Taking back the living room!

So we have a friend who is nesting.  And we literally mean "nesting"!  She is expecting baby #7 in a matter of days!   She was going to be hosting a luncheon at her home just a few weeks before her due date.   So she figured it was a good time to do some of the decorating that she had been putting off.  

Look at all those adorable kids!  When we saw these pictures she had hidden away in a drawer we knew we had to get them up on the walls!

We borrowed the ottoman from the family room to show how practical and useful these ottomans are!  They go just about everywhere!

Kaycee is all about her kids as you can tell from her living room BEFORE shot.   The playhouse had been in the living room since Christmas! 

But she was ready to have a more grown up friendly living room.  We said Goodbye to the big playhouse and rearranged her furniture.  This is truly a budget makeover.  We used all her existing furniture and just added some finishing touches.

The piano was moved to take center stage.  We also added some pretty dramatic curtain panels.  

We had to get creative with curtains because most 120 inch panels were way out of our budget.  We actually used two shorter panels and had them sewn together.  This is where her wonderful Mother-in-Law comes in (who just happens to be an amazing quilter)!!!  Thanks Janice!

We swapped out some of the loose back cushions that came with the couch for some decorative pillows.  We decided that brown on brown room needed a little bit of color!

Here's another BEFORE shot looking into the dining room.

They switched out the light with a chandelier they had in storage... makes a huge difference!  We love handy husbands!!   The scale is much better for the big table, plus it is hung a proper distance from the table.  Those measurements really matter!

We found this picture at Ross for a great price.  It blends better with the color scheme of this room and the adjacent family room.  Doesn't it just feel more calming and serene than the picture that was there before?  With 9 people at the dinner table every night, I am sure she will take all the calming influences she can get!

So I recently read a blog that referred to fake plants as "permanent botanicals".     I guess we will go with that!  

More "permanent botanicals".   We love them and use them all the time, but we try to be somewhat particular with them.    We have some go-to winners that we like to stock up on.  When in doubt, just put it down and walk away!

More dramatic custom, yet unbelievably priced curtains thanks to Janice.  It may be hard to see but they are colorblocked blue with brown like the others in the living room.  We really needed to use the full height of the windows to cut out the sun that came through those upper windows.  Every night at dinner time, the person on the end was blinded.  These will definitely be appreciated! 

We still need to install some tiebacks on those!  A designer's work is neverending, sigh!

So there you have it, a few simple changes and you have a grown up living room on a budget!  Coming up next, fun new changes to the family room!