Wow! that's like night and day. I like what you did with the wall mounted light fixtures as well. The shades add a cool texture to the wall when they're lit up. Neat!

I liked it before, but I love the change. It looks more curated and intentional now, and makes the couches look less generic.

Could Ms. Sarah provide some pointers for the marvelous do-it-yourself grapevine globes?!

I have a troublesome oval ceiling light in my apt., currently featuring two bare bulbs and a stripped screw where one would theoretically attach a cover. Such a homemade covering might help diffuse the light and be wonderfully crafty at the same time.

I can't say that either version does much for me, but I do like the wall color.

I like the second except for the sconces...the paint color is the best.

Nice change! (When you get a chance, don't forget to paint your wall cords to match the walls.)

The before was so much better - the blue wall color, blue chair and blue in the plaid pillows appears to have been pulled from the various blue leaves in the painting...

...now it appears so random: there isn't a clear link between the various items on the wall - some of which are blue - and the chair or the paint.

I just don't think any of it really works together. The paint color is awesome (same as my living room), but I really think it needs a crisp sofa up against it and the coffee table doesn't work either.

That colour is gorgeous -- would you be so kind to let us know what it is? Thanks.

Wow, that's a much more dynamic composition, and I love the new wall color.

Really nice change, went from a tacky midwest mother style to something more current and fresh. The group of pictures are too high for my tastes, the poor placement shortens the visual height of the ceiling! I didn't notice it at first, but others are right about the coffee table. The couch is a bit too raggamuffin for the beautiful wood detail of the coffee table and antique feel of the chair.

I'd actually like to see a combination of the two looks: the big floral painting flanked by the smaller pieces. I think that would look even more impressive. Still, the second picture is an improvement as it is.

Unfortunately the whole effect is ruined by those wall lights. The white power cords are ugly, and the lights themselves are too low on the wall - anyone dropping onto that big squooshy couch would risk implaing themselves in the back of the head. The cords would be better painted to match the wall, and lights would be safer a foot or two higher.

"YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF THAT NASTY WHITE SOFA..... GET A "GUS" CARTER SECTIONAL OR SOMETHING.....!"

Some people are just rude I guess.

I prefer the before look. But i guess for the owner, she met her objectives - it does make the room different.

I think I like both art setups equally, and have had both kinds in my own apartment and liked them both.

But I'm 100% with Blandwagon in terms of those lights. They'd be cooler if they were hanging from the ceiling, I think. As is, I'd probably knock them down habitually.

i find both kind of stuffy. too much plush furniture in a small space. and then having art up so close to the ceiling makes the space feel cluttered and small to me.

i think it would be improved by having a long thin horizontal display, with empty wall space above it to help give the room some more space.

the crown molding and the table are really nice.

Wow! What a surprise-the after is a very different "vibe".

I like the "after" better than the "before"- but you know what the "before" was pretty nice too.

As far as the BITCHY comments about the sectional...No words exist in the English language to express how much I HATE that type of negative nonsense. Well, that aren't profanities.

I like the pillow pile up in the "after", it shrinks the couch somehow.

Nice job, Sarah.

Thank you for sharing your space with us.

"YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF THAT NASTY WHITE SOFA..... GET A "GUS" CARTER SECTIONAL OR SOMETHING.....!"

Not everyone wants a nasty Made-In-China sofa...

Usually I like the kind of asymmetrical arrangement that they are going for with the art and plates on the wall, but for me it doesn't really work here. I think that the symmetry and placement of the wall sconces is at odds with the asymmetry of the arrangement and there's no real flow to the pieces.

Everything else looks great, but that couch is still hideous.

I love how changing up the artwork totally changed the vibe of the room. I also like how the new accent colors compliment each other and the bold wall color without being matchy matchy. With the more traditional hutch and chair in the background, a more modern coffee table might be cool to help bring in a bit of contrast and tie together an eclectic look, without costing a lot. I also like the suggestions to rearrange the artwork so it forms a stronger horizontal line and to hang the lights from the ceiling, maybe grouping them near the right hand side.

Thanks to those for the nice comments. To answer a few questions, the paint color is the same in both pictures, you can see how it takes on a different color depending on the lighting. It's a Behr custom color, one that I picked out 6 years ago. I love the color so much, it's the only room I haven't re-painted! I made the grapevine 'shades' by soaking grapevine wreaths in the tub and then wrapped them around kids plastic balls until they were dry.
The couch is hideous. I know. But sometimes you have to work with what you have. The coffee table was a hand me down from years ago. It will be replaced, once I find a round pedestal table for a great price, that I will paint a mustard yellow color.

Nice job! It's always great to see a big design change happen on a tiny budget. Not everyone (really, hardly anyone) can run out and get new furniture or rewire their lighting on a whim. Finding a way to make a pleasing and unique space with what you have is just as big a design challenge as creating the "perfect" room on an unlimited budget. Sharing ideas is great, but geeze people. Get some perspective.

The 'after' has that UK Design feel that I love!

Better but not there. I think I would add a deep burgandy hued throw on the couch to break up the white color a bit more and bring in some of the rich tones from the table. Is the blue chair even necessary? The art arrangement in the After seems too high to me too and I think it's too busy. Some of the pieces might work better than all of them but I'd lose smallest pieces for a first edit. One larger rectangular piece would help balance all the circles. And the antlers aren't for me but maybe try them without the frame. Paint the cords.

Two points:
1. Sarah, I do hope you have not given those "before" cushions and wall print away - they are airy and pretty, perfect for spring and summer. Just as those cosier colours are great for autumn and winter. But this is your idea too, it seems; Colleen wrote "...transform the room for the season".
2. Since when has a clean comfortable generous-looking white couch been "hideous"?? Nonsense! Don't let other people's unexplained prejudices influence you! The couch and your glorious wall are the staples of your room - everything else you can change easily as your ideas evolve.