I enjoy my role as Kate’s free decorator. These days we are looking at her living room and planning some changes. She is ready to trade in her previous jewel tones, dudely IKEA karlstad cover, and the chevron accents for a new color palette. Kate has a great eye for a fashionable trend, and that is awesome and really fun to keep up with. It makes for a space that gets to be updated often. Here are my suggestions for her new look.
The space as is…
I’ve listed out the problems above, but you can see that there is plenty to work with, and plenty to work around. The paint is not a bright white, which I’m coming to learn is really the key to success. I’m not sure that she’ll be hitting the paint bucket though, so we’ll work with what we have. I took immediately to sketching out some ideas.
I’m not sure if you recall Kate’s Bedroom Do-Over where we discovered the coral, cream and gold palette. Kate has since installed her Hygge & West wallpaper and is slowly collecting her coral elements. Since the room is visible from the living room, it made sense to me to pull in some of that coral color.
The yellow silk curtains are some leftovers from the Treehouse where we lived together and they still pack punch, so let’s keep them. By bringing in a more orangey BOLD play on coral, it can stand up to the bright yellow of the curtains and keep Kate in that trendy graphic wheelhouse that she enjoys. I chose a Peacock print by Trina Turk for Schumacher. I’m not sure if Kate will actually spring for the re-upholstery job in that particular fabric, but it would look great if she did!
My other strong suggestions for Kate’s space are to get rid of the donkey teal sideboard. That space is not very large, but I understand that she needs storage and a place to drop her keys. I KNOW that she will hate this suggestion of the shoe storage by ikea b/c it’s plastic and cheap looking… so I’ll be keeping my eye out for something similar in response to her rebuttal. Though, after second guessing it myself, I was still really into the functionality of a slim storage area that will nest beneath her window without getting in the way of the pretty curtain. It’s not about what it looks like, it’s about it hiding behind the curtains, but still being there for the function of containing her dog leash, keys, and walking shoes. It also leaves room for a pretty end table there – and if she gets a floor lamp nestled into the corner, there will be plenty of space to rest a book and a glass a two buck Chuck.
So, here’s what the suggestions look like as a collage.
Shopping List
Ikea Shoe Storage I Ikea Dining Table I Jamie Young Pink Ceramics I Trina Turk Fabric I Floor Lamp I End Table I Art I Pretty Peg Ikea Legs
I really love the bright colours and the energy of the new room. Good use of Ikea items too!
Thank you Sylvie!
My deal with Kate is that we’ll go shopping in North Hollywood to see if we can find an affordable vintage alternative first…. and if not – then these are our backup items.
I’m actually feeling a little concerned now that the 36″ Ikea table won’t fit. Her parsons table that she has in that corner now feels too big, and it’s only 24 inches wide. Hmmm.
Can you link up the awesome legs for the sofa? Those rock!
Ooh, I’m sorry that I didn’t do that. Added them.
http://www.prettypegs.com/en/north/36-estelle-north.html
Pretty pegs has some GREAT options for replacement Ikea legs, and now they even have legs for tables too!
Kate will need 8 since she has an ottoman too, and they are a little pricey. So, I think we have decided to DIY this little project since I have access to peg legs at work. Seems ambitious, but we’ll see.