Budget Room: Eclectic Mid-Century Living Room

If you’re familiar with EHD and our love for navy and velvet then you will know that there are very few things in life that can compete with both of those, especially when they are combined together. You may remember years ago when what was dubbed “America’s Sofa” due to the fact that it had been photographed so many times in so many different spaces (and then showcased on the blog) was finally sold to a very loving new owner to make room for a new style sofa (cue: sellers remorse). But, just because the sofa is no longer in our lives doesn’t mean that we don’t love the classic combination of wood and navy velvet so we decided that it might be fun to take that classic velvet sofa and let it inspire a series of affordable mid-century eclectic living rooms. Here we go.

Sofa | Rug | Coffee Table | Side Table | Sconce | Floor Lamp | Art | Frames | Black Vase | Accent Chair | Planter | Bar Cart | Art Deco Decanter | Tall Decanter | Tray | Coasters | Burgundy Pillow | Sphere Pillow | Cream Pillow | Throw Blanket

This first one is classic, timeless, but has some modern elements that help it to feel 2018. We wish we could show a 360-degree view of this sofa (click through to see it in all of it’s glory). But the back and sides of it are really why we selected it. Wood framed arms, brass pipe accents on the sides, a wood-paneled back and covered in a luxe blue velvet upholstery job. This is what the “America’s Sofa” after spending six months in the gym for “bikini season 2018” and eating a diet of only raw greens would look like. So many beautiful details. The sofa does eat up almost HALF of the budget which is why for the rest of the room we played a lot with some more affordable pieces in case you are wondering why the cost of the sofa is 10x that of the chairs. But, we paired it with a graphic brown and cream offset stripe rug that feels graphic but is in a subtle color combo so that it isn’t too jarring visually. In an ideal world we would have used the chairs that are currently have in our living room, but sadly Target is currently sold out of them in the cream color so we swapped them for these more angular versions (which still work so well in this version). And because no mid-century inspired living room is complete without a bar cart (even though just saying bar cart feels like 2015) we included this sleek wood version with a little drink setup for you.

Sofa | Rug | Coffee Table | Side Table | Sconce | Floor Lamp | Art | Frames | Black Vase | Accent Chair | Planter | Bar Cart | Art Deco Decanter | Tall Decanter | Tray | Coasters | Burgundy Pillow | Sphere Pillow | Cream Pillow | Throw Blanket

Our second versions still carries the same style with this blue velvet number from Article that we swapped in. We also used this sofa in the Barn makeover, and it is a great option (that also comes in a lot of colors) if you guys are on the sofa hunt. The rug underneath was swapped to this brown and cream stripe which is a little more subtle than the previous but still brings a nice warmth to the space. The sconce, side table and bar cart were also swapped out. But the art, which we haven’t talked about yet in this post stayed the same. The art that we have included are digital files that you can download instantly, have printed at your local copier/drug store and then frames which makes them way more affordable than anything else out there. In case you missed the post where we talked about that process head here. You’ll also want to note that the sofa’s in the second and third version are slightly smaller than the original although should still have plenty of room for everyone.

Sofa | Rug | Coffee Table | Side Table | Sconce | Floor Lamp | Art | Frames | Black Vase | Accent Chair | Planter | Bar Cart | Art Deco Decanter | Tall Decanter | Tray | Coasters | Burgundy Pillow | Sphere Pillow | Cream Pillow | Throw Blanket

Last but not least we chopped the first price in half for this final most affordable variation. The rug was swapped back to an offset strip rug (which is shockingly only $118 BTW) and then the sofa was also swapped out although we kept it a navy velvet, which was the whole point of the post after all. All in all it still has a lot of the same vibes as the most expensive version but definitely not quite as much swag or elegance.

So, which one is your favorite of the three, and can any of you attest to trying that first sofa in person? It looks pretty tempting visually. Now, most importantly who else misses seeing that original blue sofa from years ago?