Small changes make a big impact in the living room…

I have been so busy with the girls’ room and the ensuing mess it created throughout the house, that everything else has been seriously neglected.

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I did try something new in the living room on a whim and it totally fixed the awkward furniture arrangement I had in there. I put the couch in the corner on the diagonal, a la designer Vicente Wolf, and it opened up the room so much I could not believe it. 

The canvases came of the photos Luis took, and I am loving them in the corner behind the couch on these antique windows from the old house.

They look amazing and I think the windows really frame them nicely.

I added some hydrangea blooms and more vintage brass accessories.

I only had 12 blooms this year between the two vanilla-strawberry hydrangeas and the new limelight one I bought back in the summer. I love these because they will dry so beautifully. The leaves are actually from the mophead bushes which did not produce one bloom this year thanks to a late freeze.

I also did something else that made a huge difference in this room. 

Any ideas what it is?

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21 Comments

  1. Marty@A Stroll Thru Life
    September 7, 2014 / 4:28 am

    It looks gorgeous. I love the new canvases and they really do look nice on the old windows. Your home always looks fabulous.

  2. Blondie's Journal
    September 7, 2014 / 5:40 am

    I love how a change of placement of furniture makes it look like a whole new room! Your room is simply beautiful and your vignettes are so pretty as always!

    Jane xxx

  3. Michele
    September 7, 2014 / 6:25 am

    Hi Anita,

    Nice changes, ma'am!

    By any chance is it this – did you slip cover your ottoman?

    Sure ♥ your new furniture arrangement.

  4. Kasia Piekarz
    September 7, 2014 / 8:35 am

    Zachwycające zdjęcia!! I bardzo gustowna aranżacja. Szczególnie podobają mi się szare okna.
    Pozdrawiam Cię serdecznie Anito:)

  5. deb
    September 7, 2014 / 1:31 pm

    Looks great!

  6. La Vie Quotidienne
    September 7, 2014 / 4:11 pm

    Beautiful!

  7. Patty @ That's So Pretty
    September 7, 2014 / 6:41 pm

    a beautiful room Anita.

  8. Susie
    September 7, 2014 / 10:14 pm

    Looks so very nice. Love the hydrangeas all around. Blessings, xoxo,Susie

  9. FABBY'S LIVING
    September 7, 2014 / 10:37 pm

    Lovely changes Anita, they are so subtle and sweet and your living room looks gorgeous. I too love to move things and furniture around and now I can't move much around because everything is sort of in the perfect place…but maybe if I think hard enough, lol!
    Have a wonderful week ahead.
    FABBY

  10. My Cozy Casita
    September 7, 2014 / 11:23 pm

    Beautiful room Anita
    I Thinks is The curtains by the door!!!
    Blessing
    Isora
    XO

  11. Stacey
    September 8, 2014 / 2:48 am

    Absolutely beautiful!

  12. Anonymous
    September 8, 2014 / 3:39 am

    You added the curtains between the piano and living room!!! 😀

  13. Unknown
    September 8, 2014 / 3:47 am

    Luv the couch in the former showcasing the beautiful canvasses . Such a bright pop of colour 🙂
    Hmmm… the other change, perhaps the curtained door way with the new bench behind it??
    Hugs, Gee

  14. Shirley@Housepitality Designs
    September 8, 2014 / 4:08 am

    Love furnishings on the diagonal…love those beautiful paintings showcased in the window frames…a perfect corner!!…Such a wonderful room!

  15. Alycia Nichols
    September 8, 2014 / 5:40 pm

    Hi, Anita! I've been gone for a couple of weeks working on some things around here for upcoming events…and cleaning house!!! I'm going to guess that the "something new" is that cool doorway treatment? That may have been added since I've been out of touch. At any rate, it looks fantastic and is a great way to add character to this and the adjoining room! It's a nice update on the parlours we used to see in many homes.

    The prints go great in that room! The brilliant blue picks up that of the toss pillows. Very nice! Luis did a great job with the photography! And with the music pages as the backdrop, the look is really fabulous!

    So sorry about the freeze killing off some of your hydrangea. Mother Nature can be wicked, can't she?

    I hope all is going really well and that you have a beautiful week ahead! Oh…and I hope Luis is feeling 100% now!

  16. Unknown
    September 8, 2014 / 7:48 pm

    Hi Anita, it looks great! I'm pretty sure the curtains are new, but did you paint your walls? They don't seem to have the distressed look, but maybe it's just the photos.

  17. sandra
    September 8, 2014 / 10:00 pm

    Looks great!! I love couches on an angle!!

  18. Debbie
    September 9, 2014 / 12:45 pm

    GORGEOUS! I am so enamored with the whole thing. I love what you did with Luis's photos and the windows. I would copycat that in a New York minute.

  19. Christine @ Rustic-Refined
    September 10, 2014 / 12:54 pm

    Love it! The new layout is wonderful….

  20. Pam - @diy Design Fanatic
    September 13, 2014 / 1:49 am

    Gorgeous Anita! Love the new paint and the layout. So pretty!

  21. Liz@ HomeandGardeningWithLiz
    September 13, 2014 / 10:55 pm

    Wow- very beautiful! Love the pictures and how you mounted them on the old windows. The blue pillows bring in the same color- and look fabulous! I really like the accessories on the coffee table too. Lovely room!