I don't claim to be a home decor expert, but I really do enjoy styling a room just as I would an outfit! Unfortunately, it's a lot more expensive to outfit a house versus my body. We've taken our sweet time slowly picking out pieces for this house. The first year we lived here, there was no furniture in this front formal room. I didn't know what I wanted to do with the space, and didn't want to rush out and fill it with whatever I could find just because it was empty.
As a person who loves immediate gratification, it was really hard to wait to find the right pieces. Now that I'm on the other side of it, I think it was totally worth it. They are things that I really love, not just things that will do.
There are still tweaks to be made. The carpet will eventually go away. The coffee table needs some more styling, and the art above the bar cart is a placeholder until I find something else. It will all come with time.
I'm calling this style “Hollywood Regency Lite” – The colors, prints, and textures are Hollywood regency-esque, but it's still appropriate in a traditional house.
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The room that social media built
This room wouldn't have come together without social media. Let me explain:
Chairs: It all started with the chairs. I saw them on an Instagram Story of a Louisville furniture and home decor consignment shop that I follow, Eyedia Shop. Their Instagram Stories is also where I found my fireplace screen in our main living room a while back (you can see it in my Christmas tree post.) After seeing the leopard print in a traditional style chair, Steve and I rushed down there to do a comfort test. I'm not a fan of furniture that isn't actually comfortable, but thankfully these vintage Lee Industries chairs were very well made and comfy!
Sofa: Again, I wanted comfort, but I also had a certain style in mind. I wanted to distinguish this room from other areas of the house by having something a little more glam and moody, but still not too outside-the-box. There was a pop-up shop across the river in Jeffersonville that I'd been eyeing. It was only open for a couple of days, and it had inventory from Gilt, which previously had their warehouse nearby. It's one of those things where you had to check in every day to make sure you didn't miss any of the awesome deals. As soon as the inventory was gone, the shop would be as well. So, I stalked them on Instagram. Again, on Stories: a green velvet sofa showed up and I whizzed over there to check it out in person. It was perfect, and again, it was very well made and comfortable. I rented a U-Haul and picked it up when Steve was at work. Your girl was on a mission!
Side tables: They're a matching pair of campaign cabinets that I found on Instagram from one of my favorite stores in Lexington: Scout. It was a brand new matching pair, and I thought if they didn't work in the formal room. I could use them in one of the guest bedrooms as nightstands. I called and bought them over the phone, then picked them up on my next trip to Lexington. Turns out, they were Ballard Designs, which is one of my favorite home brands.
Lighting: I stalked HomeGoods for a bit to find artwork, lamps, a coffee table, accent table, and bar cart. I didn't find all of those things, but did find an accent table with marble top and a pair of tall lamps. There is no overhead lighting in this room (we may add it eventually), so lamps were important.
I liked the bases of the lamps: milky white with some gold running through it, and a lucite base and finial. The white shades weren't doing much for me, though. After unsuccessfully trying to find off-the-rack shades in black that fit well, I went the custom route on Etsy with ZZDecor. I love the black velvet shades with gold foil lining. (Cue Lizzo's “Truth Hurts”: “Black velvet with the gold lining… new man on the Minnesota Vikings…”)
Artwork – second time is a charm: With art, I knew I wanted a very large scale piece. I wanted dark and moody florals, so I searched high and low for some, and then mocked them up in Photoshop to see what might work best. (The lampshades here are also mocked up.) You all voted on some of my top art options on Instagram Stories:
This is where I tripped myself up. I had a piece that was my favorite, but I talked myself out of it because I was worried the colors might be off a tiny bit against the green sofa. So, I ordered my second favorite piece from Juniper Print Shop. Several people recommended them for a large scale piece that is actually more of a poster vinyl that you put into an IKEA frame. The photos looked great on Instagram, so I went with it. Unfortunately, after wrestling with it for several weeks, I was never able to get the art to NOT look like a poster. Plus, the IKEA frame looked as inexpensive as it was. Juniper Print Shop was helpful in offering to give me more tips to straighten the artwork out, but nothing could salvage that I didn't like the frame. I didn't want to spend the money to custom frame a 40×55″ piece of vinyl, so I went back to the drawing board. I have since ordered digital prints from Juniper for a bathroom and was really pleased with them.
So, back to the first choice artwork I went! When it arrived, I was blown away by the quality of the art print, the framing, and even the hanging hardware and kit that came with it. Not so great was the damage in transit, but a quick email to customer service and they shipped me another one out to replace it, plus they didn't make me send the other one back. I was happy to not have to find an undamaged box to send back a 50×40″ piece of art. Thoroughly impressed with Lindsay Letters, and can't wait to buy more from them.
Coffee Table: I ordered it sight unseen, but I searched for a really long time and couldn't find a coffee table that fit what I wanted. I considered something in shagreen, but the ones I found were either too expensive (usually vintage pieces) or the wrong dimensions. I came across this black cerused and natural oak table from Gabby Home, which is a brand I swoon over. It's sold at Summer Classics, which is near my house, and where I bought a Gabby light fixture previously. They ordered it for me and as soon as I saw it, knew it was the right decision. I love that it's natural wood (a texture I wanted in the room) but still evokes that dark and moody vibe. It's beautifully made. If you're not near a Gabby dealer, you can find it online here.
Bar Cart: Our bourbon-loving hearts need more places to keep the bourbon, so a bar cart was a must. I looked a lot of places and couldn't find the size I wanted with the characteristics I wanted. Where else do you turn when you need something really specific and on a budget? Amazon. This oval bar cart was the correct size and had the protective edges – so many bar carts have open shelves, which doesn't make a lot of sense if you actually want to move the cart with anything on it. It was easy to assemble on my own.
And don't worry bourbon fans. The shades in this room are usually down,
so there's no direct exposure to light.
Mirror: I knew I wanted at least one mirror in this room considering there's no overhead lighting. Anything I could use to reflect more light was a welcome addition. Enter this nearly 7-foot floor mirror from Ballard Designs. It is super heavy and was packaged really well. It's always a gamble ordering things online like this, but it paid off.
There's still a lot that needs to be decorated in the rest of the house. The next project is a big one: the master bathroom. It's not a project we planned on, but an improperly installed shower pan, molded subfloor, and raining into our dining room means we're going to have to make it work. I hope to have that done by the end of the year. If you're not following me there already and want to follow along, I'm sharing the process on Instagram Stories.
Source List:
- Sofa: Christopher Tufted Sofa by Hewson from Messie Shop Pop-Up (pop-up is long gone, but she's opened up a gorgeous boutique!)
- Chairs: Vintage Lee Industry from Eyedia Shop
- Artwork: 50×40″ Dutch Blue Floral print in gold gallery frame, Lindsay Letters
- Side tables: Ballard Campaign Cabinets, purchased from Scout Antique & Modern, Lexington; similar ones available at Ballard
- Mirror: Capelle Mirror from Ballard Designs
- Coffee Table: Julian Coffee Table by Gabby Home from Summer Classics. Also available online.
- Lamps: Nicole Miller from HomeGoods
- Lamp Shades: ZZDecor on Etsy
- Bar Cart: Amazon
- Occasional table: HomeGoods
- Plant: Mass cane from Costco ($22!)
- Planter: HomeGoods
- Marigold Throw Pillows: HomeGoods
- Dalmation print pillows: I've had these since 2015 (see them in my old house here). Willa Skye Home from Etsy
