Behind The Design: Our Living Room Reveal
Y'all... I gotta admit... it is still a little surreal to me that I just did a reveal... in a home... that we own!
Up until this point, admittedly, I never really did any "reveals" anywhere I've lived. In our condo, I shared quite a few rooms and that was my first taste at opening up the virtual doors to our home. But this is different... it feels different.
Photo by Ellie Lillstrom
Sleeper Sofa | Art Prints Triptych 1 - 2 - 3 | Wall Baskets Set 1 - 2 | Clock (similar) | Coffee Table | House Tissue Box Cover | Leather Tray | Pampas Set of 3 | Tasseled Lumbar Pillow Cover | Floral Print Maxi
In case you missed it, the reveal debuted on the Emily Henderson Design blog. I jokingly shared how, because of COVID induced delays, I actually had time to buy a house while waiting for our furniture.
Full disclosure: I was fully aware of the delays from when placing the order... I just didn't know we'd be buying a house in the process.
Y'all know that I think design should be both inspirational AND aspirational, so I always wanna be fully transparent about how I'm able to create the things that I do. After getting so many "ooh's" and "aah's" from the reveal, I realized one of the most common replies was "how did I do this so quickly?!"
The design revealed was chosen while we lived in our two-bedroom condo apartment. Never did it ever cross my mind how soon we would be moving & that I would see this design come to fruition in our first home... yet here we are!
This design was almost 5 months in the making but it was also in partnership with many of my favorite brands. I didn't just move in and start designing.
Yes, having the ability to work and design with my favorite brands — Apt2B, Lulu & Georgia, and H&M Home allowed me the space to execute quicker than I may otherwise would've been able to but lemme be clear —
The thoughtfulness of the design was incubated with its longevity in mind.
Did having brand partners help accelerate the design? Absolutely! But this is also in large part why I enjoy shopping no more than 5 retailers for any given project. Everything can be ordered & delivered in one shot, versus waiting for a multitude of parcels over the span of weeks. With all the pieces having been already ordered & delivered, however, the installation literally happened overnight — the Apt2B delivery was a Monday afternoon & the photoshoot with Ellie Lillstrom was Tuesday morning.
Spoiler: very little sleep was had & it was absolutely worth it.
Now rather than having you see my design and dismiss it as impossible and/or get inspired only to get sticker shock, I wanted to bring you behind the design — numbers & all — so you can see what & how much is feasible for YOU.
If you've been here for a while then you may remember when, at the top of 2019, I decided I wanted to leave the term “budget-friendly” in 2018 and out of my design vocabulary. With that, I have also never been great at budgeting when it comes to design — def not a secret — because I also have a general sense of what things will add up to and/or an acute awareness of when my wallet & I will get uncomfortable. This matters because had the design not been sponsored, making these purchases immediately after buying a house wouldn't have been realistic for us... not in one sitting at least.
“Tip: You should always be able to “shop” your own home before making new decorative purchases.”
Photo by Ellie Lillstrom
The catalyst for the living room design was the paint color of the previous apartment — technically — but in large part, the design was anchored around the Cloud Velvet sofa from Apt2B. It's no secret that I stan Apt2B so shopping them for basically the entire living room wasn't a hard sell. Rounding out the bulk of the styling were H&M Home & Lulu Georgia — two of my absolute favorite shopping destinations. And no design is complete without a last minute late night pit stop at HomeGoods.
Photo by Ellie Lillstrom
Sleeper Sofa | B&W Rug | Cowhide Rug | Magazine Holder | Art Prints Triptych 1 - 2 - 3 | Wall Baskets Set 1 - 2 | Clock (similar) | Coffee Table | House Tissue Box Cover | Leather Tray | Pampas Set of 3 | Tasseled Lumbar Pillow Cover | Mirror | Wood Side Table (similar)
Knowing that I wanted my design to be hygge inspired — cozy, effortless, and chic — I knew exactly who I wanted to shop and work with to bring this to life. I turned to my tried & true favs that do texture, layers, neutrals, function, and style exceptionally well... and all hold up to the day to day of our family lifestyle because real people live here.
My brand partnerships in no way impacted my design choices — I shopped without prejudice — but they most certainly freed me up to design with limited cost restrictions. However, because everything is retail, aka accessible, I wanted to share with you straight up dollars and cents the cost of the first complete room of #thehyggeranch.
Sleeper Sofa | Chair | B&W Rug | Cowhide Rug | Bench | Magazine Holder | Art Prints Triptych 1 - 2 - 3 | Wall Baskets Set 1 - 2 | Glass Side Table | Face Vase | Leather Tray | Leather Frame $19.99 | Square Wool Pillow | Tasseled Lumbar Pillow Cover | Coffee Table | Cane Basket | Sheepskin Throws (similar) | Jute Ottoman | House Tissue Box Cover | Pampas Set of 3 | Faux Fiddle Leaf Tree
Final Retail Subtotal: $8,908.82*
NOTE: this total does not include the items that I could not locate and/or already owned, which largely consisted of the items from HomeGoods, meaning you can easily tack on another $100 to $200.
Photo by Ellie Lillstrom
Chair | B&W Rug | Cowhide Rug | Coffee Table | Faux Fiddle Leaf Tree | Sheepskin Throw (similar) | Jute Ottoman | Curtain Tiebacks | Square Wool Pillow
Do not adjust your screens... your eyes are just fine. Even without ANY major upgrades — ie. pulling up the carpet, repainting the walls, removing the popcorn ceiling, installing window treatments — my entire living room design cost the better part of $10K. This seems like a GREAT time to also thank all of my brand partners by the way.
And in case you're wondering, all of the above upgrades are on our list to eventually do between now and baby girl graduating high school, lol.
When designers charge and/or give estimates, the sticker shock can be hella real. Be honest, how many times have you watched a design show & thought to yourself, "that budget is absurd!" as they furnish an entire home?
Here's the thing... I don't know any of your pockets — hence expelling "budget friendly" from my vocabulary — so for some of you this may have been a complete shock, as you quickly exit the tab; while for others, you're relieved because you anticipated a higher number.
In either case, you don't know what you don't know... and now you know.
As I've said in my previous cost breakdown posts — lemme know if you want more, btdubs — I don't share these numbers to discourage or brag or compare. My hope is to demystify so many of the pretty pretty pictures you see on the interwebs that you like, save, pin, and share as inspiration. Nothing I share here is a trade secret — every single retailer sells directly to consumers so you could've easily done the math yourself. But when you click here and swipe up there, you're not always getting the full picture. And now you have.
I would LOVE to know how many of you saw that number coming, especially since, if we're being completely honest... I didn't. I sincerely thought everything totaled to more than that. Imagine that right!?
As I continue to work my way through #thehyggeranch, I don't want to just give you pretty before & afters, and be on my way. Just like with everything else I do, I want to encourage & empower you to create homes you love in ways that honor the way you live.
