Designing my Modern and Minimalist Living Room with Havenly

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This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.

As a food and lifestyle blogger (and of course, YouTuber) my home is frequently the backdrop to many photographs and videos, so I wanted it to feel “me.”

Thankfully, Havenly helped me accomplish that and blend my modern, minimalist, Scandinavian and SoCal-influenced style into one cohesive living room space.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

I’m beyond thrilled to finally unveil this little design project I’ve been working on for the last few months. If you follow my Instagram stories you’ve seen the play-by-play as I’ve purchased, installed and arranged all the furniture and decor in my living room.

And last week, you also witnessed my inner “Tim the Toolman Taylor” as I proudly wall mounted my new TV all by myself (with the help of some strategically piled cookbooks!).

But let’s take a few steps backward. When I moved into my new apartment, it was a big, blank slate. And as is the case with most apartments, I had one typically boxy living room.

Instead of moving into this apartment like most do, with a truckload of furniture, I only had the bare minimum (and let’s be honest, it was mainly kitchenware). That’s because I’d sold or donated most of my furniture as I previously lived overseas for 6 months.

Watch the video to tour my modern and minimalist living room:

And subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more videos!

So here I was with a cold and drab living room and a Pinterest board that contained my interior design dreams, yet I was no interior designer. As luck would have it (and thank goodness for divine timing), I learned of Havenly, an online interior design company from a fellow blogger.

After perusing Havenly’s website, I quickly realized that I could hire a professional interior designer for $200. And get a 3D rendering of my room. Amazing, right? Though the cynic in me wondered if it was all too good to be true (spoiler alert: my gorgeous living room proves otherwise).

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

The process with Havenly is extremely easy, just watch the video above. One detail I don’t mention on the video though is that you have the option to select your own designer or be matched with a designer. I picked my designer, Asia, because her modern, minimalist, Scandinavian and slightly boho-style matched mine perfectly. And she’s been awesome to work with.

There were two main pieces of furniture that really solidified my design. My modern white sofa from Interior Define (I’ve chatted about buying a sofa online) and my woven leather chair from Wisteria (which, I was obsessed with). Bright white and warm camel – the tones I was craving.

My designer Asia noticed that many of my Pinterest inspiration images had double-layered rugs, so we decided on a plush champagne-colored rug from Crate and Barrel (I loved the subtle lines) and layered a warm, beige cowhide from West Elm on top. It’s a stunning combo, if I do say so myself.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Because my sofa is extra-long (at 112″) I needed a large coffee table to match the scale. But I didn’t want anything bulky. I had my eye on the frame coffee table from Crate and Barrel for quite a while and I loved how open and airy it is.

To make the sofa extra cozy, we also accented it with these throw pillows from Crate and Barrel, CB2 and Amazon.

The media unit took a little extra searching, as we were initially looking for something white. But nothing felt quite right or fit the dimensions of the room. But then I found this buffet from West Elm and loved the mid-century modern look and brass inlay. Asia loved it as well. Done and done.

Because we didn’t opt for white on either the coffee table or media unit, I definitely wanted white on the dining table. Something simple and Scandinavian-looking. I also knew I’d likely do some overhead food photography on that table, so white would be the perfect backdrop.

Asia found this simple, modern dining table from Wayfair and I was sold. I also immediately loved the grey velvet dining chairs from West Elm that she selected. Not only are they super (super) soft and comfy, I loved the brass legs. On top of the dining table, I have two vases from Crate and Barrel, the Adra vase and Rati vase and the small one is from a local plant nursery.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

If I’ve learned one thing throughout this process in working with Asia, it’s to mix and match a lot more. It’s okay to mix metals and textures and to not be so matchy-matchy. Working with a Havenly designer is definitely a collaborative process, but I was thrilled to have Asia steering the ship.

Alright, let’s jump into some of the decor. Even though I love modern and minimalist design, I definitely didn’t want a stark, black and white living room. I wanted my home to feel cozy, warm and inviting. I also wanted a little bit of that SoCal influence to shine through.

