MicasaStyle Blog

French Country Cottage Living Room

Contributed by Pearl Sanborn, who has been sharing her secrets to living better for less at A Story Book Life.

So far, my whole life has been an exciting journey of “re-creating” & “making-do”, so when I was given a brand new blank slate to work with, I almost didn’t know where to begin.



For many years, my husband & I worked at renovating a pretty little 150+ year old Victorian cottage. Then, by way of many blessings, 2 years ago we were able to build a brand new home not even a country mile away. It is tucked deep within the forest, nestled atop a grassy knoll, with a little river only a stone’s throw from the back door.

As it seems to be in many newer style homes, many of our spaces are open and viewable from several vantage points. This makes it a bit harder to plan your initial color scheme, as everything must flow together.

Downstairs we have 9ft ceilings in each room, but our entry is an open area and reaches approx 20ft. Because this area flows into our living room, there needed to be some sort of continuity between the two spaces. With a south facing window spilling sunshine into the entry, we decided to take that hint from nature & make sunshine and warmth our theme.

We applied old world plaster in the entry, and a deeper shade of sunshine for the living room walls. To give the room a pop of color, we covered the wall that would become the focal point in a red vintage style wallpaper from Home Depot.



I made the curtains using $3 per yard Waverly fabric that I found at Walmart. Then, I simply hung them up using some black iron hooks from JoAnn Fabric (the best prices!). (How to make Country French Curtains)

To dress the space, we used pieces that were both vintage and new. We also made sure to use items of the same theme and color family to pull the room together.

As well as being one of our favorite places to sit, the cottage sofa also adds to the overall décor with the beautiful mix of Country French colors, and cozy plush pillows.

One of my favorite pieces in the room is a large black cabinet that we found at a very high end furniture store. But because it was in the discounted area, we were able to pick it up cheaper than discount furniture store prices! I love how the basket of hydrangeas brings in a bit of nature.


A simple scattering of some of my favorite things here and there really dressed out the room and made it finally feel like home. And for the finishing touch… to remind us of how happy we are with our new home, we added a big picture of bears eating, playing music, and dancing at a picnic! I think I smile inside every time I look at it!

Although our relationship with this newer bigger cottage has only been 2 years in the making… we have already grown to love her!

Labels: after, before, decor, decorating, decorating ideas, design ides, guest blogger, interior design, micasastyle

posted by MicasaStyle @ 10:39 AM