Living Room & Guest Room Makeover Plans…

It’s 3:00 a.m. and I can’t sleep, so I thought I’d share some things I’ve been working on! I love following along with bloggers on decor projects, so I’m hoping you will enjoy this too. I just realized it has been a long while since I’ve done anything home decor related on the blog – my Master Bedroom and my Basement Refresh were over two years ago. So its no wonder why I’ve had the itch to decorate!

Side note: We are planning on moving and for years I kept putting off projects in order to save all of my ideas (and money) for the next place, but we keep pushing back our move date and in the meantime my current home isn’t bringing me the Marie Kondo joy that it should be. I’ve been itching to get some items from a professional antique silver shop for so long but keep putting it off thinking it’ll all look better in the new house, but I might just go for it!

I’m focusing on two major rooms in my home that could use some help. First off, the Guest Room. We have guests who stay with us often, especially my parents and Tom’s. For a while now our guest room was sort of a mish-mash of leftover furniture, so I decided to get in touch with a designer similar to these Billings interior designers to help me redo the whole room. The room is a beautiful space overlooking the pond behind our house, but it is currently painted a really dark olive color. The bed is dark wood and it is pretty bulky too, as is the glider/rocking chair. There is also a desk in the room which is pretty big – and style-wise it doesn’t have much to offer. One friend suggested I replace it with lighter furniture made from old barn wood to give the room a more airy, relaxing feel. Here’s what the room currently looks like:

Guest Room (Currently):

and here are my plans for the room:

Guest Room Inspiration

First of all I want to make this room as cozy and bright as possible. I will start by lightening up the space by painting the walls a neutral warm but still light grey tone. I am leaning towards Dolphin Fin by Behr or something similar. The bed also needs to be light and I want to go with an upholstered headboard because they are so comfortable to sit up in. As much as I love metal or wicker style beds, functionally they aren’t my favorite. The bed (also available in green and navy) and cantilever chair are both pretty modern, which can be a little cold- so I like to add some soft details to make it a little cozier, like the tufted bench and the gorgeous throw blanket also obsessed with this one.

I definitely want to add some gorgeous pillows and I love these printed ones, though I’m debating on if I want this color or the blush pink ones. For art, I want to keep it simple and I love hand drawn framed prints, but I also want to add some texture with crystals, geodes, and pearlized materials (like this lamp). I am also debating on whether or not I need a rug as we have carpeted berber flooring that is a nice light color – but if I do it will be something at the foot of the bed under the bench only.

Now on to my living room!

So I mentioned on instagram a while back that I have a love hate relationship with my living room wall color. It is a mustard-ish yellow which at times can look stunning, giving off a maximalist, colorful, almost Moroccan vibe. At other times, it just looks orange and I’m tired of it. I absolutely love bold color, and I want to incorporate it into every room in my home, but even for me this can be a bit much. One of my friends has a light-grey wall and she was planning on getting a sunset 5-panel art print as the contrast would look great. I haven’t considered much about incorporating it in my living room for the time being, maybe for the next time!

Here’s my living room now (or actually when I last took a picture of it during Christmas last year):

And here is my inspiration for it:

First off, the obvious HERO of the room is the sofa – the Anthropologie Lyre Chesterfield in this stunning green velvet. As much as I love a modern design aesthetic like my current mid-century modern sofas, I think a Chesterfield is so romantic and elegant and very ‘grown up’. (Tom thinks green is a horrible color choice, but I am slowly working on getting him on board. Creating this inspiration board was part of that process!) Note: My inspiration board was heavily influenced by this post by Alisa Bovino, a design blogger I recently discovered when googling ‘room inspiration for a green velvet sofa’.

Because we are working with this luscious velvet fabric, I want to contrast with pops of pink and animal print like these chairs which are sold out, but I may reupholster some chairs I already own, or add pillows in that fabric. I’m not sure exactly how, but there WILL be animal print in the mix somewhere. Wall color will probably be the same as the guest room, Dolphin Fin, and I will keep the rugs and curtains a light grey-ish tone. The coffee table will stay the same (see first pic), but I plan on styling it with peachy pink floral arrangements, some aesthetically pleasing design books, and a gold and marble tray.

So that is all I’ve got for you today! I am currently sourcing all of my furniture, art, and fabrics, and since I love to shop second-hand and vintage, the final product may take me some time, and it also may not look exactly like my inspiration board, but that is ok with me! I prefer rooms that have a vintage collected vibe to them over a shiny perfect new room any day. Stay tuned for more room updates over here and on my instagram account.

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Last week we took a quick trip to escape the snow for some sunshine in Key Largo, Florida☀️ We spent every moment possible outside, Tom and Adam got their Scuba Diver PADI certification (yay!) while Sophia and I spent our days either swimming or drawing marine life and landscapes. This was my first trip after my sister passed last November, and even though I look so happy here, there were so many moments I felt the grief and sadness, as if it happened just yesterday. I am still figuring out how I want to show up in this space, as I have changed so much as a person since the loss. I just don’t feel called to post some of the things I shared before. Maybe that will change someday, or maybe it will just naturally evolve into something new. I think I will take this year to just process it all. (Even the idea of taking an entire year to think through something is a huge shift for my usually hyperactive type A personality) My focus at the moment is just living in the moment with my family and friends, spending time doing things that make me happy and healthy. I hope to share some of that journey here with you ~ thanks for following along ❤️
I had planned to shoot this outfit in collaboration with @lenacoutureofficial right before my dear sister passed away. Saba, the designer, was more than understanding if I didn’t want to anymore - but after thinking on it for a while I decided I wanted to - in my sister’s honor 💗 She was always my biggest hype woman. When i would feel like I’m not good enough or that I should quit (which was often) she would tell me I was unique and great and to keep it up. When I think of my sister, beauty and love is all that she embodied in her being. She expressed that on the outside also - as she loved to wear everything glam, bright & colorful, and full of bling. Hair done, nails done, everything did - that was Nusrat. For this shoot I took the time to get glam after a long hiatus - and makeup and hair took so long because I think I forgot how to do it, but afterwards I was surprised how I felt transformed. When I wore this gorgeous outfit that I know was designed with such love and incredible attention to detail by @lenacoutureofficial, I felt all of that beauty - like a walking piece of art, and very much at peace. Thank you so much to @divmophoto for capturing the feeling so well 💕
Ski weekend with my favorites ❄️❄️ So proud of Sophia for skiing on her own for the first time!
There are some trees with seeds that only grow after a fire. Their seeds are completely sealed with a resin that have to be physically melted off by a great fire in order to propagate. So to do we as humans, gain wisdom only after great pain and suffering.*
A month ago (and one day) I lost my sister and best friend to cancer. I am still completely gutted and broken. But, I’m also so so grateful to have had felt the love that now brings me so much heartbreak. ❤️ I am so inspired by her - and I will forever live my life to honor her memory. Miss you sis ❤️
Classic outfit combo: oversized blazer + denim 🖤fendi mules @shoeslutz
Just a mom who loves mums 🌸 🪴
Cozy for a coffee date ☕️
French. Toast. Egg. Bake. Save this recipe for a weekend or holiday brunch - it’s SO good and fool-proof! I’m not even a sweet person and I love it. The pecans are a non-negotiable IMO - I get honey bourbon vanilla pecans for this and it is just heavenly. Enjoy!