So… the living room. First it looked like this:
Then it looked like this:
Then it looked like this:
And now it looks like this:
Although the salmon pink walls, orange-brown bricks, and all of that dark wood trim & paneling is a far cry from our vision for this room down the line (we keep changing our minds, but today we’re dreaming of something like this for the brick, coffered ceilings like this, and this for the paneling someday) it definitely feels a lot homier already. You know, with a couch to sit on instead of a pile of non-sit-on-able furniture.
Oh and we shared this picture on Instagram/FB a few nights back, but don’t you think salmon is Burger’s color? That is one good lookin’ chihuahua. Not that I’m biased or anything.
As for our sectional shrinkage (I’ll pause while you titter) we needed a giant sofa for our last house’s giant 25′ long living room. Pictures truly didn’t do that room’s colossal size justice, but the sectional was thirteen feet long and almost that deep (the average sofa is usually around seven feet long for comparison).
And while some folks love giant rooms and giant sofas, our first house‘s cozy den was the room we missed the most…
… so we pretty much thought it was fate when we saw our new house and the living room reminded us of that cozy room. I think they’re cousins. Here’s the before shot of our first house’s den to compare with the first picture in this post.
Anyway, our Karlstad sectional from Ikea (Karl for short) came in four switch-around-able pieces, so we decided that keeping the sofa + the chaise (and losing the loveseat and corner seat that made it into a giant U-shaped couch) made the most sense for our new living room.
So without buying any additional pieces we were able to just connect the exterior arm that used to live on the end of the sectional to the sofa part and remove the extra stuff in the middle (corner piece and loveseat). Only took about fifteen minutes. And as for the unused two pieces that we removed, we stuck those up in the unfinished storage room with a plastic drop cloth around them. Why didn’t we craigslist them? We just figured selling the corner and loveseat to a sofa that’s incomplete without another end piece that someone would have to purchase might fetch us $20 tops, and it’s worth more just to hold onto them in case we get a new living room couch in a decade or so and decide to use Karl up in the bunkroom/movie room when we finish that space down the line.
We also built the console behind the sofa two years ago, which we made in three interlockable pieces. And the cool thing is that we realized that if we left out the middle piece it almost fit perfectly behind the freshly shrunk sofa. Almost is the key word since it’s still about 6″ too long (over on the fireplace side there’s some overhang) but it works for now, and we’re planning to shorten it so it’s completely fitted for this room.
After a few years of living with a big padded storage ottoman instead of a coffee table and a console that spans the width of the sofa, we’ve just learned that it’s really functional for our family to have the console (for things like tea at night) and an ottoman (for hiding toys and for Clara to lounge on during the day).
Oh and you might notice that the second hole in the brick fireplace wall, which was meant for firewood back in the day, has been covered by a leaning frame. It just felt like a big dark hole whenever I glanced at it from the sofa, and since this fireplace is no longer functional (we’d love to slip a gas insert into it down the line) we didn’t need it staring at us while we gasped over the last four minutes of last week’s Game Of Thrones episode. Seriously, I audibly gasped at least a dozen times in that span of about four minutes.
As for the other side of the room, we’re keeping the 80’s wet bar closed off with doors for now (we’d love to expand the doorway to the kitchen into that area down the line since we don’t really have a use for it) but I did have some fun putting things on the built-ins in the corner.
Yup, it turns out when my house is full of freshly deposited moving chaos, I like to putter around with books and ceramic animals. So while it looked like this on moving day…
… within 24 hours it looked like this.
The rest of the house still looked completely trashed, but this little corner was happy. #smallvictories
Oh and we took down a bunch of doors on the first floor that blocked off spaces that we prefer to be left open for better flow (the doors on the right block the foyer from the kitchen and the doors on the left block the kitchen from the living room).
