Living Room Reveal
Y’all I am seriously so excited; today I am finally sharing our living room reveal. From the black and white photos of our family, to our old family piano, our living room is a special one!
We moved into our home a year and a half ago, and until recently this room has been sitting empty with exposed electrical wires (GASP!). The room was meant to be a formal dining space, so rather than knock our noggins on a low chandelier that came with the home, we removed it. It’s the first room you see when you walk through our front door and I stare at it point blank while working in my office across the foyer. So the fact that I let it sit idle for over a year is mind blowing.
I wanted to take my time with this space. Invest in pieces worthy of the piano the room was built around. We inherited this piano from Kelly’s grandfather, Poppy. A big band man – he’d bang on these keys in his Athens, Georgia home. At a young age, Kelly shared his love of the piano with his grandmother, and when the time came to pass it along – we were the fortunate recipients. Watching our little girls play on the same keys Poppy did are memories we’ll hold dear for life.
Living Room Reveal
We wanted this to be a “formal” room that still allowed a lot of life to happen within it. I wanted it to be a classic space that celebrates the life our family members have lived – both past and present. So often room reveals are a series of staged photos…when we photographed our living room I told our photographer that I wanted to capture what we did every evening after bath time – listen to Daddy play the piano while the girls twirl and giggle.
The transformation began with a can of chalk paint. We used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite to give the piano new life. Next, we carried my love of all things black and white through the space with this wallpaper. I’ve had my eye on this paper for awhile and it is absolutely stunning. If you’ve been toying with the idea of adding wallpaper to a formal space – I strongly encourage you to go for it.
On top of the piano, we stacked a vintage-inspired mirror and a black and white photo of Poppy from when he was overseas during WW2.
We wanted a comfortable sitting area since we knew we’d be the guests of honor at many ballet and singing performances. I found these chairs at Soft Surroundings. Didn’t know they had furniture? Yeah, me neither. But they do – and these chairs are what dreams are made of. I absolutely love mixing patterns and the floral and stripe combo is the perfect marriage of classic and playful. The chairs are deep and super comfy. We find ourselves sitting in them long after we’ve sent the princesses to bed.
I had an internal struggle with both the chandelier and rug. I must have sent my mom 300 texts with different options. This room, more than any other, just felt so important for me to get right. I pushed aside my desire to be “funky and trendy” with my chandelier and went with something simple and classic. Nailed it. I chose a round natural fiber rug to avoid introducing any other patterns to the space.
The final piece of the room is this Delano Cabinet from Ballard Designs. It’s home to stories from both sides of our family – a wedding picture of my parents…a photo of my grandfather, Jack King, the voice of NASA, alongside famous astronauts. Family is everything – and I want our girls to grow up knowing where they came from, with a clear picture of all those who love them.
Memories captured by Alea Moore Photography.
SHOP THE ROOM
Chairs: Soft Surroundings
Mirror: Anthropologie
Wallpaper: Anthropologie
Cabinet: Ballard Designs
Potted Greenery: Pottery Barn
Rug: Houzz
Chandelier: Pottery Barn
Basket: World Market
Olive Tree: Ballard Designs
Side Table: Sugarboo & Co.
Girls’ Dresses: Alice + Ames
My Jeans: Jen7 for All Mankind