So we pulled in those SoCal vibes through the artwork from Minted. With a pop of turquoise color and calming, ocean themes, my blank-canvas apartment was transformed into a warm, happy and inviting home. The artwork we selected included Stepping Stones, Stormy Palms, Blue Monday and Leaf.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

On my minimalist kitchen video I mention that I like clean surfaces. They make everything feel less cluttered. Which helps me feel less cluttered. But a living room is meant to be lived in, so wanted a few little decor items that had meaning.

Because I’m originally from New Zealand (yep, I’m kiwi-born), it seemed very fitting to display this kiwi bird from Crate and Barrel on one of my marble side tables from West Elm. On the other side table, I have a sculpture of bronze seagulls, which was my grandmother’s.

My grandmother had a little beach cottage in Laguna Beach and displayed these seagulls and alabaster grapes in a curio cabinet. So today, every time I look at them, I’m reminded of how lucky I was to spend my youth at the beach and have an amazing grandmother who influenced my life in more ways than I can count.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

When I started this interior design project I made one thing very clear from the get-go – even though I’m moderately minimalist, I wanted tons of greenery. As in, load up my place with *all* the plants.

Real indoor plants have heaps of health benefits. So much so, that I’m sure I’ll do another post/video on that in the future. Therefore, you’ll notice a variety of plants, from Fiona, my tall fiddle leaf fig, to my new schefflera (who still needs a name), to my philodendron, succulents and orchid. It makes my home feel alive….and I love it.

The baskets and planters include this 3-tiered planter from West Elm, these large baskets from Pottery Barn, this woven basket from CB2 and this white belly basket from Amazon.

Take a tour of my modern and minimalist living room. My interior design style is a blend of minimalism, mid-century modern, Scandinavian and SoCal vibes.

Alright, a few final pieces that I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet are this overarching floor lamp from CB2, this column table lamp from West Elm, these white linen drapes from Pottery Barn and this drapery hardware from West Elm. Oh, I also bought this new 55″ TV from Samsung. If I’ve missed anything, let me know in the comments below.

Now that my living room is done, I’ve excitedly moved on to designing my bedroom. And because I was so thrilled with Asia and the Havenly process, I’ve teamed up with them again. If you’d like to see that room when it’s done, let me know in the comments below. A beautiful, sweet, dreamy, calming bedroom….I can’t wait!


A special thanks to Havenly for partnering with me on my living room and sponsoring this post. I definitely couldn’t have designed my living room without them!

About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

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69 Comments

  1. Beautiful room! I love your dining table and would love to know the size. It doesn’t seem to be on the Wayfair site any longer. Thank you!

  2. Hi Lisa! Love your whole decor… I wanted to ask about the dining chair- is this Dove Grey or Mineral Grey? Thank you xoxo

      1. Thank you so much!!! You’re truly an inspiration of mine :-) 
        I’m so torn about purchasing a couch from Interiordesign. How do you like your couch from them, what is it called?

        Plenty of Love always xoxo 

      2. I love my couch from Havenly! It’s the perfect color, material, and width for my living room :)

      3. Thank you so much!!! You’re truly an inspiration of mine :-) 
        I’m so torn about purchasing a couch from Interiordefine. How do you like your couch from them, what is it called?

        Plenty of Love always xoxo 

  3. I have been considering Havenly lately. Who did the installations and placements? Are you on your for that or do they have local people or tradesmen? Like what if you need painting or something more technical like electrical or construction?

  4. Lisa thank you for sharing your look, and how you went about it and the list of products and where you purchased them from. Amazingly inspirational and very helpful ! Congratulations too on your decorated home….it looks beautiful. Caitlin 

    1. Hi Caitlin – Thank you for your kind words! I hope this post provides some inspiration on how you can decorate your own living room :)

    1. Hi Kendra – no, I don’t believe she works there anymore. But I’m sure you can find another designer you love! :)

    1. Hi Joy – Thanks so much! I hope this post inspires you for minimalism ideas in your own home :)

    1. I like your design a combination of minimalist, modern and scandinavian it looks great. I love green plants also .

  5. Hi Lisa, I started seeing your video and I really love it. I learned your breakfast video how to poach eggs and i made it for my family. They really like it. Everything is amazing and you taught us step by step easy to understand. I just wanted to say ”Thank you so much for sharing.”

