My EXTREME Living Room Makeover: BLAH to BOUGIE Color Drenching Styling Guide

Описание: We bought what can only be described as the blight of the neighborhood -- a real dump of a house… and then completely reinvented it, starting with the living room. Which we transformed twice.

In this video, I’m walking you through both phases of our living room transformation — from light and bright, to dark, moody, and fully color-drenched — and explaining why each decision was made along the way.

This isn’t just a before-and-after. It’s a real design evolution.

🏡 ROUND ONE: THE LIGHT + BRIGHT LIVING ROOM

When we first moved in, the goal was to make this space cleaner, brighter, and more livable for real life — kids, dogs, pool traffic, wet towels, and all.
What we changed:
Replaced dated parquet flooring with luxury vinyl plank (LVP) wood-look floors
Scratch resistant
Waterproof
Perfect for high-traffic, kid-heavy homes
Built up the fireplace to make it a true focal point
Chose a natural-looking tile that leaned modern but not overly mid-century
No mantle, no TV — I wanted the fireplace to stand on its own
Finished it with a faux log set for warmth and realism
Painted the entire space Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (eggshell)
Made the room feel larger, brighter, and taller
Eggshell adds subtle light reflection and is easier to clean
Solved the TV dilemma
Placed it on the wall adjacent to the entry so it wouldn’t compete with the fireplace
Added sheer drapery, mounted high
Creates the illusion of taller ceilings and larger windows
In the dining room, we:
Removed the courtyard door and replaced it with a window to create a more formal, enclosed feel
Added sculptural sconces to frame the breakfront and windows
Installed a black Sputnik chandelier as a nod to the home’s mid-century roots
Created a simple gallery moment behind the dining table
This phase worked beautifully…
but after living with it for about a year, I realized something.

🔁 ROUND TWO: COLOR DRENCHING + GOING DARK
I got bored.
The space felt too safe. Too generic. I wanted more risk. More personality. More mood.
I’ve loved color-drenched rooms for a long time, but they’re intimidating — getting the right color, in the right room, with the right furnishings is not easy. But since we were already planning a whole-house repaint, I decided to finally take the plunge.
Despite everyone else in the house being opposed to going dark, I trusted my gut.
After testing countless grays, I landed on Sherwin-Williams Gauntlet Gray — a warm, earthy gray with brown undertones that:
Pulled directly from the fireplace
Worked with the flooring
Made the brass lighting glow
Set off the warm wood tones beautifully
Once the room was fully painted, I knew this space needed to lean into the darkness — cozy, intimate, adult, and intentional.
This became the room you see first when you enter the house.
A formal living room.
A place for conversation, visiting by the fire, and grown-up energy.

🛋️ FURNISHINGS + LIGHTING (THE MOODY VERSION)
Rug: Neutral knotty wool with texture to ground the space
Sofa: Curved mohair sofa in an almond tone that reads subtly green
Soft but tailored
Formal without being stiff
Chairs: My grandmother’s French salon chairs
Floral, warm, traditional
A reminder that old and new can coexist beautifully
Lighting was tricky due to the open beam ceiling, so instead of recessed cans:
Used torchieres for uplighting
Added recessed lighting only where structurally possible
Focused on layered, intentional lighting to enhance art and atmosphere

✨ DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
I don’t like matchy-matchy.
I prefer unpredictable combinations, especially with lighting and decor.
Lighting is where I love to take risks.
Decor is where I blend old and new.
And when it comes to styling — less is more.
Crowded rooms make me anxious. Calm, edited spaces make me feel better. And that’s ultimately what this room became.
After 17 years of raising kids, I wanted a space that felt for the adults, too.

If you’re curious about:
Color drenching
Making bold design changes
Mixing traditional and modern pieces
Or evolving a room over time instead of getting it “perfect” the first try
This video is for you.

👉 Subscribe if you love real design decisions, honest process, and homes that evolve with life.

#livingroommakeover
#interiordesign
#beforeandafter
#homerenovation
#colordrenching