It’s been a while since my last blog post – March to be exact. To be honest, with all the unfortunate and disheartening events happening in the world…COVID being the primary reason, I haven’t been inspired to post.
Since I have a compromised immune system, my outings have only consisted of monthly visits to the cancer center for my treatments. Being able to go out to stores and seeing the release of new home decor items or what is on trend has been what has inspired me to get my creative juices flowing. Visiting new areas in our city, taking a drive to our neighboring States, trying out restaurants we haven’t dine in before, and being able to peruse and select fresh flowers…all have a part to play for inspiration, which opens up my creativeness.
It wasn’t until recently, where I found myself going through a virtual walk thru of a stunning interior design showroom of The French Mix. I was in such awe of all the beautiful home decor and furnishings! I was so inspired that it was at that moment, I decided to give our living room a refresh and add seasonal decor to welcome the summer season. Since we consider our home our safe haven, I enjoyed the process of updating our living room and see it all come together.
Make a big impact with minimal effort for a home refresh.
Just like my wardrobe, I like to also refresh our home decor. I like to make make more changes in our living room and add a bit of seasonal touches in other rooms, throughout the house. You can update your living room without changing everything. Create vignettes with new or decor pieces you have stored away or that you may have in another room.
The first thing I was inspired to do was to revisit the idea of adding a sconce to our built-in coat closet, located in our living room. I’ve always wanted to add lighting above the seating bench but I didn’t like the options out in the market for plug-in sconces. All the pretty ones were hard-wired and way too expensive. After learning what an electrician would need to do in order to make a hard-wire sconce work and relocating our outlet, we preferred to go with a plug-in option. I didn’t want to settle so I stopped looking. One day a few weeks back, I happened to google plug-in sconce and this pretty Ribbed Glass Sconce Lamp Brass by brand Project 62 popped up from Target! After the install date, I posted a pic of it on my Instagram and received so many DM’s on where it can be found. Unfortunately, it is currently sold out but you can type in your email to receive a notice of when it’s back in stock. Price? Only $47.99!!
I realized after the sconce was installed the table lamps in our living room did not match. The sconce is brass and the previous table lamp was silver with a taupe colored shade. I knew one day I was going to replace the table lamps but it was great timing because I found a pair of these stunning Possini Euro Aloise Brass and Glass Table Lamps. Between the brass finish and the glass tube inserts, the pairing of the sconce and table lamps give that glam-luxe, contemporary vibe.
Color can have a big impact on a room.
I’m always drawn to a neutral color palette when it comes to the interiors of our home. From white, creams, beige, grays, taupes, and even blush. In our area rug, there are subtle shades of a blue hue. I took that color as inspiration for our new accent color. To bring in this color, I decided to do so by updating our decorative accent pillows.
To dress up our white tufted sofa, I found these luxurious ‘Chamber Embroidery Border Euro Pillow Covers‘, made with a gorgeous blue velvet, decorated with a deep cream stitched vine embroidery floral border. I paired these pillows with a couple of gold toss pillows I had and added this light blue velvet pillow, accented with white pom poms to tie in the blue ones on the end of the sofa.
To bring in more of the blue hues, I added this elegant Waterford Jonet decorative pillow and this cream and beige wave textured pattern pillow. I anchored the seating bench with a pair of our large white toss pillows, I originally had on our sofa.
For a seasonal touch, I added my favorite gilded birdcage scented candle (sold here and here) onto the mirrored accent table.
Flower Arrangements to Transform your Room Decor
One of the many ways to freshen up your room decor is with a beautiful flower arrangement. Normally, I love to add fresh flowers but as of late, I’ve been scoring some pretty ‘life-like’ flowers. I wanted to compliment the various blue hues from our new accent color, so I decided to create a flower arrangement for our ottoman tray, using peach, cream and soft pink tones. I used an array of blooms such as dahlias, ranunculus, peony buds (here and here), cabbage roses (these and these), rose buds, and lilac flowers. I just love the soft hues and how this arrangement turned out. It instantly creates a display that is welcoming and beautiful.
I created a smaller arrangement for one of our side tables, using an array of the same flowers that I used for the larger arrangement on the ottoman tray.
I placed this faux flower Bouquet of Roses in a peach blush inside our Celia porcelain vase.
I swapped out the vibrant fuchsia pink peonies I had here on our wine bar and replaced it with tall and stately pink cherry blossom branches (the pink our currently out of stock, here is the white color option).
Create a new look for a space or vignette
Sometimes we can easily refresh a space or vignette by rotating home decor we already own or by purchasing a few new home decor accessories…I did both.
I’ve been a longtime fan of Laurel Haskell’s ginger jars. I’ve had my eye on a couple but when she recently introduced this Laurel Wreath Monogram Ginger Jar, I immediately put it on my birthday wish list! I received this gift early and was super excited when it was delivered!
Bring in the feeling of summertime with seasonal home decor
How do you approach seasonal interior? For me, I don’t do a lot of seasonal specific styling. I will however, add small touches of home decor that has some of that summertime feel but fits with our existing decor and enhances it. For that summer vibe, I love using decor pieces that are reminiscent of items you may see on the beach. I decorated one of our sofa side tables with an agate slice. I used this precious gemstone as a tray to hold a candle and a gold wick candle trimmer. I also added a glass knot decor piece (similar here). This hand blown art glass reminds me of pieces you will see in speciality shops on the beach. It’s a versatile sculpture that elevates and stands out as a decorative accessory atop a stack of books on a desk, bookshelf, or coffee table.
For the other sofa side table, I used a decor piece I already owned which is a sparkling Calcite Geode that sits on a crystal cube stand (similar option). Here are other reasonably priced options…here, here. As an alternative, I found this pretty clear quartz tea-light candle holder with gold leaf.
I decorated our accent table with a white and gold leaf candle holder I had found at HomeGoods couple of years ago (found same one here). I love elegant, eye-catching decor pieces, especially when it comes in a form of a flower and it’s scented too! Oh year, I’m all over it! I adore this Nadia Porcelain Moroccan Diffuser designed in a beautiful gold and white.
Added more summer-inspired decor with another old find from HomeGoods – it’s a coral designed tea-light candle holder. Here is a pretty option.
I don’t need to have a scented candle burning to emit a fragrance in our living room because this Reed Diffuser permeates a long-lasting citrus Prosecco scent in the air.
As you can see, I adore these porcelain diffusers! This luxury Lola Floral Porcelain Topper Diffuser comes with a gold base and a glass top.
Our ottoman tray is also styled with a large quartz geode crystal (similar here) and these stunning agate/geode resin coasters. They are like a pieces of art and if you message Liza Vaughn, she can create ones for you!
Hope you enjoyed reading these home refresh ideas, and have a great summer!
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