby (they only sell this size) and the canvas of my dog is 10x10. I hope this helps! Good luck with your wall, I'd love to see it when it's finished! :)
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