Living Room

If you’re thinking that there couldn’t possibly be any improvements upon this Wes Anderson–worthy houseboat, hold onto your Team Zissou beanie because things are about to get a lot cuter—and cleaner. Erika Klees of the Pink Lady is the person responsible for this amazing houseboat renovation.

When reader Erika moved into this house, the living room was musty and dusty. But after four months and a ton of work (and a fair amount of money), this space is transformed and totally fresh. It’s easy to look at that room before and assume the only issue with it is that it might not be someone’s taste. But here’s the truth, from reader Erika Thompson: These are the pictures that were on the listing when we bought the house.

After 20 years, this living room was ready for an update. It didn’t need a gut job, just a refresh, a lightening, and perhaps even a brightening. Now the room still has all of its best elements, plus a few new ones that suit the space—and the times—perfectly. This is so streamlined and sophisticated now. It’s a clear evolution of the aesthetic seen in the image before, which is fascinating to see.

We’ve turned the clocks forward, the days are longer (and hopefully warmer where you are), and time finally feels like it is in our favor. It’s time to shake off the cozy winter decor, and let your home project a new, lighter mood. Change the tone with a little living room refresh, starting with these eight easy, budget ideas. If you’ve swapped your flannel bed sheets for linen, carry the spring textiles over to the living room as well.

It’s not a problem that many people have in New York, but this Tribeca apartment was almost too big. Sans furniture, the side-by-side living rooms seemed intimidating and cavernous. Plus, the unusual proportions of the space, with windows sitting almost on the floor, made furnishing it tricky. So the homeowners called in Homepolish designer Alec Holland, who transformed the space into a cozy family home, using tricks that anybody can utilitze in a room that feels just a little too large.

See? Wow! Some of the changes in Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth’s living room are ambitious and intimidating—the wainscoting, the (SPOILER ALERT) fireplace—but others are more doable while still having a major effect. Swapping out the art, throw pillows, and accessories made such a difference, and the new sofa and rug turned a cozy living room into a dreamy, airy space.

Despite the fact that every room in this house was dark and the living room was a deep, almost-brown maroon color, Andrea (a fashion blogger over at Blonde Bedhead) could see this home’s potential. A bold move, considering this is her first house! “I was your typical millennial, avoiding home ownership for years, choosing the mobile life of apartment rentals.

"It's amazing how much decorating you can do simply by shifting around items you already own."

Project by: Michelle Gage Location: Jersey City, New Jersey Michelle’s work with her client Natalie was done entirely over the internet, which makes this already impressive project kind of unbelievable. Thanks to Instagram and the One Room Challenge, Michelle and Natalie decided to collaborate on her living room from different cities, bonded together by a love of color, pattern and bold choices.

"Their apartment was completely furnished, but lacked the coziness and personal nature of a home."

A flat for newlyweds gets a major infusion of style.

When your boyfriend makes a bar cart from an old TV, he's a keeper.

After Josie helped her client, Lisa, move into her Prospect Heights apartment she tackled the task of figuring out a look and layout for the space that would meet the needs and wants of her client. The space needed to be multi-functional, work with the somewhat unconventional window alcove and inject some style into the space.

"Throw yourself into the project and be excited!"

"That feature wall in my living room? IT'S JUST TAPE!"

Let's play "spot the recliners".

Project by: Lesley Myrick of Lesley Myrick Art + Design Location: Waco, Texas Lesley was charged with upgrading this Texas living space. Her clients space was less groovy ’60s modern and more pre-fab ’60s outdated. The room is an add on that had a few key elements with serious potential. Lesley made some smart upgrades to those (hello refreshed built-ins) and got ride of the orange-ish ceiling beams.

In truly tiny apartments, it’s not uncommon for renters to forego the traditional coffee table simply to squeeze in a little more seating. An extra chair or two means more room for friends, but once everyone’s there, where do you set down your drinks or serve the popcorn in a coffee-table-less room? To solve your insufficient surface area woes, DIY one of these ledges, c-tables or shelves that tuck into areas you didn’t even know your living room had.

