A Tour of Our Modern Traditional Living Room

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Today I thought I’d take you on a tour of our little modern traditional living room! We jokingly call this space “the parlor” since it’s right by the front door and it is the more grown up of our two living spaces. It’s definitely not formal though! Our family room, which is where we spend most of our time, houses our TV and is the toddler toy domain. So if you’re wondering where all the toys are, the answer is…not here! Ha.

If you’ve been around for awhile (or read the intro post to our kitchen refresh project), you’ll know that our first floor is all open concept. While the flow is great, it can definitely make for some space planning challenges. Delineating “zones” has been key to making it feel cozy and purposeful without having walls to naturally divide it up!

This living space is next to our dining area - you can catch a glimpse of that in the photo above. I’ve played around with several floor plans to make it feel like there’s some separation, and I think this layout is the winner. I like how it creates a conversation area with the sofa and pair of chairs, and the symmetry with the fireplace is definitely visually appealing.

It was a happy surprise to find that my grandmother’s antique jelly cupboard fit so nicely in this nook next to the fireplace on move-in day. I love that piece and has such great storage. I’ve struggled with whether to add something to the left of the fireplace to balance it out, but I also kind of love the openness.

We’ve got a larger mid-century china cabinet in the dining room, so when you step back and look at the space as a whole, it doesn’t feel like you need anything extra next to the fireplace.

Let’s take a closer look at this cute little footed planter, shall we? Lindye Galloway Shop was kind enough to send it my way, and I just adore it. It’s a great tabletop size and has enough going on to catch your eye as you pass it. I plopped a little Audrey Ficus in there, but you could put so many different kinds of plants in it. Just be sure to keep them in a little grow pot so you can water them well!

This sofa is oh-so-perfectly loungy. It has a deep seat and the bench cushion makes it a great reading or napping spot. With all the natural light coming in through the windows, it’s definitely a favorite spot to sit! It’s upholstered in white Crypton fabric, so I don’t worry about it at all. (I found the sofa in a similar fabric here if you’d like to take a closer look at it.) I even spilled my morning coffee on it one day and it wiped right up. If it can withstand coffee, I’m pretty confident it can withstand most anything we (or our toddler) throw at it. 😉

Over by the front door is our hard-working Stairway bookshelf. It serves the dual purposes of style and function. We don’t have a single closet on this floor, so we had to get creative with our “drop zone” by the front door. Up top is the pretty stuff like books and my collection of brass objects, and then at the bottom we have storage for things like little coats and hats, shoes, and miscellaneous items.

Our coffee table is a vintage find from a few years ago (RVA Antiques if you happen to be local!) and I love the fluted edges and rattan details.

The pair of lounge chairs is a bit of a sore subject in our house, haha. I bought them kind of as placeholders when we first moved in because we needed something quick and inexpensive to sit on. They look great and are a pretty good dupe for this chair, but I’ll be honest, they’re not very high quality or super comfortable. The stuffing has gotten lumpy and they’re definitely not made to last. My husband, who is 6’2”, definitely doesn’t love them because they’re so petite! Alas. I would LOVE to exchange these for something else in the future, but I’m not in a rush.

Our mantle has been fun to style since it’s wide and deep, making it great for layering different pieces! And since our ceilings are about 10’ in here, making sure I’ve got pieces with height has been a key to success in here. That center painting is 40” square for reference - that’s big!

The art up here really makes my heart happy - it’s so worth it to find pieces that speak to you. I painted the large piece, the silhouette is from Vana Chupp Studio, and the tiny landscape painting is by Elizabeth Sage McLaurin.

Here’s one final look back toward the front door. I just love how that bank of windows frames the sofa. It’s such a light and airy spot in our home.

Scroll down for the sources for our exact or similar pieces in this room!

Get the Look: Modern Traditional Living Room