Thrift shopping can be a fun adventure, but the appeal of not knowing what you’ll find is also a huge disadvantage if you’re hoping to furnish an entire room and keep it coordinated. That’s all right because the internet is here to help get you that refurbished look for your living room with one-click and no surprise bedbugs hidden between your cushions. For the sake of being brief, we’re going to focus on blue furniture, as it is a cool color trend to follow.
To begin, most carpets and hard floors in living rooms tend to be neutral grays, whites, or browns. This is perfect for adding a splash of color in the form of a turquoise or sea foam rug because it will contrast well and won’t look obnoxious against the flooring. Lighter colors are your friends, as your furniture will lean towards the darker blue end and the rug’s vibrant, eye-catching nature will accent them. Woven is the style of choice as it gives the room a home-y feel that so many coordinated rooms lack.
Add a display cabinet that strays from the “safe” living room color choices of black and more black. Try something that has hints of other colors in the room, including blue of course, but also reds, browns, and yellows that might be interwoven in your rug or on your wallpaper. The best cabinet for a living room may not look like it at first, but one that initially looks like it won’t match or is too bulky for your space. It’s best to find one that fits the shade of blue you’re aiming for, and then match lampshades and coasters to its secondary colors.
Next is the couch. Go for a vintage style, as it tricks the eye into thinking that new furniture has weathered the ages. A textured or buttoned back is a good indicator of being old-school, along with curved arms and sides. Having a blue theme helps incredibly in this aspect, as colorful furniture used to be the trend decades before beige became standard, and now that it’s back you can be incredibly modern yet retro at the same time without having to sacrifice on quality by buying a couch that’s already been through years of use. Pair it with a wooden end table to really sell the refurbished look, then add a little twist with a modern-style lamp.
A good way to accent your new blue couch is to put corresponding “weathered” accessories on your end table. Not only are metal boxes as a decoration durable, able to survive moves, children, cats that knock everything off the counter, and other things that are hard on your furniture, but also functional. I like to put potpourri in tins by the couch and then leave the lid ever so slightly askew so that the scent gets out, but you never see where it’s coming from.
To take full advantage of color coordination in your living room, add chairs on either side, or just on one side if that is more comfortable for your guests. Revisit a classic style, bamboo, but make it really belong by going for ones that are dyed blue or green. Add a cushion with a warmer color, like blue’s opposite orange or green’s opposite red, to make the accents pop out. Chairs are easy to move around due to how light they are compared to other living room furniture, so if something in your space looks “off” or empty, rearranging them is your best bet for an easy fix. They also really hammer in the refurbished feel because of the bamboo.
Once your living room is decorated in the coolest trend, invite your friends over and spend some time in your new, blue living room. Tell everyone you’ve been thrift shopping and watch them marvel at how put-together and classy your finds are. It’ll be a secret between you and me.
