Susie's pretty and pleasant parlor

Susie needed help with making over her living room which no one ever really uses in her house. Here is Susie’s letter and her “before” pictures:

Dear Lisa,

I’d LOVE some help with my living room. This is probably the least used room in our house. We mainly use it for holidays or for when I host Bunco or book club. Sometimes the kids or I will read in the green chair. I really like the loveseat and the yellow floral table. For new items, I’d like some new window treatments, but the room gets pretty dark, which is why I went with such a light color on the walls. I’d love some new accessories and stuff for the walls. For style, I really like French Country with some cottage style mixed in.  I like florals and lean more toward traditional taste. I think this room is considered more formal because it is connected to the dining room, but I don’t know that it has to feel that way. My dining room has a few nice pieces and nice drapes but the table is still casual and overall it doesn’t feel super elegant, which is fine.  My life isn’t really like that—my kids are messy, they can’t remember to take off their shoes, my dog sheds everywhere and chews things under the dining room table!!!  Fancy doesn’t really go with me these days, and I’m good with that. I would like the room to feel comfortable, pretty and pleasant. Thanks for your help.  Susie

Susie, sister, we hear you about the messy kids and shedding dogs, and we love your honesty. Sounds like a dose of real life to us! You need a relaxing space for yourself to unwind that doubles as a grown up space where you can entertain friends. The good news is you’re already well on your way to creating that. So here are just a few final touches to pull this room together, making it the pretty and pleasant parlor a busy mom like you deserves. Read on for Susie’s mood board and it’s break down.

1. Rarely do we not suggest paint for a Room Reinvention, but the pale yellow on Susie’s living room walls works well and looks fresh, so we are going to maintain her current palette of pale yellow, rose pink and sage green. These colors are lovely together and tie into the palette she has working so nicely in her adjoining dining room.

2.  One of Susie’s favorite pieces in her living room is the loveseat, and we agree. It has a great combination of color and pattern. We think Susie should hang this gorgeous mirror with a ribbon motif centered above the loveseat. Curvaceous and elegant, this golden beauty will fit right in with Susie and her stylish girlfriends.

3. Susie wants to allow for natural light in her living room, and we’re on board with that. She can frame and soften the three windows with these classic and feminine window treatments which will still allow for lots of light to filter in. The moire check brings a subtle and fresh pattern into the room and is in keeping with our color palette. To top off the window treatments, Susie can select the balloon fringed valance for a more billowy look (as featured on the moodboard), or she can opt for the lined and layered valance (shown here) in rose with green buttons for a more tailored look.

4. We love this tall statuesque bookcase as a place for Susie to display framed family photos, treasured heirlooms, books and accessories. It will look perfect on the right side of the loveseat and provide height and balance to that side of the room. With the loveseat now framed by the newly dressed up window on the left, the bookcase on the right and the mirror above, it will get the attention it deserves. Susie, if you need help arranging your goods on the bookshelf, read our post on that very topic right here.

5. This affordable pair of framed fern prints would look lovely hung between the two windows on the wall opposite the dining room. Their green color and botanical subject matter are a perfect complement to the florals and colors Susie already has working in this room.

6. Susie confessed that her current coffee table is a family heirloom (or is it a hairloom?) that she is ready to replace. We love how this oval coffee table works with the other wood finishes in the room. We also love the free shipping and price point on this baby. It’s solid stature is sure to withstand the roll of some Bunco dice.

7. This green vase made of recycled glass doubles as a candleholder. It is sandblasted with flowers and vines, so it complements our botanical mood perfectly and will look lovely on Susie’s new bookshelf or filled with flowers on her new coffee table.

8. It is our strong belief that every queen of the castle needs her throne, and this bergere chair suits Susie’s French Country parlor perfectly. It’s a cozy, elegant and comfortable way to bring more seating into the room. We recommend the walnut finish in the Abramo Tan pattern for it’s subtle, textured look. We’ll be the first to admit that this chair is a splurge, but we’re still frugal girls at heart, so we found a WAY less expensive version of this type of chair here. (Susie, if you can live with the fabric option available on this cheaper one, we say buy two!)

This is a great time to mention furniture placement and how to best use Susie’s existing pieces. As we mentioned above, with the new bookcase to the right of the loveseat, we suggest moving the round wood table to the left of the loveseat placing it in front of the window. (The trunk currently in this corner should find a home somewhere else in the house. It’s super cool looking, but doesn’t seem to work in this space.) Bring the table lamp (currently on the floral painted table) over and place it on the round wood table.  The floor lamp can stay to the right of the loveseat positioned about a foot out from the wall. We like the cozy reading nook Susie has created for herself (and her kids) in the corner. We suggest pulling the chair and ottoman out of that corner just a bit so it looks comfortably placed in front of the new curtains on the left window. If she can spare it, we think Susie should steal the lamp from the pretty desk in her dining room and use it as a reading lamp on the floral table. The floral table should stay put, centered between the two windows. Susie can pull out the ottoman from the reading chair and use it for extra seating when she’s having friends over.

9. These 20″ square silk Dupioni decorative pillows are a STEAL and will provide the final luxurious touch for Susie’s parlor. The solids in cranberry, sage and chablis will complement the loveseat throw pillows nicely. Susie can mix up the pillows on her loveseat, new chair and reading chair to bring the color and patterns throughout the room.

Susie, we sure do hope you are pretty pleased with your pretty new parlor. Nothing in there is too precious, so it’s still family friendly, but it finishes off the classy look you’ve started in your dining room.