Beige to Breathtaking Black

Our formal living room features the most daring design decision I have ever made.  When we purchased this house the formal living room featured beige from the bottom up.  Flooring, walls, curtains, ceiling, and even the furniture were varying from beige to white.  In my opinion, boring and bland, not to mention hard to keep pristine with 3 toddlers.  Working with our existing couch and leather chairs I chose the curtains from JcPenney and they inspired me to boldly paint the walls black! My mom made throw pillows and a cushion for the wooden rocking chair out of an extra curtain panel.  This room has sufficient light during the day, but we really should add recessed lighting on a dimmer switch to illuminate it properly at night.

Here is the Boring Beige Before:

Drum roll please....

Beautifully Black After:

The  coffee table and end tables were a fabulous Craigslist deal ($100.00 for the 3 piece mahogany set), the lamps were 70% off from Joann Fabrics, and the curtain rod was on extreme clearance at Bed Bath and Beyond and I also used a 20% off coupon.  Large picture frames were a splurge from Michael's, but I made sure to get the best price possible by waiting for a sale.  To keep the project costs in check, I printed the portraits at Costco and matted them myself.  The three pictures are the focal point in the room and they turned out beautifully!

The round table was left by the previous owner and doesn't have a very nice finish on it.  I dressed it up with a piece of fabric for a table cloth and that works for now. 

Remember the old light fixture I removed from our kitchen?  Gold detailing be gone! It has been re purposed into a beautiful crystal bowl on the coffee table!  It does have a hole in the bottom, but it works beautifully for displaying seasonal pretty things.  For Autumn I have metallic spray painted pine cones.  It also looks fabulous filled with shiny ornaments for the holiday's.  I love this free beauty!

Stay tuned for photos and information about the adjoining dining room. 

These rooms go hand-in-hand.

Linking up on 5/16/11