Happy Happy Nester

Weekly Inspiration for Your Nest

See What’s Trending…

Cakes

Cookies

Dinners

Wreaths

Drinks

Living Room Remodel

Uncategorized
By Janine Waite ·
Affiliate Disclosure: This Post May Contain Affiliate Links.
Our Living Room
Spring is upon us and I’ve been having a lot of fun decorating our home. We have lived in our Northern California home for five years. It has been a long road, and lots of rooms have been transformed. One of the biggest changes happened in the living room. I probably should give you a little history about this room. I guess the main reason we began our remodel is that my husband wanted to redesign the fireplace. Every month I had to stop him from taking a mallet to the pink bricks over the fireplace. So, after two years of living in our house, we got our design in order to redo the kitchen, dining room, family room and living room. 
~ A Funny Note About the Nester ~
My husband bought our home without me! I never saw it in person, I totally trusted his choice! It was the first time our friend and realtor had ever seen this! We thoroughly know each other’s taste in homes. It all turned out great and we all are happy with his choice!

Sorry about the poor photo quality. This is the view from the living room to the dining room. Note the wood framing the windows and sliding glass doors. We had them all painted white which gave the room a new lightness! If you are interested in other remodels here is a link: remodel

All right here is the infamous pink brick. We all referred to it as our Taco Bell fireplace! Notice the hammer on the hearth to the right. :o)   Also, all our furniture was pretty dark, our last home in Seattle had a nice coffee house decor. But, now that we live in California, I’m ready for sunshine inside and outside!

The entertainment center got a fresh paint of white. I also, bought some Ikea Ektorp slipcover chairs on Craigslist. Our coffee table was too dark and way too small for the room.

Of course I had to look up the Ikea company history:

The founder of Ikea, Ingvar Kamprad was quite business savy from early on in his childhood. Did you know that he founded Ikea when he was just 17 years old? Amazing! He founded it at his uncle Ernst’s kitchen table. His business was mostly mail-order in the beginning. The acronym IKEA is made up of the initials of his name, Ingvar Kamprad plus those of Elmtaryd, the family farm, and the nearby village of Agunnaryd. He is 89 years old and is quite an interesting man. He is very frugal despite being the 11th riches person in the world. For instance, he drives his 1993 Volvo 240 and flies only economy class. I love that he recycles tea bags and is know to pocket the salt and pepper packets at restaurants. He sounds like a character!

Here is my great friend, Daidri. She is the most amazing photographer and you need to check out her work and website: Daidri Smythe. We took a trip to Ikea and both of us bought these wonderful rattan footstools. When she brought her stools home, her husband fell in love with them immediately. My husband on the other hand wasn’t too fond of them and kept asking when was I going to return them. Like everything in our home, I kept the price tags on them just in case I needed to return them. But, I liked them and they just needed to be paired with a white coffee table rather than the current dark one. The Ikea stools have a natural summer look and they beg for white decor. 
I was hoping to find one of those trendy poufs, but couldn’t find one that was the right color and design. I’m kind of happy that I found these neutral rattan ones that easily go with most decor.
I searched on the internet and in stores for an area rug. I was almost ready to give up when I found this rug on Pier 1 Imports website. I went into our local store and found that it was actually prettier than I had expected. It is made of polyester but has the feel of plush wool. So far, we haven’t stained it and it looks great!
I just love this fun little pillow from HomeGoods. 
I bought a white Ikea Hemnes coffee table. To insure that we don’t damage the white stain, I had a glass table top made. I just love that I don’t have to worry about the table, and the glass is so easy to clean. Also, I love that I can easily clean it down from germs and grime!

I’m currently putting up some drapes and I placed both grey and white ones up. I had a tough time deciding and I came to the conclusion that I would keep both drapes and change them out with the seasons. The grey linen drapes are from Ikea and the white velvet are from Target. Both these stores carry textiles that are so inexpensive and I love that we didn’t break the bank on these drapes. Don’t forget to check out my discount on the right column.

I still have a few more touches for the room, I would like to get a little ladder shelf to organize our mail, keys, and latest projects. So, the mission continues and stay tuned. Do you have a project that you are working on? I would love to hear from you! Thanks for visiting!

Cheers,

Janine Waite
Follow me
Latest posts by Janine Waite (see all)

You May Also Like

Sharing This!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Colette Joseph

    I love your style, Janine.
    Repurposing that yellow enamel pot that's trashed as a flower pot is genius.
    Bright white with pops of yellow bring cheery sunshine into your room! xo

    Reply

  2. Lisa @ Texas Decor

    Love it all, J! So funny that you said "coffee house decor." We used to have that kind of decor too! The paint on our walls was actually called "coffee kiss!" So funny! I, like you, started craving a lighter, brighter color scheme. Your sofas are gorgeous and I love the idea of putting a glass top on the coffee table. Your pops of yellow are the icing on the cake! Gorgeous, my friend! 🙂

    Reply

  3. Marci

    Love love love this! You are so brave! I take forever to make decisions about my house. Your room came together beautifully and your colors are so bright and cheerful. I love it!

    Reply

  4. nancy john

    Interior designing can be really fun especially when its your first time doing it. It can be a trial and error process at times but when you get the hang of it it will come naturally

    Furniture for Hosting Events at Home

    Reply

  5. Loi Thai, Tone on Tone

    Pure sunshine!!! Your living room looks beautiful. And so bright! I'm loving those pops of yellow. Happy weekend. xo

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *