Living Room

The living room is easily the most-used space in our house. It is home base for us - it's where we snuggle up on the couch to watch a Disney movie together, it's where we huddle around the coffee table for a game of Candy Land, it's where we build blanket forts & magna-tile rocket ships, it's where we catch up with guests, it's where we admire the Christmas tree and the magic of the holiday season.

The #1 thing on my list during house-hunting was that I wanted an open floor plan in terms of the living room being visible from the kitchen so I could watch Jack play while I cook dinner. Our home has that checked off, plus the living room overlooks the back porch and pool so entertaining is a breeze with all three spots being connected.

When designing our living room, I knew I wanted it to feel cozy. I went neutral with furnishings vs. the more colorful dining room and den in the front of the house, and chose this specific area rug to subtly tie in the colors from those rooms with the blue and mint tones. The living room is grounded in shades of tan, brown, grey, black & white with greenery. This room is where Greg spends the most time so I wanted some masculine touches, such as leather pillows + ottomans, mixed with organic wood, concrete slab on the tv stand, and black iron details in the curtain rod, coffee table legs, and open shelves.

The largest wall in our house is the one that the couch is in front of. Rather than a large (expensive!) piece of artwork, I created a gallery wall with black and white photos of our family of three. Check out more details and tips on how to perfectly hang frames for a gallery wall here. 

We bought this couch on craigslist 10 years ago when Greg and I moved in together in LA, and it still looks brand-new since the cushion upholstery unzips and is machine-washable. Best $200 I've ever spent! The sectional is layered with striped plush pillows and warm blankets, making it my favorite spot to binge Netflix. I scored matching mid-century modern side tables at T.J. Maxx and anchored them with tall lamps on either side of the couch for extra light when reading.

We have additional seating with the grey rocking chair that used to reside in Jack's nursery, a huge beanbag chair we inherited from my in-laws, a kid-sized wood rocking chair and the Moroccan poufs. We keep our house very tidy and while everything has its designated place, I like at least one thing in a room to feel a little more lived-in. Case in point: I never fold the throw blanket, I just drape it across the couch or bean bag chair when we are done with it.

My husband doesn't have many wants when it comes to décor, but he had two requests when it came to the living room. The first was blackout curtains. I found these double-sided white linen curtains on Amazon that met his desire for a movie-theatre experience + still looked aesthetically pleasing. The second was keeping the coffee table free of any styling pieces so we don't have to move things constantly. I've admittedly tried to get away with a little tray with coasters and the remote a couple times, but he vetoes it immediately haha! At least the coffee table is interesting on it's own with the live-edge wood.

To bring in the coastal details I love, I added some texture in the water hyacinth base lamps, and the floating shelves hanging by rope which has a nautical touch as well. The shelves of the tv stand house birch wood candles engraved with our wedding date that were a gift from our co-worker, storage boxes to hide Jack's ever-growing monster truck collection, and a stack of Jack's yearbooks - I make a photo album on Shutterfly every year with our favorite photos from milestones, holidays and everything in between. It's my favorite way to do something with the thousands of photos we take and reminisce on each year's special moments.

80% of the plants in our home are real, but we have a few faux mixed in - the fiddle leaf fig being one of them. Hot tip to make a faux tree look better: pick a beautiful woven basket or large ceramic pot, and add height by stacking something under the plant. I used our never-once-touched bundt cake pan. Then, layer some moss, stones or mulch - and don't forget to dust the leaves!

Another piece of advice: when it comes to curtains, always buy the longest ones that will work in your space. We have tall ceilings, especially in the living room, so we went with 96-inch curtains (about a foot or two above the sliding glass doors). By placing the curtain rod higher and wider than the windows/doors, it opens up the light source making it appear larger, and lets more natural light in since the curtains aren't crowding the glass when pulled open.