Urban Nest

It’s time for a change!  The family room that we spend most of our time in has really turned into the kids’ space.  Andy and I spend a lot of time stashing toys away when we want to relax at the end of the day or when we have visitors.  So, we’ve decided that we need a grown-up space specifically designed for lounging after the little guys are asleep or when we have company.  The plan is to update our living room from a sitting room to a place where we can actually do a little more living.  Here is what our living room looks like today:

It’s not bad, but there are a few issues that have prevented us from really using the space.  For starters, it’s not all that cozy or comfortable.  The couch is small and a little hard and the empty bookshelves have always bothered me.  The previous owner of our house was an English professor, and we have more built-in bookcases in our house than we need.  So, the plan for this room is to remove the bookcases and use the wall space for some curtains to soften things up.  The bummer is that the hardwood floors don’t go under the bookcases and the walls behind the shelves are covered with wallpaper that has been painted several times.  This means repairs to the floors and the walls, so we’ll need to empty the room and repaint the walls.  We’re going to take it as an opportunity to start from scratch.  I’m planning to keep some blue, but not quite as much.  I’m thinking white walls, neutral furniture and pops of bright blue.  Here are some images I’ve been using as inspiration:

{images from House Beautiful, J.Crew, Domino (I think?), and Josephine Sasso}

Here’s my current design board:

We’ll be keeping the sideboard (and blue chairs, for now), but the rest of the pieces will be new additions.  I’m so excited about the artwork by Amanda Talley.  It’s our first piece of original art, and we actually commissioned it especially for the space – I’ll share more about that process some other time.  The couch will be much bigger, and more comfortable, than our current couch and will have large table lamps on either side.  We bought both the couch and lamps on sale this weekend at Ruth & Ollie, one of my favorite Richmond stores.  I’m planning to make throw pillows for the couch out of this fun fabric by Quadrille.  We’re considering a gilt cocktail table to replace the ottoman that our cats have shredded, but that won’t happen for a little while.  The final touches will be white linen curtains and some white flowers.

We won’t be tackling the floors and walls until after the holidays, but some of the furnishings will be in place before then.  I can’t wait until we’re relaxing in our new living room.  I’ll keep you posted as it comes together!