Living Room Inspiration

When working with a budget you have to be very open to change because, well, you just can't afford everything.  I came up with an inspiration board a few months ago for our living room.  I was really proud of it; the pillows were bright, the furniture was functional, and it really suited our style.  After our couch shopping expedition, (which you can find here along with my "old" inspiration board) I quickly realized I needed to go back to the drawing board and whip up something different.

Since currently we have a rather dark setup with darker couches and furniture, I decided that I wanted something lighter.  Something functional and comfortable, yet classy and beautiful at the same time.  I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is that they go for comfort and lose sight of what really looks good.  Here's what I came up with:

I'm going for simplicity.  I can't stand clutter, I want this room to be easy breezy and inviting.  I purchased the two tables instead of a coffee table from Chiasso.com.  They were on sale for $38 each and I found a 10% off coupon, plus free shipping, whoop!  They haven't arrived yet so I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but the reviews were amazing.  The body is stainless steel and the tray, which is actually detachable, is a smoky acrylic.  I want the rug to be the main point of interest so I was originally looking for 2 small glass tables.  To the eye, a glass table makes it appear as if nothing is there, making the room look larger.  These acrylic tables are even better because glass gives the "fragile" vibe which I am not going for at all.

Speaking of that rug; I wandered over to Target on Friday during lunch and discovered it on sale for $103; that's right!  I scooped that baby up so quick!  Well, as fast as my 5 foot tall self could :)  It's 5x8 and perfect for our living room.

I also picked up this perfectly large basket on my target trip:

I love how it has chalkboards on the sides!  This was a bit of a splurge but I figured it was between this large basket and a small piece of furniture to store the electronics you can currently find piled up in the corner.  The $39.99 was worth it, believe me. :) 

Now if only we could decide on a paint color...