Rustic Shabby Chic Living Room

Hey Blog Friends! Long time no see! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.
Sorry I took a month long hiatus with no warning. December ended up being a hectic month! Besides all the usual holiday chaos my little 5 month Saw-Man decided he hated sleeping at night. This combined with my 3yr old Con-Man's usual never ending energy made for one exhausted Momma. 

And truth be told I was falling into a blog funk. I wasn't feeling creative, I felt like my projects didn't have a lot of heart, just overall blah. So stepped away from blogging for a while. I apologize, thanks for sticking around; I'm ready to dive back in if you are!


So lets get right to it- in our last meeting I was getting some design board together for a friend of ours living room. A little more background about the project: They are currently working with an architect designing their dream home. The plans aren't finalized but my friend asked me to work on some furniture layouts and ideas for their upstairs living room. She said her style is Rustic Shabby Chic. She did not want anything to feminine since her husband has to live in the house as well and wanted to see furniture that was somewhat durable since this particular room will be mainly utilized by grandchildren. It will also serve as her exercise room

Here is the I came up with based on the current floor plans:

As you can see the space isn't large but has ample room for the clients needs.

Next comes the furniture!

Option 1

The couch is the clients existing couch they wanted to work with. Mixing light with dark wood tones gives the room a living in feel. The leather ottoman is not only durable but will serve as extra seating if needed. The light colored chairs may have to be treated with a fabric protectant in case of spills. I feel that this look is light but not overly feminine; the leather and dark wood accents add a rustic and masculine element.

Option 2:

Again we are using the existing couch. I choose leather chairs and a rustic entertainment center for this look; both more masculine (and durable!). With the addition of these main elements I had to add more light colored furniture to keep the room from feeling to dark and heavy. This along with the floral pillows add a feminine touch. I liked the natural wood table top of the coffee table because it with tolerate wear and tear very well.

Once the her house plans are finalized we can work on accent pieces and paint colors. But for now I think this is a good starting point for my friend to work off of.