Now we can peek in on Clara in the living room while we cook in the kitchen, and there’s a nice view of the big bay of windows in the back of the kitchen from the foyer instead of staring at two dark and heavy doors about ten feet from the entryway. Clearly there’s still some crazy color going on when you catch a few rooms in one view, but you gotta start somewhere…
We also took down the doors that blocked off the kitchen from the dining room. It’s amazing how much breezier it feels – even with a bunch of rooms full of dark blue trim, wood paneling, and a boatload of wallpaper (there are at least five different types of wallpaper going on in our house). Speaking of wallpaper, that’s pretty high on my attack list. I think I’m going to test out a bunch of different techniques for you guys and rate them all (should be fun to see which are urban DIY legends and which ones work the best). And… that’s the kind of thing that gets me excited. Yup. I’m grinning at the computer right now. Get a hold of yourself Petersik.
Anne says
Regarding how you will tackle wallpaper… I know you guys are old pros with a few houses already under your belt, but I did want to pitch my two cents.
I bought my house in which every room had varying layers of wallpaper+paint+wallpaper+varnish (yes, varnish)…throw in some wood paneling and some sort of putty/thinset to hold the wood paneling in place in a few of the bedrooms. Did I mention that this combination of wallpaper, paint and varnish was on the ceilings too?
Once I got through the varnish, I tried every method of wallpaper removal known to man and I discovered a steamer (purchased at Home depot for $49) full of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar did the trick the best… with the help of a putty knife, it all just peeled off the wall – layer by layer.
Good luck! I can’t wait to see the transformation of this home!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! It’s all about Eric. You’re right. I’m just a married woman. You win.
xo
s
SydneyB says
We have had good luck removing wallpaper by spraying hot vinegar on it and peeling it off. Unless it’s really high quality wall paper. We didn’t have to deal with any of that:)
sarah m. dorsey designs says
What a huge difference just taking the doors off! It makes the room feel SO much more open! Looking forward to seeing the changes in this room, it’s going to be amazing!!
Necole@seriouslysassymama says
Love your plans for the brick. I love that washed vintage look.
Chelsea says
Love it! I have to say, I always envied the huge KARL sectional (mostly because I’m still in a small one bedroom in Queens, and I’d LOVE a chaise-add-on to a sectional or couch), but it looks really cozy like that. The room’s already really coming along!
I’m the same about needing to get in and make one part DONE before moving on. My husband and I bought a ton of new IKEA furniture this weekend and didn’t get it all put together yet, but when we were done with each piece, I needed to fill it, decorate it, position it perfectly, etc. And so yet I still have two unopened BILLY bookcases at home… oops.
Valentina says
Just wanted to give you a little tip on what is great for removing wallpaper. This baby:
http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-915-500-Watt-On-Demand-Steamer/dp/B003PGQI3Y/ref=sr_1_14?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1370877688&sr=1-14&keywords=steamer
Back a couple years ago, I was eyeing this thing for a while before I finally decided to give it a try. Now, I don’t even know how I lived my pre-wagner life. This is the best thing ever for cleaning anything from tile to windows and it’s definitely great for removing wallpaper. It releases not just steam, but pressurized steam, so it penetrates through everything like you wouldn’t believe!
meghan says
It looks so great! Can’t wait to see what you do with the other rooms too. Even just getting the furniture set up makes a huge difference.
Also, I noticed when I read the post that it said you have 130+ comments but when I got to the bottom to comment myself, it changed to 68. Just wanted to let you know. I’d hate for some to get lost in the interweb somewhere.
meghan says
And now that my comment is submitted I’m seeing 4 pages, when before it only brought up 2. Weird!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it’s a cache-ing thing on your end. So if you clear your computer’s data or cache or cookies it should catch up and everything should be shown :)
xo
s
Laura M says
We had a great deal of luck using hot water/vinegar combination removing our wallpaper. In the case of our kitchen, fortunately for us, the previous owners applied the wallpaper over high gloss paint which made removing it in spots similar to peeling a giant sticker with it coming off pretty cleanly. Their half assed corner cutting actually worked to our favor in that instance!
emily @ go haus go says
This new house is so fascinating and it’s oozing in potential. The coffered ceiling link you posted is FAN.FRIGGIN.TASTIC and I love the upscale look it provides (and maybe a somewhat-easy DIY?). I’m waiting with baited breath for your next post!
Sarah says
Goodbye doors…brilliant and simple.
