What's a Living Room to Do?

My living room is definitely a work in progress...a very slow work in progress. This time around I want to decorate things the way I like and not just settle on things to fill the space. In the last year we have purchased two beautiful leather sofas. They were a good compromise between me and the dear husband and have proven their durability with young children. I have purchased some odds and ends and slowly developed a view of what I want the room to look like. I should also preface that I have no flair for the frou frou when it comes to decorating, but like traditional with a flair for modernish.

We live in a very open floor plan. This lends to difficulty in painting the walls due to the fact that you have to decide where to stop painting and where to keep going. I want to keep things very light and airy feeling to counteract the dark, heavy couches. Without further ado, here is the living room from four angles as is starting off 2011 (and no I didn't clean up I really wanted to show it as is most days):

Here are some of my currently in-use inspirations for the living rooms future. The rug on the left was a generous Christmas present and is the Humboldt rug from Ballards. The color tone depends on the time of day and natural light we receive. It is a wool jute blend and despite the shedding it is incredibly soft and heavenly on the feet. The center picture is an adorable coffee table tray that holds remotes magazines and a delicious "Winter" scented votive. Now that I typed that out can we all say fire hazard - magazines and a candle. Might as well beautifully arrange some kindling in the tray and toss in a match. Thankfully the candle is unlit 99% of the time and the smell still permeates the room. The picture on the left is this awesome milk jug I found at my favorite antique store. It was super cheap and I love the brushed aluminum color and the brightness it brings to the room.

After searching high and low these are some of the fabrics that I dream of using one day. Obviously I am not going to go pattern happy and use all the selections but one day will narrow it down and choose two or three to pair with some nice solids and neutrals. Accompanied with some thin, gauzey drapes for the windows (can you tell I want lots of light in the room) it will feel a bit beachy while keeping with my Southern style.

One day I am going to roll up my crafty sleeves and paint this beauty to go on the blank wall over one the couches. I want to choose words that will be mission statements of my family to motivate us daily!

In my garage o'furniture, I have a square coffee table that has great texture that is going to get a nice refinishing with one of these metallic paints from the Ralph Lauren paint line (they have the most fantastic metallic paint). This will help tie in the aluminum milk jug and add a flair of non-traditional while reflecting some great light.

 Last but not least, one day I dream of splurging on this wall paper to line the current bookshelves and the hutch I own one day on the other side of the fireplace.

Hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into my quirky little brain.. Let me know, do you love it, hate it? Do you have an idea for something that would look better. Drop me a line and lets get this living room sweetened up!

with Belles and Beauxs