We did it! We worked our butts off in June and July to get most of the downstairs done for an engagement party we were throwing at the end of July. See the list of to-dos here. The one thing I didn’t really touch was the kitchen and I’ve since started work on that. So here’s a peak at what the living room looked like before we started and how we’ve transformed it into what it is now!

Before

In the living room, we removed the paneling, added new drywall, and painted the walls and trim. I also bought this Ruggable since I needed something really durable with 4 animals in the house – spoiler alert, I love it. I found this amazing coffee table for $35 at Habitat for Humanity. Seb followed this tutorial from Chrislovesjulia to make me a picture ledge so I can swap out my art whenever I want!

After

Browse the gallery below for more!

Left to finish up:

Power cord to the projector and projector screen

Right now, I use an extension cord for the projector that hangs down in the middle of the room. I’m going to use some tubing to attach it to the ceiling so it’s a lot less noticeable. The cord for the screen is bulky and is hanging straight down the wall so I’ll be extending that to run along the ceiling and down the fireplace.

Fireplace

I had originally decided to paint the fireplace, but I’m a little hesitant because a) I know a future owner might appreciate the brick and b) because of the bricks more rustic qualities, I’m not sure I’ll even like it painted. I’m formulating a plan that includes building a façade over the brick so I can get something more modern without permanently changing the brick.

Furniture

Eventually I would like two matching chairs where the green + gray chairs are right now. I’m looking for something shorter, square, and matching to  round out the living room set. The green + gray chairs will likely stay in the room with the blue corner chair getting moved upstairs.

I’m incredibly happy with how it turned out! It’s comfy + cozy and I really can’t wait until it’s cool enough to build fires in that fireplace (with the addition of a fireplace screen). I called this living room 1.0, but the reality is that this room is structurally finished and will likely change regularly over time. I love to change furniture and art so there won’t ever be a ‘final product’ but I love the clean slate we’ve created that can change as our taste + fixtures do. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!