Planning Our Elegant Living Room

The Past

The living room of our house is probably the easiest, best maintained room in the entire house. The previous owner (aka Ghost Jane) had an interesting take on the room and considered it her dining room. This doesn't make sense as there's already a dining room right off the kitchen so we will be changing this room's purpose into our formal living/reading room. 

BEFORE (with previous owner's dining furniture)

What We're Keeping

We're extremely lucky to already have many of the key pieces already in place like the original natural wood shutters that create an intimate space with adjustable natural light, an ornate carved fireplace mantel complete with great tile border and floor, original blue silk wallpaper, and ornate plaster molding which has miraculously persevered the test of time.

What We're Adding

Since we were lucky to find some great electricians, two brothers, Sean and Gary (necessary plug for Kearns Electric) we decide to continue-on rewiring the entire first floor since we've already upgraded our amp service, some basement wiring and kitchen already. We'll have them move and install our prized chandelier into the 'real' dining room. To fill it's original spot, I'm looking for a simpler, yet Victorian-level ornate, ceiling light. My challenge is in finding one that doesn't look like a nipple (can anyone explain this phenomenon to me!?!?). In addition, we'll be adding two sconces to go above our fireplace. Ideally we'll hang the photo of our house from 1920s between the sconces or an elegant mirror.

Sconce & Built-In Mock-up

Down the road, I'd love to add built in cabinetry and bookshelves but that's a future endeavor.

This is the sconce we selected:

Quorum International Renaissance Sconce from the Madeleine Collection

 Now we're trying to pick the ceiling fixture, which one do you like? Let me know! Living Room Light Preference