American Living Room Design Plan: Warmth and Style

It’s the beginning of a new month, which means it’s time to release another designed space. A few weeks ago I took a poll on Instagram, and the majority of followers voted for this month’s design to feature a living room.

This article contains affiliate links and ads. You can find the products I recommend by clicking on the links throughout and at the bottom of this page. These are designs that you can pick and choose which elements to bring into your own spaces. They’ll be saved here on my website, or you can save them on Pinterest. You can come back and add pieces to your spaces as time and budgets allow.

In most American homes, the living room is the space in the house where a family will gather to sit and relax together. Living rooms provide the perfect opportunity to show your style and to incorporate pieces that reflect your personal flair. In this living room design plan, I’ve purposely used multiple sources for the items featured. I want to discourage you from walking into a furniture showroom and buying a completely matching living room set. In order to create a collected aesthetic that is a unique reflection of your style, you’ll need to pull together pieces from different sources.

Click the photo to shop this design.

Design preferences are FINALLY moving away from sterile, all-white or gray interiors. The design I’m featuring today is warm and evokes a feeling of “home” with saturated and inviting colors. The wall color for this living room design is Shaker Beige, HC-45, from the Benjamin Moore historic color collection. On the floor you will find a timeless selection of traditional hickory hardwoods. Using Shaker Beige and hickory hardwoods as the base for our design, we begin to layer in warmth and richness, starting with a woven Persian rug.

The sofa in this month’s design is fully customizable. After choosing the basic shape of the sofa, I selected the number of cushions, fabric, cushion filling, and feet. The feet selected are walnut stained feet with brass castors. The fabric shown is “Atlantic Performance Blakely.”

At this point in the design, we have the base in which to start adding complementary furniture, art, and accessories. I added some leather armchairs and walnut end tables that echo back to the lines of the traditional sofa. The elegant coffee table pairs well with the metal accents on the sofa feet.

The table lamps in this living room design are ones where a visitor might wonder if they’re new or if they were found on an antiquing adventure.

I selected window treatments and an art piece for this space that pull from the colors found in the rug, sofa, and wall color. If you’re only able to change one thing in your living room, try finding a new art piece that will unify the other colors used in your space.

The final layer in this living room design plan is for accessories. Accessories are such a fun way to inject personality into your space. Here I have used conversation pieces that add texture and interest.

You can find the sources for each of the items that I recommend below. Never miss a design release in the future by subscribing using the box at the bottom of this article.

You can find many of these items in my LTK Storefront HERE.

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Discover Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year 2025

It’s the beginning of a new month, which means it’s time to release another designed space. This month features a new bedroom design, which has been inspired by the Benjamin Moore color of the year and color trends palette for 2025.

This article contains affiliate links and ads. You can find the products I recommend by clicking on the links throughout and at the bottom of this page. These are designs that you can pick and choose which elements to bring into your own spaces. They’ll be saved here on my website, or you can save them on Pinterest. You can come back and add pieces to your spaces as time and budgets allow.

Benjamin Moore recently released their color of the year and a color trends palette for 2025. (Read more on the Benjamin Moore site HERE.) I designed a space using 4 of these colors, and I want to show you how simply changing the wall color can drastically change the whole room. The Benjamin Moore color of the year for 2025 is Cinnamon Slate 2113-40. In addition to Cinnamon Slate, I incorporated some of Benjamin Moore’s color trends for 2025: Sea Salt CSP-95, Paris Rain 1501, and Tissue Pink 1163.

In the first design plan I’m featuring Cinnamon Slate as the wall color. Cinnamon Slate is a deeply saturated and sophisticated hue that can be treated as a neutral when taken care not to overwhelm the space with competing colors. Because Cinnamon Slate is the star of this design, we can carefully add selections that keep the space calm and serene. I found a piece of wall art that unites all four of the paint colors that I’m featuring today. This artwork is integral to creating a cohesive design. The furniture and other decor pieces are either very neutral and without pattern, or they only have a pattern that includes colors from the color palette that I’m featuring. With Cinnamon Slate as a backdrop, the other design selections are noticeable individually as they pop away from the darker color.

Wall color Cinnamon Slate. Click the photo to shop this design.

In the next design I have kept all of the exact selections from the design above, but I have simply switched out the wall color from Cinnamon Slate to Paris Rain. I absolutely love Paris Rain. It has been one of my go-to color selections for years. I urge you to get a color swatch in person, because you will love it, too. The silk draperies, which are barely a whisper of pink, like Tissue Pink in our color scheme, become a direct complementary color to Paris Rain, as they are opposites on a color wheel. In this design, Cinnamon Slate transitions to an accessory color in the bowl, lamp, and artwork.

Wall color Paris Rain. Click the photo to shop this design.

