UncategorizedGuest Post Day 5 – Lorri's Living Room Inspiration July 27, 2012Welcome to the fifth day of Guest Posts in our Week of House Tours! We’ve made it to Friday, which means that we’ve seen some lovely homes and that we have finished our work in Nicaragua and are having a fun day with the team at a local volcano before heading home. I’ll have many trip details for y’all next week! Today, we have Lorri from Return to Home Interiors. Lorri will be moving into her first home from an NYC apartment in August. So, she’s gearing up to decorate a whole house and wanted to share the inspiration for her future living room, which I thought was a great idea! Lorri, just know, now we’ll have to see lots of pictures when you finish it 🙂 You’ll also remember Lorri because I gave her a Liebster award recently – she’s awesome and I am so glad that we’ve connected. So, here’s Lorri telling us all about her future living room: *** Thank you to Lindsay for inviting me to guest post today – what an honor to be part of such a creative, beautiful blog! Lindsay originally asked that I talk about a room in my home that I’ve decorated… but she’s given me permission to look to the future instead and talk about the room that I’m about to decorate – our future living room! We will be moving into our first house at the end of the summer, and all I can do is eat sleep and breathe wall color, fabric, furniture… When envisioning a new room, I always look to real-life rooms for specific inspiration. For our own house, here are a few living rooms that just grabbed me: {Via http://www.livecreatingyourself.com/2011/03/moroccan-pouf-fad-or-investment-piece.html} {Via ElizabethBauerDesign.com} {Via emilyaclark.com } I see a few common themes here – bright pops of color, a mix of contemporary pieces with the more traditional, graphic prints and a casual almost beachy vibe. Here’s my resulting inspiration board for our future living room… 1 – Benjamin Moore’s Stonington Gray Goodbye beige! These days, you can’t go wrong with a nubby, neutral gray wall color. 2 – Chiang Mai pillow, Etsy.com The Chiang Mai pattern by Schumacher is a real winner – it’s totally traditional but gives a real pop because it’s so colorful and has that edgy, Chinoiserie feel to it. The fabric is sold to-the-trade but you can find great pillows on Etsy.com for reasonable prices! 3 – Greek key pillow, Design Darling I absolutely love DesignDarling.com out of Darien Connecticut. These guys put the “prep” in preppy! This greek key pillow is aesthetically pleasing and really packs a graphic punch! 4 – Jonathan Adler’s C Jere ripoff! This wall sculpture was originally created in the 1970s by an artist named C Jere, whose work you now can find in vintage / antique stores or on websites like 1stdibs.com. The sculptures go for thousands of dollars, but I’ve recently discovered that Jonathan Adler does a “C Jere ripoff” for less than $2,000. I know that seems like a hefty price tag, but if we’re talking an investment in an impactful piece of art (and this thing really makes an impact!), it’s actually a great investment. 5 – Grandinroad Garner Barrel table C Jere sculptures aside, I so love a low price tag! Brass accents are really making a comeback these days, and this Garner Barrel table at Grandinroad for $149 is a perfect way to incorporate that brass. I might buy two to put on either side of the couch, or use something totally different for the second side-table so it’s not so matchy-matchy. 6 – slipcovered Chloe sofa, Mitchell Gold Bob Williams Mitchell Gold Bob Williams is a great place for tailored, high-quality pieces of furniture like this slipcovered couch. 7 – Indigo Ikat Slipper Chair, Urban Outfitters I don’t know if Urban Outfitters still carries this chair! I’m going to scour the internet in the hopes there’s a nice used one. Love the Billy Baldwin slipper chair, and upholstering it in a punchy graphic fabric will really make the room come together. 8 – Shades of Light fake zebra rug I saw this rug in House Beautiful last month! I actually didn’t realize ShadesofLight.com sold furniture and other accessories besides lighting. Love this rug – it’s rugged and will look great placed casually under our coffee table. I’m glad the zebra craze continues… 9 – CB2 acrylic coffee table Boy, I love the look of lucite but can you believe how expensive it is?? I love that the CB2 acrylic coffee table is only $299 and has the look and feel of lucite. Perfect for our young children who will most certainly scratch and bang this thing to death. 10 – Jonathan Adler orange X bench I’m really into this particular X-bench because of the fabulous splash of orange, but we will probably opt for a more budget friendly option. Ballard Designs, for example, has an X-bench that’s a fraction of the price! I could choose from a myriad of fabrics that they carry, but will more likely find something on Fabric.com and have them recovered… 11 – Sisal rug I know, I know, I have young children and I’m opting for sisal? We actually have a sisal rug in our current apartment and it takes a beating surprisingly well! I think the key is to pursue the acrylic table strategy – buy something that’s relatively inexpensive, and just try to be zen when something spills. We found our sisal at the ABC Carpet & Home outlet in the Bronx (!) – for a song. Almost 5 years later and it looks as good as new. Wow, in reviewing my inspiration board I see that there is SO much more to think about – what about table lamps? Accessories? How are we going to incorporate the awkwardly placed fireplace into our layout, and what the heck are we going to put on the mantel? I guess it’s true what they say – decorating really can’t be done in a day. It’s a journey! Hope you enjoyed a peek into the beginning planning stages. Happy decorating! *** Lorri, thank you so much for your inspiration post. I CANNOT WAIT to see what you come up with! It’s going to be beautiful. Hop on over to Lorri’s blog and show her some love. There’s going to be a lot happening over there as her new little girl comes and she starts to decorate their first home! Tomorrow, we will have our final day of guest posts and home tours. I know…sad!!! I’ve loved this and am so thankful that these ladies wanted to participate! Y’all have a great weekend, but check back in tomorrow for Emily sharing her master bedroom with us!