On.a.Whim Interiors Take Two: The Living Room

Before I even begin, I must make introductions. This is Ed Earl, Kelly's 13-year-old Heinz 57 and my new decorating companion. Not a move has been made without his steady, persistent observance. Thank you for your oversight E.E.!

The lion's share of Saturday was spent enhancing Kelly's living room. A daunting endeavor considering this is the first room guests walk into and where company is often entertained. My goals were to make the room cozy, an expression of Kelly's taste, and attractive to all potential inhabitants. Kelly sent me before pics of the room earlier in the week so that I could begin collecting my thoughts and formulate a vision for Saturday's implementation.

As you can see, it's a beautiful room with lots of natural light, hardwoods and a mainly neutral tone. Pay attention to the portrait of Kelly's oldest Lydia in the top right corner. Kelly mentioned she wanted to make sure all the additions complemented this piece so I tried to stay true to her wishes and pull out some of the blue tones of her dress and gold in her hair.

Another request of Kelly's was to do something with this space to the left of her entertainment set. She wasn't wild on leaving the ottoman there and wanted some decor on the wall as well.

I made a purchase list Friday after talking some more with Kelly. It included the following:

1. An area rug

2. Larger couch pillows to complement current ones

3. A taller side table to go next to the couch

4. Pictures for the "trouble" wall next to the tv

5. A new lamp

6. Cream throws to make the room super cozy

And 10 hours later, here's the finished product:

My favorite purchase was this Martha Stewart area rug which I found at Issis & Sons in Greystone. The colors are the perfect soft shades of blue, cream, golden and a hint of red. We were able to finagle a great deal on it since it was discontinued. Woo hoo!

At the last minute, I dropped by Homewood Antiques in Edgewood and found this cream Art Deco vase for only $12. They've only been open three weeks and have some amazing pieces and great prices. A second trip must for sure!

These bookends were also a Homewood Antiques purchase. For some reason finding classy, inexpensive bookends has been difficult; I was thrilled to find these!

The wooden bowls were created from timber at Eric's (Kelly's husband) childhood home. I felt like they made the entertainment set a little cluttered but wanted to find a special spot for these unique, sentimental bowls.

Found the pillows at Pier 1 on my way out the door; another lucky purchase. They match perfectly with Kelly's originals.

I love this table and lamp. Both were purchased from Home Goods; I think they round out this corner nicely.

And last, my piece de resistance:

Four bird prints hanging above an eclectic cream wire chair and blanket basket to make that trouble corner sing.

The prints were purchased at Harmony Landing and the chair and basket came from At Home (both in Homewood).

Below sits one exhausted but happy designer.

Kelly made a delicious dinner to celebrate the new look. Her Thai Coconut Curried Salmon & Greens recipe will be featured in Wednesday's post; you won't want to miss out on it!