Colorful Boho Living Room & Dining Room Reveal – Before & After

Last year, I did a contest giving away TWO free room makeovers. I gifted my decorating services, but the client had to have their own budget (which I set a minimum for) to work with.

I got a lot of entries, but one of the projects that I ultimately chose was the project of a really sweet client that was longing for a totally new look, with lots of color and pattern. I was so excited to create an eclectic, colorful boho living room and dining area!

Let’s start with the before photos…

As you can see, this space could use lots of updates, but we didn’t have a very hefty budget. My client wanted to brighten up the space with lighter walls and lots of color. She also wanted to get away from all the browns and wanted to bring in some substantial window treatments. She loved her photo wall and really wanted me to keep it. My client had already done a great job of mixing and matching the frames. To me, getting a photo wall to look well with these tiny frames was a skill that she was a beast at.

The other big “to go” was the light fixture in the dining area. My client wanted a more unique fixture and I was glad to go on the hunt. The large art in the living room area was a piece painted by a friend of my client and was really the only thing that was a “must stay” for my client. Her friend drove it all the way from California. I love oversized art, so I was happy to have it to style the room around.

Working with a budget of around $3000, we had to get a rug, more art, a sofa (the futon thingy was fine with my client, but I was determined to get a sofa), a new light fixture, window treatments, and a bar area. Whew, that’s a lot, but I think we really pulled it all off!

[disclaim]All photos below by Britt Smith Photography. Make sure you check their website and Instagram (@brittsmithphotography) for drool-worthy portrait photography![/disclaim]

Starting in the living room, you can see what a huge difference the room looks now. We used the same two chairs my client had in the living room and brought in this thrifted sofa. The rug was a Home Goods find and the walls were painted Behr Marquee’s Etched Glass, which is a beautiful shade of gray. Y’all know Behr Marquee is my favorite paint and I’ve always done just one coat with great results. There’s a one coat guarantee, so there’s that! And, we also added some new grey linen-blend curtains.

I suggested that my client get her large art framed one day, because it’s a bit lopsided, but it’s a really fun piece. The pillows are Whitney J Decor and available in my shop (the black and white check is discontinued). There is a ton of color, pattern, and texture mixing in this room. The rug was a last minute find that worked out perfectly (and fit the budget, yay). My client already owned the floor lamp and the cute table lamp was a find from Target.

I love a layered vignette. This area around this foldable tray table (above) is probably one of my favorite areas in the home. The two wood vases on the floor was sooooo hard to part with, since they were discontinued (and was the last ones) at World Market.

The cute floral chair is where I added my pink nude leather/fringe pillow that I LOVE. I love how we used color in my client’s home. We just kinda forgot all the rules and brought in all the colors of the rainbow! It was such a fun way to shop when you’re like… “doesn’t matter what color it is, is it fun, though?” – while out shopping. LOL.

I brought in a few plants, myself, but my client lucked up on LOTS and LOTS of potted succulents (and other small plants), when the company she worked at was changing buildings – none of her coworkers wanted their plants any longer. That type of luck is only reserved for the greatest of people. She’s so sweet and great to work with, so I know she deserves it!

If you scroll back up, you’ll see my client used to have a console table right behind the front door, but we moved that piece to the dining area. Now, my client has this really cute bar cart/mirror situation to view when coming in and leaving out her home.

My client thrifted this prayer alter right before our install and completely goes with the eclectic, boho vibe here.

 

Okay, on to the dining area…

We painted the table a charcoal gray from Valspar’s furniture paint line and used the same paint in a turquoise color for the chairs. I recovered all the seats with new fabric. I like the mix of the black and white fabric with the solid gray velvet. The juju hat was actually one of the first purchases I made for this project, because I knew it would be great in this space.

The light fixture (above) is probably one of my other favorites from this project, because it’s just so cool and pretty. It was probably one of the two larger purchases in the entire project (price-wise), and I just had to have it. My client was speechless when it was installed, and so was I! It’s that beautiful!

The bar area was another fun styling project and I love the little touches my client brought in on her own, like the fun art and small tchotchkes. Everything looks so eclectic and collected. This gorgeous (GORGEOUS) lamp is from Nadeau New Orleans and is probably one of my favorite stores in the city for eclectic decor.

This project was a blast to work on and I’m so glad that I got to work with a client that was so flexible and fun.

If you like it, too, please share!

What do you think about this colorful, boho living room? Chime in – in the comment section!

Till next time,