a living room design

Two more days until the weekend!  Is anyone else exhausted after only two days of this short week?  It always seems that slowing down for a little break makes starting back up that much harder!

I mentioned in this post that my sister-in-law is thinking about re-decorating her living room.  I have slowly but surely collecting images that I think would work well for her space and I am so excited to share the components with you today.

1. Curtains.  A few years ago, my sister-in-law invested in beautiful fabric and had curtains made for the living room.  This is not the exact fabric she chose, but this is as close as I can find.  The actual fabric has a bit more of a burnt red and navy blue color scheme, but the feel is similar.

fabric

2.  One of the major investment pieces for the re-decorated living room is a new couch.  I chose a navy couch to pull out the navy tones in the monkey fabric and to coordinate with the fabric in her dining room.  (It's also nice to have a darker couch with dogs and kids in the house.)  While matching colors and fabrics from room to room is definitely not required, I do think it is nice if a house has a certain flow from room to room.

couch

3. The living room serves a dual-purpose and would actually be divided into a living room and more of a music/reading area.  (Check back for more on the music/reading nook later.)  To create some separation, a sisal rug (see this post for more details about hypoallergenic rug options) would be placed in the main living space.  This will help define the area of the room as well as give the room some texture and warmth.

rug

4.  I would love to use this bookshelf as a "console table" at the back of the couch.  This would be the perfect spot for some storage and it will help continue to define the space by being placed at the edge of the rug.  It is also not too stuffy and combines a great shape with distressed wood- a nice contrast.

bookcase as console table

5. Finally, I love this red lamp.  It could be placed on the bookcase to provide extra light to the couch or on another side table.

lamp

To complete the room I would add these two armless chairs, maybe these throw pillows, and maybe an antique trunk as a coffee table.  What do you think?  Will it flow together?

I would love to figure out how to format these pieces and present them to you as an "inspiration board" but I honestly have no idea how to do that!  Anyone out there have a good program that I should investigate?!?

xo,