Sarah's Living Room: After

Or, more accurately, “in progress.”  Although our husbands cannot seem to understand this—and constantly complain about it—there really is no “after” when it comes to design and decorating!

Dev, Bruce, and I moved into our apartment on the day the renovations were finished, bringing some pieces from our old house and adding a few things that we bought for our new life and home in Brooklyn.

(Reminder: here is what the room looked like before)

Our landlord--who is AMAZING--agreed to paint the room this shade of gray that I picked out and adore. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what it’s called (didn’t know I’d have a blog!).

I don’t think we paid full retail price for anything in the room.  I truly believe that secondhand is almost always better than IKEA and can often take the place of DIY.

We bought the sofa before we left Chicago.  We found it at this great designer consignment shop in Lincoln Park, Berry Hill Home.  We wanted a sleeper sofa for guests and loved the fabric and size of this one. Bruce is currently working on ruining the back pillows—his favorite sleeping place is right on top of them.  It’s so cute that I can’t stop him.

We also got the Pottery Barn apothecary chest—which is actually a secretary desk—from Berry Hill Home for a steal.  It is the perfect place for me to work because my desk is always messy, but when I’m done I can just close it up and no one has to know.

I want this room to be styled but, above all else, comfortable and versatile.  We spend the majority of our time at home in this space, so it has to invite lounging and relaxation.  It is our main entertaining space, so it has to accommodate guests.  Now that we’ve turned our second bedroom into a nursery, the living room is also our guest bedroom!  I tried to account for all of these functions by choosing durable and cozy fabrics, warm wood tones, and personal art and accessories that make the space inviting, lasting, and individualized.

My next projects for this room are to figure out what to do with the TV stand, which I despise, and to make room for baby toys!

Chairs: Overstock.com
Ottomans: HomeGoods
Floor mirror: final sale at ZGallerie
Rug: Berry Hill Home
Console table: flea market
Painting: an original watercolor that my amazingly talented
grandmother gave to me!
Throw pillows: Crate and Barrel clearance and Overstock.com
Lithograph: one that I made in high school
Lamps: the table lamps are from my mom’s basement and the floor lamp
was left in our old house when we bought it
Vase: Neiman Marcus Last Call (I think it was originally $90 and I paid $10)