How to Style and Layer a Living Room

6 Materials
$100
30 Minutes
Easy

I love layering... it all started when I was much, much younger and working in retail creating window displays. I loved putting together outfits and having women come in and say “I’ll take that whole outfit, including accessories!” It was music to my ears that something I created others wanted.


In case you do not know much about retail, it’s all about layering and accessorizing to provide a complete look for your customer. Add on’s is what they like to call it. I won many sales competitions going into work early and working my magic in the windows. It was kind of a high for me knowing people were walking around in the items I had put together. When I left the retail world behind, I still loved layering. I layer my clothes, and guess what? I layer in my home too!


Tell me, when you walk into your favorite home decor store, what do you gravitate towards? Is it the couch with the throw blanket, many pillows, coffee table in front with tray, candles, candle sticks, and maybe a book? Or do you gravitate towards the lonely couch with no pillows, no coffee table, and not a thing surrounding it?


Looking pretty lonely here, don't you think? This couch is actually from Pottery Barn, if you want to hear about the deal of the century, you can read it here. I am still amazed I pulled it off for the price I found it at! My table that was free to me (you can read the post about it here) doesn't look as beautiful without something on it either.

Pottery Barn is phenomenal at what they do. When you walk in, it’s warm, it’s cozy, and you can visualize their items for sale in your home, best of all, they layer it up so you want to have the entire display transported right to your family room, living room, dining room, bedroom, whatever or where ever you want.


You can learn to layer in your own home; it is really quite simple. Adding textures, colors, and patterns can really bring a room together. I can show you how and not spend a lot of money doing it too!


Isn't the sofa looking less lonely with the throw blanket on it? Loving that designer look too? I mean who wouldn't, right? If you are interested in the real deal, you can find it here... but if you are interested in saving 96% and think you would be interested in finding one at a steal, you can find it here.  


I have loved that blanket for some time, but the price, not so much. You know me, always in search of a steal, so I was amazed when I found one and the price? YES!  I ordered it right away and could not wait for it to arrive. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality, I love the blanket. Of course, if you notice, it is in our nice room with the doggie gate up because peanut is not allowed in this room. He cannot be trusted to not chew certain things up and I want just ONE room untouched by puppy teeth and prints.


Are you seeing how this is coming together? I found these Ralph Lauren velvet pillows at TJ Maxx. They are cream and filled with down. I love calming colors, especially in this room. I did not go with a lot of color in our living room, just pops of turquoise here and there.  


I added another set of cream pillows with pom poms around the seams of the pillows to add texture and dimension to our sofa. It is no longer looking so sad, now on to the coffee table...


This is just a simple gold tray I pulled out of our attic. I decided to trade out trays on my coffee table for something different. I went with a rectangle instead of my standard oval tray I usually have in here. I am not one to like things lined up in a row, that is not me. I like things at an angle, off center a bit, grouping in odd numbers, adding character.  


I decided to keep my turquoise damask glass globes out. I do love them, I also changed out the batteries to the twinkle lights that are inside the globes to add a little sparkle to the living room. I am still thinking it is looking a little sparse here though.  


Ahh... here we go, feathers! I need to invest in more feathers to really spruce up this area. I like the added texture to the glass and pattern on the globes. I like decorating using groupings of three, odd numbers are best when grouping items together. 

What do you think, do you think we pulled it off? We have pattern and color in the glass globes, a softness with the two sets of velvet pillows, and dimension with the pom poms, warmth with the blanket... texture in the velvet pillows, blanket, wood, leather, glass... we have a lot going on here. 

Let's look at those feathers, glass, and pattern again... the richness of the stain on the table and the leather in the background really sets this off.


And just when you thought we were finished, I add more. To me the glass and feathers needed a little more pizzazz... so I found my gold candle, rose soaps, and a milk glass hobnail dish. I am feeling it is complete now, finally!  


You can group really anything together on your coffee table, just surround yourself with items you love. I do not buy pieces I do not love, it seems like a waste of money to me. I am not very trendy... I am a little bit of everything all rolled into one package. 



I even changed up my sofa table behind our couch. Now, that was a bargain too, if you would like to read about it, you can find that post here.  


And here we are where it all comes together.  


If you would like to shop this look, you can find links at www.vintagestylegal.com. 


Suggested materials:
  • Pillows   (TJ Maxx)
  • Pillows   (Amazon)
  • Tray   (Had it on hand)
See all materials
Vintage Style Gal
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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