This is pretty much what it looks like now, with the white painted furniture, cottage slipcovers and throws, white fireplace and hardwood floors... (I'm thinking a pale robin's egg on the walls might look good since there is so much white... Definitely something to think about...)
This was mid-way through the living room makeover. The furniture had been painted, but the fireplace was still brick. I had also painted our plywood subfloors white after we ripped up our ancient wall to wall carpeting & padding. The budget didn't allow for hardwood floors at that time, so we lived with the white painted floors for two loooooong years... Trust me when I say white floors are difficult to keep looking clean!
This was taken back in the early 90's. That's the same sofa that now sports a white slipcover... Most of the furniture was stained dark brown back then, and the wall to wall carpet was topped with a braided rug. I really like the look of the bookcases on either side of the window (being the symmetrical person that I am!). But once a TV went into the living room, the bookcases had to go into the family room.
This view shows the fireplace after being framed in and painted white (hubby didn't want me to paint the brick white, which was my first choice)...
And this is the same view from the early 90's... Some day I'll have to post photos from the 80's, during my glass, chrome, leather sofa, and arc lamp phase!
I do wish our teensy weensy living room had more walls or more square footage so that both the TV armoire and the bookcases would fit, but such are the challenges of decorating a small split entry living room!!!
Donna