Home Sweet Home on a Budget: Living Room Inspiration

Hello, Remodelaholics!  It’s Ruth from A House in Holland, here to announce the room of the month:  the Living Room.  All through the month of May, I’ll be dropping by to share budget-minded ideas for making your living room a place where you can really enjoy spending time.  In upcoming weeks, I’ll be finding great ideas from all over the blogland to help you update upholstery, decorate around a TV, and display family photos without emptying your pockets.   On the last Saturday of the month (May 26th), you’ll have a chance to share what you’ve done to spruce up your own living room by joining the Home Sweet Home on a Budget Linky Party.

{image via Better Homes & Gardens}

There were some really terrific Entryway & Porch projects linked up to last month’s party.  If you are looking for some budget-friendly ideas for fixing up your outdoor and entry spaces, check out all of the links from last week.   Here are two that stood out from the crowd:

A gorgeous back porch re-do from The Blissful Bee.

Jilly and Mia‘s impressive front door transformation.  (Love the houndstooth!)

Now that it’s May, let’s step inside the house and start thinking about the Living Room. Sometimes the best way to get your imagination going when you are figuring out what to do with a space is to create an idea file.  Even if the ideas you find are a little bigger than the scale of your project, just grouping together things you love can help you discover the direction you want to take it.  Here are a few ideas from my own Living Room inspiration file.

{via Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss}

Living Rooms can be a formal or informal entertaining space, based on the way you want to use that part of your home.  The picture above and the picture below are great examples of how either way can be perfect.  The formal room above achieves a black-tie feel with ornate furniture and a pretty gilt mirror–almost all of which was thrifted!  The informal room below gets it’s comfy vibe from cheerful pillows, mismatched rugs, easy slipcovers, and pops of fun color.

{via The Modern Cottage Company}

I have a big, brown leather sofa similar to the one in this living room (below) featured at The Glitter Guide.  Such a big, sleek looking piece of furniture could make the whole room look  stark and contemporary, but thanks to the addition of lots of texture (furry throws and pillows, vintage wood) and a few feminine touches (ruflly pillows, Morrocan pouff), the room looks warm, inviting, and fun.

{via The Glitter Guide}

This next living room has a bold color choice on the walls–dark khaki–but it’s balanced out by lots of windows, airy curtains, and white upholstery.  Bright patterned pillows bring more color into the room without making it feel busy.

{via Dear Lillie}

Some of the best living room inspiration I’ve seen in a long time has been right here on Remodelaholic.  Remember when Cassity showed us her living room progress, and admitted that she didn’t feel like this room was quite done?

Well, finished or not, this room is lovely.  The gorgeous bookshelves in living room, trim and woodwork adds so much dimension to this space, and the blues and greens swirling around in that rug are really beautiful.  You’ll be surprised when you read about all the ways Cassity saved while she put together this room.

Thanks for letting me share some pictures from my idea file, today!  I’ll be back next week to bring you drapery and upholstery updates that are easy on your pocketbook.  In the meantime, you can find more great rooms pinned onto Cassity’s Living Room Board at Pinterest.

Have a great weekend!

Published: May 5, 2012Filed Under: Contributor Tagged: Bookcases, Decorating, Living Rooms

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