I love the living room. It’s very encouraging…
I feel so alive when I’m in here.
“What you doing in there man?”
“I’m LIVING dude! Why don’t you try it some time… stop dining”
- Demetri Martin
I'm forcing myself to tackle the living room next because I feel so unprepared when it comes to this room. I say this as if there's a deadline looming, which of course, there's not. It just troubles me that when I think of my future home, I can't picture where we're going watch Saturday morning cartoons, gather on Christmas morning, and stay up late eating popcorn while enjoying our favorite movies. A lot of the living rooms I've seen in design magazines lately are beautiful, but just a little too light and beachy. I like a little bit of a warmer color palette and subtly textured walls. Believe it or not, I found the picture below in the June 2010 issue of Midwest Living at the doctor's office where I was rotating and ripped it out. That's allowed, isn't it? Anyway, the featured home was designed by Chicago architect, Fred Wilson. I was disappointed to find the article didn't explain what was on the walls. Perhaps linen wallpaper? It almost looks like burlap. Can you even do that? This room is absolutely beautiful, but some aspects may be a bit too contemporary for the Maine home of my dreams. The colors, walls, trim, and coffee table would be perfect, but are the arm chairs too formal? But I love them so much!
One thing this room seems to be lacking is a nice, big fireplace. No Maine home would be complete without at least one! You may have to use your imagination to picture the fireplace below in the living room above, but focus on the stone. Please ignore the colors and trim.
“What you doing in there man?”
“I’m LIVING dude! Why don’t you try it some time… stop dining”
- Demetri Martin
I'm forcing myself to tackle the living room next because I feel so unprepared when it comes to this room. I say this as if there's a deadline looming, which of course, there's not. It just troubles me that when I think of my future home, I can't picture where we're going watch Saturday morning cartoons, gather on Christmas morning, and stay up late eating popcorn while enjoying our favorite movies. A lot of the living rooms I've seen in design magazines lately are beautiful, but just a little too light and beachy. I like a little bit of a warmer color palette and subtly textured walls. Believe it or not, I found the picture below in the June 2010 issue of Midwest Living at the doctor's office where I was rotating and ripped it out. That's allowed, isn't it? Anyway, the featured home was designed by Chicago architect, Fred Wilson. I was disappointed to find the article didn't explain what was on the walls. Perhaps linen wallpaper? It almost looks like burlap. Can you even do that? This room is absolutely beautiful, but some aspects may be a bit too contemporary for the Maine home of my dreams. The colors, walls, trim, and coffee table would be perfect, but are the arm chairs too formal? But I love them so much!
One thing this room seems to be lacking is a nice, big fireplace. No Maine home would be complete without at least one! You may have to use your imagination to picture the fireplace below in the living room above, but focus on the stone. Please ignore the colors and trim.
Instead of the Shaker pegged mantle, I would substitute the mantle below. I love the way it hides the flat-screen TV. If I could combine this mantle and built-in cabinets with the stone in the first picture, it would be perfect! I'd just extend the built-ins all the way to the ceiling and get rid of the beadboard backing. Then we'd really be living!
8/1/10 Addendum: I just posted this picture for my mom's family room, but wanted to make sure I included it in the post about my future living room. I think the green/gray built-ins would look great around the stone fireplace with a pale natural linen on the walls:
I love the family room you just posted and would like to copy it but Dad doesn't like the chairs. Mostly he doesn't like the wooden ball parts so I might be able to find something similar. Have you been able to find the rug?
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