I wanted to freshen up our living room a little bit and bring in some light colored accessories. Changing out your pillows and lamps are all simple changes you can do without spending a ton of money, and it gives you a brand new look.
Here’s the living room before (and please forgive the blurriness and date stamp of the before shots…I had a different camera last week!)
That blue throw was temporary, and please take note of the lamps.
The lamp on the left has to be about 12 years old now. It was another first apartment lamp, and well, it was starting to show it’s age. It probably was considered dated about 10 years ago. The lamp on the right isn’t too old, just a year or 2.
Living room after.
Yes, I know the ottoman needs to be recovered. I’m open to suggestions if you have some. But I’m thinking of making a slipcover with some ruffles on the bottom?
I love my new lamps.
Both are from Hobby Lobby.
Pillows and new throw are both from Pier 1. The pillows were on sale for $12! And one thing that annoys me more than anything are pillows that slide on leather furniture…you know, the ones that have a shiny backside? These have the fur stuff on both sides so no sliding and my annoyances have been diminished greatly because of it.
I love the simple new changes! I’ve always been pretty traditional when it comes to decorating, but I’m slowly trying to throw in a little modern to the mix because I love the 2 styles together.
I know I could have hunted around Goodwill or a thrift store for new lamps and spray painted them, but honestly, looking at lampshades really stresses me out and making sure I have the right harp size etc. So just buying some that I really loved was well worth it to keep my stress level down. I’m weird, I know.
Let me know what you would do with the ottoman. We will be making more changes to this room soon, so would you slipcover it to match accordingly with the new color scheme? I’m also taking requests if you want to come and slipcover it for me, so please, not everyone at once. :)
Sharing this post at Thrifty Decor Chick’s Before and After party and The Shabby Chic Cottage.
xxoo,
Decorchick!
Oh I love your new lamps to! I was actually thinking that I liked your ottoman and was wondering where you got it hehe
Ha, I like it too but the fabric we covered it with is getting in bad shape. Gosh, and this is another apartment piece! I’ve had this ottoman for several years and what’s underneath is SOOOO ugly. :)
See I like the ottoman too! If I were going to do it a diffferent color it would be to match the lamps, which are super cute by the way, and the pillows, but I just can’t do white around my house because of little kiddos with dirty hands!
Jenn over on her blog “Dear Lillie” has a great ottoman slipcover tutorial she did last week…looks to be very simple for a novice like me! But get prepared for her blog….you won’t want to leave that eye candy for a looooong time!
Judy
Oh my gosh that is exactly what I am wanting! Thanks so much for telling me about her blog!
Love the changes! I think a slipcover for the ottoman would be pretty. I like the idea of tailored pleats rather than ruffles however.
OH yea! That’s what I meant. The pleated things. :)
Love it! Its amazing how a couple white pieces and the whole room starts to glow! I would absolutely slip cover it and with some ruffles. But please don’t use a drop cloth! Nice white like your pillows, lamps and throw would be so pretty!
(Can you tell I am over drop cloths!!)
Looks so pretty. If you go to the blog Dear Lillie there is a slipcover tutorial and two ideas for some adorable light colored slipcovers.
Looks so much brighter. The pillows and accessories are lovely. Love your new lamps. Hugs, Marty
I think the slipcovered/ruffled idea for the ottoman is great! Love those lamps…I must admit though that I have a little thing for lamps! LOL
I think you should slipcover the ottoman with burlap! :) with ruffles on the bottom! :)
I LOOOOOVE those lamps, Emily! They are so whimsical and airy! I love the contrast with the dark furniture — just perfect! I think I’d go out and buy the same ones if we had a coveted Hobby Lobby : P BTW – I’m loving your new camera’s pics — it really makes an awesome difference!!
Yummy lamps for sure!!! I am lightening things up around here as well. Such a nice feeling. I think a cream ottoman cover would be gorgeous . . maybe with a brown leather tray on top or something to tie in the dark. I love the pillows, too.
Oooooooh…that is the prettiest lampshade I’ve seen anywhere! Wouldn’t that be special in a bedroom……Wish we had a Hobby Lobby around here!
Yeah..I agree with some other posts…I love your ottoman. The simple straight lines of it. And the pop of red really makes it stand out. Plus, it brings out the “reds” in the rug. Which, by the way, I love too!!!
Love the new white lamps…they incorporate the new trend towards light and bright. I like the idea of a light cream slipcover with pleats vs. ruffles for a more tailored, clean look. Can’t wait to see how it ends up.
