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.
Jennifer says
Game of Thrones… Oh my gosh! I’m the only one in my family who has read the books. My heart was literally pounding as I watched the Red Wedding episode! I really wanted to tell my family what was coming but I hate spoilers, so I didn’t. So intense! BTW, your room looks great so far.
Susan (Between Naps on the Porch) says
Sherry and John, I found the absolute BEST wallpaper remover when I was attempting to get the wallpaper off my son’s old bedroom walls. The paper had become one with the walls and NOTHING was working, not even a steamer I purchased from Lowes. The stuff that did the trick was Safe and Simple. It’s what professional wallpaper removers use. Seriously! I know because that’s what was in a sprayer that a professional wallpaper remover brought to my home. She shaved it off the walls like there was nothing to it. One $7 bottle will do 4 average rooms, so it’s reasonably priced, too. You can read about it here: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/home-office-renovation-update-welcome-to-the-111th-metamorphosis-monday/ and you can buy it here: http://safeandsimple.com/new/Main.htm That’s not an affiliate link or anything like that…just sharing this product because it saved me when nothing else was working.
Tirsa says
So much better. I love what you did with the nook! I still can’t look at the salmon on the wall though…. :) What is it about houses in that era with all those (unnecessary) inside doors? We took down a bunch of them in our 70’s house too. They block the flow among rooms and block sunlight.
Good luck taking down all that wall paper. The guys working in our house didn’t make good progress until they brought in the steamer to work on the three layers of wallpaper per room. Ugh! Prepare to perspire er, sweat a lot with the steamer.
Donita says
Have you tried using fabric softener, in a spray bottle, for removing wallpaper? My sister used to do a lot of wallpapering, in her own home and for others. She always used downy, in a spray bottle. You spray it on, let it set for a few minutes, then use a scraper. The paper will just slide/roll right off the walls. :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the wallpaper tips everyone! Can’t wait to give things a try!
xo,
s
Shelly says
Just a thought- the second hole in the fireplace could be a very cute chihuahua nook! My friends have a house that has a dog bed nook under their stairs, so that’s my inspiration for this idea- it’s really cute and functional.
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds cute! Not sure Burger would like it (its pretty dark and hard so he prefers hiding under blankets). Haha!
xo,
s
mishellie says
I feel like this could be kind of awesome, with a bunch of happy bright pillows and maybe… some sort of less-dark-making object or “wall” covering?
You know burger best obviously… but I LOVE the idea.
Donna says
Not gonna lie, wallpaper removal stinks. We had to remove tons of it when we moved into our current house. And, oh joy, in some rooms there was wallpaper behind wallpaper! I found that a vinegar and water solution along with a scraper ( and loads of helpers ) was the best method. But some people swear by a steamer. But good luck, it will be worth it!
Emma says
Hi! I’m a new reader and now totally obsessed with the blog. I’m drooling over this rug in your living room! Where did you find it? We’ve been searching for a while for a living room rug for our new place; who knew it was so hard to find an afforadable, non-ugly rug!?!
YoungHouseLove says
That was from a local outlet in Richmond but we’ve seen it on joss & main as well. Good luck!
xo,
s
Emiles says
Love that you arranged the built-ins. I’m seriously thinking of doing that in our house to help with my sanity.
As for the wallpaper…we just removed a ton from the kitchen. We pulled off what we could and then scored the rest. After scoring we sprayed a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water and it worked like a charm…except where it was direct on drywall…then it pulled the paper off the drywall. Hopefully they painted or something before it! Good luck!
Kelly says
I am so excited to watch you transform this house into something amazing. You both do such a wonderful job at everything and give us all such great ideas to try ourselves. Can’t wait to go on this journey with you. (of course, minus the manual labor, that you guys can have. :) )
Just curious, do you have any design inspiration for what you plan to do with the house, color wise? Your last house it was the napkin, just wondering if you have something picked out for this house yet?
