TIME TO LIGHTEN UP

One of the most asked about pieces of furniture in our house is this sectional.  We had it custom made years ago, although the style and proportion was patterned after the Pottery Barn Comfort Roll Arm Sectional. 

 We absolutely love that the sectional is large enough for our whole family of 4 to sprawl out on.  When we purchased it our kids were young and although I love the look of light furniture it was not practical for our family. I choose a dark gray, knowing it would conceal wear and tear, and I liked the texture.  Through the years lighter and lighter interiors have become the norm and I love that look, but our sectional is still in great shape and we don’t plan on changing it out anytime soom.  I have however, learned how to lighten up the look of our dark sectional, and today I’m sharing three ways to lighten up a large, dark couch.

LAYER WITH LIGHT COLORED BLANKETS

Completely bare this sectional is certainly not a head turner…but I wanted you to see how the look and feel can change dramatically with  just a few additions.  Layering with blankets helps break up the dark fabric.

I’ll switch up which blankets I use to layer but I always keep them light colored.  Sometimes I add one along the back of the longest section of the couch.  Currently both of the throw blankets I’m using now are from Target.

PILLOWS PILLOWS PILLOWS

Pillows are a must, I’ll admit they are my weakness-I recently did a complete post on my FAVORITE SUMMER PILLOWS! They are inexpensive and can completely change the look of a couch.

When you’re working with a dark couch, layer a very light pillow against the couch, on top of the light pillow you can add another neutral pillow or accent with your favorite color. I currently have some blue and pink pillows for a fresh summery look.

SHOP MY PILLOWS

The two pillows above I made using a no sew method, find the details HERE.  In case you’re not a DIYer I’ve linked some similar pillows below.

LIGHTEN UP THE SURROUNDING AREA

I have light gray walls (Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore at 50%) and white curtains which help give our family room a light and bright appearance.   However, I think a rug can make a huge difference when trying to lighten up a dark couch.

In this photo you can see the medium colored jute rug gives the couch and room a darker feel.  Compared to the photo below it where I layered a gray/blue rug on top. 

JUTE RUG | LAMP

I absolutely LOVE this RUG, the light gray/blue color works well against the dark couch.  Here are some other  favorite rugs that would look lovely against a dark piece of furniture.

Those are my top tips for lightening up a dark couch, I hope this helps!

  Now off to pack for a camping trip to Santa Barbara!

XO-Laura

DIY REMOVABLE WALLPAPER TIPS & TRICKS

We’ve embarked on a new adventure, designing and decorating a new room for my daughter.  You may remember me sharing the design plan for the room in THIS POST.  It has been so much fun, she has been doing a fabulous job picking items that she is really excited about, she definitely has a vision for what she wants her room to look and feel like.  I’ve just had to guide her a little, and I love her choices fun choices, but the best part is seeing how excited she is getting now that it’s starting to all come together.

When designing a room there’s always an inspiration piece that get’s the ball rolling.  Whether it’s a piece of furniture, a rug, art, something seems to spark the creativity and sets the tone for the room.  For my daughter’s room it was some removable wallpaper that caught her eye, for her it was love at first sight.  It has a simple, classic, indigo and white pattern from the new OPALHOUSE line at Target.

We painted her whole room Pure White by Sherwin Williams, and then installed the removable wallpaper to one feature wall.  The result is beautiful and it really was a relatively easy project, it took approx. 3 hours to complete one wall.  I made some modifications to the instructions that come with the wallpaper, and will share some tips and tricks on how to install the wallpaper.

ESSENTIAL TOOLS

Another perk of this project is that we owned all the tools needed.  Removable wall paper is a giant sticker, you measure, cut, and peel off the back to install.  The official instructions mentioned smoothing the wallpaper with a squeegee but I just used my hand to smooth as I went along.

PENCIL | MEASURING TAPE | SCISSORS | UTILITY KNIFE | LEVEL

• STEP ONE – Start at one end of the wall and measure the size height of the wall.  Add 2-3″ in length, you will trim the excess off the bottom once the wall is completely installed.

The instructions recommend cutting all the pieces you need before you begin installation, I found it easier to measure and cut as I went.

I measured the length I needed and then used scissors to trim it, I used the pattern as a guide to make sure I was cutting a straight line.

• STEP 2 – Start at the top of the wall and peel off the first 2′-3′ of backing, exposing the sticky surface and start pressing the wallpaper into the wall, smoothing as you go.  As soon as I got the first few feet stuck to the wall, I checked it with a level to make sure I was installing it as straight as possible.

Gravity is your friend in this process, so as long as you start out straight, you shouldn’t have a problem.  As you peel off the backing the weight of the paper keeps it naturally straight and you just smooth as you go.

• STEP 3 – When hanging additional wallpaper panels, repeat steps one and two, the best way to line everything up is to match the pattern pieces.

The image below shows how I used the pattern edge as a guide, the actual patterns were not gaped but I wanted you to see a visual of how matching the pattern will ensure a seamless appearance.

• STEP 4 – We wallpapered a wall that had a window in the middle of it.  To navigate that I hung a full piece straight down, and pressed and smoothed it into the full portions of wall above and below the window.  Once it was hung I trimmed the portion covering the window.

When I trimmed around the window I left enough to wrap the window sill in wallpaper.  Window sills are so hard to keep clean and I thought this wallpaper would be easier to wipe down, then the painted window sill.

• STEP 5- Once you’re down installing all of the wall paper panels, trim all of the excess paper, at the baseboard and around the windows with a utility knife.

That’s all there is to it, just take it slow and go panel by panel.  As the saying goes, measure twice, cut once.

Here’s a sneak peak of the room and how it is all coming together.  I really do love the beauty and character the wallpaper adds.

SHOP THE ROOM

*affiliate links used in this post

We still have a few more finishing details and then I’ll share a full tour of her new room!

XO-Laura