I really like the red color how it pops and goes with the wall color. What is the name of the paint color on your wall by the way? Thanks!
SW Baguette.
I was at Hobby Lobby on Saturday and didn’t see those lamps…love them! Your changes are very nice and perhaps slip covering the ottoman to match your new decor? I like the idea of pleats too if you are going to do the work yourself. I’m with you on the lamps/shades deals ~ stresses me out too. I didn’t realize anyone else felt that way so thank you for sharing. :-) I was looking at 2 of my lamps today and thought, “ugh, need to do something”. You have encouraged me!
Pat
The new changes are nice and fresh! Good job.
I made slipcovers for our ottomans out of a drop cloth and have been very happy with them.
I know you only asked for thoughts on the ottoman, but I wanted to give my thought on the lamps… how about changing spots for the new lamps? Try it… you might like it. Just switch them in the spots. AND, don’t get rid of that original lamp you showed in the first photo on the left. It’s beautiful and classic. Put it away… you will take it out in the future and love it again, and you’ll be happy you kept it.
Best,
Gloria
The bigger lamp with the drum shade has to be there because of it’s height and the height of the table, and to balance the room. The other lamp is much more petite and oblong shape and perfect for that particular end table because that table is higher. And no, I can’t switch out the tables.
That’s MY comment above. I didn’t mean to put out an ANONYMOUS comment — it’s just that I forgot to fill in my info!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry!
gv
Those lamps are perfect for lightening things up. The ottoman would look great in a lighter fabric too but I always think of the little ones getting it all dirty. Maybe we can go to High Fashion Home and browse their fabrics soon- they have so many great choices.
OOh, love the ruffled lamp shade!
I love your ottoman and I love the pop of color. However, I think it’s missing the small details . . like big nail heads, two different textured fabrics . . . ya know. Oh how I love me some HL!! I think almost ALL my decorations are from there! LOL
Your pillows and new lamps look great! It is always amazing how little changes can have a big impact.
It’s amazing what a few lighter accents can do to lighten a room! Good job!
Shannon {aka}|design
Love the touches of white with the lamps and pillows to lighten things up! But I also love the pop of red, which pulls the color out in your rug and art. I think this should be accentuated with perhaps smaller red rectangular suede pillows in front of the white pillows to tie everything in. Pops of color in 3’s are most effective. Also a suggestion is to lower and center your art over the sofa, if possible. Of course that would involve some patching and repainting of the walls. If that’s not an option, perhaps adding some rectangular grill work, over the sofa, keeping in mind that groupings in odd numbers keeps balance and is most pleasing to the eye. Well, that’s my two cents worth, hope it is of value to you : )
lots of changes are coming to this room…
Love it! Do you have trouble keeping your rug from bunching up? I have a gorgeous Persian rug that I love but finally rolled it up out of frustration because it bunched up terribly! I really want to put it back out but can’t think of a solution. Carpet tape perhaps? Just wondering if you have a secret to keeping it in place…
The corners do come up and it’s very irritating. But it’s because we need to reposition it better. Where it’s at it gets lots of traffic and people kick the corners up. I keep saying I’m going to super glue the corners down to the carpet. :)
Love the lamps. The one with the flowers is so cute! It’s great how just a few lighter pieces can really brighten up your space!
Looks great, I love the shape of the lamps! The throw is adorable too!
Love the new lamps and pillows (willed myself to stay away from Pier 1 but I’m already coveting a pillow from there… see my post today)! If you’re looking to bring some light touches in (with your new lamps and pillows that seems to be the idea), you could definitely do a fun, white or light colored slipcover! Have you seen the ruffled bench slipcover tutorial over on Centsational Girl’s website? It’s in her dining room. And it’s fabulous. Good luck with the changes! xo
I love how a little change can spruce things up! Very nice!
Love those lamps!! Great job!
We’d love to have you link up at our party!
http://breadandbutter143.blogspot.com/2011/02/look-what-we-found.html
Hi there. I love this post…I cannot believe you mentioned the pillows sliding on the leather sofas!! I have been struggling with this issue for a few years now…I have a leather sofa in my formal living room, and I want to either buy or make pillows for it. I went to the Pier 1 website and couldn’t find the pillows you bought. I wanted to see what the material was…do you know? I will try to get over to Pier 1 tomorrow to see if there are any left. I was just wondering if you knew what the material is…thank you so much!!! I love your blog :)