Welcome to my home! I’m so glad you decided to stop by and check out my living room reveal. Most anyone that lives in a rental or military home knows the dilemma…It stinks to have your house look exactly like your neighbors’. Well, good news- it doesn’t have to! Get inspired by my living room make-over.
With a little creativity, rentals and military houses are full of so much potential!
A home should be a unique reflection of who we are. It shouldn’t look like every other house on the block. It was this theory that led me to go “all-out dramatic” in the living room of my current military abode. I wanted people to walk into my home, stop in their tracks, and wonder for half a second if they were really in a rental home. The best part? I did it all on a shoe string budget. Check out how!
THE TELEVISION DILEMMA= SOLVED!
Let’s be honest… my family doesn’t have time to watch a lot of TV. In fact, my husband and I have been working our way through the same late-90’s political drama series for the last 4 1/2 years. It’s embarrasing, really 🙂 The point is that our TV shouldn’t define my family. I certainly don’t want a huge black screen to be the first thing visitors see when walking in our home. Since our last house was 1800 sq feet larger, we needed to combine the formal sitting room and the “TV room”.
THE SOLUTION?
I custom built this 46″ x 71″ canvas and painted it with leftover wall and acrylic paint. I will share the details on this DIY project in a future blog post.
I recently picked up this Italian black coffee table at a Boise thrift store for a screaming $110. I joke that it’s style can best be described as “80’s Sexy”- a term that I hope to coin 🙂 I love how it adds an unexpected, playful, yet dramaitic addition to the room. The round shape and 46″ diameter made it the perfect scale for this space. Shop the look
Decorating a coffee table this large can be difficult. The trick is having enough fascinating accessories (of the proper scale) to fill it, but not so many that it feels cluttered. I like to have a variety of shapes, sizes, textures, and materials to keep things interesting. In this current coffee-tablescape I have elected to ping off the black and white art on the walls.
Want big impact for little money? Try paint! Of course you need to ask first in a rental or military housing. It is well worth the $50 and one day’s work. I wanted this room to be unique and memorable. To accomplish the look I chose a dramatic navy with green undertones.
The cowhide rug was purchased at Tandy Leather when they were having a Black Friday sale. I custom sewed the throw blanket with fabric from Fabric.com The curtains were an inexpensive set that were too short. I sewed navy velvet and greek key trim to finish the look.
Confession time: I have a problem. Some people have a drug problem, others have a shoe problem, I…have a chair problem. I can’t quite say that I have never met a chair I didn’t like. That would be a lie. I can say, however, that I have met far too many that I have loved…Therein lies the problem.
This particularly cheeky little number is upholstered in Dwell Studio Ming Dragon Aquatint. One thing that I love most about this seating is the ease in which I can reupholster it. When searching for a beginner DIY project, look for a drop seat like this one. The back and backrest are finished in silver nailhead strip. While not as professional looking as individual nail heads, it gives the effect with much less effort.
I picked up this particular chair in England for 5 GBP. Despite being upholstered in dingy industrial velvet, I could see the potential. The med century lines…The wood grain… I was sold.
I recovered it in Dwell Studio’s Vintage Blossom Slub Citrine. Due to the design, this project was more involved than the chair above. It was a labor of love for a few days.
The art on the wall is a large map of London that I cut into four pieces and matted. The center art was a quick DIY job that took less than an hour.
The sideboard functions as a sofa table and provides much needed storage for party and hosting decor. I picked up this piece for $10 and lovingly restored it back to health. The overall effect? A stunningly unique living room with high style and little funds required.
Thank you for taking the time to tour my living room. Next week we will check out the stylish entryway.
-xoxo Jewel
Wow! You’ve done an amazing job Jewel. I can’t wait to see your entryway. Thanks for inspiring me to think how I can change things up!
This is the one I’ve been waiting for! So glad you shared it with the world, of course, you know I love it. 😉
Well done Jewel??
From one interior designer to another.?
Thanks so much Phyllis! Thank means a lot!
Awe- You ROCK GIRL!
Thanks so much Nicole! I really appreciate it! I’m excited to show you!
I truly love your style!!! The way in which you pair everything is beautiful! I share your vision for cast off chairs and I think my family might schedule an intervention, BUT realize we can have parties and invite everyone we know and never fuss over finding a place for everyone to sit–ha! Thanks for keeping it real too…often times ladies don’t admit to finding some of their greatest rescues at thrift stores—one of my favorite places to haunt…along with yard sales, flea markets, and dare I admit the curb on rubbish pick up day!!! cannot wait for your next reveal 🙂
Thanks so much for commenting! I really appreciate it! I really do have a chair problem. At one point I counted something like 40 chairs in our home 🙂 Oops!
Also, I noticed your shortbread photo on Instagram. It looked super yummy!
Just think of the great game of musical chairs we could organize if we pooled our chairs together!!! ha when does a collection become an obsession I wonder….hope your holiday weekend is a good one!!! now get out there and rescue a chair…the world is counting on you 🙂
Jeannine- I may not know you in real life, but I think we could be pretty amazing friends…or get into some serious trouble..one of the two 🙂
Absolutely STUNNING work, Jewel!!
Thanks so much Candace