Before and After: This Dramatic Living Room Redo Now Looks Bigger and Brighter
Lauren Liess of HGTV’s “Best House on the Block” immediately recognized this living room’s great bones and all its potential. Besides that chic caramel leather sofa tucked away towards the back of the room, it was an otherwise pretty plain Jane room that felt dark and a little off center. Lauren wanted the whole space to feel balanced, bigger, and a whole lot brighter.
She started by readjusting the focal point of the room from the TV wall (not terribly exciting) to newly built floor-to-ceiling shelves, which draws your eye up and makes the room feel bigger. It also helped make sense of the asymmetrical window situation in the room, which now feels balanced thanks to all that new shelving.
Lauren also added height to the room using reclaimed wood beams from Cohrans Lumber to highlight the architectural character of the ceiling. This brought warmth to the white walls for a clean, fresh look—and it tied in the salvaged wood ladder from The Old Luckett Store that she turned into a library ladder.
With the room feeling bigger and lighter, she added white draperies (an easy way to open up any room), a less bulky-looking pendant light, and mixed existing furniture with vintage pieces to create a layered, soulful look. The palette was inspired by the antique rug from J&D Oriental Rugs Co. And of course, there’s that fabulous leather sofa the clients already owned. By getting rid of the dark furniture—the old sofa, coffee table, and media console—and replacing them with white, lucite, and walnut-toned wood, Lauren was able to visually lighten the space. Now walking in is like a breath of fresh air.
Thank you Lauren!