Have used very hot water with vinegar on old wallpaper before. Good results. Still a messy hard job! Plus side…had a hankering for a tossed salad!
Larita says
I love how you style your rooms. I’ve not mastered that and my home still looks freshly moved into, despite me living here for over four years. I blame it on my fear of clutter. But I’m definitely watching and learning from you! Also, do us all a favour and paint the living room QUICK. That pink is killing me. :)
Sassy Apple says
Didn’t read through all of the previous comments, so forgive me if I’m repeating advice. If you score the wallpaper (very effective) be careful not to press too hard or you’ll score the drywall as well. Oh, and wear a doo-rag!
Angie says
Oooh, I love that inspiration photo of the whitewashed brick. I like how it’s in between the harshness of full-on brick and the mutedness of fully painted brick. You still get to appreciate the texture and beauty of the brick without it being like “BAM! Look at me! I’m a brick wall!”
Jamie Wilson says
Windex for wallpaper!!! Just spray it down, wait a minute, and it scrapes off with a plastic putty knife like nobodies business! Works like a dream!
Tamar says
Could you consider doing an ikea hack and making new arms for the piece that you aren’t using (and maybe even recover if necessary/get a new slip cover)? Then you could put it in another loungy room if you’d like!
YoungHouseLove says
That would be fun! Someone else said they sell arm ends in the as-is section of Ikea for $10 sometimes so finding those would be amazing too!
xo
s
Ryan says
I’ve been meaning to ask, what are those long whiter curvy things that are on your fireplace now? They looked great in your last dining room and they look awesome on the fireplace. So versatile!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re ceramic horns from Pottery Barn about 4 years ago. I love them like they’re my children.
xo
s
Kim says
Maybe it’s my love of Scandinavian design lately but I think painting this room a stark white would really make all the woodwork pop! You could leave it like that until you decide to whitewash the brick and paint the trim/paneling. I’m sure whatever you come up with will be amazing, but wanted to share my two cents you didn’t ask for! Haha.
YoungHouseLove says
I get that urge too! Just to make it less dark (and less pink) for now!
xo
s
Lisa says
I totally agree. You already have a lot of color from the rug and pillows, and depth from the dark sofa, chair, rug, and floors – I think white walls would look great in this room with the wood wainscoting and window trims and beams on the ceiling and brick wall! I think it would be a natural, yet chic vibe. (Plus the salmon walls are burning my eyes, haha) Lots of interesting architectural details in this room. I think if you tried this, you may even find you like the natural wood in the room. Seriously. Not all wood trim and paneling and beams and brick need to be painted! :) You have some great natural details in that room – consider venturing a little from the safety of your status quo style of white trim and painted paneling/beams/brick. (I hope you don’t feel like you have to change things up in there just for the sake of blog content!) Embrace wood on your walls and ceiling! :) Plus nothing is cozier than wood.
YoungHouseLove says
You have our word that we definitely intend to think everything through and not rush into anything! Here’s a thread with more on the painted/unpainted wood debate :)
https://www.younghouselove.com/2013/06/honey-i-shrunk-the-sofa/comment-page-3/#comment-1569383
xo
s
Lisa says
Good to hear Sherry! Though I do hope you paint over that salmon soon rather than later – hardly a big deal for you painting pros! Plus, it’s worth giving the wood a chance, no? I know you guys will do what you want in the end, but if people don’t offer suggestions, you might never have considered an option you didn’t think of before, or didn’t think you would like! I can understand not wanting wood wainscoting in your whole house, but in a living room? Super cozy and homey (plus it actually looks like a nice wood color you’ve got there).
Jen says
The room is looking great already! I’m curious what you all have planned for window treatments in this room. The layout with the console/sofa against the window looks great.
YoungHouseLove says
I think I want curtains and blinds (blinds for texture- maybe bamboo ones and curtains for height/softness since there’s brick and wood – lots of hard stuff)
xo
s
Jen says
Okay, follow on question :) How would you do curtains and blinds when the window length hits the couch? Pull the console back from the wall?
I really like the setup and you have inspired me to try something different in my living room.
