Coastal Decor {Living Room Reveal}

For months I have been searching Pinterest for decorating ideas & inspiration knowing that I’d finally be able to decorate our new living room. Having a clean slate for decorating gave us the opportunity to change things up. The entire 5 months we waited for the house to be completed we planned on what we would do once we finally moved in. After 18 years together & almost all of that time looking at the same old rustic decor that we had collected to accent our family antiques – we were VERY ready for a change. We decided on a coastal decor feel for many reasons. One being that I grew up on the beaches of So Cal & he grew up vacationing there. We met while both living at the beach – so it’s only fitting that it’s a huge part of our lives- even if we live in North Idaho. The other reason is that my mom’s place is decorated in a very beachy, coastal decor. Now that I will slowly be transitioning all her things from So Cal to our home- it will all blend nicely with what we have in place now. I have always loved how she had her place decorated & it’s comforting to have a home that I know she would have loved.

So – while we still have a LOT of fine tuning & larger project decorating to do, this is our Coastal Decor {Living Room Reveal} (3 weeks after moving in). I am sure I will be sharing updates as we get things more dialed in.

Here is what it looked like our first night after getting the keys. We basically had been shopping for about a month straight & collecting everything in our garage of our rental. We signed papers, went out & did a little more shopping – until our truck couldn’t hold any more stuff & waited for our keys. Once we had them we started taking over all our new finds & then crashed at our new house before tackling the moving truck the next day.

It’s amazing how $20 for a bucket & a couple bouquets of dried pieces can bring so much visual interest & texture to a room.

I’m BIG on texture.

One of the very first things we did was take out the cheap, builder grade ceiling fan & install this one that suits the room far better.

I have plans for doing something to this coffered ceiling to make it more interesting.

Again with the texture.  The hubs has a thing for cat tails – so we have been adding them all around the house & in the planter beds.

This old antique lantern was the typical red.  It totally fit our rustic decor for many years. Then it was like 11 pm & we were sifting through things & the hubs looked at me & says “hey- what if we paint this turquoise?” SURE!!!  We went outside right then & there & did a little late night DIY-ing.  I’m sure the neighbors thought we were nuts spray painting in the yard at 11 o’clock. But sometimes you just have to do it when you are inspired to do it.  🙂

This lamp originally had a dark red lampshade on it.  It was a favorite of the hubs.  I was ready to just hide it in the closet so I didn’t have to look at it anymore.  I am SO OVER the deep red decor from all these years.  So I happened to be in Walmart without him & saw this on on clearance for $7. I grabbed it & didn’t consult him. Turned out he loved it & I was able to say “buy-buy” to the red shade  & keep the lamp after all.

This boat is actually one of those little shelves.  It worked great in our rustic cabin theme.

But you know- it works quite well filled with starfish, textured balls, glass buoys & other coastal decor too.

The mantle. I did these pics of the kids years ago – yes I really need to do a new photo shoot with them.

The corn husk wreath was the right texture & colors as were the corn husk luminaries I shared a while back.

Just a couple new things – the sea horses & metal orbs. The rest I had already been using- but adding the new colors & pieces gave it a fresh look.

So there you have it – so far.  Now that we have been here for about 3 weeks & things are in place & can finally start looking at the house more from a designer perspective beyond just unpacking.  I think after dealing with moss green & burnt orange walls in our cabin rental- I may be leaving the walls cream for a while.

Still to do – the coffered ceiling like I mentioned before.  We added wood blinds in the same shade of grey in the stone work. Nicer look than white but less darkening than if we had gone with the same dark shade as the hard floors in the rest of the house.  Still have to decide on draperies. We added lots of windows after living in that dark cabin. I don’t want to hinder any light- so still pondering that one.   I also need to decide how to punch up the impact for above the mantle. Any suggestions???

Also – will be working on a painting with my daughter for above my chair.

 Just avoiding going into Michael’s for a canvas – I never walk out of there without a full cart.

For the tutorials on some of the things you see here in this room…

Frayed Corn Husk Wreath

 

Corn Husk Luminaries

 

Re-purposed Christmas Ornaments

 

To see where I am linking today- visit HERE

 

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