One Room Challenge – The Big Reveal – Living Room
Today is the big reveal. Six weeks of the One Room Challenge are over, my sanity is back, and my living room looks so much better.
(Here is Week 1 – Week 2 – Week 3 – Week 4 and Week 5, in case you want to see.)
This time, the challenge wasn’t as crazy as when we participated this last spring. For the last ORC, we designed my kids’ room. It was a complete makeover. You can take a look at it here. The change was impressive and the results beautiful.
This time, I didn’t have the budget or the time to do such a huge overhaul, so I committed myself to make an impressive change with a small budget. To do this, there is only one real and loyal friend: paint. I created a mural and it looks so good.
Before I show you more photos, I need to give a big thanks to my friend Daniela and Yassi. Dani helped me painting the mural. She is a graphic designer and an artist. The mural was labor intensive and fun to do. Luckily, Daniela has a huge attention to detail and made me work hard for it so it looks good. (Here is the tutorial about how to make this mural).
Yassi helped me styling my shelves. This was a major endeavor. Months ago, I went to her house to take photos of her shelves for this blog, because she is good at decorating and doesn’t get overwhelmed by a big amount of real books. She took her job seriously and did a great job (you can judge by yourself below).
The mural and bookshelves made a big difference for our living room. I still have to buy a new light fixture and furniture, but that would happen another time, when cash is more abundant. Right now, I am very happy with the progress we made. Also, I have become a huge advocate of creating cool murals to get fun walls. They make a huge difference for little $$$.
How do I feel about the results?
Ecstatic! The biggest surprise was how much larger the living room seems now that we painted this mural. It looks luminous and grand. I wouldn’t have been able to anticipate this change. The wall went from blah to stunning.
At the other end, the bookshelves look sophisticated and colorful. This change just took serious reorganizing. Nothing else. You can do so much good to a room by having the right eye. That is all. Changing furniture, painting, adding or taking out decorations, are all easy solutions to a big design problem.
OK, let the photos do the talking now.
Here are the before pictures so we are reminded of how the space looked like before.
And here, ladies and gentleman, are the after pictures. First, the mural all by itself:
Cute, ha?
About the bookshelves. Here is how they looked a week ago:
And here is how they look now:
So, that is the big reveal for now! I hope you like it.
If you are interested in learning how that mural became a reality, tune in next week. I will be posting a tutorial about it.
Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate it!
Love the mural – it’s like a totally different space! And the bookshelves are great – styled to perfection!
Thanks, Lizzie! I really appreciate it!
You win the prize for the most impact with the least budget! I have found that dealing with little to no $$ really sparks one’s creativity. The juxtaposition of the mural with the simplicity of the wooden theater seats – love! And the shelves are truly a piece of art. Great job
Yes, so many designer rooms look amazing, but who has $10,000 to decorate a room? I don’t! But sometimes small changes like this can make a difference. Thank you so much for your positive comment!
MIla – Love the Mural – It’s So Happy! And the bookshelves are fabulous…all those books are tough to style and this is a masterful job. Glad you stuck with it. Can’t wait for the tutorial on the mural!
Jeanne, I really wanted the mural to look happy and bright. Finding the right colors was HARD! Lots of effort. I will write everything about it next week. thanks!
These bookshelves!!!! That mural!!!! A well thumbed copy of Infinite Jest?! Can we be friends?!
I’ll be including the space in my ORC round-up tomorrow 🙂
haha! Yes, we TOTALLY can!!!!! So funny that you noticed the Infinite Jest copy. The name of this blog comes from that book! It is an untold story. Thanks for all the encouragement!
WOW! WOW! WOW! This space is shazam! So good. Crushing on that mural.
This means SO much coming from you. So excited. thanks!
You amaze me all the time! Your shelfie game is on fire!!!! I love the accent wall and stadium seating. I like that you did not over-accessorize that side. Truth… We can be bff’s, I thought I had a ton of brass knock knacks, girl I think you have me beat. I absolutely LOVE it!
Jess, you are so sweet. It is funny that you mention the brass because I felt the same way when I looked at the photos before posting them: I have a brass obsession and this whole thing looks GOLD!!! haha.
what wall is flippin’ incredible! so unique and fresh!
Thanks, Cassie! I am happy it turned out OK
This room is freaking fantastic!! I loved the blank white wall but love the mural even more. And those bookshelves? So, so good. The end result is just a happy, stunningly beautiful space. Great job!!
I was definitely going for happy. I do miss my white walls, though… ha. Thanks, Brit!
Wow! That mural is gorgeous and it compliments your books so nicely! Such a pretty spot to read – awesome job!
I hope I start reading more now, then! Thanks, Jen
Wow! So bold and lovely – boho chic. You did an amazing design job!!
Thanks, Krista. You are right, very boho chic!
Bookshelves are always so intimidating to me, and you rocked it! And that wall!!!
I think bookshelves are SO hard, because it is difficult to make a lot of stuff look good. Clean “design” style bookshelves are not always realistic because people actually HAVE books and other things. I am happy it worked out.
It looks awesome Mila – I am so impressed!!!!
That is sweet, Diane. Thank you so much!
Oh my gosh, Mila – this is AMAZING! That mural is absolutely wonderful! And your bookshelf styling is a dream! Wonderful job!
Brynne, thank you so much. I am happy I could do something with a small budget. Thanks for stopping by.
Woohoo!!! LOVE IT, Mila! High five from Canada. 😀 What a fun way to affordably transform a space.
Thanks, Carina! Yes, so fun and cheap. I saw other bloggers doing murals in their places, maybe it is a new trend!
soooo creative! I LOVE this room, especially all the color. And I love how it was budget friendly. One of my favorites from the ORC this fall!
Cathy, that is so sweet! I am so happy people are liking it!
Love it! That mural is amazing!
What a cool wall! It’s like an art installation! And those shelves, wow! Totally impressed with your color coordinating!
The mural gives the room a very nice vibe. I wasn’t expecting it to look that good. I really love that room now!
Gorgeous Mila!
Thanks, Elise! Love having you here today!
This is amazing.
So bold.
The colours!!!
Just wonderful.
I am completely jealous of your seats – I’ve been pining for some for quite a long while.
Ebay could be your answer. That is where my husband found them. They are perfect for small places, don’t you think?
Fantastic mural. Great colors.
Thanks, Alison. I posted a tutorial on how we did it today. It was not that difficult!
It’s a wonderful makeover!! Everyone should have a mural like that! So pretty!!!
Thank you Charlotte! I so appreciate the love!
Ok, that mural is amazing…Then I saw the bookshelf and am completely in awe of your shelf decor… You sure know how to style shelves!!! What a killer transformation girl!
Thanks, karrie! i am so surprised that people liked the shelves so much! Even more than the actual mural. That just proves that you never know. Thanks for the comment.