First project of the year! I’m planning to give our main living space a refresh, while keeping our existing furniture. Earth tones, natural textures, and collected decor will help create a cozy modern living room.

Happy New Year friends! Today I’m excited to share my first 2021 project: a living room refresh. I’ll be using our existing furniture and incorporating new decor pieces to change up the look. Lately I’m loving a combination of organic, casual, and modern decor, with a few coastal elements thrown in too. I’m calling this look “cozy modern,” but you’ll have to let me know if you have a better name for it 😉 First, I’ll show you how the space looks now. Then, I’ll share my cozy modern living room design plan!
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Current Living room and thoughts





[You may be interested in my Modern Media Console blog post!]
I snapped these photos late in the fall and never shared them on the blog! I’m happy with the bones of the space, but a few things have bothered me for a while and I’m excited to finally tackle them:
- Replace white curtains with warm gray, pinch pleat drapes. Ever since I painted the walls white, I have wanted to add warmth and dimension with gray drapes. (What is the difference between curtains and drapes? Good question 😉 I asked the internet and it seems that drapes are longer and heavier… if anyone knows the answer, please share in the comment section!)
- Replace artwork on the right side of the tv with a large tree. I moved the stacked botanical artwork to Ladybug’s room, and then the Christmas tree borrowed this space for several months. I’m excited to fill this corner with a large, artificial olive tree! I just placed the order and it should arrive next week.
- Replace smaller olive tree with a blanket ladder and throws. The left side of the tv definitely needs warmth and visual weight. I like this bamboo blanket ladder because the curved top breaks up all of the straight lines of the tv, media console, and frames.
- Swap out the rug. We love our blue rug (it is machine washable!) but I’ve been wanting to change things up and try something darker. I will still use this rug elsewhere in our home.
- Add light fixtures. Our open concept space can feel a bit dark in the evenings. I fell in love with this light fixture and am hoping to add it to our living room! I’m also planning to add an inexpensive picture light above the stacked artwork.
- Refresh decor. Of course, always fun to do! I already ordered a few new pieces.
Cozy MOdern Living Room Mood Board

Here is a mood board I created, including most of the new pieces I would like to add! The gray and charcoal rug is one of my favorites–I love how versatile it is with both warm and cool tones that I can pull from when selecting pillows. The drapes and faux leather poufs add warmth, and I’m in love with the long woven tray for the bottom of the coffee table! I already purchased it and it holds magazines perfectly. You can shop everything here:

Living Room Design PLan
I created the following collage to show what the space will look like!

I also pasted the items on top of my photo, so you can see a side-by-side comparison of old and new:
What do you think? I’m so excited to get to work on this space! As I mentioned, a few pieces are already on their way, and I will be slowly adding the other items over the next several months (as I save up for them). I cannot wait to see the design come together.
What space are you excited to work on this year? Leave me a comment below! Thanks so much for stopping by friends. XO,

Love your fresh living room plans! So beautiful!
Thank you Marynn! I just read your post and am excited to follow along with your living room too!
So pretty, Caitlin! I can’t wait to see more pictures!