Living Room Makeover: Our Mood Board and Plans

I’ve lost count of how many little tweaks we’ve made to our living room over the years. It’s been a slow and steady process, kind of like decorating on a dimmer switch instead of flipping the lights on all at once.

Eight years ago, literally the day we moved in, we started with painting the yellow walls a creamy white. We went with Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee on the walls, Simply White on the trim, and Wrought Iron on the doors.

It instantly brightened everything up and gave our 1960 colonial a cleaner, fresher feel.

Then last year, we finally gave our plain fireplace mantel some much-needed love with some ornate molding. A subtle but classic upgrade that made the whole room feel just a little more intentional.

But one project has been on my “someday” list for years:
An architectural feature on the ceiling.

Tongue & Groove Ceiling Dreams

After recently covering the ceiling with tongue and groove planks in our upstairs hallway makeover, something clicked. As we stood back to admire the transformation, Robert and I looked at each other and practically said in unison:

“We should do this in the living room.”

There’s something about a wood ceiling that just adds warmth and dimension. And with the 8 foot ceilings in our living room, I think the subtle lines of tongue & groove will actually make it feel taller, not to mention more custom and cohesive with the rest of the house.

Bold Mantel Plans

And while we were dreaming… I threw out the idea:

“What if we painted the fireplace mantel a subtle navy blue?”

Hear me out. The rest of our house’s color palette leans into a palette of soft blues, greens, and warm neutrals. The living room always felt just a little… disconnected. But after seeing a drop-dead-gorgeous living room by W Design Collective with a bold navy fireplace, confirming what I’d imagined as a possibility in here, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head.

Suddenly the whole design direction came into focus.

Living Room Mockup

I used my ChatGPT room visualizer to help me get a clearer idea of our direction: the ceiling idea, the navy mantel, keeping our Pottery Barn sofa and vintage marble-top coffee table, and adding a few fresh pieces.

The result made me audibly gasp. Like screenshot-it-immediately levels of excitement.

Seeing the full vision laid out made me feel more confident than ever about moving forward with this living room plan. So I pulled together a mood board with all of the key pieces that will bring it to life.

Living Room Mood Board

DIY Plan

• Ceiling: Tongue & groove planks, painted a creamy white color (not quite sure what that will be until I sample paint colors ’til my eyes bug out of my head)
• Walls: Still deciding, but leaning warmer, something in the creamy greige family to cozy things up
• Doors: After 8 years of our family being rough on them, our doors are in major need of a touch-up anyway, so now I’m thinking it could be an opportunity for a color change. Maybe something a tad warmer like Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze?
• Fireplace Mantel: Painted a bold navy (possibly one of my favorite navy blue paint colors like Hale Navy or Naval)

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Decor / Furniture:

1. Wardrobe: We’re keeping the antique wardrobe we found on Facebook Marketplace to serve as a makeshift mudroom. I haven’t decided if I’ll tone down the color of the wood just a little bit (but I promise I won’t paint it). I linked a similar one, but unfortunately it’s not nearly as inexpensive as mine was on FBMP.
2. Fandelier: I love the sleek simplicity of this drum bladeless ceiling fan.
3. Curtains: I can’t decide if I want a subtle pattern on the curtains or simple linen look, but either way, I’m thinking pinch pleats (as usual).
4. Ceramic Lamp: Total classic shape in a neutral that goes with anything.
5. Nesting Tables: Our thrifted nesting end tables are so versatile, there’s no way I’m getting rid of them. I linked similar ones to ours.
6. Blue Sofa: While I love the look of two white sofas, they’re a total pain to keep clean, even if they are washable slipcovers. And I’m craving some contrast. So we’re replacing the white with a dusty blue chenille one.
7. Slipcovered Sofa: Keeping our classic Pottery Barn slipcovered sofa; it’s comfy, timeless, and holds up to kids and pets.
8. Stick Lamps: Ever since we added a console table behind our sofa, I have loved having the extra light for reading. These lamps say classic Ralph Lauren to me (without the $).
9. Marble Coffee Table: Our thrifted vintage marble-top beauty stays. Unfortunately, I can’t link our exact one, but I found one as similar as I could find (I like this marble table even more).
10. Jute Rug: I love the look of a layered patterned rug over a jute rug for texture.
11. Neutral Patterned Rug: This rug with hints of blue has just enough pattern to add interest while still making the space feel calming.
12. Spindle Chairs: We’ll swap our large armchairs for a pair of smaller modern-traditional spindle chairs in a warm neutral. I love our recliners, but they have always been a little too big making our layout feel cramped.

Why We’re Taking Our Time

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years of decorating this house, it’s that you don’t have to do it all at once.
Some of our best design decisions came from letting things marinate a while. And this living room makeover is no different.

We’re embracing the process, starting with the ceiling install, tackling the mantel paint, and slowly layering in the rest.

I’ll be sharing each step as we go, and I’ll circle back soon with our final paint color decision for the walls.

In the meantime, I’ll be over here swooning over that navy mantel mockup for a while.

Stay tuned!