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Embracing Beige: The Living Room

June 21, 2016 by Brynne 20 Comments

“Embracing beige.”

Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d cheerfully form.

I spent my first three years of marriage raging against the beige walls of our first two apartments, affectionately referring to one of the paint colors as “zombie flesh.” I craved color and couldn’t wait for the opportunity to make whatever paint choices my heart desired in our first home, like the dark charcoal office, green dining room, or blush pink master bedroom. I was only a personal vendetta to banish boring beige walls.

However, one thing I’ve learned over the last few years is to listen to your home.

When I tried to make our first home white and bright, the low ceilings and the windows’ solar screens flatly refused. I had to lean into the shaded qualities of our downstairs living area and roll with a cozy, moody gray. I listened to my home and ended up with one of my favorite rooms as a result.

Listen to your home. That mantra has been foremost on my mind as we’re settling in here. If I rush in with preconceived notions and a pre-formulated plan, I just might be fighting against this place’s best features, not enhancing them, and that is NOT the formula to ending up with a home you love.

So I have been listening, intently, and I’ve discovered that this house really has a thing for neutrals.

The wide open floor plan means that I need to pay careful attention to the way rooms flow into each other, and all the streaming light and windows mean that I can finally embrace some light and bright decorating.

I’ve been surprised to discover that the soft beige wall color the previous owners chose is actually pretty great – it doesn’t clash with the undertones in the tile OR carpet (which, judging by my house hunting experience, is astoundingly rare) and they even used a matte paint finish (the 70’s dream house had sticky semigloss walls throughout). I owe these lovely people a huge debt of gratitude!

In an absolute first in Brynne Delerson history, I’m not itching to start painting.

I never thought I'd LOVE beige living room walls, but I think I'm starting to fall for them in our new home's living room!

I originally was thinking I would head in a completely different direction than our former living room in here, but then I found those beige 1980’s leather channel-back club chairs on Craigslist ($20 each, you guys!!!) that were just begging to party with the green velvet sofa. Once I pulled them into the room, I knew I had to embrace this chance to explore the lighter side of a few of my favorite things.

And oh my goodness, I am loving the tone on tone and soft subtleties of this room right now! As I brought in old pieces and a few new thrift finds, it all seemed to come together into a warm, breezy space that I feel really should have a beach view out those windows…

Vintage lucite coffee table + 1980's leather channel-back chairs. Just enough "Scarface" to be totally awesome!

It’s amazing the way a clean slate gives you entirely new eyes for your pieces!

It’s so easy to get locked into one idea/purpose/direction in decorating. This move was a great way to “shuffle the deck” and force me to try out new arrangements and combinations, but you definitely don’t need to move (in fact, I can’t recommend it) to experience the same fresh perspective.

Start by taking a step back and removing things from the room until you feel like you’re starting over again –  mix and match pieces from other rooms to bring in new vibes!

Antique French sideboard in use as a TV stand + an awesome vintage brass chair.

Brass and glass light fixture turned terrarium + a small collection of Mudlen End Cottages.

More details on this thrifted light fixture-turned-terrarium here.

Beige on beige. Loving these 1980's leather channel-back chairs with this eclectic mantel!

More details on this DIY Flying Machine Patent Art here

I am madly in love with this mantel right now, even though there’s no rhyme or reason to the arrangement. Thrift store obelisks join Mr. Spalding’s Fantastic Feathered Flying Machine, along with a woolly sheep figure and a prized family heirloom portrait of my great great aunt, who was a stage actress. They have nothing in common except for the fact that I’m adoring these colors and textures together!

Eclectic mantel featuring beige on beige. Vintage obelisks, DIY vintage flying machine patent art, a family heirloom oil portrait, and a woolly thrifted sheep.

Vintage oil painting detail.

Beige on beige coffee table vignette.

Thrifted lucite coffee table + the coolest 80's channel-back chairs found on Craigslist.

More details on the lucite coffee table here.

Please keep in mind, that this room is definitely not finished. And I can’t even promise it will look anything like this even a week from now…  At the moment, it’s my intention to hang the two huge Forrest Moses monographs over the sofa, and most likely rehang the sunburst mirror over the teak bar, but you just never know what new finds may pop up and cause drastic course corrections!

The living room is a far cry from finished, but these are a few of the puzzle pieces.

Vintage teak bar + signed Forrest Moses monotypes found at a thrift store.

More on our carved teak bar here.

Vintage glassware on the bar.

Vintage glassware + mixed metals.

In the future, I see breezy curtains for the windows, possibly a change of ceiling fans (non-negotiable for our Texas summers), maybe a taller floor lamp for that corner, and I’ll admit – the leopard rug on carpet situation is very wrinkly and bunchy at the moment. I’m looking at rug pads designed to alleviate the issue, but I’m not confident they’ll be effective with our plush carpet. I feel like wouldn’t even know who I am without my leopard rug, but it just might not end up working in this room.

