Create A Gorgeous Living Room from Scratch for Under 5K!

I thought I'd take this week to let you in on how I design a room on a budget. I'll take you step by step through the process, including specific resources and how and why I make certain choices. On Friday, we'll have the big reveal, which will include the final Design Board and Resource list - very similar to what a client would get with my e-decorating package. Except you get this one for free!

The Space:

The space for this project is a very basic 24x24 room. There is a fireplace flanked by two standard windows and the ceilings are a standard 8 feet high. The floor is hardwood and there is ceiling and floor molding.

The Client:
This client lives in the Midwest, but loves the feel of the beach. She wants to feel like she's on vacation when she walks into this room. She loves water and feels most calm and happy when she's sitting in a pool or beach side on a sunny day. She entertains often - usually just a few friends - but would like seating for at least eight when needed. The room will be used by 1-3 family members on a regular basis.

 Her home is a traditional two story colonial, something like this:



via

She has no furniture in the room and does not want to spend over $5000 for the entire project - including seating, lighting, rug, curtains, paint, art, tables and even the accessories.

The Inspiration:
For this room, I decided to start with a large piece of abstract art. I looked around and found this original oil on Etsy for $400:

It happens to be called "Bubbles". My client loves it, so this is where we'll start. Tune in tomorrow for seating and rug choices and see how the room begins to come together.

Have a great day!