Living Room

Time to get back on the wagon with this blogging stuff. So, here is an update of our living room. We've come a long way since moving in, but I'm calling this the "before" phase because we just aren't there yet (and probably won't be for a while).

Yes, these are iPhone photos and I am not a photog, so my apologies for not having BHG-worthy lighting. Also, I did not stage AT ALL. This is how we have been living.. with random stuff EVERYWHERE. I blame it on both wedding gift overload and the fact that we're still settling in. I hate it but then I remind myself we are probably much more on top of it than a lot of other recent movers. Don't mind that half of the frames are empty. Printing photos has been a job plus I'm saving several for wedding photos, which we haven't gotten back yet.

View from front door entry/hallway

View from kitchen

View facing away from the TV. On the other side of this wall is our front door/entry.

Old, ugly, brown furniture that does not match.

There you have it my friends: the current state of our living. Let's talk about my likes and dislikes of the space..

Likes:

1. Size - it's big, but not too big

2. Windows - although it still gets a little dark, I love the two flanking windows and the new curtains from West Elm

and that's about where the likes end..

Dislikes:

1. The furniture - it's all hand-me-down and mis-matchy. The seating and end tables are the ones Andy and his brothers rotated having throughout their college years, so they have seen better days, but they don't go with the gray and navy color scheme. Just getting a new couch would make me love the space about a million times more.

2. The TV stand - again this was another of Andy's pieces. It's fine in theory but I hate that it's all open  (eye clutter of chords and boxes).

3. Lack of storage - we are housing DVDs in the marble top piece to the right of the TV, but we can't fit them all nor can we SEE them all. We also have too many blankets (we keep a few in the wooden chest in the corner but they all don't fit). Also, we don't have a place for board games. I envision all of this stuff going in the closet, but we don't have any shelves yet.

4. Wall space/decor - we have a lot of it. It's been difficult trying to balance all the bare space without making it look uneven, mismatched, cluttered, or barren. 

Now let me walk you through what I would like done, both in short and long term lists..

Short term/within 6 months:

1. Shelving for the closet to store movies, games, and spare blankets (hopefully this weekend!)

2. Ditch the current seating for a new dark gray sectional (2-3 months)

3. Mount the TV on the wall where the current Bauman sign hangs

Long term (probably several years from now):

1. Install a fireplace with flanking cabinet storage (where the TV is now) and hang TV above

2. Swap out the coffee table for an ottoman

3. Relocate/replace two other furniture pieces (the marble top by the TV and the dark piece by the closet)

There you have it. I'm ready to get rolling on this wish list. Stay tuned!