Again we are going to keep the exact same design, but this time we can see how it would look if the walls are painted Tissue Pink. I think Tissue Pink is a very palatable pink. It’s an excellent option if you want to warm a space up, while still keeping it neutral. Notice how the selections change with Tissue Pink as the background. The lamp, draperies, and rug are all unique accessories, but with a similarly toned wall color like Tissue Pink, we can start to feel more on the monochromatic end of the spectrum.

Wall color Tissue Pink. Click the photo to shop this design.

Lastly, let’s look to see how the design changes when we change the wall color to Sea Salt. Sea Salt is the lightest hue in the palette that I’m featuring today. In this design, the artwork, accessories, and rug become the stars of the show. This is a good example of showing that often choosing a lighter paint color changes the focus of the room onto the things that are in it. If you have artwork and collections that you want to spotlight, a lighter paint color may be the best option for you.

Wall color Sea Salt. Click the photo to shop this design.

Each of the design selections for this room can be found linked below. Now that you have seen the same room in four different colors, I want you to slowly scroll back up. In each room, focus only on the artwork above the bed. Notice how the artwork works perfectly in each room, and yet as the paint color changes the artwork looks somehow different in each one. Ah, the power of paint! As I said at the beginning, the artwork is integral to this design.

Paint is one of the easiest ways to change a room, and it’s important to select the right color for your space. As you can see, it can completely change the entire design.

You can find the sources for each of the items that I recommend below. Never miss a design release in the future by subscribing using the box at the bottom of this article.

You can find many of these items in my LTK Storefront HERE.

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Bedroom Interior Design Plan: Collected Woodland Retreat

I’ve decided to start releasing some designed spaces once a month. Each month I will share at least one room design with sources that everyone has access to. This month I am going to share a bedroom and a bathroom design.

This article contains affiliate links and ads. You can find the products I recommend by clicking on the links throughout and at the bottom of this page.

I’ll be sharing paint colors, products, and tips that will be helpful if you want to implement this bedroom design in your own home. These are designs that you can pick and choose which elements to bring into your own spaces. They’ll be saved here on my website, or you can save them on Pinterest. You can come back and add pieces to your spaces as time and budgets allow.

I created this bedroom to be an enchanting woodland retreat with a mixture of textures, soft colors, and natural elements. The combination of natural wood tones and painted pieces gives the impression of a space that has been collected over time.

This solid wood spindle bed is a classic design that will truly become a family heirloom. As mentioned above, mixing natural wood tones and painted pieces creates a collected feeling. These end tables make excellent nightstands. They have a slightly aged patina. Be sure to note the design on the top before adding to your cart.

The art in this bedroom space is in keeping with the collected and found mood we are creating. The rabbit print, faux antlers, and book collection are 3 different ways to bring art into the design in a demure, unassuming way.

It’s easy to create a luxurious bedding ensemble and avoid the “bed in a bag” look by layering complementary linens. I recommend using the quilt as a base. Fold the gorgeous blue duvet and leave it at the end of the bed during the day. These throw pillows bring in another layer of soft texture.

The lighting I selected for the room is an example of how the juxtaposition of metal and natural fibers can work together to create a pleasing aesthetic. The chandelier and lamp work like a dream in this bedroom design. I encourage you to layer the lighting in each of your spaces using ambient, task, and accent fixtures.

Finally, we come to the walls and the floor. In this space I have featured a two-tone wallpaper with a nature inspired design. Wallpaper is not for everyone, so you can certainly use paint instead. I like Benjamin Moore “White Sand” 964 with these pieces, but you should select a color that’s right for your spaces using the light in your particular room. On the floor in this design I have chosen a floral rug. This particular rug is essential to the design because it pulls all of the colors from the room together.

You can find the sources for each of the items that I recommend below. Never miss a design release in the future by subscribing using the box at the bottom of this article.

You can find many of these items in my LTK Storefront HERE.

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Rich, Saturated Bedroom Design Plan

Hi, there! Today I am sharing a recent bedroom design plan. This design is good for someone that likes to periodically change out their bedding and décor accessories. Let me share why below:

You can find each of these commissionable links by clicking the photo.

In this bedroom design plan I used neutral furniture and window treatments. These furniture pieces are the foundation of a backdrop that allows someone to change out colorful bedding and accessories without having to completely overhaul their room. If you are the type of person that likes to switch things up, I recommend investing in quality, timeless furniture pieces while finding budget friendly bedding and accessories.

To Recap: 1. Keep your furniture and window treatments neutral and timeless. 2. Opt to spend more on furniture and window treatments since you will be using them longest. 3. Choose budget friendly items for things that you might want to switch out seasonally or periodically.

As always, you can find these exact pieces on my LikeTOknow.it page. You can click HERE or click on the picture above to find the commissionable links. Tip: The artwork pieces shown are one-of-a-kind original paintings. If you wish to purchase them, don’t delay!

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What Are Your Thoughts on Wallpaper?

