We are so excited to have the finishing touches in our living area nearly completed! After a long weekend at the house, and with the help of my dad, we were able to paint, build, and add fun details to the space. It is becoming a contemporary cottage!

The Landscape

People escape to the Poconos year-round to enjoy the great outdoors. The landscape is covered with beautiful trees in various shades of deep green, brown, and tans. The Poconos also boasts countless lakes and streams, and rich shades of blue pop beautifully in the surrounding areas.

Final Mood Board

When choosing our design details for the home, we wanted the house to be filled with colors that directly complimented the outdoors. The windows in the home are expansive, so we wanted to treat the outdoors as an additional design element. Emily and I created mood boards that highlighted elements, colors, and textures we wanted to include, and then we looked for specific items to help us bring our design vision to life! Here is our final mood board:

Contemporary Cottage

We’re going for a “contemporary cottage” style in this home. To us, “contemporary cottage” style exudes warmth and comfort. We wanted furnishings that are durable, family-friendly, and classic in style. The colors we selected are moody, cozy, and come directly from the nature palate outdoors. We want people to step into this home and immediately feel relaxed.

Here’s a quick before and after, from where we left off last time in Living Area Zoning, to the current room!

Before Photo

After Photo

Jasper Green Walls

The living area is flooded with natural light for most hours of the day. We’ve fallen in love with the color jasper green and decided to use this bold color for our paint color and some furnishings. Before painting the entire wall, I purchased a small sample container of jasper green paint and painted just the alcoves on both sides of the fireplace. We wanted to see the color in both daylight and at night before painting the entire wall. We loved how the color added a richness to the space and how it accentuates the leather sofa and navy chairs. So… I borrowed an extension ladder and painted all the way to the ceiling!

My dad and I also built DIY floating shelves for inside the alcoves. We painted the shelves the same jasper green color as the wall, and we love how it helps the television to almost disappear.

Living Room

We define the “living room” as the space with the couch, rug, and ottoman. We requested the leather couch, which pulls out into a bed, as part of the purchase from the previous home owners. The area rug is from the Loloi Skye rug collection, in distressed vintage brick/ocean, and it was one of our first purchases for the room. We love its warm rust and navy hues. We wanted blues and greens to permeate the space, but we also love how the pop of rust in the rug helps to bring out the warmer tones of the sofa. The girls love to sprawl out on the rug and play with toys! We didn’t want furniture to get in their way, so we decided not to obstruct the floor space with a coffee table. The knit gold pouf from Crate & Barrel was a great addition instead.

We are also loving the striped pillows that were gifted to us from Incasa Decor in Astoria, Queens. They are their Mitla Handwoven Pillow in Indigo, and they add some brightness and lightness to the dark sofa, while complimenting the navy chairs and beige walls. They are even a bit nautical in feel, which is perfect in our lake community!

Custom Floating Shelves

We styled the shelves in the alcoves with white books collected during a swap event in NYC, and vases purchased in thrift stores in the Poconos. The light colors pop off the green walls and provide visual interest. We added a letter board from the Lockwood shop in Astoria, and our favorite Central Park bench bookends. We also left room on the bottom of the alcove for wood storage. When we’re at the house, we typically burn between 20-25 logs each day to keep the house warm!

Connect 4 Board –> Art

The game-inspired piece of art over the sofa is one of my favorite pieces in the house! I found the large wooden Connect 4 board discarded with the trash, outside of a play space in Manhattan. When I saw it sitting there, sad and alone on the sidewalk, I knew that it could be transformed into something beautiful.

Emily measured the openings at the top of the board, and then cut cardboard strips to fit into the slots. She painted the strips with blue and green squares, and then after they dried, she slid them into the slots. The cardboard strips are held in place on the back side with blue painters tape. The effect is subtle, yet whimsical.

Lounge Area

We define the “lounge area” as the space with the 4 blue chairs, rug, and green table. The lounge area truly is the heart of the entire room. It is the space where people congregate, where we sit and drink coffee, and where we play games or put together puzzles. We considered purchasing swivel chairs for this space, but then we saw these blue chairs at IKEA and appreciated their slim profile and size, and found them to be super comfortable.

I found the little table on the sidewalk outside of our church in NYC one Sunday afternoon. It had literally been discarded right next to where our car was parked, so I scooped it up! We thought the size of this table would be more perfect for the space.

The table has a solid wood top that had become scratched and dented. I updated the look by sanding the table, painting the surface jasper green, and then adding two coats of polyurethane. The polyurethane adds a protective coating and will prevent chipping.

The seating area is anchored by a NuLOOM 6′ round jute rug with navy stripes, which adds some rustic texture to the space.

Windows and Lighting

We also added IKEA wall sconces (also available on Amazon) and roman shades to the windows. While we love natural light pouring in during the day, it is nice to close the shades at night. It helps the room to feel snug and cozy, like we’re all tucked in for the evening. The baseboard heaters are located directly below the windows in the living area, which eliminates the option of having longer curtains in this location. The shades we chose are Premium Roman Shades in Wilmington white, because we wanted them to simply match the white window frames so they don’t detract from the wonderful views to the great outdoors.

Stay Tuned for More!

With our living area basically finished, we’re excited to turn our attention to the contemporary cottage bedrooms. We have three bedrooms to outfit with furnishings and design elements that are comfortable and inviting. We’ll be sure to share the photos and details along the way! (UPDATE: see 10 Ideas for Small Bedrooms)

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