Open Concept Living Room Makeover

Our living room started as builder grade with all white walls, stained carpet, and the most awkward corner fireplace and open concept layout that I couldn’t stand, so we transformed it into a cozy and charming space filled with character and comfort.

Here is one of my living room makeover before and after photo comparisons:

I’m sharing several more dramatic before and afters at the end!

This makeover evolved over 3.5 years since we moved into our home and was by no means a quick one! Here is the story of our living room transformation!

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Note: All product sources and all DIY projects are linked at the bottom of this post!

Flooring

There was stained and outdated white carpet throughout the majority of our house when we purchased it.

We had the carpet replaced with a premium waterproof laminate flooring. You can read more details here in my laminate flooring review.

This made a huge difference in connecting all of the rooms to our open concept living room and made it feel larger even though it’s actually pretty small.

Shiplap fireplace

Next, it was time to tackle the corner fireplace. We started by building it out with a frame and vertical shiplap to create a vertical shiplap fireplace. We reused our original mantel.

BEFORE:

Building out the fireplace really helped to add depth to the fireplace and make it look more natural. Before it was just so flat looking with the molding and mantel attached to the drywall.

Get all of the details on how we created a vertical shiplap fireplace here!

DIY Brick Fireplace

For the surround, we first tried a faux stone treatment which I didn’t like, so we ripped it out and redid it with a real brick fireplace surround with a slightly over grouted look for a timeless charm feel. 

I shared a full tutorial on our DIY brick fireplace if you want more details!

Fireplace Sconces

These charming rattan wall sconces were the perfect finishing touch on our fireplace makeover! I love the soft lighting they provide too.

They come as plug in but can easily be hardwired. We ran the plugs behind our vertical shiplap fireplace to an outlet hidden in our living room built in cabinets.

Living Room DIY Built In Cabinets with Stock Cabinets

For the empty wall next to the fireplace, I had a dream of adding custom built-ins. 

We brought this dream to life using ready to go cabinets from Lowe’s. The goal was to make the built ins extra charming and full of character by using beautiful molding anywhere I could and adding curved toe kicks.

My vision for these built-ins was to create closed storage for our kids toys, custom shelving for pretty decor, and a place for our TV to fit perfectly and look like a piece of art.

I love how it turned out and it is the statement wall of the entire open concept space. Definitely my favorite project in a long time!!

I have an overview how we built these DIY living room built in cabinets entertainment center here!

Vintage Style Frame for our Frame TV

Of course to complete the built ins, I had to add a picture frame to the Frame TV! I found this ready to order frame but it was a bit too pricey for me when I knew we could make it for significantly less!

The goal was to make it look like a vintage brass picture frame and I think we achieved that! I love how the frame completed the built ins!

I will a have a tutorial soon on how we built it!

Chandelier

I’m not a fan of ceiling fans, especially the huge fan that hung from the middle of our vaulted ceilings and dominated the space. So we replaced it with this gorgeous, gold leaf chandelier!

The chandelier was an investment, but it was a really great price compared to other similar chandeliers.

Paint

To contrast with the all white walls, we painted the fireplace and built ins in Cornwall Slate by Sherwin Williams in satin.

It’s the same color we used on our office built ins and beadboard wall, which is one of the spaces next to our living room. So it all flows cohesively!

Amazon Couch, Coffee Table, and Rug

I really wanted to fit an L-shaped couch and a few accent chairs in this room, but due to the awkward corner fireplace and limited space since we needed to leave walking space to get to other connecting rooms, we could only fit the couch comfortably.

We went with this L shaped couch and ottoman set from Amazon. It’s stylish and comfortable and I love it so far!

The cushion covers are removable as well for cleaning which was essential! We also didn’t have to wait very long to get it, it came in less than a week.

I also spent quite some time looking at coffee table options.

I ended up going with this oval, wooden coffee table to add warmth to the space and the oval shape is perfect for little ones running around. This scalloped, rattan basket tray looks so cute on it!

Finally, for the rug, I went with this Magnolia rug in bark/ivory. The quality is incredible, there were no weird smells, and it’s stunning!

For the size of our couch, we really needed a 9×12 rug in this room, but due to the corner fireplace and again limited walking space around the living room, we could only fit an 8×10

I really don’t ever want a corner fireplace again haha! So many design dilemmas with it!

Here is a nice landscape photo view of all of this:

Mantel Mirror, Other Decor, and Details

Our mantel was finished off with a wooden mirror with a charming, arch shape.

For the end tables, we used this small marble and brass accent table (also available here) as well as my grandmother’s vintage end table that I painted black several years ago.

Decorating all of the built in shelves was very overwhelming for me and I’ve slowly been collecting the right pieces! So, I know I will be redecorating them many times until they feel just right!

I will definitely have fun changing them around for the different seasons too!

A few of my favorite pieces that I have added are a scalloped indoor pot, braided wooden pictures frames, and some vintage candlestick holders that I thrifted years ago.

Living Room Makeover Video

If you want to see this living room makeover in action, check out my living room makeover short VIDEO on Instagram here!

I love how this open concept living room makeover turned out. We really tried to make the best of an awkward layout and builder grade space. The room finally feels almost complete and the flow works much better for us now!

I can’t wait to decorate our living room for Christmas next! Here are a few more before and afters!

And this before and after set includes part of our kitchen makeover too:

Below are all product and project sources! Let me know if I am missing something, there are many items that are old so they may not be included!

Living Room Makeover Products and Projects:

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