new living room plans.

After 10 years of marriage and 10+ years of our "big brown bear" sectional in our living room, friends...it is time for a change. We have actually absolutely loved this big brown microsuede comfy sectional, even though we had to take the chaise part off for it to fit in our new house when we moved in 2015. (good thing it could be split into three pieces easily and was meant to be separate or together as a sectional)

I've bought so many rugs to go with it and loved our World Market ottoman too, especially when having babies learning to walk and falling on it, etc... It's really been the best set up for our family, but again ... time for a change. We didn't purchase new living room furniture when we built our house in 2015 and just told ourselves we would make the splurge for a new living room set at 10 years. Now, I honestly can't believe the time is here. It's flying.

a look at our current living room // this photo was taken last Easter // I've always been a huge fan of color if you can't tell

In my mind I knew I wanted one thing: a lighter, neutral couch. Theme color around our home is spa blue (aqua blue / spa is my favorite color) and then I just went from there pulling in any of my favorites......I loved the idea of changing out pops of color on the neutral sofa. In my mind I knew we needed: practicality with two boys, durability and a nice recliner/man chair to make Chad happy and in agreement with all this hoopla ;) He could care less....seriously.... never has he even questioned a single thing I put in our house and that's one of the reasons I love him. HAHA

But Y'all. It is a huge decision because it's such huge investment. I am usually a really decisive person, but this new living room furniture had me shook. Again,  followed my gut and went with what I absolutely LOVED then never looked back.

So this is what all I've found....

I've had my eye on Ballard's Antelope Hand Tufted Rug for years. YEARS!!!!!! Like, ever since it first came out. My dream rug and it was also over $1000. Yeaaah,  no. Well, the stars aligned the last time I went to the Ballard outlet in Roswell , GA and I saw a 9x12 size antelope rug with one small flaw (that could be covered) for HALF PRICE, if not more, off. It was meant to be. I had always gotten inexpensive rugs from RUGS USA or other online sites for $200 dollars or so and good thing I did because the toddler stage has destroyed them. We've had three rugs just since we moved into this new home in 2015. I felt it was time to invest in a nicer wool rug that could hopefully sustain traffic better and last us a lot longer. So that was the building block. The first piece of the puzzle and I'm glad I had that set so I could build off of it. A great neutral rug with fun (subtle) pattern and matches our wall color (Sherwin Williams Amazing Grey) perfectly....

Next up, furniture. As much as I love everything Ballard Designs and Pottery Barn, I just don't love the prices. A flawed rug, sure but a flawed piece of investment furniture - just couldn't commit to at the outlets. Still very pricey. So I went straight back to Hampton Furniture in Anderson, SC where we purchased our "big brown bear" sectional + end tables + coffee table 10+ years ago. Yep. Such great customer service that I came back 10 years later and I even dealt with the same sales associate. It was awesome and this is why I do love shopping family owned businesses and shopping LOCAL. 

So I fell in love with this super dark leather rocker/recliner. I loved the nailhead trim. It was DARK. Like so dark it almost looked like black leather , it was even called Black Cherry. A deep merlot brown. 

Well I kept going back weeks later and finally decided I liked the lighter Cognac color. More variations in the leather and after purchasing the rug, I knew it would coordinate better. Insanely comfy and the ultimate "man chair" which we definitely haven't had. Do you know how hard it is to find a nice leather rocker/recliner (still need it to rock since my sister's kids/babies stay here during the day too with my mom) that you can actually AFFORD? Uh , yeah. quite difficult. 

Ok on to the sofa. We were over a sectional because quite frankly this living room is much smaller than our house before and a big bulky sectional just doesn't fit so well. We wanted simple, so I also ordered from Hampton but don't have a pic of until it arrives in about two more weeks. It's a light neutral with texture and awesome stain resistant fabric. I also fell in love with another recliner chair that I custom ordered with a gorgeous spa color to add a pop of color. I thought I may have room for two of those, but to be safe just ordered one until I could see all of the pieces here in the room. So neeeeext, the ottoman is not the same blue as the new chair so we need a new coffee table, end tables, accessories, etc..... because this living room has always just been thrown together - never complete. 

I fell in love with these Safavieh lamps from Target. Neutral, pop of brass/gold to match our hardware throughout the living room and kitchen. Really, perfect.

Next up, what type of coffee table is kid friendly (no harsh edges) and easy to clean/maintain? 

1. a round coffee table

2. something other than wood

Que the trendy acrylic coffee tables that aren't extremely expensive and I can use for a few years until it's maybe not-so-trendy or I'm tired of it. 

I'm really still not set on it though and still not set on end tables at all because I really won't know what will fit so much until the furniture is in here. I do love the idea of two round tables on either side of the sofa with LAMPS FINALLY and actually styled. These are from Joss & Main (looks blue, but the color is grey? I'm thinking white too. Lots of options) as well as the acrylic coffee table.

Here's a few photos of inspiration that I've pinned recently. I love the idea of adding in a fiddle leaf fig tree in the corner next to the entertainment center, but that's where our TOYS stay. I also love the idea of new buffet lamps in the foyer, new bookshelf styling, etc...but yet it's unnecessary and I have to remember, one. thing. at. a. time. It's still the season for little ones around here and I certainly don't want to rush that. This still needs to be a living room that's very much "livable".

So yes, check back in a few more weeks when we get all the furniture in....set it all up with the new rug (and new artwork I also snagged from Ballard super cheap), accessories, etc... 

The main makeover post coming soon and I couldn't be more nervous excited! ;)