Design Showcase: Adding Some Personality into the Family Room

Sara recently reached out about updating her family room.  I personally can atest to how much time we spend in our family room.  It's a gathering spot for family and friends as well as the heart of the home.  A little more from Sara on the specifics:

When Kevin and I went furniture shopping for our living room, we chose to purchase a dark brown leather living room set. We figured with the amount of traffic and usage that this furniture would get with future kids, a dog, and guests, it would be the most functional furniture for the space. It wouldn't show dirt and it would be easy to wipe clean. The only problem is I didn't consider how hard it would be to decorate around dark brown furniture. At a loss for how to decorate this space, this is how this room has sat for the last two years... dull and lifeless!

Since this room is where all of our friends and family hang out when we entertain and this is where my little family spends our time together, I want it to look and feel comfortable and inviting. It definitely needs to have a homey atmosphere. The only thing that needs to stay in the room are the major furniture pieces... the living room set, end table, coffee table, and grandfather clock. Everything else is free to go. Though we can definitely rearrange the furniture in the room if you have other ideas about it's placement. I would love to update the pillows, curtain panels, lamp, wall art, mantle decor, and even possibly the bookshelf in the corner. I'm not a big fan of our bookshelf but I wanted some way to display trinkets and photographs. I'm a sucker for photographs and monograms and would love to incorporate them in both in this room. Last but not least, I most definitely want to add some color into this room. Currently on my love list are shades of coral and aqua though I'm open to any color ideas that you may have. I don't really have a set budget for this space but I'd prefer to stick with a budget somewhere around $1000 or less. 

I hope this information will help you because I would love it if you could please help me add life and personality to this room in our home!

Sarah's current family room definitely has a more traditional feel to it, with lots of dark furniture and accents.  I was excited to infuse a bright and slightly more modern element to it.

At first, I kept with the green accents:

Botanical Prints // Green Pillow 1 & 2

Curtains

Ultimately, Sara decided that it was time for a real change and that we should add some more pops of color.  I was definitely up for the challenge!

Paintings // Pillows 1, 2, 3, 4 // Couch

Lamp // Accent Table // Coffee Table // Fiddle Leaf Plant

I love the idea of updating the coffee table to something a bit more modern to counter the traditional leather couches.  These bright and vibrant Schumacher pillows are so fun and help modernize the space as well.  Of course, to ground the room, I love these classic paintings. 

Curtains // Chairs // Pillows 1, 2, 3 // Side Table // Lamp

I adore these bright and airy curtains and think they will really help to open up the room.  Those, and the glass lamp along with the open side table.

Shelves // Basket // Gold Sphere // Books // Succulent 1 & 2 // Ampersand // Candle

I am obsessed with these shelves and think they will look great on either side of the fireplace.  They're simple, modern and super functional to hold all sorts of fun decor.

So there you have it!  I can't wait to see what Sara ends up doing in here.  :)

xo natasha