YoungHouseLove says
Nothing yet, but we’re keeping an eye out!
xo,
s
Kathy Cook says
The best thing for wallpaper removal is a garden sprayer filled with water and fabric softener. Score the walls, spray on the fabric softener and scrape off with a wallpaper scraper tool. Makes the house smell clean rather then using those stinky wall paper remover sprays, and works better than them too! Good luck!
Donna says
OMG, be careful if you score the walls, or it will look like you ran a fork over them! Score only if you must ( like with foil wallpaper or something that is not very porous ). If it is just paper wallpaper you will not need this step.
julie says
can’t wait to see what you guys do first…looks great! though i think that salmon would start getting to me after a while lol
Chaney says
I know y’all always do this, but I love seeing the “in progress” shots along the way. Life isn’t a series of perfect before and afters, is it? You do a great job showing us the in-between, even if (and especially when) it’s isn’t totally polished and styled!
So I guess what I’m saying is…this post is awesome! It gives me courage to share the unfinished and imperfect parts of our rooms. Thanks :).
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Chaney!
xo,
s
Meghan says
Your living room progress, and the adaptation of your furnishings from one house to the next is making me feel better about our slow progress! We just passed the 1 year mark in our home. In our area houses are sold fully furnished and ours was no exception. It has just added an interesting step to the making a house our own process. I love knowing we aren’t the only family slowly figuring out what works for best while working with what you have! (side note, sometimes I just wish it weren’t also including what someone else had too).
Julianne says
Looking so much better & brighter already, but i do miss your den curtains/flowered tribal toga though! ;0).
We had a huge bedroom of wallpaper to attack in this beast and found that my clothes iron/steamer worked wonders! I also remember as a kid it was the preferred method…steam & pull! We used a plugged in kettle to steam away the strips. Luckily, here we just to had the one room to tackle and boy, it was a chore. It sounds like y’all have quite the task in front of you with so much wallpaper. I feel for ya, but know the end result will look great!
Sarah Carrato says
Don’t know if this appeals to you like it does me, but I think it’s such a warm modern look to fill that hole by the fireplace with similarly sized round logs.
http://www.houzz.com/photos/1918327/The-home-of-Yvonne-and-Boris-eclectic-dining-room-amsterdam
YoungHouseLove says
Cute!
xo
s
Annie says
Ummmmm Game of Thrones? That last seven minutes was the craziest scene I’ve ever seen! Apparently it was the bloodiest scene ever shown on television. Oh man. Anyway, I love the small victories! That corner looks awesome!
Katie says
Bought a fixer with 7 rooms of wallpaper and my 2 cents is experiment with a rented steamer first. I still kick myself that that was the technique I tried last. Could have saved myself a lot of time!
Jennifer I says
So fun to see your things entering the home! I can see the potential in that room now.
There is no “one” fantastic way to remove wallpaper, depending on the kind, the conditions it has been in hanging, and how it was adhered/how long it was up there, different techniques may work. I’ve removed five rooms worth in my house, and it was a pia regardless of how I was doing it. For me, pulling off the paper and then working on the glue in sections was the way to go — super hot water with a dissolved Mr. Clean Eraser in it, soak the wall using a sponge, then wait ten to fifteen and to back to scrub. Sometimes repeat, depending on how stubborn the glue was. So satisfying to see it all go, though!
Leslie says
Don’t you just love getting rooms put together! I know each room will be a work in progress, but getting stuff put in a place feels so good. I know if feels great to walk in to a “put together” room! Can’t wait to watch this house transform. Love the blog. Never commented before!
diane says
After trying a few different methods to removing wallpaper- this method worked the best for me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma0-X8mo9tQ
It’s a series of a few videos that show you how to soak the wallpaper and remove in two layers- the vinyl top layer and then the paper backing.
There was hardly any knicks in the walls which meant no patching/spackling! It worked like a charm.
Good Luck..I’d love to see the other methods you find work!
