Franca’s Living Room Makeover!

A couple of months ago, my friend Franca, from the From Playroom to Dining Room post, got in touch with me because she was ready to change the look of her living room. She wanted something that felt brighter, wintery, and very cozy since her living room at that time was a little bit of a darker space.

These before pictures were actually taken after the walls were painted light gray with a dark gray accent wall. They were just plain white before!

She loved the idea of grays, whites, and that whole “Scandi” (aka Scandinavian) living space with a wintery twist look, so we pretty much used that as our starting point. Luckily, Franca knows her own style really well, so I just helped guide her in the decision-making process in terms of colors, fabric choices, textures and finishes.

To add yet another layer of depth to the gray and white look, we decided to add pops of a rustic natural wood texture. And since we live in a community with some seriously talented people, Franca reached out to one of our favorite Dhahran vendors, Sawdust and Sweet Tea, for some help creating accessories with pallets! I sooo love the idea of buying things from people that you know especially because they hold so much more meaning when they’ve been made for you.

Overall, it all worked out so well because Franca was able to incorporate every single item that she loved, and was also able to create the most picture-perfect spaces all around her living room!

Ready for it? I can’t wait for you to see how it looks now…

I’m sooo happy that Franca decided to go with a fabric couch instead of the leather couches. They look so much cozier than a leather couch would have looked in the space!

I love this concept SOOO much!!

How pretty are those Zara Home fluffy cushion covers??

Yep – we put a small lamp behind that plant, and I love how soft the lighting is from it!

See those little characters? Franca made them!! So cute, right?!

One of my most favorite transformations in this room has to be of the two IKEA KALLAX bookshelves.

The bookshelves obviously needed to stay since the entire family uses the unit quite frequently, but it looked too “heavy” in the room in black. We first thought about painting it white, but with a white coffee table it would have been too much white in the space, generally. Since Franca had already asked Sawdust and Sweet Tea to work on some pallet picture frames, we decided that extending those same wood tones to a custom made tabletop and pallet candleholders would probably look best. Luckily, Aicha, from Sawdust and Sweet Tea, had the most perfect colored pallets for the whole project 🙂

I am so incredibly pleased with how it turned out – all of the wooden pieces completely transformed the vibe of the space!

Lastly, I’ve said this before, and I’m going to say it again…

Buy what you love. It really pays off. If you stay true to what you like, the look always manages to come together. Having someone to bounce ideas off of is really important too, but everyone has an inherent style so instead of trying to define it just buy with your gut 🙂

Hope you enjoyed the transformation!

Gray Couches, TV console, Side Tables: Ashley Furniture | Coffee Table, Round Mirror, Shaggy Rug, Curtains, Curtain Rods, Large Paper Star (in front of the window), Flower Jug: IKEA | Gray Poufs, White Wooden Stools, Baskets: Zara Home | Star Light: Debenhems | Pallet Picture Frames, Pallet Candleholders, Pallet Tabletop, “Grateful” Sign, “It’s So Good To Be Home” Sign, Wooden Arrows, Mason Jar Wooden Holder: Sawdust & Sweet Tea | Wall Paint: Jotun, Solid 2363 (darker wall) and Jotun Seashell 2499 (lighter walls)

WANT TO SEE MORE?

Check out A Shabby Chic Home in the TDS Interiors Portfolio section of the blog for more project highlights of her dining room.