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!
Hello, I’m a fan of your style. What fabric color is your pottery Barn Pierce sofa sectional? Do you have pets and how is it held up? Thx!
Hi Kara, thank you so much! 🙂 Our sectional was from a local furniture store 8+ years ago and I was never able to find it online unfortunately. I linked the Pottery Barn sofa as a similar option, so cannot say how well it holds up from experience, however I do love the quality of PB sofas and would choose a slipcover in a performance fabric. Hope that helps!