This project is the perfect example of a soulful home. When you have created your home to meet your personal needs for emotional, social, and spiritual growth, you don’t care what anyone else thinks about it. You know it was designed and curated - only for you - to function at your best and highest self.

It may truly be a beautiful end result. But no one else will understand the layers of depth that went into the creation, and why the design choices you made are necessary just for you. You may even have broken some common design “rules” (gasp!).

The secret? Your completed home probably won’t be to everyone’s taste. And that’s okay.

I’ll go first…

Today I’m going to share with you my own before and after living room transformation. The final design may resonate with you, it may not. That’s not the point. More importantly, I want you to understand the thought process behind the decisions I made so you can apply the same techniques to your most inspiring and supportive home.

As I mentioned in last month’s post, I was living with all of my mother’s things. And although it was beautiful, it was really her space, not mine. So after finally coming to terms with the need to reflect my own style, I started my own three-step design journey…

Step 1: Tap into what you really want and need

This phase of the design process is all about information gathering, a combination of reflections of the past and picturing the future. Even if you can’t quite visualize what the end result will be or how to make it happen (that’s my job!), don’t skip this part.

This is the time where you get to decide what stays and what goes, what needs to be changed or added. And you will know which choices to make by listening to the feelings you have when making these assessments.

All too often we skip this step and go directly to Step Two. This is why you might feel lost, overwhelmed, or unable to focus on your home decor, because you didn’t take the time to do an in-depth assessment of your emotional design needs. And they play a pivotal role in confidently moving forward.

Art, antiques, and family portraits represent my love of family genealogy, performance art, and the glamour of the Victorian era.

Important points:

Take the time to define the feelings you want the space to exude by listing some adjectives or descriptive phrases (I’ll share mine below.)

What styles both reflect the descriptors you used, AND incorporate a sense of your own personality? It’s only half complete if the room is beautiful, but doesn’t really speak to you, just like my mother’s room did to me.
Don’t let cost factor into your decisions now. Allow your imagination to flow freely. I ultimately had a budget, but that didn’t stop me from allowing myself to dream big.

My wants and must-haves:

After taking myself through the Design From Within process, I knew that I had a few “must haves” in my new living room. My historical review of past generation family styles (and I mean far back past) wiggled their way into my subconscious mind, including a blend of French provincial and English country.

I needed my family story to be told to me via a daily visual reminder of who I am, where I come from, and what I can still become. I knew this history was going to be the backdrop for my new space.

I also envisioned Ralph Lauren style coziness with lots of plaids and textures, artwork, and overstuffed furniture, yet still with a touch of elegance. Rustic, but sophisticated.

With these goals in mind, then I moved on to Step Two.

Step 2: Narrow down the design options

Here is where budgeting, color, furnishings, and accessories come into play. Make sure to take some time here to define your project budget. To proceed without one is setting yourself up for unrealistic expectations that quickly bring an exciting project to a grinding halt.

A budget will help you further narrow down selections based on cost, allowing you to make substitutions in the plan without bringing everything to a full stop. You make better spending decisions when you assign a job to every dollar.

During this stage you must also be ruthless about removing items that no longer suit the space. To add back accessories just for the sake of filling the space defeats the whole purpose of creating a certain feel to a room. It’s better to live with an empty corner than to heave a deep sigh every time you walk into the room — your eye will immediately be drawn to that one out-of-place item.

If you find this step difficult, be sure to match each piece with Step One and it’s role in your future space and in your future life.

My design options:

After some soul-searching and style discovery from Step One, I was able to narrow my focus to make specific selections with greater ease.

The perfect shade of blue to give framed art dramatic impact.

I have a love of deep, dramatic color and have always wanted a navy blue room. So I enjoyed the process of selecting the perfect shade of blue to coordinate with some great plaid fabrics and other textiles that created the feel I was looking for.

I also knew I wanted my walls loaded with personal artwork and photos in that classic English Manor house look, so I set aside some of my budget to have a few of my favorite pieces custom framed.

Many of my design choices are inspired by my childhood memories of spending time at my grandmother’s house. She had open shelving filled with a colorful glass collection which I found incredibly vibrant and cheerful. She had a crackle glass pitcher that always grabbed my attention: is it any wonder I was drawn to this lamp for my new space?

Crackle glass lamp that revives memories of my grandmother.

Step Three: Dive in and get it done!

Here’s where the magic happens! Now that you’re confident in the choices you made in Step Two, you can create your timeline to complete the project. What are the biggest priorities? In what order should the work be done?

If you can’t do the work yourself (DIY it) as I did, take a look at the budget you created for yourself and decide where to hire some help.

The benefit of working with a designer through this process is that I can help you determine a budget, set purchasing priorities, and get the best design bang for your buck. It also helps you set a realistic timeline for the project so you’re not living in chaos with a project that drags on forever.

Remember, too, that it’s okay if you need to pause before fully completing the work. It took me a year to save up for some of the items I knew I wanted to incorporate, and honestly, I had to put new lighting as well as a few higher-priced changes on hold. But I can always circle back around to those things in the future, because I’ve create a good foundation.

Are you ready to see it?

After: Living room design inspired by French Country and English Manor.

For me, a solid foundation included new color, some new textiles, and roughing up the finish on the fireplace to create the feel of white-washed brick (something I never realized I needed, but discovered I absolutely loved during my Step One process). Those changes gave the most dramatic and instantly gratifying updates which is what I needed most of all.

I also bought this beautiful vintage rocking chair off of Facebook Marketplace and refinished and upholstered it to fit my style. Old furniture with great bones is a totally safe bet when it comes to redecorating and is of high value. New furniture of the same quality is expensive and often cost-prohibitive when considering all of the expenses you might have for the space.

living room design from within french country english manor enlightened nest

I strongly suspect my grandmother’s plaid sofa is what led me to the blue plaid fabrics I selected. I remember a hanging lamp she had over the corner of her sectional on her sun porch, and it created such a cozy spot to read or play. I recreated that same feeling with the wall mounted lights over the sofa.

I splurged on a new sofa (still to be delivered), and only added back in to the room the accessories I had that reflected the style I wanted to create. Any previously incorporated accessories have been reused elsewhere, donated, or added to the yard sale pile.

Let’s look at the transformation one more time…

As I mentioned before, this new space might be to your taste and it might not. But the feeling it brings me feels all at once inspiring, uplifting, beautifully nostalgic, and completely at peace.

What design will do that for you?

Designing your home from the inside out

My design process is an opportunity for you to let your hair down and really dive into what makes you tick. Uncovering those innocent needs for home that make you want to sing, but you’ve kept hidden, is what this is all about.

We need to talk if you feel your uniqueness being squashed because you:

Don’t know how to identify what you need
Feel immersed with the mundane
Feel stuck in a life rut
Wish you had the courage to change
Can’t let go of family pieces out of fear of being seen as disloyal
Have to conform to someone else’s idea of good taste
Don’t feel like you deserve a enlightened space

I’m giving you permission and a safe place to take a peek inside who you were meant to be. No repercussions. No judgment. No design faux pas. Just mindful intention to create a design plan that will support your positive growth.

Yours,
Monique

Living Room Design: French Country Meets English Manor