Living Room Redesign - Reveal!

It’s been a slow and steady project, but I am finally ready to share my completed living room redesign!

I am fortunate to live in a New York apartment with a true living room space (anyone who knows someone that lives here knows this is rare!). Because of the pure functionality of it, by default it is where my roommate and I spend most of our time.

But, being a shared space, until now the room lacked much of a central aesthetic. It had all of the necessary pieces (a table, couch, tv), but the overall design was wasn’t unified or inviting.

Last week I shared my Pinterest inspiration board that fed into my design plan and below are the final results.

I worked to keep the space minimalism inspired while also still feeling cozy. Mixing textures and sticking to a neutral color palette helped to achieve that balance. In a small space, adding furniture can quickly make it feel cluttered and cramped, so I stuck to classic pieces with clean lines and paid special attention to furniture scale (measure everything!), so as to not overwhelm the space.

I found a simple metal tulip table and basic utilitarian chairs to serve as the dining area. Since these pieces would be below the gallery wall - a visually busy section of the room - I wanted these pieces to be simple and not distract guests from admiring the art on the wall.

The gallery wall is primarily a collection of prints (vintage and new!) and I am proud to include a piece from my dad’s most recent art show - Go Figure. This floral calendar is also a great add - because the image changes every month, it will help to alleviate any feeling of staleness.

Opposite the gallery wall is a single large photograph. This is one of the first things visitors notice when entering the room, so I wanted a piece that was calming while still being visually interesting - this fit the bill perfectly.

For textiles, I looked for rich, textured pieces (like the couch and foot pouf) to mix with geometric prints (found in the pillows, rug and bookshelf wallpaper).

And perhaps one of my favorite additions is the handmade wooden sofa table. The wooden plank was a find from a trip this summer to Vermont, and some hairpin legs made the piece completely functional.