YoungHouseLove says
I think it would be awesome if they were outside of the windows and the console and sofa were inside the panels but I don’t know if I can make that work. The console isn’t pressed right up against the wall either since there’s a windowsill behind it so maybe giving it more breathing room will work? Will keep you posted!
xo,
s
mribaro says
Oh, great, I feel already at home again at your new place :) Love the ceramic-animaled built-ins!
Do you still have your Clara rug from the old den?
YoungHouseLove says
We actually craigslisted that before we moved (we tried to decide what stuff we didn’t want to move and since that didn’t get any use for the entire time we lived at our second house we had to say goodbye).
xo
s
Krysta says
I bought a ’70s fixer upper with a LOT of wallpaper (3 bedrooms, ensuite, hall & living room). I’ve tried chemicals, fabric softner & plain warm water & haven’t noticed any difference in ease of removal. One thing that I have learned is to only work on a couple sections at a time, then break to clean up the floor…keeps things from sticking to other surface, & you won’t be leaving an entire room a wreck if you have to stop for an extended period.
Allison says
The living room looks 100x better already – I’m so impressed with you guys!
We used a fancy steamer thing when we took the wallpaper down in our bedroom and it really helped loosen the paper (in some cases it came off with just the steamer and we didn’t have to touch it). I liked this method because we didn’t have to use any crazy chemicals that would stay on our bedroom walls for forever :S
Amy says
I really love the idea of whitewashing the brick. It makes it so much softer, but still with a lot of texture.
I can’t WAIT to see what color you paint the living room! The anticipation is enough to make me want to sit down with my Glidden Master deck and daydream about it…
Sam says
So I’ve got that rug all rolled up and waiting for my wall paper to be striped in my living room and there is a gray sectional on order that will be here next month. Thank you so much for erasing any doubts that I had about this combo. It looks fabulous.
Thank you! And best of luck in your new house.
Allisen says
Living room looks great so far!
As for wallpaper stripping, we followed this guy’s tutorial on youtube,
and it worked like a charm! I think the key is making sure it is WET WET WET and it will peel right off. Good luck!
Here is the link:
http://youtu.be/ma0-X8mo9tQ
Stacy says
I loved seeing what you guys want to do to that living room down the road. I am truly excited to see where you guys take this house designwise. My husband and I just bought a new house but move in day isn’t until August so I have tons of time to waste looking at furniture and thinking about where I want it to go. I’ve already decided that my living room is going to be a more “formal” space with no TV or toys and that the downstairs family room is going to have all my old furniture and our TV in it. I’m also planning on trapping our cats down there so that my new furniture doesn’t get ruined (my one cat likes to scratch furniture and has done a number on my favorite chair and my IKEA slip covers for my office chairs). Do you think down the road you may go more formal since you’re thinking of dressing the room up a bit?
YoungHouseLove says
I think we like the idea of classic for this house, but formal is still a little scary to us (we equate it with stuffy, and with a dog and a young kid we just warm up to the words “classic casual” more than anything formal). Who knows where well end up though!
xo
s
Stacy says
That’s actually probably more the style I plan on going with too. Formal is a bit stuffy sounding.
Mara says
OK, I LOVE that you took the time to arrange this room – bookcases and all right after you moved in! My living room is in total disarray still after a year of living in my house because I keep thinking I’ll wait until I have everything I want to finally put it together. I can’t wait to see what you do with the room, but it’s awesome to see how you can take what you have and create a perfectly cozy room with what you have. Thanks for the inspiration this morning! :)
Christina W. says
Is it weird that the more pictures I see of that salmon pink, the less I hate it? The stupid red brick ruins it, but the floor + beams + paint color kind of have a tropical vacation home vibe in a weird way!
YoungHouseLove says
I know what you mean! In a white beamed sunroom with white and woven furniture it would be so beachy!
xo,
s
Anna says
Your new house is so similar to the one we bought a year ago. We too removed all the doors that blocked off the kitchen from all the other living areas, we have the same slate tile in the entry, and we had painted mauve trim and doors in EVERY room. We have a full brick wall fireplace, dark ceiling beams, and half wall paneling in our family room. I can’t wait until you tackle that brick, I’ve been too nervous to do anything to mine and I hope you guys give me the courage to brighten up that room!