  6. I love your style!!!  Clean, bright and comfy. We are currently redesigning our very small (850 sq ft) home and your space and video inspired me to check out Havenly. Pinterest is great, but with so many ideas it can get overwhelming. Getting to see your space in 3-D with the actual pieces that can be purchased, sold me. Thank you for sharing 

    1. Wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed the video Kim! I’m visual like you, so those 3D renderings really help. Enjoy decorating your space!

  7. How much square feet is your stunning apartment? I’m currently apartment hunting! I’m a foodie so I stumbled across your YouTube channel for that and then I saw your apartment, pantry organization, etc. Absolutely adore everything about it!!

    1. Hi Samantha-Paige – Thank you so much for the kind comment! I’m glad you’re enjoying my Youtube channel. :) I believe my apartment is about 1400 sq ft. and its a 2 bed, 2 bath.

  8. Perfect! Your living room looks wonderful. I love the colours and how bright is everything and the plants are the perfect accent to the neutrals.

  9. Just found you looking for a Swiss chard recipe. So glad I did and had to share with my daughter. Your ideas are right up or alley. Want to try the resort in Mexico too. Have lately been a little reluctant to go there but this place looks awesome.

    I will happily explore your blog. Thank you, this kind of made my day.

  10. I love the design aside from the dead animal carcass. That actually surprised me a bit.

    I’d like to give Havenly a try someday.

    Thanks for sharing!

    1. Design is obviously very subjective and personal. I love my cowhide rug (I’m not vegan and do eat meat), but the Havenly designers would definitely be able to working within your preferences. You should give them a try!

    1. Thanks so much! And the bedroom is coming this month! Hope you enjoy that room as well. :) x

    1. Because it’s an apartment I don’t have the paint color. But I’d say it’s a pretty standard white. :)

    1. Thanks Chelsea! The big one over the sofa is 40×30, the leaf is 16×16, the stormy palms is 24×24 and the blue monday is 16×20. Hope that helps! PS – I’ve got another gallery wall coming soon with my bedroom tour next month. :)

  11. Love the space! I’ve been on the hunt for a rug for quite some time. Love the Crate and Barrel rug that you used. Are there gray tones in the rug as well? I looked on their site and it’s quite hard to tell! 

    1. Thanks so much Sam! I do love my Crate and Barrel rug. It’s a champagne color but I’d call it almost more of a “greige” – and it works equally well with beige and warm tones as it does grey. You can get a sample in store (and I think online as well). Hope that helps!

    1. Thanks so much! And good catch on the pillow. I’ve just added links to them in the post above. :)

  12. I’m an interior designer too and I am loving this minimalist designs you featured on this post. I hope you can have the time to visit my site too. :)

    1. Thanks so much Rebecca! And I love my plants as well. They add lots of life and vibrancy to the space. :) Unfortunately, I don’t know the paint color as it’s an apartment. But it’s a flat white.

  13. Beautifully done!  I can’t seem to see plant names though, can you give them? I’ve just moved up north from South Africa and am interested to know what indoor plants thrive. 

    1. Hi Lyn – Glad you loved my living room design! The bigger plants are a fiddle leaf fig and schefflera and I have a variety of succulents in the 3-tiered planter and on my dining table. The plant next to my sofa is a philodendron. Hope that helps!

  14. Your living room looks wonderful. I love the colours and how bright is everything and the plants are the perfect accent to the neutrals. Lovely!

    1. Thanks so much Rebecca! The plants do really add a burst of color and serenity to the room. I’m in love with it. :) x

    1. Yay – thanks so much Liz! I’m so happy to finally have my living room done….and now I can relax in my comfy, cozy space. :) x