This 1970s Ranch Living Room Feels Twice as Bright After a Makeover
When my husband and I bought our 1970s-era ranch house, it featured two adjacent living spaces (one used to be a garage, and the old homeowners added carpet). They were only connected by a tiny dining room in between them.
But I saw the opportunity to connect it all — with maximum wall space, plenty of light, and my growing art collection (more on that later).
Wall and floor changes made the whole place feel brighter and bigger.
We first transformed the space by hiring a contractor to knock out the dividing walls separating the two living rooms. The renovation involved taking out the old carpet, replacing the light fixture with a more modern one, upgrading the windows, and repurposing the spaces.
We moved the dining space into the former main living space, and we now use what was a garage many moons ago as our living room. Although more light pours in now, thanks to the eliminated walls, we had to do some work to make the room feel, well, less garage-like.
We also added a fresh coat of white paint (Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace), and put down light oak luxury vinyl flooring (it fits the bright, open feel we were going for, and it holds up to spills and messes from our toddler).
I knew I wanted to create a gallery wall.
My personal favorite part of the living room, though, is the gallery wall. Throughout the years I’ve collected paintings and prints done by my mother and grandfather, as well as dozens of pieces I’ve picked up from galleries, antique stores, and tag sales.
I read that my base coat of Chantilly Lace has a highly reflective quality good for gallery-style rooms, and then my husband and I got started hanging our art.
We started on the right side of the living room and hung the largest painting first: a watercolor my grandfather did on a painting trip in Venice. From there, we worked outward, lining up other pieces below and to the left, building two rows that wrapped around the room, continuing on the other side of the wall-mounted TV. We tried not to overthink it, which helped the space feel curated but not overly fussy.
I’ve found it helps to hang the larger pieces first, then place smaller ones around them where they fit best. I also don’t feel urgency around hanging a new piece of art right away. I’ll mull over where I think it might fit best until it becomes clear where I want to hang it.
The end result is cozy and creative.
We filled the room in with our furniture, and we chose a media console with a built-in electric fireplace, which adds ambience and warmth in the cooler months — another detail I love.
I love sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in the morning or watching TV at night with my husband and admiring the happy, serene space we’ve created.
The art-filled space is one of the first features people comment on when they first walk in. It always sparks conversation, and for me it brings a deep sense of joy to be surrounded by so much color and memory. We couldn’t be more pleased with the results.
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