Living room update! Rug, sconces, plates, and unique curtains

Living room update! Rug, sconces, plates, and unique curtains

• 11.20.2024

My living room has been a great canvas the past few years. Living rooms are hard to decorate (there are so many options for what might work) and I've tried a lot of different things. I don't think I'll ever be totally done, but I'm feeling so good about some of these new pieces and think they will last a long time.

Historic Tudor revival house living room update

The first thing I changed was the art on either side of the TV. I’ve resigned myself to having the TV above the fireplace in this room, but I don’t want the TV by itself. I had some cute little square prints with dark green mats, two on either side, but it had been a couple years and I wanted something different. I’ve also been loving seeing plates as decor in rooms, other than kitchens, so I tried that! I already had two of these blue onion plates, and I found four more on Etsy.

I also changed the sconces. I had had some cute little brass vintage candle sconces, and they were pretty, but they weren’t super substantial and they didn’t really match the era of the home including the original light fixtures I have hung back up in the dining room and now living room. I found this sconce at Rejuvenation that is inspired by a 1940 design and comes in quite a few metal colors, including a dark one like my chandelier. These even have the little bumps at the bottom like my chandelier does.

The curtains… Wow! I started thinking about replacing my living room curtains more than a year ago, but it’s taken me forever to decide. Originally I wanted a floral but just couldn’t find anything I liked, either in ready-made curtains, custom curtains, or even just fabric.

I’ve spent the past few years, getting rid of plain, modern, white curtains, and other generic things throughout my house, but the more I thought about it, I just didn’t think more tan, beige, or even a color was with this room needed. But I didn’t want just plain white. I love that there are several good options out there for custom curtains, nowadays, and Twopages has been the best I have seen for quality and options, and guess what, they even have this trim tape you can add to any of their curtains! They have a lot of styles and colors, and you can order samples of the trim tape as well as the fabrics.

They have several linen options and a lot of them are a little bit more rustic/organic earthy, modern than my more traditional style, so I went with the Patti which is Belgian linen and a lot smaller thread in the weave. 

I’m so excited about these!

And now, let's have a moment for those hydrangeas. My parents' 100-year-old house has several incredible hydrangeas in front of their front porch, but I’ve never appreciated them until recently when my mom has been giving me dried bunches toward the end of the season. I recently planted quite a few hydrangeas in front of my house, so one day I’ll have lots of my own too!

This is my favorite spot. It’s where I wind down, if I ever get to that stage in my evening.

I still struggle with the kind of funky layout of this room. It’s very long and skinny. Two couches works, but then there’s no seat facing the TV. I love that blue spindle chair. I got on Facebook, but it is a little crowded. But the kids love that chair too!

I also might do something else with this wall someday, like if I can ever find some better cabinetry for toy storage and books. And I’ve kind of gone all in with that gallery wall, so might wipe it all out and put up one large piece. We’ll see!

Linking lots of these pieces and similar ones where the exact is no longer available or was vintage.