Cozy & Chic Living Room Makeover + How I Share The Space As A Bedroom

Hey ya’ll. I’m back from vacation and have a bunch of new posts coming for you guys. Including lots of photos from my trip to LA. But first I’d like to share my living room makeover. If you follow me on Instagram, then you’d know I took a little break from the blog to get this space done. And I’m so proud of it.  I know I always say that I have a Minimalist Wardrobe. But I also maintain a Minimalist Home (aside from my kitchen appliances lol). I love Black & White with pops of color. I use Tiffany Blue and Metallics in my home space. Not everything is new. Mainly the sofa and other items in the sitting area. Other items I updated with spray paint or repurposed. I’ll explain as I go along.

This entire project started because I needed a new sofa. We outgrew my old sofa as my son got way too tall for it. We frequently have movie night in my house where we curl up on the sofa with snacks and watch movies. My son is now 6’2″. So both of us could no longer fit comfortably on my old 77″ sofa. I don’t really have room for a large sectional. So I decided on this Ikea Knislinge Sectional as a compromise since it has a chaise lounge. The sofa is 89″ long, while the chase is 61″ long. Now I can stretch out on the chaise and my son can stretch out comfortably on the sofa. Movie night has been so much more fun. And the chaise has become my go to spot to wind down and relax, and to get work done. I’m sure it will have a booty print in it soon lol.

Geometric Throw Pillow Covers | Faux Fur Throw Pillow Covers

Ikea Sanela Cushion Cover

Coffee Table Books: AFROS and Grace Jones I’ll Never Write My Memoirs

My Ikea Vittsjo Coffee Table is about four years old. It was brown, as was my old sofa. So I used Matte Black Spray Paint to update it so that it fit in the new space. I also added the Gorlose Rug to bring everything together and make the area more cozy. It also seperates the sitting area from the rest of the room which was another goal for my living room makeover.

Gold & Marble Tray | Similar Candle Holder

Wire Basket | Mongolian Faux Fur Throw Blanket

I love the look of baskets to hold throw blankets. So I picked up this extra large wire basket to hold my faux fur throw blanket. The handles were rose gold, so I spray painted them gold to match the rest of the metals in the space.

This console table used to sit in front of the windows. But I had to move it since the chaise lounge now extends into that space. I didn’t realize how much roomier the space would look after I moved the table. I put my old TV stand in my son’s room since he needed a new one. And repurposed this table as an entertainment center and storage space. I used small storage boxes to hide away things like chargers and photos that are not in albums. The drawers hold my DVD and CD collections. The table is old so it has some chipped paint. I plan to repair it, but I kind of like the rustic look. I want a new larger TV so bad. But since I don’t really need it, I can’t justify the expense right now. My current TV still works perfectly fine and the surround sound system makes us feel like we’re at the theater.

Now let’s take a look at entryway and my dining area. I updated the table and chairs and added a bar cart a couple of years ago. So this time around I just updated the entryway storage and added a new floor mirror, along with a decorative vase.

I used to have steel shelving with cubes in this space. But I switched it out for this cube storage unit for a more chic look. I found the Mail Holder and Wicker Baskets at HomeGoods. You can find a similar mail organizer here, and similar baskets here.

I use the Ikea Raskog Utility Cart as a bar cart. It’s no longer available in this color from Ikea. But I found it available here.

Pub Table  | Air Lift Stools

I wanted a dining table and chairs that didn’t take up much space since it’s just myself and my son. So I opted for a pub table and stools. I have a fold up table and chairs in the closet for when we have company. My ex purchased the Billie Holiday Art Work for me from a friend’s auction.

I wanted a large floating mirror so that we can check how we look before walking out the door. So I chose the Ikea Nissedal. I put rubber grips on the floor in front of the mirror to keep it from sliding. I found this marble vase at HomeGoods as well. A similar one can be found here. Now let’s move on to my bedroom area.

I have a pretty large one bedroom apartment. My son has the bedroom, while I have the hall area closet in the entry to the bedroom. I’ll show you guys in another post. But anyway, I share the living room as my bedroom. The biggest challenge with sharing a living room as a bedroom is separating the space. This was one of my biggest goals for my living room makeover. I don’t want to feel like I’m in the bedroom while relaxing and watching TV. I also don’t want my bed directly in the sitting space to avoid guests sitting on it when they come over. Although my regular guests know better. I use a shoji screen to separate my bedroom area from the dining area.

Pinch Pleat Duvet Set  |  Reversible Sequin Pillow

There is a clear separation of space between the living room and bedroom space now with the sitting area update and addition of the rug. Since my bed is in a isolated corner it kind of sends the message that the area is off limits. My bed decor fits seamlessly with the design in the rest of the space so that my bed doesn’t look out of place. My shoji screen is really old, but you can find a similar one here.

Desk | Vanity Stool | Fur Chair Cover (Similar Faux Option) | Lamp (Similar)

The last piece to my living room makeover was a beauty area update. Since I share this space as a bedroom, I also had to include a space for my vanity. I used to feel like it was out of place to have a vanity in the living room. But realized that it’s my space so I do what I want. I just thought about how I would set things up if I had a studio apartment and used those ideas while updating my space. Now I just updated my beauty corner last year. But I needed a new desk that actually fit into the corner to free up more space in front of the window. This window is a fire escape. Since I’m on the first floor, the gate opens inward. So I didn’t feel comfortable blocking this window. A smaller desk also made the room look more spacious.

This desk fit the space perfectly although I don’t particularly recommend it. I follow directions very well and after putting this desk together 3 times, it was totally unstable. I had to drill brackets onto the inner corners to hold it together. And I put Gorilla Wood Glue into all of the crevices, and held the pieces together with clamps until dry. It’s super sturdy now and I’m hoping it will stay this way. I did receive a refund for the desk. I just tried to make it work after going through so much trouble to receive it.

Single Large Drawer Organizer | 4 Drawer Organizer | 2 Drawer Organizer

Since I switched to a smaller desk, I lost some drawer space long with desktop space. So I updated my makeup storage to larger acrylic drawers. These are stackable and interchangeable. The single large drawer is the perfect size to store my palettes that don’t fit in other organizers. And I was able to store all of my lipstick tubes in one of the bottom large drawers with space to spare.

My foundations, primers and such are stored in an acrylic tray on the desktop…

And everything else is stored inside the drawer in two 6 section acrylic drawer organizers.

I also ordered these storage boxes from Ikea to store the PR products that I haven’t gotten to yet. Now they’re organized and not spread all over my desk.

I hope you guys like my living room makeover. I’ll be sharing more of my apartment and organization tips soon. So stay tuned!