“Can You Help Me Finish Off My Room?”
When I started Postbox Designs five years ago, I only did full room makeovers-all done via Online Interior Design. But as the years went on, I had more and more people reach out needing those “finishing touches” to their room. Does this sound familiar?
“I have all of my main furniture, but I don’t know how to finish it off”
“I have some pieces of furniture, but I’m stuck”
“I have most of my furniture, but my room feels so boring”
And I started to get really excited to help out these clients. Adding those final touches is like adding some fabulous jewelry to your favorite LBD. So maybe you have your sofa, chairs, coffee table, and a few other pieces of furniture. But how do you create a polished, layered interesting room? By adding in all of those final touches: pillows, a rug, artwork, shelf decor, and maybe a small piece of furniture or two.
Finishing Off a Neutral Living Room Decor
I was thrilled when a lovely past client recently reached out to me (we had worked on her kid’s Playroom together) for help with her Living Room. She had her main pieces of furniture (a set of beautiful sofas, an area rug, and a pair of Ethan Allen armchairs). But she needed help finishing off her room to make it beautiful and functional for her family. Let’s walk through her project together and I’ll share my favorite 10 ways to add the finishing touches to your Living Room!
10 Ways to Finish Off Your Living Room Decor
And here are my 10 favorite ways to finish off your Living Room while using your existing furniture…
Finishing Touch #1: Update your Light Fixture
Maybe your Living Room still has its “builder basic” lighting fixture…or maybe you don’t have any ceiling lights at all. But it is worth it to bring out an electrician and install one fabulous chandelier into your Living Room. I gave my client a couple of different lighting options (Items #1 and #2) that will bring a great focal point to her room, and instantly add a high-end feature. Plus….who doesn’t want extra lighting in their room?
Finishing Touch #2: Add Coffee Table Decor
In my client’s case, she needed some help finding a new coffee table, so I selected this Ballard Designs modern wood coffee table (#3) for her. But adding some coffee table decor creates a polished, finished look. But here’s the thing friends…I’m a Mom of 3, so I have to design with some practicality in mind. I want you to have a gorgeous room, but I also know a coffee table is a hard working piece of furniture. In my house, my coffee table works for game night, snacks, and even homework-so it often needs to be cleaned off. So when my clients have kids, I try to also corral items in a tray, like in Item #5. Then you can simply pick up the tray and move it for a clean table in seconds. In fact, we re-created this look with items #5 (Ballard Designs tray), 7 (West Elm vase), and #19 (wood beads from Amazon).
Finishing Touch #3: Add in Throw Pillows
If you have hung out with me at all, you know throw pillows are my FAVORITE way to add in color, texture, and pattern. I will always suggest to go neutral and classic for your main pieces of furniture, and then layer on color and trends with smaller, less expensive items…such as pillows. We added in warm jewel tones with woven, velvet, and patterned throw pillows-all from Etsy (#11, 13-15). This is an easy place to try something new, add in something trendy, or mix things up a bit. As a rule of thumb, I like to use five throw pillows with a standard size sofa, and 7-8 pillows for a sectional sofa.
Finishing Touch #4: Layer On the Artwork
My client’s Living Room was filled with beautiful windows and doors, so there wasn’t a lot of empty wall space for artwork. However, in her open floor plan home, there was an empty spot in the adjacent Kitchen for a desk area-and I helped her design that area as well. Instead of going custom for a built-in double desk, I suggested this Pottery Barn build-your-own desk (#21). Then I suggested these Etsy ink blue botanical prints (#23) for her desk area, and this modern watercolor print (#24B) for her Kitchen bar counter. Artwork is a great way to pull in your personality and some color into your space. And in 99% of rooms I design, I always choose a frame with a matte-it automatically gives it a more high-end, finished look.
Finishing Touch #5: Add in a Small Piece of Furniture (Or Two)
When my client has their main pieces…they usually have a “hole” or two when it comes to some smaller pieces of furniture. Adding in a couple of side tables, a bench, a console table, or accent chair helps fill out a room. In my client’s Living Room design, I gave her several different options for new side tables. I recommended having two matching ones next to her two sofas (#25 or #28) AND a different one between her two armchairs (#27 or #29). A pair of West Elm table lamps (#30) can be added to the tables.
5 Other Living Room Decor Finishing Touches
And some other items that I often add into a room that I’m “finishing off”:
6. Area rug: Bigger is usually better for area rugs-choose one where the fronts of all of your furniture can sit on the rug. In this case, my client already had a beautiful are rug for her Living Room, but I helped her find this Pottery Barn rug for her adjacent eating area (#16).
7. Fireplace decor (#6). In my client’s room, she had her TV over her fireplace, so we only added a simple set of modern candlesticks. Otherwise, I usually anchor a fireplace mantle with a large mirror or piece of artwork. Then I layer on a few mantle accessories.
8. Adding something to an empty corner (#9). In this makeover, a faux olive tree from Pottery Barn adds some greenery and interest to a formally empty area of the Living Room.
9. A bench or ottoman (#12). This could go in an empty corner, behind a sofa, or in this case, we added a leather ottoman in front of each armchair.
10. Curtains (#8): Whether you have empty windows or practical (but not so pretty) blinds, adding curtains give a soft element to your Living Room, plus gives it a finished look.
More Neutral Living Room Decor Ideas
A huge thank-you to my client for allowing me to share her Living Room design with you all today! I loved the mix of modern and traditional elements we added to her space. If you are loving this neutral Living Room look as well, here are a few more Living Room design I think you will love…enjoy!
Create a Neutral Living Room Design That Isn’t Boring
In this makeover, I actually helped my client with TWO Living Room designs. Her “main” Living Room has higher-end furnishings in it, while her secondary “Craft/TV/Living Room” for the kids is full of more budget friendly finds:
5 Ways to Create a Polished Modern Farmhouse Living Room
Love the Modern Farmhouse look…but don’t want cows or windmills? I’m sharing this Living Room Makeover plus sharing 5 ways to create a more polished Farmhouse look:
5 Ways to Create a Rustic Neutral Living Room Look
In this Living Room Makeover, we mixed rustic, warm, and modern together to create this cozy room that is neutral…but with some pops of color:
Want to Know More About How Interior E-Design Works?
After 10 years of being a traditional Interior Designer, I figured…there has to be a better way. My clients used to have to take time off work or find a babysitter to meet with me multiple times for multiple hours. When I started Postbox Designs, I set it up so that I did all of the hard work, then created a unique, custom design for each client. I packaged up all of their drawings, shopping lists, material samples, instructions and shipped it to their doorstep. Then they could order their entire room in an hour…over a cup of coffee in their PJs. You can check out How It Works and check out all of my Room Packages & Pricing
It really is as fun and easy as it sounds!
Or you can always send me an email at kristin@postboxdesigns.com and we can chat all about your project!
I’ll see you back here next week!
Kristin
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