This latest Design Quickie came about when Dani asked for some help making her living and dining rooms feel a little more like home.  Dani’s busy finishing her thesis so decorating her new home has {understandably} fallen by the wayside.

Here’s what she’s working with:

{ Everything here needed to stay, except for the rug. }

Each of the plans incorporates Dani’s love of blues, greens and neutrals, and I kept the existing wall color since both Dani and her husband love it.  The living and dining rooms are both getting fun, patterned fabrics which will instantly make the rooms feel more homey.

There are some tricky architectural features in the living room.  The doorways obviously pose an issue, but I think that for the most part Dani’s dealt really well with it – the sofa is in the right place, and the two chairs are perfect in front of the archway {from another pic I didn’t post}.  Dani hoping for a chaise to place in front of the archway but I really think she’d be happier keeping the two chairs {or similar chairs} because the traffic pattern will flow much better into the dining room {instead of having to walk around a visually and physically bulky chaise}.  I would also move the white bookcase to the wall between the front door and the archway, and flank both sides of the bookcase with a vertical line of black & white photos framed in the white Ribba frames from Ikea.  That means that the paintings from Dani’s sister {not pictured} will move above the TV to provide a great focal point when people walk in the front door.

The only other tricky part of the living room is the wall behind the sofa – the size of the window and location of the sconces make that wall a bit awkward.  Because of that I think it would be a great idea to create a wall of curtains on that wall – they would run floor to ceiling and wall to wall, hung from an oil rubbed bronze rod {more about the specific curtains later}.  The sconces will peek between the individual curtain panels but be sure to keep the curtains pulled tight together so the look is seamless.  The curtains will also be somewhat sheer to let in light from the window.

Finally, the wall with the archway – what a great feature!  I would suggest painting the wall the same green color as the rest of the walls, then highlight the inside of the arch by painting it the same shade of white as the trim.

Now onto the fun stuff!!

I whipped up two options for Dani’s living room, including furniture arrangements and other details.  Here’s the first mood board:

~ Rug.  This faux bois rug {Option 1 and Option 2} works perfectly with Dani’s wall color and furniture, and the great natural pattern adds oodles of visual interest – as an added bonus, the wood grain will be great for hiding any stains.

~ Curtains.  The curtains need to be extra long to reach from floor to ceiling, and fairly sheer to let light shine through.  These beauties are the perfect option.

~ Fabric.  This fun and funky fabric is a great complement to the wall color and wood tones in the room.  I would recover Dani’s existing armchairs in this fabric and then pull the color to the other side of the room with a few throw pillows on the sofa.  As for the legs of the chairs, think about staining them a darker wood tone.

~ End Tables.  The sides of Dani’s sofa are begging for end tables – 2 of these babies painted navy blue will give Dani & Co. more places to put books and drinks, and Dani can also use them as extra seating when necessary.

~ Accents.  Accents in navy and white will really make this plan pop.

And here’s Option 2:

Option 2 features the same rug and curtains, but there are some definite changes to the plan!

~ Chair Fabric.  Dani’s chairs will look dynamite reupholstered in this floral fabric which pulls in the wall color as well as other fun hues.

~ Pillow Fabric.  Bring out the turquoise in the chair fabric with a few throw pillows on the sofa in this pattern.

~ Curtains.  The curtains are the same ones featured in Option 1 but they are getting snazzed up with this stencil in turquoise.  The look we’re going for is similar to the staggered pattern on these curtains.

~ End Tables.  These beauties will look great on either side of the sofa.

~ Bookcase.  For a little extra pop, think about painting the back of the bookcase a pale turquoise color.

~ Accents.  You might have guessed by now that turquoise and white accents would look amazing with this option!

Dani’s living room opens into the dining room through a gorgeous archway – so the dining room got a little gussying up, too.  {Note – for everyday use I’d think about taking the leaf out of the table to center the table under the chandelier.}

Dani has a gorgeous dining room and I’m contemplating stealing her chandelier.  Here’s how I’d like to accent everything:

Here’s Option 1:

~ Curtains & Rod.  These Indian-inspired curtains have beautiful colors to complement the wall color and Dani’s beautiful table.  I’d hang them close to the ceiling on a nickel rod like this to play off the nickel of the chandelier.

~ Rug.  I know Dani like the look of jute so I thought the dining room would be a great place for a jute rug since Dani won’t have to worry about it being too rough underfoot.  Here’s an excellent option.

~ Hutch.  Dani’s in the process of painting her hutch white and once she’s finished it would look gorgeous backed with this graphic wallpaper.

~ Accents.  Think about a table runner and other accents in the same pale blue that’s found in the curtains.

And Option 2:

~ Curtains {& same rod as above}. This beautiful damask fabric is subtle and elegant, and will make gorgeous curtain panels for the dining room.

~ Rug.  Same as above.

~ Accents.  Crisp white accents will really stand out in this plan.

Click on the following link to snag some design advice of your very own – Interior Design Services.