How to create a traditional living room

Our warm and inviting living room is traditional, yet fresh, and is filled with comfortable furniture, family heirlooms and charming blue and white accents. As a family, we live so much of our lives in our living rooms.We want them to be inviting, comfortable, and a place where we spend lots of time with friends and family.

In our new home, we have an open concept floor plan with the kitchen and breakfast room open to the living area. The previous owners did a great job lightening the space with pale oak flooring and bright white walls. One of the things I love about our home, and the living room in particular, is the abundance of light shining into the space. We have big beautiful windows that we adore!

I love looking outside because our home backs up to a trail and the neighborhood playground. Being a new empty nester, it makes my heart happy to see- and hear- children playing..

The room was a great blank space for our furniture, but had no place to display my art, blue and white porcelain and picture frames.

Transitional Living Room Before …

A warm and inviting living room with a high ceiling and tall stone fireplace. It features a large gray sofa, two light-colored armchairs, wooden furniture, and a tall window. Decor includes framed art, plants, and a rug on the light wood flooring.

When we purchased the house, I immediately knew I wanted to build shelves on either side of the fireplace and buy a Samsung Frame TV to go above the fireplace. We chose a teak frame for it. I love that the TV doubles as a framed piece of art. With literally thousands of art pieces to choose from, plus the ability to display a family photos or pictures we’ve taken, the Samsung Frame TV is a no brainer!

A co-worker of my husband recommended a carpenter, Kevin Boyd, who had recently done a bunch of work for her home. Kevin built the shelves and did a fantastic job with them. Eli Ward with Boulder PaintWorks painted over the charcoal gray to make the pretty white background for my collections.

A warm and inviting living room features a tall stone fireplace surrounded by built-in shelves. A white sectional sofa and brown leather chairs encircle a large coffee table. A woman sits on the couch reading, while natural light fills this traditionally charming space, with a ladder nearby.

A warm and inviting living room features a stone fireplace with a TV above it, flanked by white shelves. A dog sits near a large ottoman adorned with magazines and a plant. Brown leather chairs and a white sofa with blue pillows offer seating, while a red-patterned rug enhances the traditional ambiance.

Our Traditional Living Room

Books and decorative blue and white ceramic jars sit on a shelf, perfectly complementing the warm and inviting living room. Below, a small abstract artwork in shades of blue and white is displayed beside a bowl filled with lychee fruit, adding a touch of elegance to the cozy space.

A warm and inviting living room showcases a stone fireplace with a TV above, nestled among white built-in shelves. A wooden dining table in the foreground is adorned for fall with pumpkins and floral arrangements. Plush seating faces the fireplace, enhancing its cozy vibe.

The shelves completely transformed the space! I have a large collection of blue and white pieces, and the shelves give me a pretty place to showcase them! I wish I would have put picture lights on them…Lighting adds so much to a space but can also be pretty expensive. In my quest to save money I didn’t do what I knew would look best and I’m regretting that now. I’m hoping to purchase brass picture lights from Visual Comfort soon!

Our Furniture

Our living room furniture is just a few years old. I bought it at Calico and we really love it. After looking through a lot of fabric options I chose a pretty off white fabric. I upgraded to their Crypton fabric and it has done so so well! If you don’t know about Crypton, it is made to resist stains and even red wine can be blotted and cleaned with just a little water and detergent! Calico describes Crypton,

“The indoor performance fabric trusted by millions. Spills roll right off, stains are simple to clean and odors won’t grab hold. Offered in a full array of textures and colors. So, choose light and bright and throw as many parties as you want!”

I have a messy husband and family, and stains truly come right out with a little bit of Dawn and water! They look good as new!! Calico did a fantastic job with not only the couches but the tufted ottoman as well. I love changing out my pillows. I’ve written a couple of other blog posts about my favorite Amazon decorative throw pillows. Switching out pillows is an easy, and relatively inexpensive way to update your space. The floral pillows are from The Vern Yip Collection.

The larger cornflower blue pillows, as well and the smaller blue pillows are from Ballard design. Ballard has so many beautiful things that really update a space without breaking the bank. I bought the blue and cream trim from Calico and had a seamstress sew it on. I love the tone on tone look!

As I mentioned, the tufted ottoman is from Calico as well and holds some of my collection of coffee table books. The rug was a steal from an estate sale. Only $600 for a 10×14! We love it and love the color and interest it adds to the space. Plus, It truly grounds the room.

The two leather recliners are 20 years old and fill the space for now. I look forward to purchasing a few upholstered chairs to replace them in the future.

The Best Curtains!

The Pinch Pleated Drapes are from Two Pages. I’ve heard so many people talk about how GREAT these drapes are and they truly stand up to the hype! I’ve had custom pinch pleased drapes made and these are less than half the cost. They come in dozens of colors, width and lengths.

I had a seamstress sew on a pretty trim from Calico. (same trim I used on the pillows!) I think they soften the large room and I’m really happy with how they turned out. We bought another pair of the same drapes for the breakfast room.