Making Progress

Back in November, I promised to share the 'nesting' upgrades to our living room. While it's been slow moving, I'm actually quite happy with how it's turning out! A few of my ideas were nixed based on practicality (for some reason the hubbie wants livability and comfort as opposed to my preference for 'stylish' and formal!) - oh the trials and tribulations of newlyweds - learning to compromise!

So here is what we've been working on:

We sold my mother's Persian rug and replaced it with this contemporary, yet neutral, rug from Pottery Barn. I also found this Thomas O'Brien rustic leather chair in Boston at my new favorite design boutique, Hudson Interiors, for such a steal! Her name is 'Eliza'...and I just had to add her to our humble abode!

My husband works for a lighting design center in the northern Virginia area and thought that incorporating the tripod lamp would add a bit of contemporary sophistication to this corner of the room. I couldn't agree more!

I styled the wall with framed prints that I bought while traveling through London and Paris a few years ago and never did anything with. I also added Beau, our 'faux' deer head! For some reason, I've been gravitating towards the antler/horn trend that we're seeing a lot of right now in home design and wanted to incorporate a fake version of this trend into the living room. I ended up buying an inexpensive replica at Z Gallerie, but was also loving the papier mache versions at West Elm. I think it adds a modern twist to the rustic look we seem to be going in with this room.

We're not completely done with the living room just yet. Looking at it all together - it's too heavy on the leather and becoming a bit 'too rustic' for my taste. I'm a 'formal' girl and I want a little bit more chic! So we purchased this couch from Arhaus to replace our leather couches. Now we're on the hunt for a loveseat in a cream color to compliment the larger sofa. I'm thinking something like this or this. I'm not into the matchy matchy look of sofa sets,  but my husband is, so I think this is a good compromise. And I may even update those silk drapes with something less stuffy and more sleek - like this!

So...what do you think of our progress? Any suggestions on how we could incorporate a more 'rustic yet formal' tone to this room without replacing every piece we already own? I would love to hear your ideas!