Living Room Goes From Stark to Contemporary

Before

$66 - Paint
The walls are painted a warm yellow color. A block of a darker yellow color is painted over the fireplace, which is the background for four pieces of art, and another block is painted in the entry, which is the background for a wall mirror. (paint: Behr Premium Plus Paint, 310C-3 Warm Cocoon; paint for color blocking: Behr - 310D-4 Gold Buff)

$31 - Pillows
Pillows in yellow and green fabric bring color to the white sofas and help unify the color scheme on the two side chairs.

$144 - Coffee Table
Four banana leaf ottomans are fashioned into a coffee table. First, a medium-brown stain is brushed on each. Next, leather is cut into thin strips, tied together and wrapped around all four ottomans for a fun decorative element. (ottoman: Target - Market Bazaar, 0216)

$75 - Side Table
A rattan ottoman is repurposed into a side table between the two chairs. (ottoman: Pier One - Bahama Stool, 2003732)

$45 - Canvas Paintings
Crawford creates contemporary art using four 20 x 20 canvases. First, she applies a brown base coat to each. She then brushes on a top coat (she uses cream, paprika red and sage green for her project) and while the paint is still wet, drags her fingernails in a quarter-circle to reveal the brown base coat. Once installed, the quarter-circle pattern on each comes together to form one large circle.

$32 - Architectural Element
The blank wall behind the two side chairs is given some contemporary relief with a "sculpture" made out of medium-density fiberboard (mdf). Crawford pencils a freeform shape onto the mdf, and once it's cut out, sands down the edges. A coat of a dark paint color makes it look like metal. It's attached to the wall with wood dowels. Double-ended screws are secured to the dowels, which are screwed into the wall. The "sculpture" is then attached to the wood dowels with finish nails using a brad nailer.

$500 - Total Cost