As many of you know, I recently renovated my kitchen and turned it into the kitchen of my dreams. (You can read about it)
Well, after doing my kitchen, I had to update my living room. There wasn’t anything really wrong with it — I just wasn’t in love with it. I had done a tie-over decorating job, but hadn’t yet tackled making it a space I loved. It had old dark floors and a dark mantel. When I walked into the living room from my new dream kitchen, I really felt the darkness of this room. So, it was time to make it my own!
The floors really drove the direction of this room. I was shopping for new hardwood with Neue Floors and found light bleached-out looking engineered hardwood flooring. I loved the idea of going with engineered hardwood – it’s durable, the colour is amazing and it’s easy to clean. On these new floors I can wear my high heels and my dogs can run and play without worrying about scratching and dinging these floors – they just don’t show wear and tear.
I carried the Neue flooring up the wall on the fireplace and installed a Dimplex electric fireplace. The change over to the electric fireplace was so easy – it just came out of the delivery box and slid into the existing hole left by removing the gas insert. Because this unit is electric, it offers the best options – I can have the heat on, off or set to any temperature I want. As a bonus, I don’t need to have a mantel between the fireplace and the TV so I was able to create this stunning focal point where the hardwood carried up the wall. Plus I ordered an affordable TV mount from Wayfair Canada that I can swing any want I want so I can watch TV even from my kitchen – now that’s a bonus!
Photos By Jason Hartog
Because I so enjoy entertaining, I kept my beautiful Jo Alcorn velvet sectional. This sofa is textured, lighter in tone and offers lots of seating space for guests. It’s the perfect piece to play up the Scandinavian look in this room.
Pillows, you know I love pillows! These ones are from my line as well. They are not only stylish but fully washable. As in, pop the entire pillow into the washer. They’re perfect so my pups can curl right up and enjoy this room as much as I do.
Finally, the privacy aspect. Because I’m a bit off the street level, I didn’t want to cover up my entire windows to get privacy and it was important to keep as much natural light flowing in as possible. I turned to Budget Blinds and chose a top down/bottom up cellular shade that is cordless so that there are no messy strings. This allows me all the privacy I want without sacrificing any style or light. It’s the perfect option for this room.
This room is beautiful, modern, inviting and super comfortable. It’s the perfect place to relax and to entertain.
I always love it when I’ve completed a design job for a client and you see their happiness at getting exactly what they wanted. That’s the happiness I feel right now!
Jo Alcorn is founder and design specialist at Alcorn Home.