I have a gorgeous before & after from one of my clients to share with you today. Cortney has done an amazing job so far bringing a custom mood board to life in her living room. This post will be heavy on the testimonial too, because Cortney had such sweet things to say and I think the journey she went on with her room is similar to what a lot of us go through to pull a space together.
Let’s take a look at a before picture:
The room was crowded with oversized furniture. The tan walls, black cabinets, and dark ottoman made the room feel dark.
Cortney wanted a fresher look and a new color palette for the space. She was torn between purple and teal as an accent color, so I showed her the same mood board two ways. She ultimately chose the Olive & Aubergine Mood Board.
Here is what Cortney had to say about her first impressions of the mood board:
Most parts of your mood board I embraced right away but other parts it took me a little while to warm up to. Very unlike myself, I just bought the paint that you suggested (Austere grey) without sampling it or thinking very hard about it at all. I am SO glad that I didn’t! It was so funny because my dad helped me paint and each day, the whole time we would keep asking each other “What do you think? Are we going to have to re-do this whole thing?” Once the whole space was painted we both loved it. It looks GREAT with the cabinets in the kitchen. It has the perfect feel in the family room. It feels SO much brighter and it looks so different in every different light. It really is a beautiful color! On the other hand, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the stencil wall. Once we put the other pieces of the room together, it felt so light and airy, but a little bland and so I finally decided to give it a shot. I finished it this weekend and I love it. I ended up using Benjamin Moore dill pickle, about one shade more muted than the pear.
Here is how the new wall color, repainted cabinets, and stenciled walls look now:
As Cortney worked on the room, she was still unsure about some of the elements on the mood board. Sometimes it is hard to trust in the overall design. Here is what Cortney had to say about her coffee table hesitation:
As nice as it would have been, we opted not to do the chaise since it would come too close to the door. I love our new couch. I love the chairs. I really loved the coffee table you suggested but just didn’t see how it could work. I looked and looked for something with a similar feel, but that might be a little sturdier. I finally ordered a table online that I thought would work well. It was nice but just not right for the space. Seeing it in front of the sofa, both my husband and I said, “we need the one she suggested.”
As they wait for the new coffee table to arrive, here is the before and after of the sofa area:
I included this roundup of DIY ideas with the mood board:
Painted Built Ins | Dimensional Art | Framed TV | Stenciled Wall
Cortney has already tackled a few of the DIY projects I suggested for the space. Her dad helped her frame out the TV above the fireplace. It is gorgeous!!! He also built the console table behind the sofa.
Cortney made the textured art project I recommended, but hers are on display in the kitchen, because…
I made the neutral, textural art which I love. But they are SO big. I made them 24×30. Now that I have my beautiful stencils on the wall, I don’t want to cover them up! For the time being, I am liking them over my cabinets in the kitchen.
Let me leave you with one last before and after comparison. I love how this shows the dramatic difference right-sized furniture can make for a space. The smaller chair and accent stool open up the entire corner of the room. Cortney could probably hang her DIY art to fill the wall space above the chair.
Cortney says,
It isn’t done quite yet, but it is getting close. And I love, love, love how much better the whole room feels!
Thank you so much!
All I can say is…wow! This is why I do what I do. I truly believe you are the best person to decorate your own home…sometimes you just need a little push or guidance to get started. A big thanks to Cortney for sharing her room transformation.
In case you are curious, I will be relaunching my online decorating services soon. I am working on the new site and really happy with the results so far. I will have a couple of new service offerings, in addition to the custom mood boards, that I am really excited about.
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Please tell Cortney thank you on my behalf as well. I love what she has done. I love the transformation! It is coming together so nicely!
Fabulous! Your mood boards were great. Love the color choices.
This turned out awesome. I love both color options too:-)
I love the stenciling, such a dramatic change and so much brighter. I’m excited to see what you suggest for my room:-)
I too love the stenciling. Was it hard to do? Whenever I’ve tried the paint is ends up uneven and gets under the stencil. I always see these beautiful stenciled walls online and wonder how people do it.
Char, I am going to jump in and give my two cents on stenciling. I think the question of is it hard is a relative one. I think whether or not the project will seem hard or if you will like the end results depends on you. I have personally tried stenciling on small pieces and decided it is not really for me. I am too much of a perfectionist and kind of inpatient. But if you have more patience and don’t stress if it is not absolutely perfect, than stenciling is a great and relatively easy project. If you are up for trying it again, I would do a little online research for tips and tricks. Be wary of any posts that don’t show some up close and personal results of the stencil…everything looks good and perfect from afar.
I love her stenciled wall! I know just how Cortney feels. We were nervous painting our 15 ft walls this dark mocha color but it looks amazing! We also did the same thing as Cortney did with the coffee table. We tried to find a cheaper couch- we looked everywhere! My husband finally was like just get the one she picked out. It will be here next month and we are heading up to Minneapolis next weekend to pick up a majority of the remaining items!
Also someone asked me why I would pay someone to decorate my house. By the time I’m finished I will A) have 2 beautiful spaces I love B) have saved the equivalent of the cost of the mood boards by waiting on the items to go on sale C) she saved me so much money and time by giving me a clear direction to go with my spaces. Now i dont have to buy something, only to realize it wont go with my new design. At times I felt like a raccoon, being distracted by this neat color scheme and this shiny table. I can’t wait to have it all come together!
Stephanie,
Thank you for the wonderful testimonial and for trusting in the process. I can’t wait to share your before and afters :)
Love the two options of the mood board!
Such a fantastic transformation. Love getting the after photos, too, Jackie. So rewarding!
Beautiful!!
Can you tell me where that couch is from on the mood boards???
Thank you!
Thanks, Lizzie. The sofa pictured on the mood board is the York Sofa with Chaise in Natural from Room & Board.
I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of your online services because our open floor plan needs some sprucing up! :) I just adore how your vision became her reality :)