Moody and Bright Living Room
Come see how I gave my living room a mini makeover to make it moody (and bright)
You know the saying “if you give a mouse a cookie”? Well, I am the mouse and someone gave me a cookie.
But the cookie was more like a new couch.
After 7 years I said goodbye to my IKEA Ektorp sofas. I know selling those couches might haunt me forever but I was ready for a change and I knew the couches would find a good home somewhere else.
I wrote a whole blog post about my Ektorp Sofa a few years ago. They were great couches and I am mourning just a bit.
But just a bit
I had a giant urge to change my front living room. We do use this room more than I thought we ever would. The kids and I tend to come in here quite a bit.
We do have a TV in here and as much as I would like to pretend the TV isn’t what brought us to this room….it is. A TV will always help a room get more use.
Let’s go down memory lane first.
This is what our front living room looked like shortly after we first moved in and before there was a TV
I didn’t have a ton of furniture so I was using what I had and it was fine. It was definitely not giving me those cozy vibes and no one really ever used this room.
After we painted this room and moved the IKEA couches into this room it looked somewhat like this for a while.
I did like this layout and I did like this room as is….but like I said, once I get that urge….
All it takes for me to get an urge is to see one inspiration picture. And it was this picture from Studio McGee that gave me the urge
So here we are today…
(This post contains affiliate links. You can see my full disclosure here)
Look for Less Studio McGee Moody Living Room
I knew I could get this look for somewhat less but I also knew there were going to challenges….one of which is that I am indecisive as all get out.
I loved this living room look. It was polished but also cozy. It was what I wanted for my living room.
The first thing I needed to order was a new couch since I sold my IKEA couches and we were couchless.
I have no patience and I had no desire to wait months to get a couch delivered.
(See more ready to ship sofas here)
I really wanted to find a green velvet couch like the inspiration picture but I went down a very big rabbit hole and found this couch.
It had great reviews, had a single bench cushion (what I originally wanted) and it could be shipped and delivered pretty quickly,
I actually did end up ordering the couch.
I was a rebel though and purchased this sofa as an “open box” item with Wayfair. I was pretty proud of myself that I saved so much money and I know Wayfair’s costumer service is top notch, so I thought why not.
I am not sure what really happened. There was either a glitch in the system or maybe it was my fault. Long story short, my order was cancelled.
When you are indecisive and finally make a decision and then that decision gets cancelled…you take it as a sign. Well, at least I do.
That same weekend a local furniture store was having a warehouse sale and I knew I had to go.
And this happened
This right here is the reason why I still have my minivan
I got such a great deal on this sofa since I was buying it off the floor. This sofa is the Grady sofa by Robin Bruce. I am not sure if my exact color is the navy listed but if you are looking for a extremely comfortable couch, this is it. The quality seems amazing too.
How to Decorate a Living Room With a Navy Blue Couch
This couch was nowhere on my radar nor was the color what I had originally wanted, but I knew I could likely pivot.
I’m good at pivoting.
As luck would have it, these Six Penney dupe chairs from Target came back in stock and I scooped them up as quickly as I could.
I love the look of a navy couch with white accent chairs.
Sofa//Wood Accent Chairs//Coffee Table Ottoman//Slipcover Accent Chairs//Rug//Poufs (similar)
There are so many other ways you can decorate around a navy sofa. Leather chairs are a great option.
I also loved these velvet chairs from Target.
But since I was going for cozy vibes in this room, I knew the slipcover chairs would give me more of the look I was going for.
I also kept the other chairs from Target I had before in my living room. There is a slight chance these might get replaced with other cozier chairs but for now, these are just fine.
Incorporating a Dark Moody Room into Your Bright Sunny Home
I wanted this room to feel more dark and moody and cozy at the same time.
I also had no intentions of painting these walls again since I just painted them Light Blue by Farrow and Ball just a few months ago.
I also did not want this room to feel completely out of place in my home since the rest of my home is pretty light and bright.
So….enter green velvet drapes.
Sofa//Wood Accent Chairs//Coffee Table Ottoman//Slipcover Accent Chairs//Rug//Poufs (similar)
It was just enough moodiness I wanted for this room. I love adding a different texture to any room with these velvet drapes.
I love H&M curtains. They are so affordable and some come with pleating tape so you can pinch pleat your curtains to give them that high end look.
I do like to double up my curtains when I pleat them so keep that in mind when you are ordering.
My exact drapes are no longer available but these curtains are a great substitution.
I also added in some moodier artwork to get the look I was going for in this room without having to paint anything.
It’s just the little touches that can make a room feel cozier and moodier.
I was on the hunt for the perfect coffee table too. The one I used to have in this room never really worked for me. I thought I wanted a wood coffee table but I already had so much wood in this room that whatever coffee table I liked just wasn’t working for this room
And then I found this giant McKay ottoman from McGee and Co.
And it was love at first sight.
This ottoman made the room. It is quite large but it is exactly what this room needed. I am normally a budget shopper and this ottoman was a splurge for me. I did get it when McGee was having their Labor Day sale.
I kept the rug I originally had in this room. It worked well with all of the other colors I had in this room and that was a nice surprise for my budget.
I do love how this room turned out. It is my favorite room in the house. And this view will always be my favorite
Update…In true Jenna fashion I am already making small changes to this room. I broke down and purchased the rattan floor lamp from Target.
I might also have a new chair for this room in mind but I am trying to hold off…but I think I am about to give up.
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BeautiFul as always. However I have been wanting to know yhe paint color of this room for awhile. Please share along with brand
Thank you! The paint color is Light Blue by Farrow and Ball (but color matched with Behr paint)