The Evolution of A Collected Living Room
See how this Grandmillennial style collected living room has transformed over the past seven years as Katherine filled the space with antique treasures, unique furnishings, and traditional fabrics all collected from second hand sources like estates, thrifts, and auctions.
A room should evolve, especially when you want a collected look. It is supposed to change and adapt as our lives do...
As our budgets grow...
As our needs transform...
As we find that coveted antique...
As we oust auntie's hand-me-down couch for something more our style!
We forget this important caveat when we watch HGTV or follow One Room Challenges; they make it seem like design happens overnight. Interior decoration in real life rarely happens in the blink of an eye. It's a process!
So if you've been struggling to renovate a home or re-decorate a room and your progress is slow even glacial that's OK!
We moved into our house in T.N. seven years ago last month, and I just now feel truly happy with my living room decor. Let me reiterate that...our living room has been a work in progress for SEVEN YEARS!
Guess what? It still isn't done! Beige 80's carpet I'm coming for you! Oh I'm coming...but rest easy it's going to be a slow pounce. 😂
Since I'm feeling all rosy about this room, I thought we'd take a walk down memory lane and see how this room has evolved over the past seven years. Here's where I started on move in day 2016...
BEFORE
Two years later I created this design scheme after choosing a Waverly chintz called Fleuretta Spring (discontinued) for the main accent fabric. I called this traditional look a gingham and chintz romance, and my collected living room has lived up to that theme even as furnishings swapped and decor upgraded.
Design Board for Living Room 2018
With the design board came some important progress in the space like a new paint color (basalt powder SW) and the start of the traditional window treatments.
The living room in 2018
I also found this stately piece for a bookcase early on in the decorating process. It is an anchor for that end of the room and provides much needed storage for my ever growing china and linen collections! Moving the piece into our house was quite the feat, so hubby put his foot down and declared it off limits for re-arranging. Fair enough!
The living room 2018
By 2019 the sofa got swapped for comfy overstuffed chairs, the settee moved to the entry hall, and the gingham element transformed into curtains:
The living room 2019
The next milestone in my collected living room's journey was the addition of a wicker daybed and a classic federalist sideboard:
Wicker daybed acquired in 2020
Federal sideboard acquired 2020
I designed and hung my botanical gallery wall in 2021 with the help of Frame It Easy:
Botanical gallery wall with camellia engravings
And finally in 2022, the living room began to truly resemble a thoughtfully decorated space with grandmillennial vibes and that collected look I wanted!
The living room in 2022
The living room 2022
Over the first few months of 2023, I've been refining and editing this room to heighten the elegance and let the key pieces have space to shine:
The fireplace wall in living room 2023
The botanical gallery wall in 2023
Looking back at these pictures, I feel so happy about the evolution of my formal living room! It has been a gradual progression with some bumps and mistakes along the way. But that is real life as I slowly collected each element of this space and experimented with different colors, styles, and layouts.
You can see back in 2019-2020 I tried to inject more blue into the space, but it just didn't work. Now the room's fabrics and decor really shine with a simple green and white scheme. Of course the little pops of pink had to stay!
The layout has changed over the seven years, but there are key anchor pieces that structure the room, and my goal has always been groupings that allow for conversation. This is the room the hubby and I come to for Saturday morning coffee, and this is the room I love to read and write in. If I’m totally honest that daybed is my favorite spot for a cat nap on a sunny afternoon, so the room needs to be versatile.
I hope you read this post and feel better about your own slow decorating projects. Take your time! Make thoughtful decisions, and it's ok if you make a mistake, it can be re-worked!
The living room's journey before and after...
2018
2023
The room really shows my adoption of Grandmillennial style and love of antique ceramics -- most especially my favorite Chinese export porcelain — Rose Medallion. Art, antiques, and vintage touches are layered throughout this space from the 1831 botanical engravings to the Portuguese needlepoint rug and the pavilion chair to the Chinese silk screen. I feel like I have truly created a collected living room!
Now it's time to kick back and plot the wall to wall carpet's demise!
Love your philosophy & your style! Congrats on all you have achieved ~ decorating is like life, evolving daily but enjoying the moments along the way!
Thanks Kimberly! Glad this resonated with you.
Coming from a Graphic Artist degree background, I feel you need some color on the walls to make everything pop! Nothing overly bright, but a nice shade of rose, pink, or coral, to off set the lovely green drapes. Plus it will pick up your botanicals you have framed as well! Just a thought!
Thanks for the thought Rosalyn. I’m very happy with the color I’ve chosen for now.