Here are some ways I gave our living room a refresh! Sometimes it’s the smallest tweaks to decor that can lead to the clearest mind : )
My Living Room Refresh >>
If you guys know me well (and I know some of you know me better than I know myself 
) you remember that every January I like to give my living room a refresh. I take out all the red and green and go super minimalist all around.
This comes as no surprise considering I rearranged my childhood bedroom once a month, every month, my entire life. There is nothing like a good room refresh!! “New room, new me” 🙂
Here are the refresh tweaks I made
1 // Removed the dining room rug
The rug was damaged, and now that it’s gone, I am realizing it was one of the reasons I always felt our main room was cluttered.
I went to Pinterest and searched for “dining rooms” to see if going rug-less was allowed. Ha! It seemed about half of dining rooms had pretty rugs and half did not. Since our dining room is part of our living room, I always felt like the rugs competed with one another. Now it feels more open to me!
The sofa rug is Pottery Barn Jute + Wool and the dining room rug was seagrass.
Over the years, the seagrass rug started to totally wear out. The biggest blemish was due to the dining chair feet ripping it up. There was also playdoh and baby food stuck in every crevice on the high chair end.
Look closely in this photo to see the big rip:
Before:
After:
It just feels a little lighter in there! Our table is the Toscana Extending Table from Pottery Barn. I love it because it hides marker marks from little kids drawings!
OH – and to protect the floor I added these little silicone feet to the bottom of the chairs. They fit well and are perfect for avoiding more scraping. These chairs are the Remy chair from Restoration Hardware (I’m not sure they are still available) but I am not totally happy with them six years later because they are dinged in several spots and the rubber feet came off seriously damaging our rug, the floor, and the NEW PORCH FLOOR – ugh! These feet are the perfect solution.
New dining chairs are something I can’t bare to replace because these work just fine and we have six of them. But I would like a different style at some point in my life.
2 // Rearranged the high chair area
We hope to be done with the high chair soon (Birch can sit in a booster but a high chair tray is still easier to clean and not worry about falling out of). We never had a good spot for it. You can see in the before pic it just sort of crowded next to the table.
I moved the computer station, plant, and Alexa on the marble table to the other side of the room. Now the high chair has lots of space! (Note the new plant corner too!)
See the marble table in this pic? While it’s a family heirloom of mine, I’m not married to this location or the style of the base of the table, so I’m not sure if it will stay here or be moved again.
3 // Turned the sofa rug 180 degrees
Our rug, the Pottery Barn Chunky Wool/Jute Rug, was looking pretty worn in the front where the kids play all day and Gus spends 99% of his time. We love this rug – it’s super comfortable and hides dirt and stains SO well, but six years in it wasn’t looking brand new any more.
A quick 180 turn and we tucked the worn side under the couch and brought out a brand new side! (Also you wouldn’t believe all the dog hair and baby toys under there!)
You can see the side that was previously under the couch is looking very sharp in contrast to the middle right next to the couch. We’ll give this side 4 more years and probably will replace the rug after that – whenever it really starts to break down. 10 years is a good life for a main living rug with two kids and a dog don’t you think?
Also: we have debating bringing the coffee table back up from the basement many times, but every time we think we’re ready we just think about how the kids will have zero floor space to play and we convince ourselves we just don’t need a coffee table at this stage of life.
4 // Kept the blue lamp!
Previously we had a floor lamp next to this buffet. I moved this pretty lamp from Wayfair up and love the lighter wood look for the living room refresh! The lamp has previously always been in our office. The vintage crock helps fill in that corner.
(Everyone always asks, and this buffet was Karen’s and I don’t know where she got it.)
And one last refresh – my KERF linen towel on the stove!
Erica says
Looks excellent Kath!
Kath Younger says
🙂 Hi!
Lisa says
Love a new year refresh. I put our coffee table in the basement when my first son started ‘moving’, 10 years later and still haven’t brought it back. I should probably just sell or donate it at this point. Without it, there is much more space. Often the “space” is filled with Legos!!! Ugh. 🙂
Kath Younger says
Haha!
Andrea says
Looks much more open without the rug!! I’m sort of anti-rug… I find them so annoying to clean!!
Kath Younger says
I didn’t think I was anti-rug but I think I am now!
Jill D says
When you are ready to replace your rug I recommend Ruggable. We got the extra thick pad for underneath and it is great. It looks fantastic and is comfortable to sit on the floor. We have 3 dogs and being able to wash it is amazing!
Thanks for the inspiration to a do a little sprucing using what we have in a different space!
Kath Younger says
Thanks for that recommendation!
Lorie says
I was the exact same way as a kid, and still do the same now! My husband has learned to tolerate the frequent rearrangements ? My youngest likes to help and has dubbed it “dec-arranging”!
I love our Christmas decorations, but I always get more excited for the January refresh and rearrange. I love how spacious our living room feels now without a tree or decorations!
Jess T says
Hi Kath – Do you know any history behind the marble table? We have one that looks VERY similar! It belonged to my husband’s great grandmother in York, PA.
Kath Younger says
Let me ask my mom! My grandmother was from PA too…
Mom says
Hi Jess,
The table belonged to my great-aunt, who was from Ephrata, PA, which I don’t think is very far from York. Wonder if it was made by the same furnituremaker? It’s a lovely table.
Jess T says
Oh interesting! Yes, Ephrata is about 45 minutes from York. The scalloped detail below the marble is a bit different on ours but otherwise they look the same. It’s the only heirloom piece we own so I treasure it.
Kath Younger says
See if you can find any markings on the maker and I will check mine too!
Becky says
I have the same table but the marble top is dark brown marble! It’s also a family heirloom. I grew up in Lititz, PA, next to Ephrata but live in CA where the table now lives too:)
Kath Younger says
Oh wow how crazy! Maybe they’re all the same maker!?
Jess T says
I’m from Lititz too, but live in Virginia now ? Sadly ours has zero markings.
Kate says
I am always sad to see the Christmas tree go, but end up happy with the uncluttered space. I love rearranging also and spent the better part of a day trying to rearrange my living room only to end up with things back where they started.
Just an idea for the marble table…what about using it as a side table on the far end of the couch? Maybe there isn’t much space…it’s hard to tell from the photos. Either way, the space looks great!
Kath Younger says
There’s not as much space there, and most importantly, the rug ends at the couch, so it would be on the floor. It would be GREAT to have an end table, but I think this couch is just too big for the space to have one.
Sarah says
I LOVE the changes! Nice to know I’m not the only person who rearranges after the holidays!
Ella says
It’s affirming to see that other people are coffee table-less too due to young children, ha! Now that my youngest is 3 (oldest is 9) I’ve thought of getting one again, but you’re right, it’s valuable play space!
M says
Hi Kath! Have you guys been happy with your Pottery Barn couch? In the market right now and looking for something kid-resistant. Would you buy it again?
Kath Younger says
Yes, it’s been nice and cozy. I’ve used cornstarch to get out oil stains, and other stains have come out. The arms are the only spot I’ve had trouble keeping clean. I’ve put all the cushions in the washing machine too!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
I love the refreshed look! Very nice! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Jeanie says
Looks good!
KZ says
What color our the walls in your living space?
Kath Younger says
Agreeable Gray by Benjamin Moore
Annalisa says
I know you’re anti rug but maybe consider layering a 2×3 or 4×6 rug under your armchair. I’d probably use something with a pop for some color or texture difference.
Kath Younger says
You mean at an angle from the big rug? I’m not sure I could handle that level of tilt!