Tamara says
Sherry, you probably get this a lot, but speaking of Game of Thrones: You and the Kahleesi could be twins! Secret life outside of YHL?
YoungHouseLove says
I love her. Also, I want dragons.
xo,
s
Wrenaria says
Ooooooh I love the idea of whitewashing the bricks! That’d look so pretty. Going to look pretty swanky in there with a coffered ceiling and white paneling too. Will be fun to see where you end up.
Your cozy grey kitchen chair looks great with your couch. Looks like they are pretty much the same color, which is lucky. Never know what various undertones different grey objects are going to expose when placed together.
YoungHouseLove says
That was totally luck! We just put it there and said “no way, it kinda works!”
xo,
s
Jessica says
Yikes, five different wall papers! My first house had a bunch of wallpaper, too – all three bathrooms, the kitchen, and one of the bedrooms. After some dismal attempts at shredding it with the rolly, cutty tool (I think it’s called a Paper Tiger?) and soaking it with a cocktail of household chemicals, I finally rented a steamer. Made all the difference in the world. Just don’t cut or shred the paper first – it comes off better if the whole sheets are still intact when you add the steam.
Amy says
I love that you decorated the shelves before doing major things like painting the walls. Seems totally backwards to me, but it really starts to give you a sense of the space. So, that was a great tip. And, just a thought, I love dark paneling with light colored walls and white trim. So many possibilities for this awesome home! I love watching it all unfold.
Christi says
I love how you made that work, once again I was scared for you guys but you “totally redeemed yourself!”
And the Burger shot reminded of Elle Woods’ dorm room in Legally Blonde: Red, White & Blue! All you have do is paint some brown palm trees on the wall!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Molly@TheNestingGame says
It’s so exciting to see you moving in!
I wanted to show you what we did with our brick fireplace. We basically covered it in drywall compound and sanded down the edges to let some of the red show through. You can sand down as much or as little as you want for the limed effect. But it’s worn really well and we get tons of compliments on it. (Scroll down to the family room part.)
http://thenestinggame.com/nest-tour-2/nest-tour-kitchen-and-family-room/
Can’t wait to see it all go down!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so cool! Love it!
xo
s
Lisa in Seattle says
I just want to compliment you on how lovely your family room is! It looks like such a great place to hang out. It’s cozy and airy at the same time, and that must have been a challenge! The fireplace treatment is awesome.
erica says
if you have access to one (i borrowed my mom’s) a shark steam mop would be great for removing the wallpaper. the one i used was pretty light and came apart in sections so it was pretty easy to hold up to the wall and steam – the glue dropped right off.
good luck!
Kim says
Ah! I’m excited to see what you come up with for de-wallpapering. I’d like to know if that whole “sometimes you can just paint right over it” thing is true!
Deborah says
When I took doors down to store I hung them in my basement by inserting O screws into the top of the doors and hung them on sturdy hooks from the reafters so they would not get damaged or wick up basement moisture.
YoungHouseLove says
Smart!
xo,
s
lauren says
Sherry,
As a fellow pillow addict, I find when people sit down they often take some pillows off (even though I have pared down my collection quite a bit for this very reason!) and put them on the floor!!! I can’t stand this, what do you guys do with your pillows when they are not on the sofa/chairs? Do you have a basket or do they go in the storage ottoman? Or does this not happen to you?? Lol.
Thanks, everything is looking great! Can’t wait to see what you guys do! So excited!
YoungHouseLove says
I think maybe your sofa depth has something to do with it? Ours is somewhat deep, so people keep them on and sit in front of them and lean back onto them. They pretty much stay on the couch unless Clara tosses them off or Burger noses them off (weirdo!) – haha!
xo
s
Jane says
Love the new room and the mini karl. We got the karlstad after your rave reviews. We love love love it so much.Almost every one of our guests have loved it from the time they sit on it. Thanks for recommending it to us!
