Ch-Ch-Changes

If you remember correctly you may recall this living room post (ewww). I've never loved the decor in this space but I also haven't had a clear idea of what I wanted to do with it. Now I finally think we are getting somewhere! (And Andy is finally open to painting again)

We purchased a new couch several months ago but it was a long 12 weeks waiting for delivery. We have been enjoying it for a few months now. We are very happy with the decision, but I am even more excited that we waited to make any other changes until after we placed it in the room. It seriously changes the whole feeling of the room and has led me to go in an entirely different direction design wise.

With that in mind, we've decided to buy all of our furniture prior to doing any painting or accessorizing.  We'd been looking for a new TV stand for literally months. Months, I tell you! I don't know if we are overly picky or what, but we were not willing to settle (a lesson not needed to be learned again). And then the heavens opened up and we found the Ainsworth collection from Crate and Barrel. We didn't really want to spend that much money but we figured it was an investment well made, and I had a coupon that would go a long way. We picked these babies up this Saturday! The TV stand is big and it is SO nice to have a bookcase. They are a great quality, too. Why does furniture make me so happy? Probably because I've been living in college bachelor land.

We still have a long way to go. We have been looking for an end table to replace the janky one we have, and are hoping to find a matching sofa table for between the windows, behind the couch. Not a super high priority though. We also want to get two upholstered arm chairs for the space to the right of the TV to replace the chair that is there now. I know the current one doesn't go with the decor but it is actually a really comfy chair (it's IKEA if you're curious)! And the coffee table is super functional, but not what I have in mind for the space (and it just doesn't match with the new stuff). Andy and I have always said we wanted a big storage ottoman that we can use as a foot stool and keep all the blankets in. (When I say 'we' I really mean it - Andy has just as much interest in our home decor as I do, although I am typically more gun-ho.) That Bauman sign wouldn't be hanging above the TV if he didn't insist on covering all the electrical covers.

I also moved over all of the picture frames that were near the toy closet to make space for the media tower, so now we have one larger collage rather than two smaller ones, which makes way more sense. I'm even thinking of adding to it, we'll see as I have bigger fish to fry at the moment. I will paint them a few different colors depending on the wall/accent colors I choose. The variety of frame colors is a bit much now.

When we painted before moving in, I wanted to go with a gray and navy scheme to reflect the kitchen. But the "light gray that really looks baby blue" did not turn out how I wanted. Literally half of our house is painted this color and it makes it so cold looking. I've been racking my brain ever since trying to figure out the best color(s) to paint. The couch is mid tone gray but reflects brown sometimes too - hard to describe but it's very versatile! Now I'm thinking more of a warm color scheme. Again, I have vowed to wait until all of our big purchases are made to even think about worrying about the little ones. Then, we'll worry about accessorizing with throw pillows, wall decor, and paint color. We are headed in the right direction though! Patience really is a virtue..

(Can you tell I'm in the middle of switching the piano decorations from winter to spring? Oops.)

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!