Hi Everyone!!  I hope you did get those flowers for your table and truly enjoyed them!  Its nice to do special little things for ourselves!! Well, moving on to the living room-this one was the most work and the most challenging!!

Here is how my living room looked in 2009. The walls were painted white and glazed, I had a tile detail on the ceiling and a textured finish on the fireplace mantle. the chandelier is now in my daughters room. I don’t know if any of you remember the curtain exchange? It was great because you could get high quality ready-made panels!!  I miss that place!! I added the tassel trim, which at the time was all the rage.  Wanting to hang them that day I found some tie backs from Pottery Barn and improvised to re-purpose them to hang the drapes!  They have remained though all the home re-dos!!

These two little chairs, which I refinished and re-upholstered are now in my bedroom with a simple linen. The table is in Galveston next to a bed.

When we did our next redo, the furnishings mainly stayed the same. , I painted the walls a gray blue and softened the mural by washing over it with the new wall color. I also replaced the inside upholstery of the settee with a Saladino pink mohair from Ken Kehoe & Company. Originally it was the same material as the chair and drapery fabric. I hung the Aidan Gray light fixture for a bit of a contemporary twist. Now this fixture is the one we plastered over and it now hangs in the den. The tassels on the drapes were replaced with a beautiful trim. I also added a few Lucite side tables from Lam Bespoke.

Sometimes it all starts with one thing.  I originally wanted a vintage Murano glass light fixture but when I saw this one at MAI Memorial Antiques & Interiors, I fell in love. It is vintage brass and came from Italy. Goes with my Segreto roots!

My friend, designer James Mol, came over to go over his spread in the upcoming book and I shared my dilemma! I have always thought the room was beautiful, but not functional.  Although the room is big, there is limited seating so we rarely used the space. Also, all my rooms are walk though rooms so placement is hard. Well, sweet James who came over for an hour visit stayed all day!  He, daughter Kirby, and myself moved things around to see how different placements would work.  Here is one version that we were kind of liking. The daybed and vintage brass coffee were moved from the den, and the painting was from my office.  The French buffet was outside on my patio, lamp was from my music room, and lots of things were moved out!

Those things were heavy!!!!!!!!!!!! Well after all of that my husband comes out and says the daybed interrupts his pathway.  Back to the drawing board! We did decide on a plan, but you will just have to wait until the final reveal!  The room has an outdoor overhang so it gets dark.  I was itching to use our new Segreto paint in the room, and brighten the space.

I love the light fixture, give a modern feel to my European furnishings! I choose Segreto Paint 106.5 for the woodwork–It looked beautiful with the plastered ceiling and still had a warm feel. With less than a week to go we still had a lot to do!

Before I go on, I have to mention what started the whole thing.  Although we didn’t flood in Harvey, a downstairs toilet caused quite a flood in this room. Floor Designs of Houston did a great job giving me a special new floor! Original to the house I was sad these floors couldn’t be saved. I never thought I would say this but, I think I like the new one better.

Now the murals?  I had a hard time deciding whether to leave them or replace them. Having them for about 20 years, I wanted a more contemporary mural.  It was a tough call but……………

……I went with a new look. Here we are two days and counting. As the mural evolved, I felt that I made the right choice. The tones are all Segreto Paint colors in different darkness’s of the same tone.  The bead detail on the paneling was gold leafed and I glazed a bit of Segreto’s Rosewater on the reveals.

I wanted to try something completely new with the wood fireplace. What would happen if we applied SegretoStone over the top? I would do the same treatment to the metal balcony railing turned fireplace screen.  Would it work?  I was excited to find out. This marble was installed in 1987! The rug was purchased shortly after from Matt Cameron Rugs & Tapestries and was an investment piece for us-one I still loved!! I truly feel everything does not need to be replaced to give your room an update or just new feel!!  Ready for the after?

This is one part we didn’t get to totally finish. Our stone crew will need to come out and polish and sand it more. It really changed the look though. You can see the new drapery fabric-pulling the creamier tones in the rug. A bargain, we found this fabric at Interior Fabrics on sale for under $75!!  What??? I kept the silk blue drapery in my new staging room (stay tuned), as it might be fun two switch out.

The coffee table in front of the settee(originally from Joyce Horn Antiques) was also a find! Purchase from MAI, as two mid-century side tables with round glass tops, we joined them together and replaced their glass tops with one made from SegretoStone. It was a splurge, but it is my birthday month!

And now for the final Reveal!!!!!!!!!!!

What changed?

• New light fixture from MAI Memorial Antiques and Interiors.
• Coffee table with SegretoStone top.
• Pillows on couch from music room and Kirby’s apartment.
• Two French chairs (originally from Joyce Horn Antiques) were previously in my music room.
• French buffet we refinished was from moved from my outdoor patio.
• Painting above the piece was from Kirby’s apartment. She painted it herself!
• I pulled the Lucite stools from the den.
• Purchased these two new swivel chairs from Lam Bespoke.
• The entry console(originally from Joyce Horn Antiques) was moved from the den and the chair from the living room.
• We painted all the paneling Segreto Paint 106.5, gold leafed the bead detail and glazed the reveals with Segreto Paint Rosewater.
• The fireplace and screen(originally from Joyce Horn Antiques) were coated in SegretoStone.
• New draperies were installed.

We love the new look and John and I have used the room daily since!! It now has comfortable seating for 8, where before only 5 could sit. So where did the rest of the furnishings go?  Stay tuned next week, to see them in their new spaces! Have a beautiful week. xo  Leslie