Wallpaper has come back in a big way! Some of us are thinking, “Wait, didn’t I spend hours of my life removing wallpaper?” You did, but what goes around comes around. And it’s baaaaack! Other than someone who might be considering moving soon, I say bring it on!

Wallpaper can add character, interest, and personality to any space – even your laundry room. In the design plan below, I am showing a wallpaper pattern that I picked out for a bedroom. It has a lighter background and uses several colors in the design. I feel that gives it more flexibility in furnishings for the space, but also if you want to change bedding, etc, in the future, you will have more options with a wallpaper pattern like this.

I’ve linked all of the sources for what you see in this picture on my LiketoKnow.it. You can find the commissionable links there by clicking HERE or on the photos.

The colors used for inspiration for this space are below. Even if you are not painting the walls of a room, I recommend that you have a color palette that you use. This will help you when you are picking out furniture, bedding, and artwork.

The color palette, wallpaper, and furnishings of this space were inspired by a pastoral, French country feel. These are heirloom, classic designs that don’t go out of style and can stand the test of time.

So what are your thoughts? Are you ready to wallpaper a room (or two) in your home? Or are the memories of 1980s wallpaper removal still too fresh to consider it?

You can click the photos to be find sources for everything pictured here.

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Tips for Designing Bedrooms in Modern Times

What if I told you that you no longer have to commit to an entire bedroom suite like our parents did? Gone are the days of walking into a furniture store to buy a matching bed, dresser, and nightstands. You will enjoy your bedroom space more and find it more relaxing if it has a “collected” feel to it.

I want to very quickly show you one example of how you can buy new pieces that don’t “match” and combine them with antiques, as well as modern pieces. The end result is a space that will reflect your individual personality and veer away from the cookie cutter bedroom suite of decades gone by.

Sources for all of these pieces are linked on my LiketoKnow.it. Click the picture to see more.

The first suggestion I have for creating a cohesive, collected look is to be intentional with your color palette. Search for and save a color palette that you like on Pinterest so that you can easily access it while shopping. Another option is to keep your paint chips in your wallet so that you can reference them quickly.

You will want to stick to your color palette for things like art, bedding, rugs, and furniture. If you wander from your color palette, the item you choose will boldly look out of place. You’ll find it visually disruptive to have it in your space, and you’ll become frustrated with your design.

The next tip I have is to pay attention to symmetry and scale. For example, if you are trying not to use nightstands that match perfectly, I suggest that they have something in common to tie them together. They should have similar size and color to balance the design. You don’t want one nightstand to be white and 30″ x 36″, while the other one is stained brown and is 28″ x 18″.

Those are all of the quick tips that I have for you today! I have linked sources for all of the pieces above on my LiketoKnow.it page. You can find all of the commissionable links there. To make sure that you don’t miss out on future design advice, you can subscribe to my blog, follow me on Instagram, and follow me on LiketoKnow.it.

Click the photo to see all of the sources for these pieces on my LiketoKnow.it.

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Fresh Flowers Teen Bedroom

Good Thursday afternoon, friends!

Just a quick note to show you some cheer I added to Samantha’s bedroom this morning. As you read yesterday, I’m finding little ways to appreciate her this week and show some love. Roses are on sale for $5/dozen at Publix, and I thought these pink ones added the perfect touch of pink cheer to her nightstand.

I’ve previously blogged about redecorating her bedroom, and you can read more about it HERE.

Today I put Samantha’s roses into a vintage midcentury hobnail milk glass vase.

If you want any of the links for bedding, furniture, or decor from this room, I’ve linked it all for you on my Like to Know.it page. You can click HERE or follow me there to never miss a post. (commissionable links)

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Cheerful, Winter Bedroom

Hello, friends!

Oh boy – it’s another chilly, gray winter day here in north Georgia. We may not get much snow (if any) during winter, but our winter days can be summed up with one word – BLAH. Do you get the winter doldrums? The seasonal scaries? Or maybe even seasonal depression disorder? The weather that seems magical during Christmastime gets down right moody when we take away the twinkle lights and greenery. In a blog post coming soon I will be sharing a list of simple things you can do to keep your own winter bright and joy-filled. But today I want to feature changes I made to our bedroom to chase away the gray.

The first thing I did was to add flowers. I’ve added bright, real flowers because I feel like it brightens things up during the cold, gray winter days. These were $4 roses from the grocery store. I’ve put them in a vintage sandwich glass that I picked up from the thrift store and tied it with a scrap of ribbon. If you change the water every 2 days, these will last 10 – 14 days. When these flowers need replacing, I will replace them with more bright, yellow flowers since that ties in with my color scheme. (I move the glass to the opposite, back corner when I go to bed so that I don’t accidentally knock it over during the night.

