A New Living Room Look for Under $1000

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(Image credit: Lindsey Gibeau)

Project by: Melissa Milakovic of Joydom Design
Location: Ottawa — Ontario, Canada

Melissa was enlisted by her clients to give their living room an entirely new look for a limited budget. They wanted a “coastal” feel and she delivered with rich blues and greens but spiced things up with bursts of bold yellow throughout.

(Image credit: Lindsey Gibeau)

From Melissa: My clients were looking to do a complete overhaul of their living room but didn’t quite know where to start. They wanted the room to feel fresh and inviting with a warm, coastal style. I used the yellow from the kitchen curtains and the blue hues from the rug as the foundation for the color story and went from there.

(Image credit: Lindsey Gibeau)

Amazing clients that they were, I had a lot of freedom in making design choices for them while they did a lot of the work themselves (painted the walls, fireplace mantel and tile, hid speakers, etc). I pushed for something a little more bold with the yellow IKEA armchair, while keeping the rest of the room soft by adding plants, natural and embroidered pillows, a neutral throw and other small details to bring it all together.

(Image credit: Lindsey Gibeau)
(Image credit: Lindsey Gibeau)

With the budget being under $1,000, IKEA and HomeSense were my go-to’s for this project along with a few pieces coming from Mobilia.

Resource list:

  • WALKER coffee table is from Mobilia
  • STRANDMON Wing chair (Skiftebo Yellow) from IKEA
  • JASSA Vase from IKEA
  • JASSA Bowl from IKEA
  • MOSSLANDA Picture Ledge from IKEA
  • Pillows, throw, brass table lamp, small decorative items, starburst mirror, art print all from HomeSense
CLIENT’S FURNITURE: NORSBORG Corner Sofa from

Many thanks Melissa Milakovic and the team over at Joydom Design!

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Lusting after more living room transformations? Allow us to point you in the direction of this lovely little loft makeover.