Living Room Before + After

As I'm working on setting up our living room this time around, I'm looking back at the different ways I've arranged it in the past to get inspiration.  This arrangement is pretty close to what I'm thinking of riffing on.  Since our front door opens right into our living room I like how the back of the couch creates a more defined "entryway" space.  This time around I'd like to get a sectional that does that same thing, so I can have that space definition, but also have a cozy living room with a couch that wraps around.  

The before pictures were what the house looked like when the previous owners had staged the living room.  I painted all the walls and trim white, except the big wall I ended up doing in a black chalkboard finish.  I love how a chalkboard wall adds a ton of drama, but the chalk treatment gives it texture and lightens it up a bit.

One thing I learned a while back was that hanging your curtains from ceiling height, versus window height, will make your room feel taller, and since this space isn't terribly large, I wanted to do everything I could to make it feel more spacious.

I love a colorful door, so I painted the inside of our front door a fresh teal blue.  And I painted the neighboring french door that leads to our office space a bright yellow! If you want to paint a door, don't bother grabbing a full quart of paint, just get one of the paint tester size containers.  You'll have more than enough to paint a full door or two!

I painted this hexagon mural wall a couple years ago and while it was fun at the time, I kind of hate it now and am looking forward to reimagining this wall.  I've got a few ideas mulling around in my head that will add functionality to a part of the room that isn't used super well currently.

I'm really looking forward to reimagining this space again and sharing the re-styled room with you guys when I get her finished!