The before: bland, typical and boring. The after? A creative, bright and bold living room with #desertvibes.

Joseph took a pretty beige living room and livened it up with some beautiful paint choices, crisp new carpet and a super-special prop from a Hollywood hit. Taking inspiration from the night sky, he proves you don’t have to overhaul a space to give it a totally new feel. From Joseph: We refreshed the living room with new, lighter carpet and layered the area with colors and textures found in the night sky.

Devon and Jessica were tasked with adding personality, style and storage to their friend’s living area. Taking style cues from his favorite cult classic TV show, the duo created a funky and bright space that celebrated the occupant’s interests. From Devon & Jessica: Off in the final frontier, Los Angeles, lives a Star Trek-loving singleton who was anxious to update his one bedroom apartment.

Michelle stepped in to help a grad student create a stylish and functional space that she could love for all of her harried, paper writing years. She added color and fun without creating a room full of distractions. From Michelle: This grad student was moving into an apartment that she would live in for the next five years. Mina had a small budget, but a lot of style. Her space was a blank canvas, as she was starting from scratch.

When Amanda moved into her boyfriend’s home, she brought the furniture from her college apartment along with her: a bunch of mismatched hand-me-downs that didn’t fit the new house. After a year of making no progress, Amanda came up with a new plan and transformed their random living room into a dreamy escape that feels like home.

Brady was blessed with a beauty of a blank canvas, and he did not fail to make it special. By mixing a variety of styles, from Boho to classic Hollywood glam, he was able to create a space unique to his personal style and needs. From Brady: I spent months and months looking for the “perfect place” and saw over 20 apartments before I finally landed on this one.

Tamsin’s charming old Victorian blessed her with a renovator’s dream come true — gorgeous hardwood floors just chilling underneath carpet, waiting to shine. After setting her floors free, she set about creating a warm and charming living room. From Tamsin: Our home here in Connecticut is a Victorian house and was built in 1900. There are beautiful features that come with a house of this age, all of which make for an interesting space to decorate.

It can be hard to feel inspired when you walk into your newly purchased home’s living room and the windows (and fireplace mantel and furniture) are dripping in drapery reminiscent of a doily. But Lauren of Circle G Designs managed to design her Pittsburgh home with class and style, blending modern sensibilities while respecting the home’s 1964-era architecture.

Andrew Deming and Rachel Gant of YIELD Design Co. transform a drab 1950s living room into a bright and fresh sanctuary, incorporating their mix of modern and vintage design. The difference is astounding, and truly brings this midcentury home to its fullest potential. “When we bought our house last year, the living room was one of the worst spaces.

Marisa’s living room was feeling a little dark and dated. She knew the carpet had to go and had her ideal fireplace mantel in mind. With a few trips to the tile store and some help from her dad, Marisa was able to make her mantel dreams come true. From Marisa: When we first moved into our ranch-style home, between the old brown carpet and the dingy brick wall, the open concept layout felt dark and small. While some people love the rustic brick wall, I knew that it wasn’t for me!

Some thought Christina, who runs the blog Christina’s Adventures, was taking on a bit too much when she decided to buy and restore a 1902 Victorian house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with her husband. Not only was it quite dated and run-down, but they had a very young kid and another on the way! But Christina saw the potential in this house’s bones, and her restoration has created a modern, bright home with a family-friendly, farmhouse feel.

Dana took her time to truly make her living room reflect the personalities of the folks living there and make the most of a kind of funky layout. From Dana: After years of tweaking, rearranging, shuffling chairs, plants and window treatments, I can honestly say that I’m thrilled with where we’ve landed in our living room. While the kitchen is usually the center of the home figuratively, this living room is literally the center of ours.

