The other big project accomplished in my friend Erin's living room was a gallery wall above her sofa. When we started, Erin's living room was four blank walls. And after shuffling some furniture around, it was clear that the sofa would stay on the big wall facing the fireplace. Immediately I thought a gallery wall would be perfect above the sofa. So we got to work. We started with one treasured print, a drawing of the little white chapel where Erin and her husband Mark were married (the print on the far left.) With a gallery arrangement, I like to hang mismatched frames of different sizes. So we raided Erin's house for options and looked through stashes of art and frames that had not found a home yet. Erin had a lot of great art to work with. I love the vintage photograph of a group of women taking a class photo. And we needed a pop of color, so those two vintage embroidery pieces in their little green frames were a sweet addition. I love how her gallery wall has some humor to it — art doesn't have to be so serious.
The empty frame was a lucky accident. I was hanging the little green frames, and we'd forgotten to take down the other frames while I was pounding the nails in (bad Jen!) — so that gilded frame (which originally had a black-and-white photograph Erin had shot) dropped to the floor and the glass shattered. We decided it was meant to be as the new photograph didn't really mesh with the vintage style of the gallery wall, anyway. So a cool empty gilded frame was the finishing touch. I like how her gallery wall has room to grow. I'd love to see something round under the vintage photograph (maybe a small patterned plate or even a little round mirror.) All the more reason for another thrifting adventure!
I don't have any overall shots of the living room (ran out of time and needed to catch my train!), but one other big change was dispersing some lamps around the room. Come sundown, that living room was a dark space because there's no overhead light. I found this cool paperclip style lamp hiding in a corner of Erin's living room. The velvet chair and ottoman needed a light to make it a cozy reading nook — perfect pairing. The chair sits low, so none of Erin's side tables would have been the right height next to this chair. So I flipped a vintage crate (originally holding firewood) to serve as a side table for the lamp. We moved the firewood into a large terracotta pot. The little metal table behind the chair used to have a lamp on top (which looked too big in proportion with the table and wasn't by any of the furniture to help with lighting.) So I swapped in a little succulent, since that space gets great sunlight next to the window. Erin found those vintage cake tins on the windowsill while we were thrifting, and she's planning on using the tins to house some herbs in small pots.
That's all for now on this makeover! I'm happy we were able to get the furniture and lighting in an arrangement that works for Erin and Mark to hang out and enjoy their living room. And the easiest way to make a room feel lived-in and welcoming is to add some art on the walls and bring some plants inside. Erin's hoping to have that sofa (in the top photo) reupholstered in a fabric that's more their style. And she has a fantastic Danish modern chair with two cushions that need a makeover. It's a work in progress, as is the case with most rooms.
Thanks for sharing your space, Erin! It was so fun working on the little makeover with you.
