Glam Neutral Living Room Makeover
Thank goodness I get to work as an interior design every day. With every new client I get to play with an entirely new design style, budget, and wonderful family. Thank goodness otherwise I would literally be re-designing my own home every six months (which my hubby wouldn’t be down with). Instead, I get to design beautiful rooms for my clients in every design style you can imagine: Modern, Traditional, Farmhouse, Boho, Global, Eclectic, Transitional…you name it and I’ve probably done it. And today I’m sharing a recent project that was all glam and elegance.
Sophisticated Living Room Design: Version #1
I always create two mix-and-match custom designs for all of my Room Packages. After designing Version #1 I send it to my client to get their feedback and thoughts. I take their feedback and create Version #2. At the end they have two totally different designs where they can also combine their favorite elements of each. Here is Version #1 of this Glam Living Room & Dining Room Design Makeover:
I was super excited to take on this recent project where the family requested a sophisticated glam look with neutral colors for their open Living Room & Dining Room area. Because the two areas were connected both rooms had to flow into one another, while having their own separate functions. And just because you love glam and elegant doesn’t mean it can’t be comfortable and functional as well. In fact, this project is for a family, so they requested furniture that was durable for children and comfortable to snuggle into.
How To Combine Glam with Kid Friendly Living Room Design
So when you think of an elegant and glam Living Room Design…you don’t always think of kid friendly. But you can absolutely combine the two! For this client, they wanted a palette of whites, grays, blacks, and golds. Believe it or not, this is a color scheme that can even work for a family. If you choose your items carefully your rooms can be elegant and durable.
5 Tips for a Glam Living Room Design for Families
Tip #1 for a sophisticated Living Room Design with Children
Use child friendly fabrics: Leather works well for sofas. If going with an upholstery look for ones with “high performance” ratings meaning they are more durable and resistant to dirt and spills. Or in this case, the chocolate velvet sofa is a commerical-grade (meaning extra durable) fabric. Those luxe looking silk curtains are actually a faux silk that can be more easily cleaned. And I either recommend pillow covers (that you can take off and wash), or durable fabrics like this faux croc pillow (Item #3).
Tip #2 for a sophisticated Living Room Design with Children
Use washable paint. Because of the dark colors of some of the items, I wanted to keep the walls bright and airy by using a white paint. I always recommend using a washable eggshell finish to easily wipe down those smudgy-smudges.
Tip #3 for a sophisticated Living Room Design with Children
Use durable tabletops. If you have small children I would stay away from glass topped tables-not only can they be fragile but you will constantly be staring at fingerprints. In this Living Room design I used a hammered gold (and sturdy!) coffee table with dark wood topped side tables. In the Dining Room I specified a modern, yet easy to wipe down, sleek white topped table.
Tip #4 for a sophisticated Living Room Design with Children
Four: Use dark colors wisely. We all know light colors show everything, so I used the requested darker colors on items that I knew would get a lot of use. So I went with a dark chocolate velvet on the sofa and a dark gray rug that can hide a multitude of stains. This client requested a solid rug, so that is what I’m showing. However, using a patterned rugs works wonders for hiding dirt and stains!
Tip #5 for a sophisticated Living Room Design with Children
You can still use fragile, delicate items…just place them out of reach. You can fill open shelves with your treasures, but don’t risk the nature impulse of children to grab where they can reach. Therefore, I went with beautiful, glam objects that were DURABLE for the coffee table. I suggested a stack of beautiful neutral books (Item #10) corralled in this sturdy but beautiful faux leather tray (Item #11). By containing your decor in a tray you can also easily pick up all of the coffee table items in one swoop and move out on the way. This isn’t the place for lots of little items…unless you enjoy re-arranging it every 7 minutes!
Sophisticated Living Room Design: Version #2
But what about a whole different look? I still stuck to the brown-black-white-and gold palette but with totally different items in the next version. Both Living Room designs can be mixed-and-matched as well!
In this version I chose a lighter colored sofa (but in a high performance fabric) in Item #1, and darker velvet armchairs. Pops of gold come in the pillows, accessories, and table legs. And modern artwork flanks (Item #2) the updated modern fireplace, and pulls in the modern pillows (Item #1o).
And the adjacent attached glam Dining Room continues to pull in the same color palette. Light fixtures in the Living Room and Dining Room mimic each other with crystals and black touches, and the Dining Room furniture pulls in a similar look as the Living Room with gold legged furniture. Modern artwork and a gold hued buffet complete the look.
Glam Living Room & Dining Room Design
But how is the very best way to tell how all of your new furniture and accessories will look in the space? I love the Room Packages with the 3D renderings so you can see exactly what your space will look like before buying a single item! This is the 3D rendering of Version #2 showing both the Living & Dining Room spaces in the new makeover:
What also comes in every Postbox (not shown) are detailed, to scale Floor Plans that show you how to perfectly arrange the room. I also include a Shopping List with every items shown and step-by-step instructions on how to pull it all together. How many of each pillow on the sofa, how high to hang the artwork, how to arrange the coffee table decor…it is all in there. And finally the Postbox comes full of material samples so my clients can see what the materials will look like in their space.
Create a Sophisticated Glam Dining Room Design
But it wasn’t just the Living Room in this project…the attached Dining Room still had to continue the same flow. So how do you create a Glam, Sophisticated Look for a Dining Room design that is also comfortable and family friendly?
Just like in the Living Room the key is choosing the right materials. These black leather chairs look sleek and modern but they are also a breeze to clean up-simply wipe down. And while sometimes I do add a rug under a Dining Room table when there are children, in this case I decided not to. There was already a huge, beautiful rug a few feet away. Keeping just the hardwood floors under the Dining Room table design allow easy clean up. Instead we focused on a beautiful, modern dining table and buffet. The gold buffet gives precious extra space for storage for for serving. Modern artwork hangs above here as well as behind the table. These oversized modern art pieces keep both rooms looking sleek.
Finally, when you have children but still want a glamorous, sophisticated look? Go for it 100% in the ceiling lights! In both the Dining Room and Living Room designs I specified glam crystal lights that pulled in that elegant look…but is totally out of reach of the children. Bingo!
Create the Perfect Living Room Design with Online Interior Design
No matter your style or budget, I would love to help you custom design YOUR room. Once you purchase your Room Package, I sent you your Welcome Packet and the whole design process takes about two weeks. I get your feedback through the whole process and when you are done, I send you your room-inside-a-box. I’m here every step of the way, from when you order your items, to pulling it all together. You can check out how the 3 Step Process Works or check out the prices of my Room Packages. I work with fixed rates per room so you know exactly how much you will be spending before getting started. No surprises.
Get $50 Off Your First Postbox Designs Project
Finally, you can also get $50 off your first Postbox Designs project by signing up right here, plus you will get access to my ever growing Free Resource Library.
Just sign up below and your $50 coupon will be emailed to you as well as the password to access the Resource Library;
I’ll see you back here next week for a brand new project to give you ideas on how to make YOUR home more beautiful!
Kristin
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