I can finally post pictures of my living room re-do. Man, does it feel great to be done, finally! It is such a great feeling to feel "finished" and not constantly be thinking of more things that need to be done. I can finally sit back and enjoy myself in this room.
I'll start with "before" photos, from when we first purchased the house. You can see why I was a little hesitant to buy this house. Thank goodness Brett and I were able to have a vision for it's potential, but even then I was scared we wouldn't be able to pull it off.
August 2008
Ick! This room reminds me of an old 1970's ranch house. The original wood paneling on all walls was still there, and as you can see-it was not pretty. The wood floor was basically rotting at the back door and the skinny planks was just not a good look. This picture is dreadful.
Immediately (before we ever moved in) we remodeled the downstairs. Here is what it looked like after the remodel when we first moved in.
Brett tore down all the wood paneling himself and we had it sheet rocked and painted a neutral color (Sherwin Williams Nomadic Dessert). We opened up the left wall and arched it to flow into the front living area. This made the whole house feel so much more open. We had recessed lighting installed because notice in the before picture that this room had NO lights! We tore down the ceiling paneling (which I now think might have been pretty painted cream, but at the time I wanted them down). We put up thick baseboards throughtout the downstairs. And yes, that's Tamra on the TV from The Real Housewives of Orange County...love that show.)
At the time of this picture, the remodeling may have been done, but there was one small problem. Well, big problem. My arch-nemesis, the beast of the brown leather couch. I married into this couch and my hubby was just not willing to part with it and it's comfy reclining ends. So I lived with it for the first 2 years of our marriage, until finally, the day came when he agreed to let me get a new couch. (Just to prove my point at how unattractive this couch was, we tried to sell it in a garage sale for $300, then $200, then $150, then we basically tried to give it away and still no one wanted it. It ended up at goodwill. RIP, beast. I will not miss you.)
So, the past few months have been all about "re-decorating" to finally have a look that I loved. And ...ta da...here is the finished look today...
I ordered a cream colored sectional, that is actually quite comfy. Hubby totally approves, once he sat on it. We fight for the spot in the corner facing the TV. My seamstress made the pillows, curtains, and slipcover for the chair.
Got a new sofa table. We needed some lamps in this room and this is the perfect place for them. I like using one of my kitchen chairs next to it so I have a little writing desk downstairs, but this chair doesn't live here permanently.
I took an old chair that was in my sister's garage and had it slipcovered. The white ceramic garden stool is from Garden Ridge.
I love it! But I can't take credit for it...I totally copied my favorite blogger, Joni of Cote de Texas, when she posted this post here..
Joni has absolutely the best taste, and when I saw The Albans House, I knew I had finally found the look I wanted to achieve. I think when you see a photo that truly inspires you, just copy it! I used the same two fabrics (Windsor Smith for Kravet, Riad and Cap Deluca). I bought the same sofa table from GoHome Ltd. as well as the same two lamps from Ballard Designs...
Salerno Lamp . I also found the same white ceramic garden stools that she used, but for a fraction of the price. I am telling you..GO TO GARDEN RIDGE for these! I paid $29 as opposed to $139 that I see everywhere, including Ballard Designs. I did the seagrass rug (
This one, from Pottery Barn), although I wish mine was custom cut like the one in her pictures. I just know that is not a necessary expense that we need to do right now.
The only thing I really wish I could do is paint the room the same seafoam color as she did, because that is what I think makes the room look so pretty and soft, but it is just not feasable at this time. We would basically have to paint the entire downstairs to make it work, since all of our rooms flow into one another, and well, that's just gonna be too pricey at this time. So, I have to just live with the beige color we already chose. I would like to repaint the bookcases another color, perhaps that seafoam color, but I am just not sure that is going to jive with the brick color on the fireplace. Sometimes, you just have to work around what you have and can't change.
Yes, I would like a new coffee table {
this pottery barn trunk}, but I talked myself out of it because I know it is not a "need" at this time. Maybe one day.
Overall, I feel a huge sense of relief to finally be finished with the living room, since that is where we spend most of our time. I think I am going to take a hiatus from decorating for awhile (except for the nursery). I loved the line in Sex and the City when Carrie said,
"I've been cheating on fashion with furniture." I totally feel like that too. I have missed buying clothes for the past year, but I also love having a finished house!
