Living room love

This room has seen more changes than any room in the house.  I have gone through countless curtains, rugs, pillows, etc. before I found what I was looking for.  I knew I wanted something "fun" and needed some color to brighten up the room.  Here are a few of the former looks that didn't work....

I loved the rust colors in this rug but didn't love the big picture of it all together.  Notice my fireplace was still it's original brick color and my curtains are hung low. *yawn*

Here I have some breezy white curtains and they are hung very high, to give the appearance of larger windows.  (You can also see I was in the process of painting the fireplace white!)  I loved the FUN, bright pillows here but that is about it!  This room needed more color than a few throw pillows could contribute.  There is also a neutral jute rug down.

Now I have different throw pillows (LOVE) and two ottomans to act as my coffee table.  I was thrilled to snag these babies on sale at Target for $50 each after Christmas, since I have been eyeing them for awhile.  They are wonderful because of the extra storage and the fact that they provide more seating in the room if needed.
*Notice I also took the door (on right) off the hinges.  It now happily resides in my garage. :)  I like this doorless look so much more than the previous awkward open door of living rooms past.

Finally, I found the rug.  It was on sale at World Market so I got a great deal.  Curtains are from IKEA and to bring it all together, I hung bamboo shades too.  Instead of purchasing one big, expensive shade, I bought three separate shades (on sale for $9.99!) and hung them side by side.  I saved big bucks doing this and you can't even tell that there are three shades there unless you look closely.  Overall, I am very happy with the room.

*I am very good about saving all my receipts and always return anything that doesn't work out.  As you can see, I have made a lot of returns and gotten very lucky with finding most everything on sale. :)

My TV and media stand are also pretty recent additions as well.  My parents got me a new television and TV stand for Christmas.  Putting the TV stand together was a bit challenging, but so worth it!

Out with the old

In with the new