Maybe a month or two ago I had asked my readers what I should do with my living room conundrum. I had ideas, but if I didn’t share the blaaness I knew I wasn’t going to jump on it as fast as I could if the public knew it’s true form. I received fantastic input from readers on the blog + instagram and got super excited to finalize my thoughts and plans.
Here is what it looked like when we were actually touring the house for first time. I always thought I’d take enough and plenty of before pictures, but somehow I didn’t quite get around to it. However, I love that our amazing Seattle realtor Matthew Smith is commenting on the “cute” Ikea light in this only before pic I have of the exact space. I’ve noted all the things that we changed in that room after we moved in.
This next picture is the one I left you with back in November. Honesty, I hadn’t put that much effort into the room. Except for the couch and the frames I used what I had to make it a TV room. I probably shouldn’t have invested in the IKEA frames yet, but oh well, I’ll find other places for them (and gigantic pics to fill them..)
As I’ve noted below, the frames were hung to high (thanks Colleen for telling me there is a standard..duh Karisa?); the Mid century expedit hack was cool, but too tall and busy looking; and the back wall lacked a certain amount of character, but I tire of frames on frames on frames.
I divided and conquered the room with three unique wall projects. The goal was to keep the space open, simple, but intriguing to look at. Here are my three walls.
Wall one: Floating sideboard with wall mounted TV
Wall two: Narrow picture ledge with simple or monochrome pictures
Wall three: Swedish cross wall with reading lights
I even got around to painting the door to the garage black! Keeps some cash in our pockets a little longer as we don’t hate it enough to buy a new one.
The sideboard is such a gem. I can’t wait to share the step by step tutorial with you. I love how lifting everything off the ground allows the pretty baseboards and floors to stand out.
Here’s a glimpse of what storage looks like inside. The PS3 has to fit sideways, but that’s alright. My husband is a champ when it comes to (well, everything but also) hiding cables through the wall. It’s makes a beautiful difference and basically I LOVE wall mounted TVs. Now this one is now at a comfortable height for lounging and viewing.
The picture ledge.. Another simple project I’ll share with you sometime along with some images that you can download for your own framed art.
I really love this wall. It breaks up the monotony of frames, chalkboards, and white paint. All of which I love, but the space needed something more..
The lights are great for cozying up underneath and writing blog posts while having a background movie or show on. (However, unless it’s Lord of the Rings, which I’ve seen hundreds of times, I’m not a good TV multi-tasker, hence the reason we don’t have cable.) Also we ended up putting a dark grey shag rug from Ikea on the ground. I originally wanted patterned b+w, but my husband missed having carpet and wanted something he could sink his toes into. I really do love it. (So does the pup!)
I hope you enjoyed the little tour. I’ll be sharing each project in it’s own little post in the near future. I wish each of you could come cozy up sometime in my red down blanket that I like to have on that couch. Red + black is a favorite color combo of mine in there.
**Find the DIY Projects that make up this room right here!**
Erica says
Really beautiful! Love the clean white and the fun black accents. And that floating sideboard is AMAZING! Love, love, love. You are my design muse!
Petite Modern Life says
Thank you Erica :):)
Shannon says
I love, love, love it! The floating console and the Swiss cross wall are my fave! Nice job.
Petite Modern Life says
Thank you so much Shannon :)
Corinna - For My Love Of says
that rug really does look ultra cozy. The space looks phenomenal. I love everything you’ve done to it!
Petite Modern Life says
Thank you Corinna!
Leigh Anne says
I LOOOOOVE it!! You did a great job!! I love Scandinavian design.
Petite Modern Life says
You’re sweet Leigh Anne, thank you!
Uli says
My fav is the picture wall! A great solution! Where did you get your inspiration from? x
http://www.foundsomepaper.com
Petite Modern Life says
Hi Uli! Thanks for stopping by. I’ve collected a lot of pins that have picture ledges, how people arrange them and what they feature in their frames on this board https://www.pinterest.com/petitemdnlife/i-n-t-e-r-i-o-r-s-p-a-c-e-s/ They’re kinda spread throughout it.
Anna @Annabode says
Ooh I love your swiss cross wall so much! The sconces and the clothespin line are perfection, and your floating credenza turned out beautifully. Congrats on finishing a room!
