FAMILY NEST IN PROGRESS ///. OUR LIVING ROOM

If you remember from the Before Tour,
our goal with updating the living room was to create a room that was
spacious, comfy and luminous. 
An easy-going space where Legos & Mojitos could mingle.

Here is what we did to make it happen.

Smart Investments (where about 80% of our budget went)

- Changed the floors;

- Isolated the walls and painted them white (Benjamin Moore's Decorators' White is one of my all-time faves);

- Installed light grey roller blinds that provide privacy and filter sunlight;

- Removed the arch by the fireplace and installed open shelves;
- Purchased a tv console that offered lots of storage for toys, dvds, art material and games;

Practical Decorating (the remaining 20%)

- Threw away our student furniture and invested in a high-quality sectional that could stand up to jumping kids and offer different setups for adults & kids parties

- Picked a neutral grey color in a forgiving fabric and accessorized with affordable and colorful pillows

- Recycled Ikea shelves for that nook by the fireplace

- Added a soft graphic rug to warm up the room and for the kids to play on;
- Used a cool kids table as our coffee table

The Wise Move

- Painting the fireplace in black. This is one of my favorite features in the whole house, and mainly because its transformation was inexpensive and simple, and also because we were able to salvage an original feature of the house. The fireplace's lines were clean and modern, all it needed was a good coat of black paint to make a bold statement in a house of white walls.

When we bought the house four years ago, it looked like this:

And here's how it looks today. 

We really do live in the living room (yoga, pillow fights, read, play, even haircuts!) and look forward to coming home to this place everyday. We're happy to report that the sofa has survived potty-training incidents (the #2 kind), milk spit-ups and red crayons graffitis. We love that the room is a multi-functional & flexible happy space that looks grownup but is still kid-friendly and easy-going.

Thanks for reading! 

xo 
Kim-Anh.

Photo credits: Kim-Anh Tran