This living room makeover is in partnership with Raymour & Flanigan – huge thanks to them for helping me bring this dream to life for my parents!
This post is so near and dear to my heart.
I grew up in a working class house, where material anything a.) wasn’t priority and b.) wasn’t attainable. We’ve talked here before about my memories of shopping Walmart’s clearance racks for steals (on sale or bust!); my dad lost his job often as a blue-collar worker, my mom was a stay-at-home mom while raising my brother and I, and coupon-cutting and generic-everything was the way of life.
Their house was a home – but it was high time for some TLC…a total living room makeover, if you will.
- The couch was from my mom’s old apartment in the 80’s.
- The furniture were hand-me-downs from the original homeowners – now-outdated cherry, also from the 80’s.
- The TV was one of those cubes from the 90’s – which they don’t even MAKE anymore!
- The carpets were the original from 1986 (yup). Literally disintegrating under your feet.
Most significantly, my mom hasn’t liked her house…maybe ever? Ha! Don’t get me wrong – she’s so full of gratitude for her home and health and family and all that good stuff. But from a Marie Kondo vantage point, she could never say her living room “sparked joy.” It was pure functionality + practicality…not a hub of relaxation like a living room (or “family room” since they only have this one casual hangout space?) should be.
Here are a few before shots…
One of the biggest blessings of CUR is being able to bless others, too. Hands down, my favorite thing. Gift-giving is my own love language, so I just loveloveLOVE being able to give to others, help them out, make them smile.
Fast forward to 2021.
I knew that re-doing the living room was slowly but surely approaching on my parents’ radar, but I also know my parents – and I didn’t want something that could be so exciting and fun to be more of a burden than anything else from sheer overwhelm of it all. Not to mention, cost!
So, I reached out to my friends at Raymour & Flanigan and said I have an idea…
And here we are! The folks at Raymour & Flanigan were incredible and down to totally transform my parent’s space, bringing their living room out of the 80’s and into modern day.
My mom went cooler-toned with wood accents for an overall vibe that’s equal parts classic and comfortable. Brace yo’selves for an incredible transformation, folks! Without further adieu, let the living room makeover begin…
Their exact sectional was unfortunately discontinued shortly after purchasing, but Raymour has SO MANY gorgeous sectional and couch options (our own family room couches are Raymour, as is our basement movie room sectional!). A few similar favorites are here and here! It’s a “power sectional,” so both end seats have the option to silently and easily power recline.
The TV console, side shelving, coffee table, and end tables are all from the same “set.” I personally lovelovelove the classic wood color and the modern design of each piece.
This coffee table is ideal for “hiding” things via the storage space below – it’s nice and discreet! Easy to hide away remote controls, reading materials, etc. Beyond that, the second smaller side table has a cabinet in the front for additional storage, too, and the larger end table is a great spot for a decorative basket.
Really, the entire set just feels open and airy, which was important to me in helping re-design this living room makeover – especially given the smaller size of the room. We wanted discreet storage options so that anything + everything out in the open was pretty or relaxing or fun and just MEANT to be out in the open!
Beyond furniture, Raymour & Flanigan has a lot of decor and other accent pieces, too, which really helped bring this living room makeover to life! The faux flower on the coffee table is theirs, as is the brushed nickel reading lamp over the sectional’s corner (which, in my humble opinion, is the BEST spot on the sofa – ha!).
Since my parents’ old cherry entertainment center from the 80’s was so bulky and heavy, it really overwhelmed the small space – not to mention, was entirely outdated. We went this 3-piece entertainment set for a much more open feel, since they’re literally open on the sides! A much more modern take on an “entertainment center,” especially since TV’s nowadays are a *bit* bigger than they were in the 90’s. 😉
I helped my mom style the console cabinet shelves with some favorite family photos, which adds such a beautiful touch to the FAMILY room – ha! To help add texture and different dimension, we added the ceramic globes to pull the shelves together and add another cool-toned detail.
The shelves inside the TV console piece are also ventilated, which is perfect for housing any devices like game consoles or Blu Ray players, etc! (If you just want/need a TV console by itself without the side shelves, here it is!)
The orbs were a fun way to incorporate texture and intentional design, pulling in the cooler-toned blues, amongst other more sentimental “knick-knacks” that my mom had tucked away for the right shelf home.
One final before and after of this Raymour & Flanigan living room makeover for good measure…
What do you think of this massive living room makeover? Big thanks again to Raymour & Flanigan for helping make it happen!
*Thanks to Raymour & Flanigan and raymourandflanigan.com, a brand I lovelovelove, for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions + thoughts presented are entirely my own. Thank YOU for supporting the brands that support Coming Up Roses!
