I've always considered myself to be an adventurous person. Place me in any situation, conversation, or city, and I'm as happy as a clam. But that comes with one major caveat: I'm also a homebody, so I need an oasis I love and can recharge in. For a long time, my apartment was not that. I loved certain elements of it, like our bedroom and kitchen nook, but actively avoided spending time in our living room, which takes up about half the apartment. Not only was it aesthetically not-great (our hand-me-down couch was better suited for a frat house than a living room), but it was also unpractical. Our seating arrangement was awkward for having friends over, and the set-up made it so that my boyfriend Jonah and I had to crouch together every time we wanted to watch T.V., on a tiny laptop no-less. I spent months (years, really) carefully budgeting and problem-solving for a new space, and I couldn't be happier with the final result. 

Our new living room feels cohesive, spacious, and, most importantly, is a place we actually want to spend time in! One of the most surprising things I found is that we actually added significantly more furniture into it, but because the space is used in a smarter way, it ended up feeling more spacious and bright. Plus, it feels much more us. A gallery wall behind the T.V. blends some of our favorite things, like menus from memorable meals and photos by Jonah's dad, and items we've collected from trips together are scattered throughout the room. There also isn't a place to hide clutter—which makes us much more selective about the things we keep around. I don't think I realized how unhappy I was with our last living room until looking at the 'Before' photos for the post, but I couldn't be more thrilled with our current oasis in the middle of Los Angeles. Take a look at the changes we made below: 

Let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments!