My Living Room Makeover – All the Sources Revealed!

I was lucky enough to have my living room makeover featured in several publications so you may have already seen some of these photos but not all of the publications gave credit to the items in my home and I’ve gotten a ton of questions about where certain pieces came from so, as promised, I’m sharing all my sources right here! By far is the most popular question I’ve gotten is about my paint color. It’s Green Blue by Farrow & Ball and I just love it! Before my walls were gray and if you’ve ever spent time in New York there is lots of gray everywhere…gray skies all the time, gray cement, gray buildings (they don’t call it the concrete jungle for nothin’!) and so after a while coming home to a gray apartment started to become a downer. I wanted to choose a new color that even on the grayest, rainiest day, would feel cheery and bright and remind me of something beautiful like a clear blue sky or the aqua ocean waters of the caribbean. Also – this living room is pretty much where all the magic happens which is why I decided to revamp the space and it was important to me to create a vibe that was uplifting an inspiring. Aside from the sofa being my daily hangout spot, I also work from home either from the sofa or the dining table AND – believe it or not, I sleep on the sofa all the time! I have a bedroom with an awesome bed and a super luxurious mattress yet I end up sleeping on the sofa most nights! Does anyone else do that besides me? Anyway, I spend a ton of time in this room and I’m so glad I decided to change things up because the place feels so much happier now!

Another popular piece I get lots of questions about is  is the painting above my sofa. It was made for me by my friend Nicole Cohen who is a super talented artist and photographer (you can check out her work here). She also writes the blog Sketch 42 where she shares her unique point of view on art and design. It’s one of my daily must-reads! My sofa is from Lee Industries covered in Kravet’s “Versailles” velvet which is a go-to velvet that I use in many of my design projects. It comes in a gazillion colors and has a very luxe look and feel. Many of the pieces in my home are vintage including the faux bamboo mahogany end tables which were a Craigslist findthat I picked up several years ago. The table lamps are by Aerin and the jute rug which is actually quite soft underfoot was a budget buy from Wayfair!  It adds so much texture to the room. (Photos above by David Land for BHG)

The pair of side chairs in my living room are also vintage and I got them from an auction house in my hometown of Detroit. (only one shown in this photo but there are two!) I had the frames refinished and painted a clean white (Benjamin Moore China White) and updated the upholstery in a wavy Charlotte Moss fabric. (You can see the before and after transformation of these chairs here I found the vintage X-benches at the Brimfield Antiques show several years ago and I had them reupholstered in leopard fabric fromHighland Court which gives them so much personality.I’ll be sharing a before and after post on these soon! My coffee table is an ebay find! I intended to get new curtains made but the first of the photoshoots at my place was for Better Homes & Gardens and I was down to the very last minute pulling everything together so there just wasn’t enough time and after that I just got lazy about it. So for now, I still have the same ikea hacked curtains I’ve had for ages. You can get the DIY tutorial here. (Photo above by Carol Dronsfield for Matchbook.)

Onto the dining area – the most popular item here is the brass pendant which so many people gushed about in comments on Instagram! It is by Mary McDonald for Lamps Plus and is so glamourous. I wanted to bring in a new pendant for my dining area that was a real statement piece and this totally did the trick. It is fabulous! My dining table was made for me by my friends and Dunes & Duchess. I spotted their Captain’s Compass Table at the NY NOW trade show and fell in love with the style. It was a smaller occasional table but it was exactly what I wanted which was a pedestal table with a bit of whimsy in a lacquer finish. I asked them if they could make it in a dining table size and they said yes so I ordered it on the spot! My dining chairs were another auction score and I had those refinished an reupholstered in a very low maintenance vinyl. My old dining chairs were upholstered in a very pretty and fancy fabric from Lee Jofa which ended up being not so practical for the amount of entertaining I do at home. My little nephew comes over for visits and on holidays I’ll host big family dinners sometimes for up to 20 people in my tiny place and there are usually lots of kids which inevitably means lots of mess and spills. So I wanted my chairs to be super easy to wipe clean. The vinyl is a faux lizard look from DesignTex and is so low maintenance and kid friendly! David Land for BHG)

The bone inlay mirror here is from West Elm. It’s a little small for the space but it was a last minute grab the night before the BHG shoot and it was so heavy and cumbersome getting it in a cab and up to my apartment that I decided to just keep it. I worked around it to create a larger vignette with art and some of my favorites from my blue & white collection which is all from ebay!  The framed image is a page out of my favorite coffee table book titled “Africa” by the late photographer Herb Ritts. It’s full of gorgeous imagery taken in Tanzania and Kenya and I love it so much I got 2 copies! One so I could rip out and frame some of the pages and another that was perfectly in tact for coffee table display.  (Photo above by Carol Dronsfield for Matchbook.)

Here’s a shot of my buffet cabinet that sits behind the dining table. It is the Ming cabinet from Bungalow 5 and has a lacquered grasscloth finish. I was in dire need of more storage and the piece I had there before was an antique and just wasn’t configured efficiently enough. This piece gives me so much more room to store all of my glassware and pieces for entertaining and also doubles as my liquor cabinet! (Photo by me!)

Photo by Carol Dronsfield for Matchbook.)

The bold yellow pom pom throw is another whimsical accent and is from West Elm but unfortunately no longer available. (This one in sun yellow has a similar feel). The mix of pillows on my sofa are all custom made using fabrics from Schumacher, Brentano and Duralee.  (Photo above by Kelly Stuart for House Beautiful)

So many of the objects on my bookshelf are a mix of vintage items, pieces from my travels, ebay and from flea markets but the ikat boxes are from HomeGoods, the marble geometric sculpture and the teal glass knot sculpture are both from West Elm! (Photo above by David Land for BHG)

In your home it’s  so important that you include elements that feel personal and I love displaying family photos in my home to remind me of loved ones. The collection of frames here are from Gilt, One Kings Lane and Zara Home. The photos are of my grandparents and the one color photo is of me with my mom and sister when we were little. Having these reminders around of the people I love the most are what helps make my place feel like home! And that’s all folks! I hope you enjoyed the tour and all of the little anecdotes and hopefully the links and resources are helpful. If you have any more questions please leave them in the comments below!  And to see even more pictures of the space, check out these online articles from Matchbook, Domaine and House Beautiful here and here! (Photo above by Carol Dronsfield for Matchbook.)