transitioning the family room...

Green has been my go-to accent color in my last three homes. It added the right pop of color without ever feeling outdated. 

From lamps to rugs...

seat covers to vases....

and oh so many pillows...

it was all about the green. 

But all good things must come to an end. As I mentioned in my recent kitchen chair makeover post, the green just isn't working with the open floor plan of our new house. Our countertops are a green, blue, brown marbly laminate. You may say to yourself (if you're in the habit of talking to yourself, like I am), "Well then, self, green should be a great accent color." Except, it's not the right shade of green and it ends up making both the accents and the counters stick out like sore thumbs. 

So I'm going neutral with hints of deep blue. It's calming and serene, just what I want in the room where we do all of our relaxing. It will also be a good complement to our gray couch, cream carpet, and brown wood and leather furniture. We'll soon be getting our walls painted a subtle warm gray, so that will complete the room just perfectly. 

In the meantime, I've been searching for inspiration photos to achieve just the right level of blue while still making it feel very neutral. 

I love the tealish-gray blue in this photo and the way the velvet makes it so warm. 

I love the way they mixed all the blues in this room without making it feel too busy. 

This is one conveys the level of calmness I'm looking for. 

Via

I like the pairing of blue and white in this room. It adds a nice crispness that I am really fond of when decorating.  

Via

Now begins the process of slowly phasing out the green and introducing in the blue. I have to say it's a little hard to say goodbye to some of my green decor. I feel so bad storing it away when it's a perfectly good piece. But it will find a new home in another room at some point, I just have to keep reminding myself of that. 

Stay tuned for more updates on the transition.  

Puttin' on a show...

if my loving husband is reading this, honey, stop right here. don't read any further.

you see, my husband has quite an aversion to what he calls "show pillows."

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you know, those mounds of pillows us girls like to put on our beds, our sofas, our floors, our chairs... you get the idea. the pillows that you can't nap on because they are for looks not for use. the couch in our apartment had about seven throw pillows. they created a mood and gave personality to the room.

throw pillows are simply the easiest way to change the style of a room without spending a fortune.

even though we don't have a house yet,  I've been designing the look of our family room in my head (and on Pinterest). our couch is gray and I have really been loving the combo of navy blue, yellow, gray and crisp white.

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it's classic, fresh and pretty gender neutral. plus my hubby likes the navy, hunter green and maroon tones, so this is a nice way to incorporate both of our styles into the room. so, of course, you know I've been scouring the Internet for some fluffy beauties to adorn our gray couch. here are some of the ones I've really gravitated towards.

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You could spell out your last name or family members' initials.

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My favorite of the bunch.

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And of course, right above the couch, in an ideal world, would be the Matthew Heller piece that I have been wanting since i saw it in Molly Simm's house in InStyle years ago. 

Oh yes it will be mine. 

hopefully our house hunt will go smoothly and I'll have a family room I love in no time, full of  show pillows, piled high like stylish clouds beckoning me to come and relax -- just not nap on them. :) 

so how many of you have family members or significant others who have a "show pillow" aversion like my husband? do you keep piling them on anyway, like me?