living room design with early american inspiration

When this sweet couple wrote in for a little update of their home, we were more than happy to oblige. They own a beautiful house located in Ohio, which was fairly new, but built to reflect classic Early American Style.

Their living room is a high-functioning space for the family, used with their four children and two pets for entertainment along with their music, games and legos. {That sounds familiar!} It’s the heart of the home, and we were more than happy to dig in with a few ideas.

Jennifer’s main concern was bringing the space up to date with some fresh paint colors, and a few new furniture piece ideas.

The main downstairs area was a historical waterbury cream, and she was looking for something to blend nicely in this space with the rest of their home’s lower level. She also wanted to continue using some pre-existing pieces, while looking for a few fresh ideas to mix.

So taking all that into consideration we dove right in, helping create a springboard for some fresh ideas in a highly functioning space. Here’s what we came up with.

With these design ideas, we really just wanted to help preserve that Early American look while also bringing it up to date in a classic, modern way for the entire family to enjoy the space. We listened to all their requests, and were eager to provide a mix of sensible alternatives: handmade, as well as a few investment pieces for their room.

We find that over time, it’s helpful for our clients to have some fun ideas to work with, in case they change their mind about keeping something in the end. It’s definitely a process, and we hope they find this a useful guide/springboard to help with the process. All that being said, we were very careful to choose some things that will still play nicely with any remaining pieces in their space.

Included, are the pieces and ideas in an inspiration board, along with a furniture plan for the space. They already have a nice system going with keeping it open in the seating arrangements scene. So we sent it along in a rough mock up along with a few small changes according to what we chose/ what they said was being relocated elsewhere in their home.

1. Paint Colors

they noted their number one concern was color. So we decided to start there.

The current color {other than the red} throughout their home is a historical Waterbury Cream. So we used the Benjamin Moore Historical colors to match up something that will work nicely with the rest of their home, even if they keep red {which we do think is so pretty} in other places.

We found a real historical home {The Cupola House} to use as our inspiration, and you can find the photo {and the entire tour} here. We found it quite inspiring as a nice guide for what someone really used in their color selections. Old homes are fascinating to us, and we love the idea of pulling something from the past into the current day.

In the specific photo of the mantel {the blue one} you’ll see they used that bold color throughout the home. We love the idea of changing that red to Benjamin Moore’s Waterbury Green throughout the room. In the same areas where they have the Red, now.

Also on the walls, we love the idea of lightening up that darker cream to Monterey White for a nice contrast throughout the space. Both are a part of the historical colors collection.

We believe they can get away with a nice bold color that won’t feel so limiting in their decor, especially if they heighten the contrast between the walls as shown in the photos we found. Everything suddenly becomes crisper and a little less brown {per their request} especially for a wonderful contrast between those gorgeous wooden floors they have. We hope this helps them evolve in their space a bit for the rest of the room, especially with the elements we’re bringing in for inspiration.

11 + 10 Ceiling Elements

These are totally extras, but something we felt might bring more cozy elements into the space. Of course we went out of order of what’s on the board, but we felt these were worth mentioning. We would love to see something on their mantel for sconces in this early American Style + a nice chandelier.

Also, many of the earlier homes had wooden beams. They have a long, narrow space, and this would help widen it a little – in a group of 3 or 5, along the width of the room.

Furniture

2 + 3

Back to furniture, they mentioned their arm chairs are going. We found a nice affordable set in a cozy dark grey, in upholstery to hold up to heavier use with a family. We’d love to see them paired with a vintage trunk – something to work as a side table and more game storage.

Sofa – they mentioned wanting to keep their brown sofa, so we included two alternatives:

We think a great way to declutter the space, would be one long sofa. It simplifies everything. We actually own this one, and it seats all five of us, comfortably. With three kiddos and two dogs, it has held up wonderfully in three – almost four years. Just something to think about. A chesterfield is more English, historically, but we took the liberty of mixing some modern day/classic styles when it comes to their space.

For a smaller sofa, we love this simple addition from la-z-boy. They’re just a great, trustworthy brand, and this is timeless shape. It would help lighten the space to go a little lighter with the sofa addition.

We love this end table as another storage solution for games and toys {we know how that can get!} + an affordable lamp in this classic shape.

They mentioned wanting to keep their rug. It was a bit difficult from the photos to see exactly what is on the floor, but we would love to see a threadbare addition later on in some brighter colors. The Cupola house inspired us {again, that photo of the mantel} and we would love a touch of that warmth in a red color to really brighten up the floor with an amazing antique rug.

This shelf should fit nicely {in between their other two windows} The open back keeps it from becoming too weight-y in the space, or if it overlaps a little, it still feels not-so-dominating. We love baskets like these for practical, affordable storage options. A nice DIY alternative was found here with instructions.

We love the idea of a makeshift sitting area with a larger coffee table + little poufs for the littles. ;} – They can also DIY their own refinished – but something in that rustic style with a little storage underneath would work nicely.

Art

They were looking for a few art sources, and we were thrilled to find some for them.

We think some of the most interesting things about Early America is definitely the art so we found a great source full of affordable reproductions – we think it’s a nod to the time with almost a modern flair when paired with the other finds.

We also found this great map art that would look amazing over their fireplace in little frames – multiple sizes available.

Fabrics

We love the idea of cozy-ing up the space with vintage looks, contrasted with a little geometric as well when it comes to fabrics and the possibilities they offer.

We also featured our own chunky Pleased as Plaid fabric in Seafoam. These would make a great addition to their space!

They mentioned they want to keep their window treatments. If they change their mind, simple floor to ceiling panels in linen would be an elegant, understated addition, and would look gorgeous in the space with simple iron hardware. If they ever want privacy on the end with the french doors, they can blend all that in with simple floor to ceiling linen panels for a bit of an update.

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And that wraps it up! We hope this is a great springboard to bring in a few modern touches while keeping it true to it’s original historic charm. We can’t wait to see what they do with those fun new colors in their space!

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** Please note: out of respect for our clients, we do not share all of our sources here. Thank you for your understanding!**

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