Before & After Living Room

Hey guys! Remember that fun giveaway I had back in January where I said I’d pick one of my subscribers and redesign a room in their house? Well, I just finished it and it was so much fun! You’ve got to check out the before and after.

Yep! It was this giveaway. So the rules were, the winner from this giveaway received my design services free of charge for one room in their home.  They needed to provide me with the budget that they were willing to spend, and I provided them with a design plan and easy shopping list.  It could be as low budget as they wanted up to whatever they wanted to spend.  I also said I’d go with a look that fits your style and compliments your home. I was totally up for the challenge and I loved every minute of it!

I can’t begin to tell you how hard it was to pick a winner. There were a lot of really fun comments from subscribers that were hard to pass up. So, I will for sure do this again, don’t you worry!

So the lucky winner was Dawn from Eagan MN. Here’s her comment from that post:

“Hi Melessa! As a single mom of 3 kids with a very busy life, I am determined to try and unlock the mysteries of how to carve out time for ME in the middle of all the chaos. Part of the vision is developing a space for meditation/yoga in my living room, while maintaining it’s function as a place for gathering with friends/family. Currently the space is a bit eclectic and multi-purpose. I would love your eye and creativity in taking what exists and transforming into a little oasis in the middle of it all!”

First off, it was such a pleaser meeting Dawn and working with her for the past few weeks. This woman is sooooo awesome and so full of life! She was so warm and welcoming, it felt like I knew her my whole life. She loved bright bold colors and patterns. Not to mention she’s traveled all over the place, so her home was full of stunning works of art, pottery, prayer beads, and other keep sakes from her amazing trips around the world. It wasn’t a big shocker when she said she absolutely loved anything bohemian. Bohemian it is!

Here are her BEFORE pics of her living room she emailed to me.

BEFORE

The budget for this room was $500. It was doable, but very tight. At first I wanted to change the room color, but because it was an open floor-split level, I realized quickly that, that was going to eat up too much of her budget. My goal was to add more white and cooler tones to contrast with the warm tones. After reviewing these images, I noticed some fabulous gems in this room that needed to be rearranged and placed more in the spotlight.

There were some large items that needed to be removed from this room.  Gratefully, she also had an older son who was very helpful with removing some furniture from the room and replacing them with other pieces. I helped her remove the couch in the above image and quickly realized I have no upper body strength. We made it down to her basement without too much trouble. However, I totally need to start toning up my arms if I’m planning on this in my future. 😉

I was so impressed will all the great items (both large and small) she had sprinkled around her home. So I grabbed a bunch of them and started to create a beautiful, eclectic,  bohemian retreat. It had to be relaxing and restful, functional for work, along with enough room for entertaining. Below is a birds-eye view of how I laid out the room with both existing and brand new items.

AFTER

The more layers the better, especially with bohemian styles! It’s so much fun to overlap textures, colors and a mix of old and new items. All of her pieces tell a story from a far away land.  That’s what makes her room feel so vibrant and alive.

I love this quilt she made. So of course this had to be placed in a location were it would be noticed.

I had a few vibrant pillows (below) and a yellow throw tucked away in my house that I wasn’t using so I thought it would be fun to add them to this colorful space. I also surprised her with a couple other fun items I found at a thrift shop on my way to her house.

This faux plant was a great find at Good Will!

These baskets were also a fun surprise from Good Will.

Tip: When adding items to your wall, try to mix it up if you can. Don’t only load your walls with just pictures, hand baskets, metallics or other textures and finishes to add more interest.

I love how those prayer beads pop from that wood bowl.

I wish I could remember all the places where she found her art and tapestries. I know some are from Turkey, Kenya, Scotland & Ireland to name a few.

Here’s what’s new in this room.

Shop this look right now! Click on the numbers below to order.

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11

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Have a great weekend everyone!

XOXO

Melessa