But remember – just say “no” to rash decisions!

I’ll be here waiting, mulling, and slowly gathering to make sure whatever I do fits with both the spirit of my home and the feel I hope to achieve.

I never thought I'd LOVE beige living room walls, but I think I'm starting to fall for them in our new home's living room!

I hope you enjoyed this first look at the new living room! I’m slowly making progress in other spaces, but this room is definitely the most “company ready,” so I’m so glad you stopped by!

Filed Under: Decorating, House Tagged With: Living Room, Second House

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Comments

  1. Maggie @ Maggie Overby Studios says

    June 21, 2016 at 6:04 am

    I’m with you Brynne, I crave color! Surprisingly, this go round I chose to go neutral on the paint as well and instead let all my colorful goodies do the talking. Looks like you are pulling things together quickly (haha thanks to no painting.) I love the lady on your mantel! SO good, I’m ready for more…

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 8:57 am

      I think I’ve always just had bad experiences with poorly picked cream/beige neutrals in the past – I’m so thankful the previous owners of this place did such a good job with the undertones, or I probably wouldn’t mess with beige with a 10 foot pole, haha! I am moving as slow as molasses in other rooms of the house… Hang tight, it might be a while! πŸ˜€

      Reply
  2. Jessica says

    June 21, 2016 at 6:54 am

    Looking good! Can’t wait to see more!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 9:01 am

      Thank you Jessica! It might take me just a little while to get ANY of the other spaces looking this presentable, haha! πŸ˜€

      Reply
  3. cassie @ primitive & proper says

    June 21, 2016 at 8:00 am

    i am loving it! your living room is looking so good and so you already!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 9:03 am

      Thank you so much, Cassie! I can already tell this room will probably end up being my favorite!

      Reply
  4. Keiko says

    June 21, 2016 at 8:49 am

    Love it! Your pieces speak for themselves!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 9:04 am

      Thank you so much, Keiko! I do LOVE a good vintage find! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  5. Ellen says

    June 21, 2016 at 8:49 am

    You can get a “rug to rug” pad and see if that will help. I have most of mine covered up, because it has taken longer to get rid of a lot of it than I ever thought it would. Intractable husband, you know…. I think I need to go shopping with you! I can’t believe the chairs, and love your other furniture, too, especially the coffee table.

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 9:06 am

      I’ve had my eye on a rug to rug pad, but I’m a little skeptical about how well it would work with very plush carpet… I just might need to bite the bullet and try it out because the bunching is driving me crazy!

      Reply
  6. Emily @ Go Haus Go says

    June 21, 2016 at 8:53 am

    It looks absolutely beautiful! Loving the beige!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 9:07 am

      Thank you Emily! I’m totally shocked that I do too, but I’m really loving not painting anything right away! πŸ˜€

      Reply
  7. Crystal@ClearCutCrystal says

    June 21, 2016 at 10:14 am

    I love how light and bright this is feeling! Such good advice to listen to the home–it looks very welcoming. Can I ask if the large plant is real? It looks great and I want to buy something similar. Any suggestions on sources?

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 9:09 am

      Thank you Crystal!

      Of course! The plant is totally fake – and I found it on Craigslist! However, Amazon has some really convincing faux fiddle leaf figs that I had my eye on previously. I cannot keep real plants alive to save my life! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  8. Gretchen@BoxyColonial says

    June 22, 2016 at 11:03 am

    It looks lovely! Houses are so stubborn, aren’t they? My kitchen refuses to let me paint it blue, for example πŸ™

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 9:13 am

      Ha! They really are obstinate things! Speaking of blue kitchens, in a rare moment of having a decorating opinion, Bryan suggested we paint the kitchen cabinets cobalt blue… The house gave a decided “no.” πŸ˜€

      Reply
  9. Trisha D. at Black and White Obsession says

    June 22, 2016 at 3:25 pm

    I’m in agreement that the wall color doesn’t seem to compete or even change the colors of the pieces in your room. Those chairs couldn’t be more perfect. The room is looking lovely as always Brynne!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 9:13 am

      Thank you sweet friend! Those chairs are my new favorite find of 2016! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  10. Julia@Cuckoo4Design says

    June 23, 2016 at 6:57 am

    I just love those chairs and how they party with the wall color and sofa πŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 24, 2016 at 9:14 am

      They are officially my find of the year! πŸ™‚
      Thank you Julia!

      Reply

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I believe the best kind of home is a gathered one, full of treasures with a story to tell. Join me in celebrating a lifestyle of finding and making beautiful things, right where you are. Read more...

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