HOME TOUR: OUR LIVING ROOM

Hello there!

It’s been a long time since I have written a post. Like, since 2013 long. I have decided to come back and hang out here more often so I hope you will stop by and join me when you can. I’ll be sharing my favorite things that I like to do. Such as decorate, diy projects, organize and cook. I may share some stories of what I have been up to since I started Vy La Designs. But to start off on a lighter note. I want to share a decorating post.

Back story: We moved into a new house at the beginning of 2016. Well new to us, it was built in 2007. We downsized 400 sq ft, but we initially wanted to downsize 800 sq ft. Mainly to live more simply. After getting rid of a lot of the stuff we had, it pushed us towards this way of thinking and living. It’s a work in progress. I’m most grateful and love that we are making this house our home. I have slowly but surely been doing or assigning projects here and there to make it our own.

Design Criteria:  Minimalist. Modern with rustic/industrial touches. Comfortable and kid friendly. Chic but not fussy. Warm and inviting.

Here is a tour of our living room. Cue song “Welcome to My House”…we don’t have to go-o out…

           When you first walk in and are standing in the entry way, you will see one of my favorite furniture finds. One of our first purchases from when I first got married, almost 14 years ago. It’s probably the only piece of furniture we’ve kept from the first house we lived in as newlyweds. It’s a yard sale find for $30! woo hoo! Within the last 13 years I have painted it black, then turquoise, then back to black hehe.

For accessories, I brought in subtle touches that reminds me of Laos,  my birth country,  in a modern way. I wanted to display these Lao bibles that were once my dad’s. He passed on our way to America at a refugee camp in Thailand in 1983. They are definitely one of my near and dear treasures for sure. The little basket reminded me of a thip khao, which are bamboo basket that holds a Lao staple, sticky rice. I had to have this one just to look at 😉 I found this lock with an antique trunk at a yard sale as well. You’ll find a picture of the antique trunk below.

I love the black wall! I want to paint a bigger wall black now. hehe. The black wall currently hides our kitchen behind it. But it’s not load barring, so I would like to knock it down to make it open to the living room. I love the light that floods in the back windows in this open floor family space. The wood floor warms up the black and white walls. By the way, the black wall paint is Benjamin Moore “universal black”

The first thing I wanted to do after moving in was paint the walls. My husband wanted a light gray, same as our old house. I wanted white , something different from our old house. When I showed him paint swatches, my husband said “what ever paint color you want as long as it’s some kind of gray. When we bought the gray sectional, I decided on Benjamin Moore “distant gray” paint. You guys, it looks white right? lol. My husband claims he was tricked because it looks white and I told him it was a light gray aka “distant gray”. lol. Anyways, I love it even though he has reservations about it. It totally transformed our house and freshened up our older, but new to us home. Now, it was time to bring in things that would compliment our style and lifestyle. The only thing new we bought for this living room is this sectional. I added a modular seat within and it looks hurrrge. I wanted something comfortable with modern and clean lines. We love just lounging and watching movies on this beast. I didn’t want to put a lot of furniture in this room. This sectional is perfect for accommodating seating for our guests as well as our family lounging. 

The shelves were custom made by a good friend and they are perfect. I wanted to able to switch out wall art and pictures without having to put more hole on the walls or repaint. This antique trunk is also one of my favorite finds. I got it at yard sale for about $20! Then I started seeing replica trunks everywhere. So I did good on finding that beforehand. I store my own treasures in “me treasure box”. aka..Family pictures and artwork.

The corner by the window is where my son likes to hang out and watch his iPad. All. the. time. I was so excited for spring and got this peace lilly plant to liven and warm up the space. Although, I think I should get a new basket for it. 

One of my best friends bought me 3 of these marble elephants. I have 2 more on my mantle. (Thank you, Chinh!) When we were in college, (a long time ago) browsing through a cute boutique during christmas time and I mentioned that 3 of these would be cute together, reminding me of the Lao flag at the time. Little did I know, she went back and got it for me for christmas. Lol. huh? lol. Always so sweet and thoughtful, that girl. Although, I didn’t really know what to do with them during our college days, I always find a place for these gems in every house I’ve lived in since I’ve moved out of my mom’s house. P.S. It goes perfect with the my dad’s old Lao church hymnals. 

My wishlist: New pillows. Always. Yes I do have dozens of pillows in the playroom which my boys now use for pillows wars. This is where I like to bring in some color and pattern. Although, I want to keep the overall look light and airy. 

My thoughts on design: You don’t have to over think it. You don’t have to buy more and more. Before we moved from our previous house. I purged so much home decor stuff (and stuff in general) that I had stored away. I had so many things in my home that I did not love. When we purged before moving, I kept the things I loved and treasured and used them in this room where I can see it and appreciate it more. Also, when I was purging, I noticed that the things I kept were pieces I found from yard sales or things we DIYed. We sold or gave away all of the big box store furniture where we spent $$$-$$$$. Because we didn’t love them and they weren’t always better quality than things we got from a yard sale or that we DIYed. Although, I do like some as main pieces to build off, like the awesome sectional. So there’s that.

Well, that’s my living room. Come visit me again to see more of the house real soon. You are always welcomed here.

xoxo,