Lisa says
The room looks fabulous already! I’m wondering, until you tear it down, have you thought of putting the wet bar to work? In the warmer months, it could be an iced-tea/lemonade station, and during the colder months: hot cocoa and movie snacks. :) Just a thought…
YoungHouseLove says
That’s cute! Since the wet bar is between the kitchen and living room it’s only like ten steps to the sink and the pantry in the kitchen, so we figure we’d rather free up that space for an open layout.
xo
s
Brittany says
It already looks so great! I’m excited to see what you guys do to the place :).
Jessica S says
I’m convinced now that I need a Karl! I desperately want a sectional to cozy up my big (but not as big as your last one) living room. We recently bought a house and are makeover newbies, and we’ve also removed many doors (including a ‘saloon’ door between the sink and bath areas of the guest bathroom…huh), and I would love to know what you do about the hinge notches and extra trim piece. Hope to see it in a post soon, maybe??
I love how you are able to move around furniture and rugs since you carried a color scheme through out your whole house. I’m trying to pull that off with our home, while hopefully adding a few pops and surprises to keep it fun! Thanks for the inspiration!
Christie says
Love that whitewashed brick in the link! It is going to be fun to see what new things you try in your new home.
Seeing the room unpainted makes me think of what we renters are stuck with … not being able to make changes. It would be kind of fun if you did a series of “working with what you’ve got” before you dive in and make it your own. Please?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s a really fun idea!
xo
s
Rachel L. says
After removing 60 years of layers of paint / wallpaper from EVERY wall in our home, I can tell you what worked for us (but you should know we have 1950’s plastered walls): 1) We scrape the first layer of paint / wallpaper with a regular putty knife/ scraper. 2) We used a steamer ($50 wall paper steamer from HD) to get the rest of the wallpaper off our walls- still using the scraper. 3) We then used DIF to get any remaining glue (don’t let it “soak” on your walls like the directions say- we tried that and just had dry blue dif on our walls; spray & scrape / wipe with wet sponge as you go). 4) We used oil based Kilz before painting (we thought it worked best with our plaster walls). Hope that helps! :) GOOD LUCK!
Lola Savoy says
Just wondering what you might be thinking of for paint colours in the living room?
YoungHouseLove says
No ideas yet but we’re definitely thinking about a ton of options. Will keep you posted!
xo
s
heyruthie says
i love the idea for the bricks. they can always be painted over later, if you don’t like the whitewash. it’s a win-win situation to try something new!
Elizabeth @ Real Inspired says
Ugh, I am dealing with a wallpaper issue in our kitchen too. Two old, ugly layers. I’ve been peeling off what I can and then spraying on half and half mix of white vinegar and water. Let it sit a few minutes and it comes right off! And I can go from ripping off wallpaper to dealing with toddler without worrying about washing my hands! It does stick though…
Elizabeth @ Real Inspired says
*stink that is. Not stick:P
Cheryl H says
Good job on making it cozy within the first few days …. that really is the key to staying sane during a move. Our old house also had that “black hole” beside the fireplace and my husband customized some wine racks to fit in that space, so we used it for wine storage :) Everyone thought that was a great idea and it was very useful for us as we have a LOT of wine.
Your new place is looking great!!!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s fun!
xo
s
Danielle says
I don’t know if someone mentioned this yet, but we removed SO much wallpaper a few years ago. We found baking soda and hot water in a spray bottle worked wonders! We sprayed it on, let it sit for a few minutes, then just scrapped it off with a putty knife. It literally came right off! Good luck!
Jamie says
We just bought a new house and the previous owner painted over all the old wallpaper. The only problem is that in the dining room one of the wallpaper seams has come loose and started peeling up. I’m scared the only way to fix that is by peeling up all the old wallpaper and painting again? Any tips to avoid this?
