Living Room Remodel Choices I Would Absolutely Make Again

If you haven't seen the living room yet, I shared a full video walking through all of it, and I want to take a minute to talk about the decisions that I'm still so glad we made (and link everything to shop it for yourself!). Because with any renovation, there are things you second-guess along the way, and then there are things that just make sense. These are the latter.

The DIY Exposed Beam "Wall" Between The Kitchen And Living Room

This one gets asked about constantly. We added a “wall” with a box beam to break up the open floor plan between the kitchen and living room, and it completely changed how both spaces feel. It defines each area without closing them off, and it gave the living room its own identity. It's one of those things that sounds unnecessary until you see it, and then you wonder how you ever lived without it.

Natural Stone On The Fireplace

Our fireplace was builder-grade and honestly kind of blah. We decided to go big with natural stone all the way to the ceiling, and it is hands-down one of my favorite things in this house. A few things to know if you're considering it: natural stone is actually cheaper than manufactured stone panels, but it is heavy. Like, really heavy. And more time consuming to piece together. Make sure your contractor knows what they're working with (my dad installed ours and was like really Karissa?!). The end result is so worth it though. That fireplace is a total showstopper now.

Solar Shades On The Exterior Windows

We have these massive curved two-story windows in the living room, which are gorgeous and also a total puzzle when it comes to window treatments. Trying to figure out an interior blind solution for a two-story curved window is basically a nightmare. Instead, we added exterior solar shades, and I can't believe more people don't talk about this option. They block heat and glare from the outside, they look clean and intentional, and we didn't have to do any interior rigging at all. They've saved us a ton on energy costs, are remote operated, and i've only had to charge them once over an entire year of daily use. I've shared about them so much they sent me a disocunt code that's stackable with their sale prices- use this link and code "KARISSA10".

All Performance Fabric Furniture In Warm Browns

I have kids. We have a life. I was not about to put precious, delicate furniture in my main living space. Every single piece in this room is performance fabric, and it has held up beautifully. The warm brown tones work with the stone and the wood floors without being too dark or too safe. It feels cozy but not stuffy, and I can clean it with a damp cloth. That's the dream. Our couch is the Mateo II from Furniture Row in Napa Brown, chairs are Darby Swivel Gliders in Spruce from Furniture Row, Rug is from Loloi called the Josie II and linked here.

The Oversized Light Fixture (An Amazon Dupe That Is A Steal)

This chandelier gets so many comments. It looks high-end, it fits the scale of the room with the tall ceilings, and it came from Amazon at a fraction of what a designer version would cost. If you have a big open space and you're tempted to play it safe with a small fixture, don't. Go big. It anchors everything.

The Frame Tv

I held off on this for a while because it felt like a splurge, but the Frame TV was worth every penny we saved to buy it. The key I think to Laing it look like real art is this frame we put on it (it’s just magnetic!). When it's off, it looks like a framed piece of art on the stone. It doesn't stick out like a black rectangle in the middle of all that beautiful stonework. If your TV is going to live above a fireplace or in a focal wall, this is the one.

The living room is one of those spaces I genuinely love walking into now. Every one of these decisions was intentional, and I'd make every single one of them again.