YoungHouseLove says
So glad!
xo,
s
Taylor says
Not related to this post, but a thanks for your painting video on cutting in! It’s a skill I’d never mastered, but after watching your video and picking up one of those short-handled brushes, I painted an entire hallway without any tape! It was awesome to save all the time taping would have taken, and I think the result is even better, since I always ended up with some paint bleeding under the tape. So thanks for such an easy to follow video!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! That’s awesome!
xo,
s
Gabby @ Cookiecutterunique.com says
Wow, it’s really coming along. I love your inspiration for the brick on your fireplace, can’t wait to see it!
Kate says
We had wallpaper borders in a few rooms too, and it was one of the first things to go. We made a warm water/vinegar solution and soaked the border. (One of us would use the sponge, and the other would hold an old rag to catch the running solution.) We found that if you let it soak for a while, it’d peel right off. Not as toxic as other things (although the smell of vinegar does get old kinda fast), and was pretty easy to do.
Good luck!
Jackie says
Did you know right away that you’d designate the formal living room to be the office and keep the den as the den or were there a few options you considered? Did you try out Karl in the office? It would be cool to see pictures of some of the alternative configurations you tested out (if you did) and what you liked/disliked about it. For example, did putting the console table perpendicular to the doorway make the room look smaller, prevent you from fitting a couch, etc.?
Can’t wait to see this house evolve – really fun so far :)
YoungHouseLove says
We have always loved a living room in the back of a house (so people driving by don’t see your TV glowing out the window, haha) and we’ve dreamed of finding a house with a den and a kitchen close together and then knocking down a wall to open those spaces up to each other (we see a lot of newer homes with that configuration) so when we saw this house it was instantly clear that we loved the living room as the room with the fireplace and the bay window in the office (it’s a very bright room) made it really nice for a light and bright office :)
xo
s
Jackie says
Thanks so much for replying! Do you have plans to knock down walls in this house? Do you know which ones are load bearing – vs. could potentially be removed? A write-up by you about using a sledgehammer would likely be awesome.
YoungHouseLove says
We mentioned what we want to knock out in this big listy lineup (mainly we want to make the master bathroom bigger by combining a sink area down the line, and also want to widen the opening between the living room and the kitchen, which isn’t load bearing. As for finding out if something’s load bearing, usually if it’s a wall that’s parallel to hardwood floors (runs the same direction) it’s load bearing, and if it’s perpendicular it’s not (since hardwoods are installed opposite the direction of the header beams on a house). Hope it helps!
xo
s
Carrie says
It’s kind of funny how similar your living room is to ours. We actually kept a lot of the wood trim. I painted the window and door trim in a slightly darker shade than the walls (it was in really bad shape) but left the wainscoting and crown in the natural stained wood. The color is now a medium kelly green which makes the wood really stand out. Most of our neighbors have painted all the trim white, which looks nice too. I just think the natural wood does a lot for making the room cozier.
At least you don’t have painted wallpaper. Our kitchen had that and it was a huge pain. We also had “holly hobby” wallpaper in our bathroom. My method was lots of hot vinegar spray and elbow grease. It wasn’t too bad, I think the worst part was getting all the little glue pieces off AFTER you get the big pieces of paper off. I did that with a bunch of passes with a scrubby sponge and vinegar/water. Hey at least it’s cheap :)
Reem says
O ma goodness! Please do everything you guys visualized for the room, do not change your mind. Those ideas are gorgeous!
Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says
Just curious if you have an inspiration napkin, artwork, or pillow for this house’s color scheme.
YoungHouseLove says
Not yet :)
xo,
s
Brit [House Updated] says
Already looking better! I must say, I am impressed with the restraint you are showing by not whipping out the paintbrush to deal with that brown paneling immediately. But I suppose it is better to think it through rather than rush in and have to change it down the line (not that I’d know that from experience or anything, haha).
Kyle says
I just saw somewhere, maybe This Old House magazine, where they made a false summer front for their fireplace using a sheet of plywood with the cut ends of logs glued to it. If you did that with your wood storage “hole,” you could use the space behind for storage but have the look of stacked logs.
Jennifer says
I bet that extra sofa would be a really functional loveseat once the storage room gets converted into a play area!