Liveable Living Room

We have a living room, you know. With so much going on in the office, the hallways, the kids' rooms, etc, don't think that we've forgotten about the living room. It has been and is currently under construction, but i thought i'd share a quick update on where we started with that room and how far it's come.

These pics were taken at our final walk-through:

Look at the curtain rods the former owners had up there. Heavy, dark, homemade, and right above the window. I knew they were homemade because they were...pretty effed up. Some were missing ends, some were hung at slightly different heights, and mind you, NONE of them were the same length. None. We have five windows that are the same size in this room, and none of these had rods of equal lengths. ("There are 15 people in this house and you're the only one who has to make trouble!") So when we threw all our shit in the house, one of the first things i did was rip them out, throw them like a gladiator into Arizona because have you been to that state??, then patch the holes.

The yellow coffee table? That had to be changed because wine (couch) with mustard (table) does not a happy tummy make. I made that magic happen with spraypaint and time, which is also how i do my makeup.

I don't know. Maybe it's personal preference because we've gotten compliments on the color scheme, but being surrounded by peanut butter and chocolate walls is not my idea of a good time no matter what i'm drinking. There are ten windows in this half of the floor alone and having such dark colors on the walls really did this place a disservice. So i changed the color to Behr's Wheat Bread. It's one shade darker than Chocolate Froth (in the hallway) on the same color card, and i thought it was important to have colors that blended well together in such connected spaces. (Don't talk to me about the dining room. I lost that one when i married.)

Don't mind the mantle and off-putting xmas decorations. These pics were taken during the fall & winter decor switchout. And did you notice that the entertainment center was downsized? Post coming soon.

Ugh, that fan looks dirty. We need a new fixture.

Wheat Bread. How unappetizing. Why don't they name colors awesome things? I'm gonna do that right now. From now on, Behr's Wheat Bread will now be called Timberwolf's Taint. It's a lovely, warm shade a gray with hints of field mouse. ...Still more appetizing than wheat bread.

I can't wait to redo this kitchen! Why oak?? Having orange flooring isn't enough that they felt the need to make me store my dishes in it, too? Here's the rundown:

After i rip out the 4" waste of space and money that is the granite "backsplash," i'll TILE that sucker (which is why you're still seeing the chocolate color behind there...why paint it if we're just going to cover it up?). The tile, you ask? EXTREME CLOSE-UP!

Yes. It's blue. Don't doubt me. This will work.

Also, people thought i was crazy when i broke branches off a dead tree in my backyard and spraypainted them. I threw 'em up on my cabinets and decked them out with ornaments. HAPPY CHRISTMASTIMES.

Here's our "mudroom" since we always use the back door (shut up):

IKEA's Raskog cart in turquoise stores our shoes and bags.

Above the cart is Winston, our dear deer friend. Not a Christmas decoration, just a poor lost soul i found on sale for $12 at TJMaxx so we could hang our keys on his head.

As for DVD storage/side table, remember this guy??

Well, his undercarriage was busted in the first move. I blamed Chris, Chris blamed a fat squirrel. Something tells me we'll never get to the bottom of this, so i bought a basket to put our DVD's in and threw it in the bottom of the cart. Still functional!

So, not bad progress, right?

New paint did a lot to this place and we're doing what we can to make it appealing to and functional for us. It's not where we want it quite yet, but as my favorite nine-year old neighbor said, "This place is really coming along."