Bachelor Pad Woes Go to Wows!

Ugh - that was a lame post title. Anyway, my friend Jason was in desperate need of a living room makeover. His living room poses some challenges. An almost perfectly square room, it has doors on three walls and two large windows on the fourth. It is also pretty small (he has an apartment in an older house) and we needed to accommodate an insanely large TV that was already mounted and couldn't be moved. Not to mention the industrial renter's standard blah carpet.

I really love this makeover as it was a blend of DIY projects, Ikea hacks, and making over things he already owned. It was a true make it work project!   Luckily, he already had a couch, an MCM dresser for storage, and an MCM chair so we were able to complete the rest on only $550.

In an effort to make the space more homey, Jason experimented with a deep brick red. In that small a room it just didn't work so he repainted it a light gray blue instead.  

I wanted to aim for MCM lite that is clean and sleek but comfortable and didn't look like the set of a TV show! The plan for the space used a blend of patterned and textured fabrics, wood tones, and metallic sheen.

The MCM dresser and chair were lucky finds a couple years ago. The dresser was bought for a steal at a thrift store and refinished. The chair was found discarded on the side of the road and refreshed with new upholstery and oil. It really floors me sometimes what some people discard.

I pulled off the brown pillow covers that matched the couch - it was just too much brown! I sewed new pillow covers in patterned fabric to lighted up the space. The gauzy Ikea curtains were dressed up with gray shantung silk panels sewed to the bottom of the curtains. I used the Ikea rug to mimic a Beni Ourain rug, by drawing the diamond pattern with a Sharpie.  See the full how-to here.  The corner tassels are made of yarn in the same shade as the rug. We really lucked out with the coffee table that was unused in a relative's storage shed. The large wall also allowed us to display Jason's guitars. He is an outstanding musician and now his guitars are in early reach.

 

The starburst mirror is one of my favorite DIYs. Made out of wooden paint stirrers from the hardware store and painted gold, it adds some much needed shine and shape for about $10. The side table is Ikea and the lamp is a consignment store find that was neglected at the back of a display shelf. A good cleaning and new shade and it is back in business!

 

I installed the shelves low on the wall, and hung a large painting above. The painting is inspired by a wall paper I caught a glimpse of in a decor mag in the grocery store aisle and could never find again. The little beaten copper cup was a thrift store find.

I love that we were able to get more of Jason's artwork and treasures into the space but it still feels light, bright, and clean. And most importantly, Jason loves it!