Petite Modern Life says
Thank you Anna! Goodness it feels good to have one space finalized and without need to tweek (for a long while at least.)
Emily @ Table & Hearth says
So amazing Karisa!! It’s just so refreshing and calming, while still serving purposes you want it to. Can’t wait to see the tutorials :)
Petite Modern Life says
Awh thanks Emily! It is so much cozier having it 100% the way I wanted it instead of somewhere in between.
Amanda @ Dwelling in Happiness says
This is AWESOME!! I love love loooooove the after. Loving that floating sideboard, and your picture ledge, and the swedish wall!! I basically just love it ALL. Can I say “love” anymore?? ;)
Petite Modern Life says
Amanda you’re a sweetie ;) thank you!
Petite Modern Life says
April, I do love them. My husband and I are so happy with our decision with them. We have 2 cats, a dog, and remodeling life style so the maintenence of these is KEY. They hide dirt incredibly and when I can’t take the grit under my toes any longer I can sweep or vacuum with ease. I use a simple squirt + mop bottle with a rag over my swiffer and I think it looks great! I have a full post on these floors, check it out here! Any more questions let me know!
Carrie @ Kenarry: Ideas for the Home says
Karisa, your “before” photos weren’t bad by any means, but your “after” photos are simply amazing. I love how you’ve taken a nice room and turned it into a gorgeous, cozy work of art! Nice job, my friend!
Petite Modern Life says
Thank you Carrie, you are so very sweet!
Jennifer @ Brave New Home says
It’s great! You really nailed the Scandi vibe.
Petite Modern Life says
That’s a huge compliment coming from you Jennifer, thank you!
Breanna says
What an awesome space! Amazing transformation :)
Krystal says
I really like the vibe you are going for. The sideboard,couch and floors are awesome! I do feel that the swiss cross wall is on the wrong wall ( love the swiss cross! )…..at least in the picture….maybe it is the first wall you see when you walk in the room which would make sense. In the picture the focal wall seems to be the one with the picture ledge. Not sure if you want to go through the hassle of changing it ( not sure if it is removeable vinyl or what ). If you can’t or don’t want to change it I would remove the close pin with the prints. Between the crosses and the sconces the close pin line looks too busy. As for the picture ledge…..great idea….so want to do one in my house! I think you have too many frames that are a little too small and similar in size. Check out the below link….I think the use of really large frames mixed with smaller ones works a bit better visually ( maybe try mixing in some of the larger frames you used to have up there )
http://www.chrislovesjulia.com/2014/11/a-massive-wood-picture-ledge-for-the-living-room.html
I really liked the 3 large prints you had up…..their scale suited that wall much better. I think switching the swiss crosses to that wall and hanging the larger prints ( lower ) would be fabulous. Actually either the picture ledge ( hung lower to incorporate larger prints ) or the 3 larger prints would be really great.
Please don’t take this as harsh criticism. Your place is gorgeous! My place is sooooo not LOL. Just a few ideas to tinker with.
Petite Modern Life says
Krystal! Thank you for the feedback, it’s totally great to get a fresh perspective on the space. I was totally inspired by the Christlovesjulia ledge.I think I’ll take another look at their arrangement. The ledge width was actually too small for those wonderful big frames :( I totally broke one I had up there while I was thinking about making it work haha.. woops.
Krystal says
Bummer about the broken pic! Maybe try moving the larger frame on the left closer to the centre….sort of offset centre ( move the two smaller ones 2nd and 3rd from the left over to where the big one is….smallest one at the end….and put the big one where the two smaller ones were ) This might visually balance it out a bit more. The pics are great! I saw them in a separate post. I wish I had this many ideas about my own place…..it’s such a disaster! LOL
Linh says
I am in love with your sofa!!! Can you tell me where I can get one like that? It would be perfect in my living room :)
Petite Modern Life says
Hi Linh! It’s from Modern Design Sofas in Seattle. Check them out online here! It’s a great couch. Good quality.
Shannon [Our Home Notebook] says
What a beautiful, inspiring space! I loved how you pulled it all together!
Laura says
I love your space! Would you mind telling me where the family crest print came from?
Petite Modern Life says
Hi Laura! Thank you :) I actually designed and printed it myself.