Before and After: This Dramatic Living Room Redo Now Looks Bigger and Brighter

Written by

Anita Shriver
Anita Shriver
Anita is an actor turned designer with a passion for creating beautiful spaces and experiences. Currently based in Boston with a passport that is always current, she is involved in turn-key residential design and educational design. Interests also include good jokes, strong…read more
updated Jun 13, 2019
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
(Image credit: Lauren Liess)

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.

(Image credit: Lauren Liess)

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!