A couple of weeks ago I completed a quick change family room makeover involving one of my favorite design elements, grasscloth wallpaper. Textured wallcoverings do wonders for warming up a space even more than paint. Made from natural materials, woven wallpaper is often times a decorative accent itself and doesn’t require much wall art for the room to feel complete.

Here’s how the room looked when the family first moved in about 2 years ago. At the time there wasn’t much decorating going on. The homeowners only wanted to have the place painted and settle into their new surroundings.

They already owned the leather sectional pictured above and the ficus tree. There was nothing going on here except for a bad case of the blahs…

…then one glorious morning, style rushed in [me] carrying a truckload of accessories.

When it comes to adding color to a sofa this size, large down-filled pillows are the only answer. If there is one thing I cannot stand it is to see a huge sectional sprinkled with tiny, cheap-looking pillows. Splurging on custom throw pillows allows you the flexibility of choosing the fabric you want and at the size you want. When you are sprawled out catching up on a pre-recorded episode of Scandal, these pillows will conform to your body and will bounce back unlike the poly-filled variety…

I’ve seemed to have gone off on a tangent. I digress…sorry. You get the point. Tiny, cheap-looking pillows are bad. I can move on now.

Wall decor is spare in this space and for good reason. As mentioned before the grasscloth wallpaper does a lot for any space. I added white photo frames and tortoise shells to contrast with the dark furnishings and modernize the space a bit.

I also added swing arm wall lamps on both ends of the sectional. They don’t take up precious floor space and are conveniently within arms reach when picking out your favorite snack mix pieces out of the bowl or of course reading a book.

At this angle, you can get a closer look at the FLOR carpet tiles. This chunky weave is called Roadside Attraction in Haze. Cool, huh?

FLOR is one of my go to spots for quick change jobs because I literally can get the tiles shipped to me in a couple days. And I love Katherine in our Atlanta store. I come whizzing in with my fabric swatches and she’s pulling my tile samples in a flash…

Here’s another angle in the same room. BEFORE.

and AFTER

Again, when it comes to accessories and grasscloth wallpaper a little dab will do ‘ya. Shouts to Martha S. for designing a darn good starburst mirror at an ridiculously affordable price point. The console has only a few purposeful trinkets, there’s not much you can add without blocking the full view of the television. That’s a no-no.

There you have it folks.

There are so many directions you can go to add life to a room with dark leather furniture. I’ve written about it here if you need more pointers.

Looking for a quick change? I’d love to work with you! Email me at info (at) erikaward (dot) com or give me a call (404) 507-6110.