Welcome to my living room!! This is my 1950s apartment in Los Feliz, and I moved here because it’s A. Super affordable B. In a fantastic location and C. Has a ton of charm and potential. At its current state, this living room is underwhelming at best, but we’re going to make it so sick, I promise. Perhaps a pretty fun living room DIY?? Some of the big issues we’re having with the space as it is:
It’s the first thing you see when you walk in, and it’s currently not a looker. I got a white rug when I first moved in because I didn’t know what design direction/color palette I would want to do (and I thought I could eventually layer it), but now it’s looking rough, and also I think it’s slightly too big for the space. We have a lot of hand-me-down pieces we’ve been living with (except for that awesome vintage piano), so it needs an intentional design plan.
In case you were wondering, I also tried flipping the living room to see what that layout would feel like, but ultimately we decided we wanted it how we already had it. Who doesn’t love lugging large pieces of furniture back and forth? 🙂
It’s a rental, so this space feels really blank and boring at the moment, so I want to make it feel homey. We need a lot of seating since we regularly host movie nights and such. So those are the problems at hand, now I’m going to walk you through some solutions!! Like I said, we’ve been living with some “works for now” pieces, so we’re in need of a lot of the major players: new rug, chair, sofa, art, lamps…the works. I want to make the space have that vintage charm while still being modern, fresh, and new. I call it “grandma style, except she’s single and ready to mingle.” You get the vision, right?
So my current plan is to do a media center DIY on the TV wall to cross off the “make it feel homey” box (plus it will give grandma a spot for all the trinkets she’s been collecting over time) and then for the rest of the room we picked out some AWESOME pieces from AllModern you’re going to love and literally all of my living room dreams are coming true!! Let me show you them now…
Coffee Table: This was my jumping-off piece for the entire living room. My marble obsession seems to get stronger every day, so when I found this GORGEOUS maroon stone coffee table with this cream veining, I knew our only choice was to snag it and build the rest of the room around it. In the corner of my living room is my viral closet speakeasy, which is a deep maroon red “lacquer” (aka patent leather fabric on the walls), so I knew this table would be the perfect way to bring some of that color into the space without going overboard.
Rug: Originally, I was thinking of doing a more mauve/lighter colored rug, but then I remembered the state that my current rug is in, and I said nay nay – we must go darker or more textured. When I rendered this deep brown red rug into the space, I knew it would be absolutely perfect, and the tonal vibe with the coffee table had me shaking in my boots. I know darker rugs can also get dirty quickly, but I vacuum regularly, and at least it won’t get shoe/dirt stains on it like a white colored rug will.
Sofa: Finding a sofa that’s perfect for your space can be such a challenge, but when I found this one, it was truly a scroll stopper for me. I need a modular sofa because a longer, single-piece sofa won’t fit through my front door (cool!), so thank god the modular sofa options are getting GOOD these days. I love the rounded edges and the arms on this piece – plus the reviews are fabulous!!
Jemma Metal Table Lamp | Deckard Ceramic Table Lamp
Table Lamps: We have zero overhead lighting in our living room, which I think is generally a good thing, except for that moment you move in and realize it’s pitch black in your house at night. SO we’re in need of some lamps and some cute ones at that!! I’m planning on putting this black metal one on a side table by the sofa and then this smaller lamp over on the bookcase on the TV wall to spread some light and love around the room.
Glenbrook Genuine Leather Accent Chair
Accent Chair: This chair gives the “grandma is single and ready to mingle” part of the design vision. It is black, it is leather, it has that sexy wood grain. IT IS THE MOMENT. And it will contrast perfectly with the lighter colored sofa and darker red coffee table/rug. EEK I’M EXCITED!
Okay, that’s all I have to say…until next time (which will likely be the reveal because this is happening ASAP!) Thanks for tuning in to this episode, MLRM (Mallory’s Living Room Makeover). I’m scared some of these pieces will be out of stock (specifically the sofa I’m nervous about), so hopefully they place the order before this post goes live!! Oh, and I hope youre as excited as I am for my media center DIY:)