YoungHouseLove says
Ugh, yes! So sorry! To avoid it never paint wallpaper, just remove it first and then paint.
xo
s
ashley @ sunnysideshlee.com says
What is with Game of Thrones?? I’ve been hearing people rave about it all over the place! Is it as good as The Walking Dead?!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we still love Dexter more than anything else, but GOT and TWD are both awesome. Apparently we like dark murderous TV.
xo
s
Meg says
It’s lookin good!!! I can see things starting to come together. I totally get that you had to put the finishing(ish) touches on the little bookcase nook in the corner. When we moved a few months ago, I took the smallest area in the house (the guest bathroom) and spent an hour making it look finished. This way when I started to get a little overwhelmed – and felt like we would never be out of boxes – I could step in there for a minute and smile! Can’t wait to hear about the wall-paper removal. Definitely looking forward to some tips and tricks to tackle my own project. I can say the last time I mastered wall-paper removing everything was going great (warm soapy water with Dawn – changed very often did the trick), then the very last wall in the bedroom I swear they former owners super glued it on there!! Nothing worked…we literally had to dig it off and then patch some areas of dry wall. Can’t wait to continue to follow your progress!!
Alison says
We had no luck with the fabric softener method. Ours was a nightmare.
Steaming and scoring worked the best but we used a combination of using chemical wallpaper remover (probably more chemicals than you guys like to use but we were desperate, scoring and using a steamer. Whoever installed our wallpaper did a horrible job and used a god awful amount of glue. It was also applied directly to unprimed dry wall. Fun stuff!
Courtney S. says
When you all first announced that you were moving and had *gasp* already bought a new house (!!!), I was a bit miffed. I’m a big girl, I can admit it. I was all “What the WHAT!?!?!?!” But now that you are in the new house and I see this first post about you all settling into the new digs, I have to say…I am totes excited :) I can’t wait to see the journey of how you guys turn this house into your new home. Thank you for always sharing!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Courtney!
xo
s
Joelle says
Love it! So I’ve always “heard” not to block windows with couches…is that true? Is it really personal preference? I love how your room looks, and you have so much window space there in that room. So i’m thinking it’s personal preference on room layout, but wasn’t sure if you had planned to leave the couch there? can’t wait to see this place come together!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I think it comes down to playing around and seeing what looks best to your eye. Since the sofa is pretty low and sort of lines up with the windowsill, it sort of makes sense to the eye.
xo
s
Ann says
DO NOT score!!! It leaves you with a shredded mess! Try to wet the outer layer of paper with HOT water (or steam – if you decide to rent a steam remover) If you can get that off in big strips – you will likely just have the glue backing left & that scrapes right off if you just wet it down. I have tried everything – and this is the cheapest and easiest I have found – and I have tried them all also! Can’t wait to see what your results are!
CHRISTY says
Looking good! I love that you decked out the built-in already. I’m sorry if you’ve answered this before, but do you think you’ll use the PB Clara rug in this house? I know it was in the playroom for a long time in the last house, but we hardly saw it. I covet that rug!
YoungHouseLove says
We actually craigslisted that right before our move after deciding that it was silly to move anything we didn’t use the entire time we lived at our second house. It was sad, but it went to a great home!
xo
s
Amanda K. says
LOVE the white-washed brick! So chic/southern/comfy. (Chic/southern/comfy… That’s a thing, right??)
Sarah says
Is there any glare from the windows behind the sofa? Just asking because my parents have a similar furniture arrangement(albeit in a smaller room with a window facing onto a well-lit city street) and the glare gets annoying.
Looking forward to seeing what you do with the new house!
YoungHouseLove says
I think there’d be a huge glare if that window was to the outside world, but there’s a sunroom back there, so that’s like having a 15′ overhang to block glare. So thankfully there’s no issue with the light coming in :)
xo
s
Sarah says
I forgot there was a sunroom back there. Makes sense now! Thanks for your reply.
Susan says
Will be interested to know what you find about stripping wallpaper. I have vinyl paper on my kitchen ceiling but haven’t had the guts to try any of the methods I’ve read about.
Your painting paneling post was helpful, as I have a house full of knotty pine, so I’m hoping to work up the nerve for all that over-head work soon. Ugg.
