Before & After :: Living Room

3 Living Room Before

Our living room design has been a tricky exercise in balance that has evolved over the year we have been in the house so far. I wanted this room to be all about the art, and so I chose the standard art gallery white walls- but all done up in lacquer. I wanted the room to have a subtle sparkle that really drew you in. 

The room is quite large- but also pretty long and narrow which made the floorplan a little tricky. I spent a lot of time studying the kooky layouts of design-legend Mario Buatta to get inspiration on how to create conversational vignettes while still allowing for some flow. And then- also to create a fancy space that was more fun than formal. I chose the main pieces in a kind of random order- which ended up working out but led to more than a few WHAT HAVE I DONE moments. I fell in love with the rug which was my first big decision, and reupholstered our green velvet sofa in a blue ticking stripe. The curtain fabric came later and was a godsend as it pulled all of my random pieces together- and related to the dining room with its olive green. It is hard to capture the effect of the lacquer in pictures- but in person it is really special.

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Photo by Trevor Tondro for House Beautiful styling by Frances Bailey

7 thoughts on “Before & After :: Living Room

  1. I LOVE it! Do you have a photo or sketch of the floor plan? I also have a long narrow living room, and would love to see how you did it, from other perspectives as well as from the photo above. THANKS!

  2. I second Sally! I have the same type of living room. I would love to see how you approached the layout. Thank you so much for taking the time to posts these beautiful pictures and information.

  3. Your house is beautiful. The living room is such a great combination of colors. Miss the green velvet tho. Love when you post.

  4. Hi Love this room, can you recommend a fabric source for the yellow chairs …. Love the scale and color of the print!
    Many Thanks

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