Colorful Transitional Living Room Makeover

Today I am sharing the colorful transitional living room makeover that I helped my stepdaughter’s, their mom and grandmother tackle at their house. Did you see the post earlier last week sharing the start of the project, the “why’s” the “how’s” and all the details of the room? If you didn’t, be sure to check out that post to get up to speed. Before we get started though, I have to actually thank a reader who left a bit of a scolding comment yesterday (you can see that post and comments here)  directed at me for the calling my stepdaughters, my “step” daughters. The reader isn’t a fan of the term and I am a firm believer in everyone having their own opinion and sharing. I actually like the dialog. It’s funny because while I agree the term is not my favorite, it’s what we have used. Long story short, the term sparked an interesting conversation between my husbands ex-wife, the girls and I yesterday. Ok, I will finish that topic at the end of this post. For full disclosure, I have also included affiliate shop links in this post. What does that mean? It means that if you purchase something I have linked too, we may earn a few pennies so thank you in advance ;). 

Lets get to the makeover! 

Here is the before.

The amazing Aster Wool Hooked Rug is from Annie Selke by Dash & Albert. It’s the absolute perfect rug (we used a 6×9 size) for the space and it coordinated beautifully with the gray sectional. The rich color in the rug and the softness lends a beautiful layer to the room. 

If you know the backstory of the room (you can read that here), everything was removed from the original room and only the gray sectional was staying.  If you have been following us for a while, you know that I always start a makeover by emptying the room, purging the old (donate or trash) and ultimately, deciding what is staying in the room. The loveseat is for sale if you are interested 😉 (we are in Mass.). If you are looking for a similar couch, here is one at Wayfair that is on sale and looks fabulous! 

Once the room was empty, the girls and their mom painted the room. We decided that Sherwin-Williams Crisp Linen would be perfect for the walls, allowing the room to be bright and welcoming while providing a neutral backdrop for decorating. They freshened up the baseboard and window trim with Sherwin-Williams Extra White. 

Isn’t the artwork amazing? Not only is it substantial in size (perfect for a large wall) it was only $135! Full large scale artwork (all glass) that is $135 is a steal. I found it at HomeGoods and texted them a picture to see if they liked it. Their mom loved and so it came home with me.

The tripod lamp is from Target and I love how the warm oak color looks against the couch and rug. 

The fireplace needed a makeover as they were not impressed with the darker brick. It was outdated and definitely wasn’t going to “play nicely” with the new room so we decided to paint it. We originally were going to whitewash it (leaving some of the darker brick showing) but ultimately, we liked a more solid looking white. They actually have someone coming to build out the mantel and decorative trim to the sides (similar to our fireplace makeover we did a couple years ago). We used the Sherwin-Williams Extra White on the fireplace and it’s gorgeous! The girls mom painted the inside of the fireplace a fresh black color “high heat” paint she found at Home Depot.

Here is the fireplace before.

The fireplace needed something on either side to help prevent it from floating on the wall so we found these affordable white metal shelves at Ikea. I have the same ones in our study but I spray painted them gold. Don’t have an Ikea near you? Don’t worry! Amazon sells them and you can find them here. 

All of the throw pillows, throws and decorative accessories are from HomeGoods.

We found this very affordable, great quality coffee table at Wayfair and it adds the perfect balance of warm wood to the space. The sectional is rectangular in nature and warranted a round coffee table. Personally, I am not a fan of too many square and rectangular lines in a space so adding the round coffee table adds visual appeal and architectural interest. 

I know many of you are wondering about these rockstar chairs. They are to die for and from HomeGoods. They are a modern transitional chair that have the peggy legs lending a mid-century look. This style chair is the perfect transitional piece for any room. Not only are they gorgeous but they were only $199 each. 

Here is the before view.

A funny little story about the end table between the chairs. We got through all of the painting, finding furniture (took us about a month or so to gather it all up), choosing decorative accessories and then we realized, we didn’t have anything to put between the chairs. The girls grandmother was like, “umm, are we going to put something between the chairs?” -ha. This is when shopping your house becomes fun. I had remembered seeing an end table in their basement and it was not anything they had planned on reusing but I remembered thinking it had a Pottery Barn “esk” look to it and it was a sturdy piece of wood. The chairs are fairly large and needed a substantial “bulky” looking piece between them, so we grabbed the table and tried it out. Needless to say, it worked and was FREE.

Their mom found these drapes at Ikea and the pattern is perfect. We decided that the bunched look on the floor looked nice, so we didn’t bother hemming them. I love how the throw and pillow look from HomeGoods. 

The stylish glass lamp from HomeGoods added a different texture to the wood table that I think compliments the room nicely. 

I found these adorable pink and red artwork pieces at HomeGoods and they fit perfectly on the wall behind the chair. They added a pop of color to the space and most importantly, the girls loved them. 

Here is the view before.

One last before.

After.

Not too shabby right? A special thank you to Annie Selke for donating the gorgeous rug, Sherwin-Williams for donating the paint and to HomeGoods for donating the pillows that are on the couch. The girls, their mom and grandmother love the space and it’s definitely a cozy stylish spot to hang out in with friends or curl up and read a book. Stay tuned, we are planning to start a blog series on blended families, the term “step” and various issues that arise from blending families. Our journey has been a bit of a rollercoaster to say the least and things haven’t always been hunky dory. I think you will enjoy the series and it may even be helpful to some of you. I will also put together a resource page for this makeover with all the links to the products and similar so you too, can get the look! Be sure to check out our Shop Page for all of our makeovers, room designs and full resource listings for all things home decor. 

UPDATE: Update on my gram and decision to start hospice Oct. 2

Disclosure: I was given a complimentary rug, paint and a gift card as noted in the post for some of the items. All opinions and words are 100% my own. This post also contains affiliate links for your shopping pleasure.