The next thing I did was to change out the throw pillows. I am using 3 pillows with yellow in them to keep the ambiance light and bright. If yellow doesn’t work in your room, try going with another color like bright pink, soft green, or orange. (Think of spring flower colors!) I know a lot of people like to use white, creams, and other neutrals right now, but if you are intentionally trying to cheer up a space, then you need to go with something much brighter!

You may remember that I had a wreath over each of our nightstands. I replaced it with a blue willow plate, which makes me happy. Find something you really love and decorate your space with it.

Finally, Ken’s side of the bed didn’t call for flowers, so I relocated this little horse deco piece there. It has some yellow on it that ties in with the yellow pillows and yellow flowers. I picked up the horse a couple of years ago on the clearance rack at TJ Maxx.

Stay tuned for my blog post on a list of ways to keep your winter cheerful and filled with joy!

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Guy’s Bedroom Decor

Jackson is off to his freshman year of college, and I finally had an opportunity to take pictures of his room. Unlike Samantha’s room, there wasn’t a recent makeover in his space. I feel like I keep repeating, “When we had new flooring put in…” But having new flooring put into our entire house was really like moving out, and then moving back in again. It forced us to purge, organize, and rearrange everything we own. So, “after we had new flooring put in” we painted Jackson’s room. I’ve linked the bedding and more decor on my LiketoKnow.it. You can find it by clicking HERE.

Before his room was Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige with one red stripe and one navy stripe running horizontally throughout the room. As I mentioned when I posted about Samantha’s room makeover, we are planning to move in the next few years, so we went ahead and painted Jackson’s room the same color, Benjamin Moore Dove Wing. It’s a great color that I love, love, love.

Benjamin Moore Dove Wing

Speaking of moving, it has been on our hearts for so long. Ken and I were both born and raised in Gwinnett County, which is a suburb east of Atlanta. I use the word “suburb” loosely, because our area is technically categorized as urban. When Ken and I grew up here it was rural/suburban. The major highways were 2-4 lanes in each direction, and now they are 8-10 in some places. It makes us sad and long for the setting that we grew up in, so we hope an opportunity will present itself for us to live in a more rural town soon.

Almost everything in Jackson’s room is from an estate sale, a garage sale, a thrift store, or an auction. If you follow me on Instagram (@belleantiquarian), you saw that I recently picked up this vintage typewriter for $13.50. Normally, I’d take it out of the case, but I really like the green and gold colors in this room.

I mentioned on a previous post that our family likes to collect vinyl records. We found an end table at an estate sale that has a lamp attached and an area below that is perfect for holding records. It was meant for magazines, but it works perfectly for us.

The vintage Hudson Bay point wool point blanket in this picture is one of my favorite finds. Don’t worry, it was professionally cleaned. 😉 You can purchase a new Pendleton blanket just like it HERE.

I’d rather buy cool, vintage stuff for my kids’ rooms than junk. Even if something doesn’t work, it can still be art.

We miss Jackson while he’s at college. It feels weird not having him sleeping in his room. But he will be home visiting before we know it.

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Guy’s Dorm Room Decor

We moved our son to college for the first time yesterday. Moms of boys will tell you that decorating their dorm rooms is very different than it is for girls. Most boys don’t care what their room looks like as long as they have what they need. Boys just want the basics. And getting boys to communicate with each other to coordinate anything is darn near impossible. Girls, on the other hand, are even having custom headboards built for their beds. I guess we have that to look forward to in 4 years when Samantha goes to college.

Our son, Jackson, left it up to me to pick out his bedding and decor. He did want to approve everything before the purchase was finalized, but he liked everything I picked out, so we went with it. You can find most of these exact items HERE on my LiketoKnow.it commissionable links.

If you read my previous post on How to Save on Dorm Room decor, you know that I was purchasing items well before move-in day. A few of our favorite dorm room essentials can be found on this commissionable link HERE.

We used storage bins underneath the bed to hold everything from paper towels to medicine to cleaning supplies. If you missed my printable laundry tips (instructions) for college kids, check it out HERE.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to set up the floor plan the way we wanted because his roommate had already moved in, but we improvised and found a way to make his TV viewable by turning his bookshelf sideways. You just do what you can to make things work! We got Jackson’s rug from Target, but I think they added a different one after we left.

We used a shoe organizer (linked HERE) in the closet to store snacks. The closets in his dorm lock, so he is able to keep his suitemates from over-indulging when he’s not around.

Do you have any dorm storage hacks? Let me know in the comments!

Guy's Dorm Room decor basics
You can click HERE (or click the picture above) to find these exact items on my commissionable links.

Below are a few of my favorite items to pack into a college student’s care package. I like to pick one snack, one fun thing (game to share with roomies), & something handy that may be needed (like a dorm room air freshener). It’s easy to add them to your Amazon cart, and then ship it directly to them at school. Click the photo below or HERE for these exact items on Amazon.

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