Living Room Makeover: Inspiration, Budget and Deadline

The inspiration for our living room

Hello!  I hope you're all having a great week so far.  I can't believe the week is halfway over--not that I'm complaining or anything.  My husband comes home in just a few days and I'm very excited about that!

Anyway, I mentioned in a previous post..actually, two posts <here and here> that I was going to make some changes to our living room.  The pictures of the pillows above are my inspiration pieces for the room.  Actually, they're pillow covers.  My sister, Lauren, gave them to me as a birthday gift this year. She brought them all the way from Japan, where she and her family are currently living.  Thanks, again, Lauren! 


They're very unique looking, don't you think?  In fact, they're so unique, one cover doesn't even look exactly like the other cover.  There are some flowers and some pinkish tones in there but I'm planning on pull out the darker reds, browns, greens, and oranges to keep the living room a little more masculine for my husband.

I've been looking for other pillows and pillow covers to compliment these, but no luck so far.  I may have to learn how to sew and make my own!  I guess I knew how to sew at one time in my life, but it's been about 14 years since the last time I operated a machine.  Oh, the adventures of this foreign domestic continue. 

So you may be wondering what kind of looks I'm going for in living room.  The covers are from Japan, but I'm thinking about a different kind of style for this space. 

As you can see (a tiny bit) from the pictures, our couches are a neutral color so it will make decorating this space much easier.  If you all didn't know this about me before, I love bright colors that pop.  Maybe you remember that about me from when I painted these frames.  I think bright 'poppy' colors can add life and excitement to any room.

 Here are some inspiration pictures: 

Source I'm not painting any walls, but this look is so warm and inviting.  It makes me feel so cozy!

Source.  My husband loves Middle Eastern culture and I think it would be neat to integrate some of that into the room.  I love the lanterns!

Source.  I really like this one.  It's not overdone.  It's simple but elegant--my kind of style!

Colette Bench | Crate&Barrel

This bench has form and function going on, big time. It is available in a variety of lovely linen hues, and the tapered legs and upholstery nails are the details that give it personality. more »

Oh my goodness, I could share picture after picture of different rooms that are inspiring me for this living room transformation!  I'm really excited to get started.  You all may think I'm crazy, but I'm coming up with a budget and a deadline for this project now. 

My budget for the room is $100.  My deadline is (and this is where you'll probably think I'm crazy) next Wednesday.  Yes, I'm giving myself one week to complete this transformation.  I want to have it complete before Thanksgiving.  Besides, if I gave myself an open-ended deadline, I would go back and forth on different decisions forever--and I've already been thinking about it for 2 months!  SO...you can expect to see different projects over the course of the next few days all related to this project.  Stay tuned!!  I'm off to do some bargain shopping and thrift store hunting!