Vintage Meets Modern Living Room Decorating Ideas

Our formal living room has been in an almost-finished state for years. It’s not so much that the room is an afterthought, but since it’s not one of the spaces we live in everyday, projects elsewhere always take precedence.

You may remember that it took me forever to hang curtains in the living room and to put up artwork on the two-story focal wall, and even longer still to get the furniture arrangement just right. So, is it any surprise that after four years, the living room was the once place in the house that still felt under-decorated?

Well, not any more.

My friends at World Market gave me the kick in the pants I needed to spruce up my space and to add those final finishing touches to my living room using items from their fall home decor collection.

Since I already had a lot of furniture pieces, colors, accessories and patterns I loved in the living room, this makeover was really about adding warmth, texture and detail.

My goal was to create a romantic, cozy entertaining space in this large, two-story room that is at the center of our home. I really wanted it to reflect my decorating personality and showcase all the things I love.

I added a rug, extra seating, accent furniture and accessories to coordinate with the existing furnishings in the room. To transition from summer to fall, I added warmth and texture with throws and pillows in my existing color palette of coral and blue and aqua. I layered in brassy gold tones and brought in some weathered wood, new artwork and natural elements.

That’s one of the things I really like about shopping at World Market. I can find so many items that work with the antiques, hand painted furniture and thrifted pieces I already have. There’s a vintage, timeworn look about many of their furnishings and accessories. But I can also find the modern patterns and updated silhouettes I love to create a space that really reflects my vintage meets modern aesthetic.

Now, let’s take a tour of the living room so I can show you all the changes I made.

It starts underfoot with this gorgeous blue-bordered jute rug, which I’ve had my eye on for a long time. World Market has a lot of great wool, cotton and natural rugs in an array of styles and patterns. Since I have so much pattern going on elsewhere in the room, I choose a solid natural fiber rug to ground things. But the texture and the border give it visual interest.

I spent the bulk of my makeover budget on the rug (but thankfully I had a coupon and some World Market Explorer points banked). I needed the 9X12 size rug because our room is really big, and normally those are only available through online order. But by sheer serendipity, the Wilmington, N.C.,  store had the size and color I needed in stock. So, I got up early one Saturday morning and drove three hours to pick it up!

Crazy, I know, but it totally makes the room!

And if I hadn’t made the drive, I wouldn’t have met my kindred decorating spirit, Thelma, the World Market associate who helped me find all kinds of fun things to work with my colorful fabrics and painted finishes in the room.

These painted wood candlesticks look like they were painted especially for this room, and I love how the floral weathered wood tray gives me serving and stacking space on top of our ottoman.

I added a coral velvet lumbar pillow to the sofa, and a new throw for cozying up on the cooler fall days ahead.

I couldn’t resist the color or pattern on this lumbar pillow for my bergere chair.

I added some feathers and a handmade gift tag to a retro glass bottle on a side table.

I filled a textured white bowl with sea glass, a fun memory of summer.

I have a pink writing desk that my mom painted sitting in front of a window in the living room.

I finally found the perfect chair for it, the round back Paige dining chair in natural linen.

Since I want to keep this desk mostly clear for writing, I didn’t add many accessories to the tabletop.

Just a few recycled glass candlesticks…

… and some more feathers.

I do change out the things in the thrifted brass shadowbox seasonally. Right now, it’s filled with nests and feathers, but come Christmastime, I’ll fill it with my vintage ornament collection.

Speaking of feathers, they turned out to be an unexpected theme in my fall living room.

I already had a peacock pillow on my vintage settee, and I use peacock blue throughout the room.

So I couldn’t say no to this sapphire blue agate side table from World Market. It’s a nice modern touch.

I styled it with a vintage vase, printable feather artwork in a cool brass frame and a geometric sphere that makes my pattern-loving heart swoon.

You may have spied its larger mate hanging out on the cocktail ottoman. I love these so much, even after my husband likened them to 20-sided dice from Dungeons & Dragons. Geek meets chic!

I’m totally in love with my newly finished living room, all spruced up for fall.

But I have to let you in on a little secret. I may not be completely finished with the sprucing and tweaking. There may be two more coral side chairs and some artwork coming my way for an adjacent space. You may have spied them in the mood board, and I promise that just as soon as the FedEx guy drops them on my doorstep, I’ll be sharing photos.

What space would you like to spruce up for fall?

For more living room decorating ideas, see how these four other bloggers spruced up their spaces with World Market, visit:

Lauren McBride Blog
Celebrations at Home
Honey BearLane
Ella Claire Inspired

Living Room Decorating Ideas: Shop the Look

I used the following World Market items in my living room makeover:

• Fortress Bouquet Wood Serving Tray
• Blue Bordered Chunky Weave Jute Rug
• Natural Linen Paige Round Back Dining Chair
• Coral Paige Square Back Dining Chair
• Brass Metal Vertical Reese Frame
• Sapphire Harbin Accent Table
• Blue Newport Candle Holder
• Turquoise Coral Artwork
• Metal Sphere Décor
• Aqua Tile Lumbar Pillow
• Retro Glass Bottle
• Sea Glass Vase Fillers
• Velvet Crimp Lumbar Pillow
• Aqua Blue Waffle Throw
• Recycled Glass Pillar Candle Holder
• Ivory Unscented Candles
• White Textured Bowls

Disclosure: I am a member of the World Market Tribe blog ambassador program. I received compensation in exchange for this post, but all opinions are honest and my own. Read my full disclosure policy here. #WorldMarketTribe #SpruceUpYourSpace #ad