Robin @ our semi organic life says
It looks so cozy already! I could totally have your starting point living room as my finished room! I love how you like to live in the place before making drastic changes! So smart!
rachael says
I already commented earlier, but I was just thinking that once you white wash that brick, if you did the inside of the second hole too it would make it not as noticeable, and then you could stack magazines or books in it like so:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/fireplace-book-storage-151433
YoungHouseLove says
That’s a fun idea!
xo
s
Robin @ our semi organic life says
also I just noticed and gotta say I like how you arranged the long part of karl on the outside of the room to sorta close in the center of the room like a nook. If that makes any sense… great work! I’m sure you could switch it either way but looks so cozy!
Lindsay says
You HAVE to buy the Wagner Power Steamer 705. It is the easiest thing to use EVER! (It does work better on my plaster than the few drywall places I had.) I did 1 room without it, but will never again attempt that!
Carla says
I think white washing the bricks (instead of painting them) will be beautiful. So will the white ceiling and woodwork. I love the size of this room. It feels more intimate and cozy than the one at your other house. This is such a dreamy new home. I’m really excited for you!
Colyn says
Hey there. You didn’t mention what type of walls you have underneath the wallpaper (or maybe I missed it, sorry). We have plaster walls and I’m SO grateful because removing six layers of wallpaper (!) was so much easier because of the plaster. I just steamed and scraped with a heavy-duty scraper — no scoring or spraying (waste of energy). I’m sure it’s vastly different with drywall. Get a good scraper, though, like this one:
http://www.tooltime.co.uk/shoppingcart/products/Heavy-Duty-Wallpaper-Scraper.html
Good luck! Can’t wait to read about it.
Lesley says
I am curious about how heat & A/C are circulated in your house. I noticed the circular vents in the cielings of your upstairs rooms, then noticed the little bit of heater (?)/vent (?) peeking out from behind the sofa table behind the couch (originally thought it was baseboard heater along the whole wall and worried about a piece of wood furniture pushed up against it, but scrolled back up and realised it was two separate short bits).
Is it forced air? And are the things I am noticing ‘interestingly’ placed vents?
Also, and I think it’s because you usually only watch TV at night, do find having the TV across from windows causes glare while watching it? We have ours perpendicular to our window and my husband complains all the time about glare.
YoungHouseLove says
We have gas heat here so it’s just forced through vents (upstairs they’re all in the ceiling, none along baseboards or on the floor – and downstairs they’re all in the walls or the baseboard area). I think that’s pretty typical in our area (at first the ceiling vents upstairs were so ugly to us but almost every 2-story house we looked at had them so we learned they were pretty common. As for the TV, we don’t have any glare because the windows in the living room lead to the sunroom, so it’s like having a 15′ awning to block glare off the back of the house :)
xo
s
Lisa says
I believe you guys have a brown leather chair? Have you considered putting that chair in the living room? I think the leather would pair well with the other natural elements in the room. And personally, I find the gray chair with the gray sofa is too matchy-matchy. And too much gray. Actually, I think even better would be a chair in a fun color! :)
YoungHouseLove says
We actually tried every chair we have (egg chair, leather chair, tan bedroom chair, gray chair) in that corner but we liked this one best since the leather one was much bigger and more boxy (the light legs of the gray chair worked nicely with the sofa, while the chunky leather chair was a lot deeper and had big closed off arms so it looked sort of like a big brown cube and blended with the wood trim as well). Who knows where we’ll end up though! This is just our “first pass” using what we have and dropping them wherever the mood struck :)
xo
s
Mary Beth says
LOVE the new place, Sherry… it’s great how your pieces are fitting seamlessly into other rooms in the new house! What a great money saver…
I have to tell you, reading this site has honestly lifted me out of a fog. After I had my third baby last year I had some pretty serious Postpartum Depression. Somehow I found you guys and I’ve really gotten motivated! I’m redecorating, refinishing some amazing furniture I’ve found at thrift stores and just generally starting to feel like I’m enjoying my life again!
Thank you for sharing your world with all of us… it means more than you know.
Mary Beth
ps – my #2 baby was born May 4/2010 so I can relate to all things Clara! LOL
YoungHouseLove says
Aw that’s so sweet Mary Beth! Thanks so much for the kind words. And May is the best month for a birthday ever – not that I’m biased ;)
xo
s