Mixing Vintage W/ New: Living Room Tour

I recently made it my mission to update our living room on a seriously small budget and using as much vintage furniture as I could.

 

The updates started to come into play a couple of months ago when my husband and I decided we finally were going to buy a new couch.  We've needed one for a couple of years now, but we were able to stretch the old sofa by using a slipcover and removing the back, dated and bulky cushions.

 

 

My husband wanted new, well-made, but not expensive. I wanted vintage. We even went to look at a sofa we found on craigslist. Totally. Did. Not. Work. Out. Seriously, how do people judge what good condition is? If you list your couch as excellent, then the arm should not feel like it is about to fall off!

 

 

We were totally at a sofa standstill when I happened upon a really great couch, that was very much like our number one pick from Pottery Barn.  It was new, gorgeous and priced at an incredible discount at a local store. I went back the next day with Martino, praying that it would still be there and it was! So excited!

 

 

 

 

A new sofa calls for a complete change-up of furniture and accessories, right?  My heirloom secretary desk from my childhood home and the free Windsor chair I repainted and stenciled last fall fit in the space perfectly!

 

 

 

See all those scratches on the desk? That's because Figgy apparently has some sort of obsession with knocking over my pewter collection. He is a seriously untrainable cat!

 

 

 

My favorite gold chair still fits perfectly in the room . Probably one of my favorite thrift store purchases ever and at $24.99 is was a fantastic bargain! I tied the golden color in with a new throw pillow I got for the couch from Target (you can see it in the first picture). The mix of golds, blues and reds tie in all of my accent colors in the space.

 

The side table is a really old piece that my Mom found for just $10 last year at a tag sale. It's floated to just about every room in the house, but I finally love it here. The finish remains untouched and is extremely rustic, which is such a nice mix with my more vintage pieces. It really keeps the space interesting!

 

 

 

Two of my favorite things to decorate with are pottery and bits of nature so I made sure to include them when I was accessorizing. I love the color and texture of the pussy willows. I never put them in water and they just last forever (these are actually over a year old.)

 



 I sold our bulky entertainment center and bought this small sideboard on craigslist for $40. I'm still working on this corner and will be sure to share more of it soon. I painted and stained the top of the piece and still need to work on the bottom. I'm planning on just doing a good cleaning and restoring rather than paint. (Love the two-toned look!)

 

 

 I'm also assembling a little gallery wall in this corner to bring in more of our accent colors. The pieces are all vintage. (You can read about them here.)

 

 

 The $20 tag sale dresser that I refinished and had planned to sell is now a focal point in the room. I just could not let it go!  Plus, before I knew what was happening, my Mom had my house pretty much totally rearranged trying to fit it in. It really is meant to be in our living room. Love it! We also kept our $1 tag sale leather chair in the space. It's super comfy!

 

 

 

Here's a final look so you can see how all the colors and patterns blend (the couch is actually a very neutral herringbone). The walls are an almost white gray and I kept the curtains and trim a bright white. The rug is cotton and a graphic, modern, black and white print.  The coffee table is the one I painted a couple of weeks ago and has bright red peaking out of the black finish.  That was another craigslist purchase for just $10! (Although I did a ton of work to it!)

 

 

 

I just wrote this entire post and realized that I did something I completely despise...mentioning the price of everything! But, in this case, I think it's incredibly important. You really can have quality, well made furniture and a decorated home for next to nothing. It just takes a bit of extra time and a little work.  Our couch was the big spurge for us since it was purchased new, and it was a sacrifice, but I can truly say that I love every single piece in this room.  Plus, nearly everything else is repurposed.  It's such an awesome feeling to bring an old piece of furniture back to life, not only because older pieces have so much history and are so well made, but because of the positive environmental benefits when you do not need to buy new.

Enjoy your Sunday!

I'm off to pick up a china cabinet to refurbish. Love this job!

 

 



Linking to: 

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/2013/02/nifty-thrifty-tuesday-no151.htmlhttp://www.cozylittlehouse.com/ http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/   http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

 

http://www.astrollthrulife.net/