HGTV Home Tour: The Living Room Before and After

Who’s ready to move to the next room? This week it’s all about our living room transformation (and we didn’t even change the paint!). I don’t know about you, but once we went into quarantine this spring it became abundantly clear to all of us that the living room needed some major updates. I was tired of living without a coffee table and I was sick of sitting on our old sectional.

SO during a lot of down time with my family, we discussed what we wanted our dream living room to look like. I want to share with you pieces I was gifted from various companies to make our dream living room a reality. This space now makes me feel like I’m on a staycation because who knows when I’ll get to go on a real vacation again!

Sectional

The biggest issue we had in our living room was our sectional. Our old one was over 7 years old. The cushions had turned to pancakes, the sectional connector broke so someone always inevitably fell into the crack, and my daughter broke one of the legs jumping on it. So needless to say it was time for an upgrade.

We partnered with US based company Apt2B to totally transform our living room. This time around I wanted a sectional that you could truly cuddle up in at the end of a long day at home. I wanted bigger cushions, a bigger footprint, and an injection of color. The Mulholland sectional completely elevated the whole look of the room, and nobody has to fight over the chaise anymore. My husband likes to refer to it as the hotel lounge area (this is high praise from a very opinionated spouse).

Coffee Table

This is the first time we’ve had a coffee table in two years. For those of you who are kid free you are probably thinking what?!? But I have had so many parents DM me that they love this table, but they have to wait until their kids get bigger to buy something like this.
Well I disagree, I got this table from Urban Outfitters for two reasons. One, it’s new but looks like a vintage one-of-a-kind piece. The Ria coffee table has a rattan tabletop with a unique woven pattern, and the organic shape of the legs make me want to swoon. Secondly, it’s light weight and sturdy enough to move out of the room so my daughter can play Just Dance.

Pillows & Rug

One of the main requirements for this room was that it didn’t have any pink in it this time around (yes, opinionated spouse again). This became a very difficult challenge for me because I love mixing blue with blush. So, I had to get out of my comfort zone and move towards ochre.
When I discovered these pillows and rug from Lulu and Georgia (I was saved). I loved that each piece had these abstract hieroglyphic-like patterns, and I could easily blend them with existing pieces in my home. Most importantly, the colors played nice with my sectional.

More Plant Babies

As I have shared many times before I don’t have a green thumb, but I’m trying my best with my new plants from Bloomscape (I refuse to name the plants until they’ve been alive for a solid 6 months, and I’m half way thru my goal🙌🏾)

This burgundy rubber tree is just what the doctor ordered when it came to this corner of my room. Normally in a corner I would add an accent chair, but with a sectional this large and generous who would sit there? So I decided this was a perfect opportunity for me to try out a plant. There’s a window nearby for indirect sunlight, and it forces me to remember to water all of the other plants.

1. Aimee Mohair Throw, Merlot

2. Moroccan Flatweave Rug, Ochre By Sarah Sherman Samuel

3. Iconic Stripe Pillow By Sarah Sherman Samuel

4. Charlotte Velvet Pillow, Burnt Orange (***What is shown is goldenrod SOLD OUT)

5. Iconic Stripe Lumbar Pillow By Sarah Sherman Samuel

6. Mulholland Drive 2pc Sectional Sofa in Baltic with pecan legs

7. Ria Coffee Table

8. Burgundy Rubber Tree

***All items listed above were gifted

HGTV Home Tour: The Patio Before & After

I’m so excited to be kicking off my blog series about our HGTV home tour this week!!! But before I even talk about what’s inside my apartment, let’s talk about what’s outside—the patio space aka a little slice of heaven.

You can see on the right in the before image there was literally nothing to work with but a wooden chipped table, and three chairs (one of which I took from my dining room when we all wanted to eat outside). The pandemic was a turning point for us to make some big moves outdoors. I was CRAVING nature and I just wanted to be outside, and sadly for the past few years I have never done anything with the porch (until now). So I decided to reach out and collaborate with Article and RugsUSA to transform this space into our little oasis.

Mood board designed with Morpholio Board App

The first thing I started with was a mood board (of course). I wanted to design an eclectic space with a mix of materials and patterns. I also wanted to make sure it felt like “me.” So going with some boho-inspired and mid-century pieces were right up my alley, and then sprinkled with a ton of pattern play.

Photos by First and Last Productions LLC

The first piece that I started with was the Trella sofa I wanted to build my design around this piece because I fell in love with the mix of material of black and natural wicker, and the curved back was the perfect shape for our patio space. That side silhouette is just right for a small space. We were also concerned about durability since we’re in the North East super durable for the outdoor elements because the black and natural wicker materials actually conceal the aluminum frame of the sofa.

Our next priority was a dining table that would seat all three of us and it had a mid-century modern feel. I find a lot of outdoor furniture is boxy and typically teak, but I wanted something that looked SO good you would have a hard time believing it was made for the outdoors. So when I saw the Ballo table (and then measured my outdoor space), and realized this round table would fit I was elated. This table definitely brought in some sophistication to the space. The angle legs and thin round top look so good its hard to believe its outdoor, until you try to move it, this table is made of galvanized steel and it has a matte black powder-coated finish, believe me when I say it’s not going anywhere.

For the chairs I wanted to pair the table with something playful and easy to clean. The Svelti chair in daisy yellow checks both of the boxes no problem. The yellow makes such a bold statement on the patio, and whenever food spills or soil drops on it when I re-potting a new plant (which it inevitably does) it’s super easy to clean up. Plus, after having these chairs in direct sunlight for the past three months the daisy color still is bold.

Lastly, I really wanted a rug in my space, but it’s a very narrow patio, and I kept going back and forth on whether or not I needed something underfoot for the sofa. Well thankfully I went with this gray striped tribal Indoor/Outdoor runner from RugsUSA. A lot of outdoor rugs for durability purposes have a plastic feel to the touch, but this rug has a soft feel underfoot even though it has a thin pile. Plus, the graphic geometric pattern adds another layer to the design which I love (any reason to layer on the more let’s do it).

Let me tell you I am soaking up every little bit of sunshine I can get from my new patio space. I call it my new room, and most people can find me outside these days in paradise. To get the look click the links below:

1. Svelti dining chairs in daisy yellow (gifted)

2. Ballo Round Table (gifted)

3. Trella sofa in black and natural (gifted)

4. Gray Striped Tribal Indoor/Outdoor 2’x8’ area rug (gifted)

5. Outdoor Pillows from The Inside