At Apartment Therapy, we talk a lot about dealing with small spaces, but larger spaces can also present their own unique design challenge. When one Brooklyn family moved into their dream home, the oversized living room proved to be a bit of a conundrum — so they turned to a designer for guidance. Before, the family’s furniture — a single sofa and a small dining table — was a bit lost in the expansive space.

I know Annikki personally, so I was particularly excited when I found out that she and her husband were not only expecting a baby, they were also figuring out ways to get their new home ready despite their old furniture. Of big concern was the living room, where their “gloomy” seal brown leather wanted an upgrade. With one stroke, they needed to transform this room.

When Séverine Piller and her boyfriend Gianfranco first walked into this Milan apartment, they knew it was love. The place had great bones and was filled with lots of natural light. However, it doesn’t mean Séverine didn’t see room for improvement. An interior designer by profession, she made some simple changes that streamlined the living and dining area, creating a minimal, bold and graphic space that fits their modern aesthetic perfectly. The stair rail was removed.

Project by: Adam Bechtold of Adam Bechtold Interiors Location: Great Falls, Virginia Though the room above could certainly fit the tastes of plenty of people, to the young couple who bought this 1970s colonial-style house (their first home), it didn’t fit their style (and felt rather dated to them). So they enlisted the help of Adam Bechtold to take this room from traditional style to something more cozy and nature-filled.

Project by: Dana Reca of Circa Dee Location: Bucks County, Pennsylvania Have you ever faced the task of cheering up a dark room? If you’re looking for inspiration on how to transform a dreary space into a cozy, welcoming room (that you might want to actually spend time in), you might find inspiration in this professional project.

This little corner recess in my rental apartment living room had gone through many changes over the years. That is until I found this gel fuel fireplace that was within my budget. Once it was delivered and put in its place, I realized it looked very small and toy like. My dad built a small hearth for it to sit on and the bookcases to fill in the empty space on either side. I was quite happy with the outcome, at the time.

Our family room has a cathedral ceiling and a large, prominent fireplace. We wanted to make this room a standout, but our budget was more of a washout. By whitewashing the fireplace ourselves, and installing faux beams, we were able to make a big impact, on a not so big budget. We’ve always loved beams. But we didn’t love the prices. Luckily, we discovered faux beams, which sell for a fraction (like 1/5) of the cost of real wood beams. And guess what? They look real. Seriously.

My daughter lives in an off campus college house with three other girls. From the first time I saw this space, I wanted to give it a makeover! It had good bones, but was SO dark and dreary. It had dark paneled walls, and brown carpeting. To further add to the darkness, the girls were given black leather sofas and they hung dark green curtains. The girls and the owner of the house gave me full permission to make this space over. I started with painting the paneled walls white.

Our living room downstairs was transformed over to a playroom when my babies were little, and the room was a disaster. It was time to make that step and donate a big percentage of my kids’ toys and create a more grownup space in here. I was able to sell the furniture from the room, and that helped me with my budget for the makeover. I wanted to create a comfortable living room with lots of textures, layers and personality.

We spend a lot of time in the living room as a family, reading after dinner, celebrating birthdays, entertaining, playing board games on New Years, and it’s a space that needed a little editing to gracefully reflect transitions in our family life. As I simplified the room, my family instantly felt at home in the new space, and our new teal velvet sofa became a popular (and comfortable) destination.

There’s the picking out of the sofa. Choosing chairs. Deciding on a credenza. Arguing over where the television should go. There’s waffling over rug color and size. And there’s considering whether you should paint or wallpaper. But there are also a handful of things to think about that most people tend to forget when first setting up their living room. How does one come up with the optimum number of seats for a living room?

Rachel’s home hadn’t been updated since it was built in 1975, and it was evident in the dark fieldstone fireplace. Not having the funds for a full renovation, she got creative with paint—and boy, does it look great. From Rachel: We painted the 1970’s field stone fireplace. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and watered it down quite a bit which allows the texture and various colors to still come through.