Yesterday I finished up a living room for a bachelor. His home was in desperate need of warming up and most certainly didn't feel like a home. It was a fun process and he did so well trusting me every step of the way! His mouth was wide open during the reveal and he kept saying "I just can't believe this is my house, it looks so different."

We definitely warmed up the space and made it very sophisticated and classy, within his budget.

BEFORE

AFTER

We painted the walls a soft gray. We then painted the fireplace surround and the molding around the doors a rich darker gray that showcased the fireplace and doorways nicely. I'm totally in love with this rug!

We added a new couch and 2 chairs. Moved the existing set to his game room upstairs. We added a clean console table behind the couch and accessorized it. It is the first thing you see when you walk into his entryway and gives some separation to the spaces.

The stone lamps give incredible texture and add an instant masculine touch. The red floral arrangement in the metal urn is so eye catching, yet simple.

Old books and stacked suitcases fills the space underneath the console table and is a great place to keep misc. items that need to be stored away. I also wanted the lamps to be a little higher so I stacked some coffee table books underneath each of them and now they are the perfect height.

Ruthie Tip: Take the covers off books to give them a more shophisticaed look. Some book covers are too vibrant but without the jackets they can look better :)

BEFORE

This wall was off balance and needed something tall and colorful against this huge wall.

I found this wonderful rustic cabinet and it had all the colors we used for the entire space. It was perfect to balance out the fireplace. The lovely paintings were down by a local artist here in Grapevine. Mary Howe, with Divine Inspirations is an extremely talented artist. We commissioned her to do this set for us and she did a beautiful job. They are so colorful and add the warm earth tones to the room.

You can see the dining room to the right that we painted a wonderful blue. We have incorporated that blue with small splashes in the living room, including a touch of the blue in the paintings.

The two little Kilim footstools really add a nice eclectic feel to the room.

The side chairs are incredibly comfy with all their tufting and I loved the down filled gray and black chevron pillows I placed on each chair.

BEFORE

His coffee table and end tables were really dated as they were but I had them painted a distressed black. Now they look amazing in the room and it allowed us to stay within his budget.

He had the rug and it was my inspiration for the color palette for the room. The couch is a rich gray and resembles a man's suit. It just seemed to perfect for this gentleman.

It's comfy too and my client made sure he tried it out by lying down on it in the showroom :) We also painted the inside of the front door to match the doorway trim. It really made a huge difference to the entry look.

The pillow on the bench in the entry looks so amazing with the kilim ottomans.

Phase II for him will be new lighting and draperies.

Large chess pieces on top of stacked books and a stone candle holder placed in a wooden bowl, add charm to the newly painted black coffee table.

BEFORE

The entry had no personality at all and the banister looked dated.

AFTER

Our budget didn't allow us to add wrought iron spindles as we would have liked so instead, we had the railing painted black and stained the oak banister a darker walnut. It instantly made the entry come alive and it now looks sharp and has some personality that's for sure.

The little rustic bench coordinates with the colorful cabinet we added next to the fireplace. I hung an oil painting that his mother painted for him above the bench and thought it looked really nice with the basket, adding unexpected color and some history and charm.

His mother's painting is now showcased as sentimental art should be.

BEFORE

AFTER

Doesn't the mantel surround look so much better? The tile shows up beautifully now and before you hardly noticed it up against the white fireplace.

Ruthie Tip: When hanging art on picture frame molding, I always ignore it and place it where I think it should go. If you try to place it inside the molding it usually looks out of scale and awkward.

Two large ceramic jars and some other misc. accessories and it has now come alive. This old box I found at an antique showroom is so charming and is great for storing pictures or maybe even cigars?

We decided to do a small gallery wall with some beautiful framed art collections and topped it off with a wrought iron medallion.

You have seen me use frames within frames before but I loved how this collection turned out. I brought in the blue from the dining room on one of the mats.

The vintage men's pocket watch art, framed in these brushed gold traditional frames are perfect with all the textures and colors I've included.

You can see that I've included, rustic, traditional, modern and eclectic all in one room and it works!

The tray really looks amazing with the pattern combinations we have incorporated. Layering accessories is what makes a space come together so nicely.

Hope you enjoyed this tour of before and after photo's during this install process.

On another note......

I spent the weekend celebrating my oldest daughter's 16th Birthday! Where has the time gone? I surprised her and had this beautiful cake made by Kimm's Cakes.

It was gorgeous and most delicious!!! If you have a need for a cake in the near future, she is the one to call. We had the strawberry and it was out of this world amazing and moist.

I just landed in Los Angeles for the Design Bloggers Conference this next week. I'm excited about being around others who love Design and look forward to being inspired!