Thank you for watching the show tonight! We’re so excited to get to share Season 5 with you. My favorite room in tonight’s Fixer Upper premiere is this living room! It was equally bold and subtle, while incorporating meaningful and antique pieces that the homeowners loved. Here are a few of my favorite design elements of the living room and the “why” behind them.
Start With a Neutral Color Palette
Sometimes, the idea of painting the walls of your home a shade of white could seem cold or stripped of character. However, it can actually provide a neutral and clean foundation to design around that other colors can’t, giving you more freedom to get creative with decor. In this living room, the white walls not only give balance to the warm wood tones of the beams, light fixture, and wooden roman shades, they also allow for the wooden features to be a subtle architectural focal point that leaves plenty of room for adding in bold decor.
Mix Old With New
Mixing old and new in a room has always been a design ‘rule’ for me. For example, I chose to mix the worn-in, vintage couch with the new, modern accent chairs to bring a balance to the room and soften the lines. Because some of the larger pieces in this room were ‘old’ (the sofa and the bold rug), I made sure that most of the accent pieces were ‘new,’ with clean lines - to be sure the room didn’t feel like an antique store. In the end, I incorporated the framed original deeds to the client’s house above the couch to give a thoughtful nod to the home’s history. I also added these antique storage boxes in the glass coffee table serve as practical storage for remotes/chords while still tying into the overall look of the room.
Incorporate Green
I truly believe greenery is a staple in any room. You will find a fiddle leaf fig in most of the living spaces I design because I just love them so much. It fills in blank corners that are often tricky to decorate and adds some height and natural texture to the room. I also like to add smaller, clear vases with simple sprigs from the yard or a nice indoor potted plant on the mantle, end tables, or the coffee table. Greenery really does add life to a space, so, if you feel like your room needs something more, always start with some greenery first!
Tell a Story
While cleaning the house out before demoday, we found sheets from the original deed rolled up and tossed into a closet. They almost got thrown away, but when we took a closer look and realized what they were, I knew they would make the perfect focal point for this living room. One thing I love to do on larger walls (behind sofas and above console tables) is frame unexpected prints that tell a story - whether they be something personal to you or simply pages from a book that catches your attention. When I find the right piece of art, I typically frame it with a white matte board and simple black frame. You can find larger, old books at antique stores or online that have botanical prints, sheet music, or (my favorite) old ledgers. There’s just something about someone’s handwriting or sketch from a hundred years ago that feels so timeless and unique.
Here's a peek at more photos and details from The Lunar Lander House!
