Ranch Style Living Room Before and After Pictures – Makeover on a Budget!

I’m so excited to share the first of many after photos to come—our living room! I should probably call this an in-progress photo instead of a true ranch style living room before and after pictures since I still have a lot of fun ideas and plans for this room that I’ll share at the end of this post. 

Since our house is a ranch style home, everything is all on one floor with the living room at the center, which I love—especially with a little one on the way! 🙂 

My style tends to change a little bit with each new house—and this might be one of my biggest changes yet! In the past, I have tended to gravitate more towards vintage styles with lots of antique pieces mixed with a little farmhouse. This time, Scott and I both were craving fresh and new—maybe something to do with the aforementioned baby? Who knows. 

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Either way, we made several last-minute decisions that totally changed the original direction we were going in—and we are SO glad! We were about to have hardwood floors installed, but most installers kept balking at the idea of leaving them unfinished. I really wanted simple, clean oak floors, and in my head was dead-set on having wood floors until a floor guy finally asked me why I insisted on wood. 

I didn’t really have a good answer other than I wanted to say I had wood floors. I also knew I didn’t want to do laminate again because they are easy to damage with water and I didn’t want to stress about it. Tile was too hard for my tastes—I felt like our little one could really hurt herself falling! Finally, after weeks of debate and shopping, we found the perfect compromise—a water-resistant laminate in a natural oak color. It really does look and feel like wood, and it can handle water as long as it’s cleaned up within 60 hours. 

Another thing you’ll note in these ranch style living room before and after pictures is we changed the paint color! We also knew we wanted all white walls. Well, I’ll amend that. I knew I wanted that. Scott wasn’t as sure—the white color at our last house was really stark and he was wanting a little bit more warmth. So, we compromised and after testing several whites decided to go with Benjamin Moore’s Decorators White in their Natura line. The paint was definitely a splurge, but being pregnant, I didn’t want anything with fumes. I’ve used Benjamin Moore paint several times and always have felt it was worth the splurge—especially because when I need to do touch up paint I know I can just walk into the store and get some and it will match perfectly! 

Outside off all that, the room itself got a major makeover in the ceiling department—we traded the yellowing popcorn ceilings for a flat white texture. We also replaced the gaudy fan that was there before for something a bit more simple. We also swapped out the square lights for more modern potlighting. 

Here’s one more look at how the living room looked just a few weeks ago! I am holding out on you guys though—I can’t show the same exact after angle as the before picture, since the kitchen is still a bit of a work in progress…soon though! 🙂 

I’m envisioning this area by the fireplace as where Scott and I will sit in the winter months with the fireplace roaring, drinking wine (oh how I miss it!!) and playing scrabble while baby naps peacefully in her room (It’s going to happen!!).

I also have to show off my record collection—a few of these are new or thrifted, but the vast majority I inherited from my grandmother. It’s really sweet to listen to the same records my dad heard as a kid—especially the Christmas ones! 🙂 

While we have definitely made massive progress here, there are always more things to do on my house list! 

Things still to do + next steps:

• Makeover the fireplace. For the short game, I’ll probably end up whitewashing it like I have done with every other fireplace (see my super easy tutorial on how to whitewash a brick fireplace here). Long term, we are thinking of something totally different—maybe a concrete overlay with a chunky oak beam? Or maybe one of these inexpensive fireplace makeover ideas! We’ll see! 
• Mount the tv. We already own all the mounting stuff…it’s just a matter of time. Probably post-baby? 
• Buy different armchairs. I’d love to add a bit more color and pattern to the chairs by the fireplace—and more cushion wouldn’t hurt either! 🙂
• Find a big area rug. Maybe a giant jute one (like this?) to go under the cowhide.
• Accessorize more! Plants + lamps + art!

Ranch Style Living Room Source List:

• Wall paint: Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White, Natura line with eggshell finish
• Flooring: AquaGuard Gogh Water-Resistant Laminate (exclusive to Floor & Decor)
• Wicker chairs: Byholma by Ikea (similar here if you aren’t near an Ikea)
• Rectangle table: Aiden coffee table by World Market (similar options are here, here and here). 
• Cowhide rug: similar here
• Round metal table: Weirs Outlet (similar here)
• Entertainment center: Besta by Ikea in Walnut + Glossy White (smaller, cheaper option here)
• Letterboards: Letterfolk from Etsy and I love them, but if it’s out of your budget, there are a million and ten other options right here. 
• Faux deer head: White Faux Taxidermy 
• Couch: Weir’s Outlet

We’ve already hosted several events—including our baby shower!—in our home and have loved how cozy and homey our living room has felt. We’ve managed to cram a lot of people and memories in this space in a short time! 

Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to know about our living room makeover! 🙂