Christmas Living Room: Two Ways

Remember when I posted about my favorite Christmas color schemes, blue/silver and purple/gold?  I decided all the inspiration pictures were fun to look at, but I wanted to do something more with them.  I picked one of my favorite pictures from both color schemes and designed a living room around them.

The blue/silver color scheme led me to pick more glamorous decor.  I wanted the blues to really pop, so I stuck with whites and silvers mixed with an occasional pop of dark wood as the neutral accent colors.  I designed it around this Christmas tree from Canadian House and Home.

Here is the fully decked-out blue Christmas living room:

I started with this fabulous Montego navy pennyback sofa.  I loved its clean lines mixed with the tufting to make it feminine and masculine, and oh so glam.  Next, I wanted a rug to ground the room.  I didn’t want anything too dark because I didn’t want to take away from the tree or the already dark sofa.  This fleece rug did the trick.  I liked its neutral color but also the waved line detail.

For a coffee table, I fell in love with this Adair acrylic table with its interesting shape and place to hold magazines.  Next to it, I wanted a chair that would bring in more of the color from the Christmas tree, so I added a fun upholstered chair.  For additional seating and another surface to set accessories on, this round rattan pouf fits the bill quite nicely.  The pillows added to the sofa were inexpensive mint blue pillows.

For the artwork, I wanted to go with something that had some of the colors from the room but wasn’t Christmas-related since the idea behind these inspiration boards is that only simple accessories are changed throughout the season while everything else remains the same.  This lovely April in Paris artwork fits perfectly with its cool color scheme and moody vibe.  Above the sofa, I wanted a curvy mirror to reflect the silvers and found this very affordable Husnes mirror from Ikea.  For lighting to make the art and mirror shine, I went for this Allure floor lamp with lots of glass to add even more glam and light into the room.

Now where the fun part came in: finding Christmas accessories.  I wanted some of the accessories to seem like they belonged in the room anyway, not just during Christmas.  For those, I chose two Belvedere hurricanes for the coffee table and a star tealight holder for on the pouf when it is not being used.  They both are glamorous, reflective, and can easily be used as Christmas decorations, but can also transition back into daily decor once the holidays are long gone.

The actual Christmas decorations I chose were some silver and blue ornaments for the coffee table to put in a long bowl or to sit out on their own and a sparkly Kotte wreath from Ikea for only $2.99.  I figure the Christmas accessories should be the cheapest because they are only used once a year, while the rest of the accessories in the room can cost more money because they will be in the room all year.

I really love the color scheme in this room and its cool tones and reflective surfaces, but sometimes I like things a bit warmer.  For that side of me, I designed a purple and gold living room designed around this Christmas tree from Mail Online:

Here is the completed room:

  The couch I chose for this room, a contemporary upholstered sofa, was more tailored and traditional than the navy sofa in the previous inspiration board.  I wanted this room to be fun, but include some timeless pieces as well.  The rug that grounds all the purple in the room is a medallion area rug with a nice pattern which mixes in some gold as well.

For the coffee table, I wanted to add a little bit of ‘bling’ so I chose a mirror block table to reflect the gold in the room and to add a lighter tone to the room to balance the deep purples.  I wanted a chair that would tie in more of the feminine quality the rug had, so I went with this Naudia slipper chair with gorgeous tufting and an elegant purple flower pattern.  The pillows I used to bring more color to the sofa were two scarlet Bianca pillows, two gold lotus flower pillows, and one deep purple plush pillow in the center.

For the artwork, I chose another moody painting like in the first room, but with darker colors.  I loved all the different colors in this End of Day painting because it didn’t overly match the rest of the room and it allows for different accent colors once the Christmas decorations come down.  Next to the sofa I went with a neutral paper shade floor lamp.

Besides the tree, the only other solely Christmas accessories added were the gold Noel and the gold ornament wreath, which someone could easily make just like I did earlier this month.  The two purple votive candle holders will work in this room all year long and also come in gold.

There you have it.  Two completely different living rooms with distinct color schemes for the Christmas season which can be incorporated into decorating all year long.  Which one is your favorite?