How to Decorate Your Living Room in Garden Style

The garden style living room is light and casual, and gives the feeling that you're outdoors. Here's how to get the look right.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Adirondack Lawn Chairs
• Area Rugs
• Baskets
• Birdhouses
• Chair Cushions
• Chairs
• Coffee Tables
• Curtains
• Glass Tabletops
• Lace Doilies
• Lamps
• Large Terra-cotta Pots
• Pictures
• Sofas
• Toss Pillow
• Tree Branchs
• Vases
• Watering Cans
• Window Boxes
• Wood Trellises
• Tablecloths
• Baskets
• Chairs
• Pictures
• end tables (or lamp tables)
• china figurines (for example, bunnies and birds)
• flowers (dried, silk, potted, cut)

1. Select seating pieces that are upholstered in a light-colored fabric such as a solid off-white cotton or linen, country check, awning stripe or floral. Add coordinating pillows, some with flounces.

2. Go with a coffee table that doesn't have a heavy look. A dainty, light-toned wood table will work, or a glass-topped metal or wicker-and-metal model. Consider putting a glass top over a garden bench if you can find one in the right height.

3. Use end tables that are light-toned wood or are painted. Painted tables could be embellished with a floral design or might appear to be worn and weathered.

4. Light the room with table lamps that are low-key, with plain wrought iron or ceramic bases, or that underscore garden style and have floral motif shades and terracotta, wicker or floral-motif bases.

5. Choose an outdoorsy sisal area rug, or a wool or cotton one with a floral motif. If the floor is hardwood, keep it light - a dark stain could pull down the happy feel of your room.

6. Dress the windows simply or leave them bare to blur the separation between indoors and outdoors. Simple curtains that work well include checks, plain solids (for example, homespun-look tab-tops hung on a tree-branch rod), eyelet, and of course, florals.

7. Hang pictures that celebrate the garden - blooming landscapes, botanical drawings or floral still lifes.

8. Accessorize further with all types of flowers - dried, silk, fresh, potted - in pitchers, watering cans and vases. Other suitable accessories include lace doilies, vintage-look tablecloths, animal figurines, birdhouses, baskets and even well-worn garden tools.

Tips & Warnings

• Bring outdoor pieces indoors and adapt them for use in your living room. Put cushions on an Adirondack chair, for instance, or top a huge terracotta flowerpot with glass and use it as a lamp table.
• Accessorize the windows with more than curtains. A trellis can screen a window but still admit generous natural light, and an indoor window box (impatiens and begonias are live-plant options) can serve as a great conversation piece.

on 11/22/2005 I took four picket style short fences for a border in a garden and painted them white. Then I put the four together with L brackets. I wove ivy garland through the pickets and bought a round glass table top. It is very cute in my garden style family room. I get lots of comments on it!