Living Room Makeover and the Article Sven Sectional

So thrilled to finally share our mini living room makeover. As you can see below it has been through some changes since we bought the house. The major things we updated recently are the fireplace, the rugs, and the sectional. We wanted to make the space feel a bit more open and have a better flow. We didn’t hate what we had before, but it wasn’t totally the vibe we were going for and since we were renovating the basement, we needed a sectional down there anyway. We wanted to get something a little more compact, so it was the perfection opportunity to move the blue sectional downstairs and pick something new for the living room.

We wanted leather and a friend had been raving about her Article Sven sofa. I fell in love with the color of the Sven sectional in Charme Tan and it could not have been a better fit for the space. Once the sectional was delivered (you can see the process on our YouTube channel) we quickly realized the fireplace did not mesh with the new set-up. Craig had been wanting to DIY a plaster fireplace surround since we moved in so he decided to do that which vibes with the kitchen really well because the walls are also plaster. We knew that meant updating the mantle so we hit the jackpot and found a piece of 300 year old reclaimed wood from the company we bought our decking from last year. We’ve had the Sven sectional for about two months now and we absolutely love it. The leather has held up well with the dogs and it just looks better with age. Links and sources for everything are below. What do you guys think?

It was a bit of a splurge and quite frankly more than I’ve ever spent on something electronic like a TV but I am so happy I bought the Samsung Frame TV. The old TV was such an eyesore in the living room and I really wanted something that didn’t detract from the rest of the room. With the Samsung Frame TV you can use stock images that come with the TV or you can upload your own photos. The frame is actually sold separately, we went with the maple, but it could not possibly match the rest of the house any better and I honestly love how it looks. It’s actually a really good TV too, we ended up getting another Samsung for the basement.

I was a little nervous about getting a pink media stand, although Craig liked the color too when I showed it to him online. I have zero regrets, I love how it looks, it’s sturdy and it hides all of our cable and WIFI equipment. It’s not easy finding a nice looking media stand that’s small and has legs, this one is ideal because we have baseboard heating so anything that sits on the ground looks weird.

We’ve had this leather and wood bar cart forever, it’s been in several apartments and stood the test of time in our house. I still can’t get over the quality for the price and honestly I think it’s looks better than others I’ve found for three or four times more. It’s been used in a variety of ways since we’ve had it but now it’s our plant stand/bar cart and I love it in this window. It was kind of a weird spot and for a while we had nothing there because we couldn’t figure out what to put in the space. This worked out perfectly.

I love this little wooden stool from Article. I wanted to add some layers (is that the right word? dimension?) to the spot where the bar cart is. Initially the two big planted pots were on the floor but it looks so much better with all of them being at different heights. I’m actually still on the lookout for something cute to put the snake plant on.

We recently added this light from Troy lighting (blog post here) and I really love it in the space. We had an awful fan there before and it was so distracting and ugly. Since we are installing a split system air conditioner I wasn’t worried about eliminating the fan (it didn’t really do anything when it was hot anyway). The bench is from IKEA which was one of the first things we bought when we moved in and it’s such a great piece. Really good quality and the color of the wood goes really well with the other light natural wood furniture we have in the open space. The dog bed is from Design Dua and the dogs absolutely love it. I ended up moving the rug we had in here to my office and switching it with this New England loom rug that was in there. I think the colors go better with the furniture and space.

For pillows I went with blush velvet and the Lanna pillow. I also added a sheepskin throw for some cozy texture. We had a bigger coffee table but it was pretty junky and also took up too much space so we decided to go with something smaller. This marble side table is perfect because it’s just big enough to put books on and a cup or coffee or tea, but since we don’t eat in this area we didn’t need anything larger. The pet portraits were done by Jenn Shore of Shore Creative and I had them framed at Artifact Uprising.

Last but not least the fireplace! Probably one of my favorite updates we’ve done so far in the house. The plaster fireplace surround just looks so clean and minimal I love the difference it has made. Of course the reclaimed wood adds that charm and character and I love how it looks with our antique gold mirror which is one of the most special pieces I own. I’m loving how the space turned out and relieved to have a space that I have no desire to change anytime soon, haha. Our mudroom reveal is coming soon, stay tuned!

Product Sources

Paint is by Farrow & Ball in Wimborne White (estate eggshell)
Article Sven sectional in Charme Tan c/o
Blu Dot Media Stand in Sweetness
Troy Allure Flushmount Light
Basket Dog Bed (use code JESSANNKIRBY for 10% off)
Marble side table c/o
Samsung Frame TV with light wood frame
Ikea Mockelby Bench
Tana wood stool c/o
Leather and Wood Bar Cart
Antique Rugs all from New England Loom
Sheepskin throw c/o
Velvet blush pillow and Sheepskin pillow c/o