New York Living Room | Kuball's Khaos

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Everything can change…..in a New York minute…..nothing stays the same. You know why I love this Don Henley song, not because it’s incredibly sad, but because it reminds me to live in the now. Enjoy what you have when you have it, cause it WILL change.

And this might be the greatest way to make your house a HOME! Constant change, constant improvement, never settling for what you don’t LOVE!

No one wants to sit in their living room and feel uncomfortable or bored. No one wants to see the same colors in every.single.room!!! BORING!

So when designing the third room in our house (with a lot of reluctance), I wanted some color. We bought the couches thinking they would be pretty and comfy….LIES! Nothing was comfy about them AND they certainly didn’t stay pretty for long. First spill showed the true colors of these couches. It was a nightmare. BUT……we bought the matching arm chair in teal! AND I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!! (Gotta stay positive here!)

Of course, as most people do these days, I went on Pinterest to get some ideas on how to make a teal living room work. I came across this picture on HGTV.

That one little lamp in the back next to that burnt orange…..I was inspired! Funny where we get inspiration from.

Again, Pinterest wasn’t getting me much of what I wanted in the way of making orange and teal/turquoise work together. But at this point, I had convinced Kris that this was going to be awesome. (He is still not sure about all that orange, but happy wife = happy life.)

Here is how we created a New York Living Room

We spent a lot of our free time, during those days we had more of it, shopping around at different stores trying to find our flair. We tried antique shops, big box stores, local design studios, and everyone’s favorite Swedish market, IKEA. One day while we were at a department store, Kris found ONE throw pillow that sparked new energy into the whole thing. We found curtains, a throw blanket, a rug, and more pillows based on that one pillow!

I know, you are thinking…..what does this have to do with New York…..nothing yet. Stay focused.

Wall art is the key to my happiness. A room doesn’t feel complete until I find some pictures. I’m not going to lie….Hobby Lobby has the best wall art. I can roam around that store and find everything I need and more. No commission on that one! You’re welcome!

Again, out and about…because we had time…we went to the beloved HL and found this:

And piece by piece we ended up feeling great about the way this room ended up (for a short time).

NYC was a place I got to spend some time in as a young adult and was fortunate enough to experience my husband’s first time with him. He hated the idea of going there, all the people, the noise…but he was pleasantly surprised when we got there and went exploring. He loved Central Park, being able to walk anywhere, and the eclectic-ness of the food!! Not like any other place on the planet!

Back to the room – we had to cover the couches with slip covers because the spills and stains were OUT OF CONTROL! It didn’t matter what it was, even water stained these dumb things! We added some more throw blankets and even created our own Thirty One pillow. A lamp broke so we replaced those with these.

And one of my favorite things in the WHOLE house…a hand painted, one of a kind, straight from the heart painting. I found a picture online that I loved but it was all custom ordering. Since, I wasn’t ready to spend that kind of money and I couldn’t pick the colors I wanted…..I asked my very talented friend if she could do it. And what she gave me was more than I could have hoped for! I still need to frame it but….I just love it!

A few years ago, I won an award and my husband knew the whole time…but he pretended he didn’t. When I got home, he bought me this great cabinet to display my award on. So thoughtful!!!

I said earlier that we felt good for a short time….we need new couches and a new rug. It would be nice if the entertainment center matched the end tables and coffee table. We decided to add a recliner about a year ago, at least there is one comfy place to sit.

The dog beds are in here, one dog is old so she can only travel short distances. Sometimes I wish I could throw out all of the furniture and start over in here but I still love my teal and orange.