Happy Monday peeps! It's house tour time again. This post will focus on the living room. Ah, the living room, the place where the whole family gathers to spend some quality time together. Yeah, if I'm being honest, that doesn't happen too often around my house. Everyone usually ends up hanging out in the king-sized bed in my bedroom, mainly because it's more spacious and comfortable than the couch. In fact, the living room is probably my least favorite room in this house. First of all, it was a beast to configure, and secondly, I pretty much hate all the furniture in it. Anyway, here are a few shots of it in all it's glory.
View from the Stairs
View from the Front Door
View from the Fireplace
View from the Dining Room (check the 52", yo!)
As you can see, it's an odd little room. It's long but not very wide, and it has a multitude of doorways and windows taking up precious wall space. I love all the light the windows let in, even though they are letting in a little too much light at present. We haven't purchased blinds for this room yet. Blinds get expensive when you have to buy them for 25 windows, so we are buying a few here and there in order to spread out the financial pain. Anyway, doors and windows are great for letting in light, but not so great when it comes to placing furniture. Before we moved in, I would configure this room in my mind every night before going to sleep, coming up with different ways to arrange the furniture. In the end, I decided to make the fireplace the focal point of the room even if it meant not utilizing the full space. However, we did at least try other configurations. We put the couch where you see the piano and then put the TV under the stairs. It didn't look right, and God forbid if a kid should fall down the stairs and break my precious TV (joking). We also tried the opposite, with the couch under the stairs and the TV where you see the piano. I didn't like how far away the couch was from the fireplace. Nothing we tried seemed to work except this combination, so this is what we went with. Luckily, we were able to fit all our living room furniture into this room except the side table. We had to ditch it, because we needed the space to walk around the couch.
Here's the view from the couch. I think this is much better than viewing the fireplace from way across the room.
Speaking of the fireplace, it's my favorite part of this room. I love the color the former owner's painted the bricks. I've dealt with my share of old brick fireplaces in the past and have always painted them white. I would have never thought to have painted a fireplace this color. I think it makes it even more warm and inviting. When it came to the age old question of what to put over the mantle, my first inclination was to purchase some fancy artwork to put over this important focal point of the room. However, when I placed this el cheapo print from Walmart (yes, Walmart) over the mantle for shits and giggles, it just seemed to fit. It even complimented the pink marble mantle and made it look a little less hideous. By the way, I do not for the life of me understand why someone would choose a slab of pink marble for a fireplace mantle, but to each their own. I finished the mantle off with birch candles from Pottery Barn, a fake plant from Pier 1, and a little birdie candle from Pottery Barn. I know, fake plants are so tacky, but I needed some green up there that I couldn't kill and thought this one was more tasteful than most.
Exhibit A: The sad real live plant in this photo. Fake plants fare much better around me.
Given the lack of wall space, I was relieved when we were able to squeeze a chair, lamp, and a makeshift side table using trunks into this tiny space beside the fireplace. The chair and pillow are from Pottery Barn and the lamp is from Walmart. Oh, and the trunks are vintage and courtesy of Jerry.
These are a couple of the bird prints I told you about in a past post. You know, the ones we bought from Target the day we first viewed the house. We purchased them, despite the fact that we didn't have the house yet. I'm so glad to finally see them on this wall!
Windows, windows, everywhere! I hated that we had to put the TV in front on that one window, but there was no way around it.
The couch is from Target and let's just say it's not my dream couch. If I had my way, I would have a big, comfy, squishy couch that would envelope me as soon as I laid down on/in it. The reality is I have 3 kids who like to spill things, so it doesn't make sense to invest money in a dream couch right now. I needed something I could wipe off and not worry about, and this pleather couch was just the ticket. I added some comfort to the pleather with big, chenille pillows from Pottery Barn and a fuzzy blanket from Target. Speaking of spills, I eventually want to replace the carpet in this room, the dining room, and the hallway with hardwood, but unless I win the lottery that's not happening anytime soon. At least the carpet is good quality, brand new, and a neutral color.
Looming in the background is my Grandmother's piano. She left it to me when she died, and it is very precious to me. However, I think I'm probably the only one it is precious to. It's a self-player and literally weighs a ton. Given that I've moved twice in the past year, the men in my life (and my super strong sister) pretty much hate this piano. The print is from Target, and the moss balls are from Pottery Barn, and let me tell you, unlike most balls, these suckers are tough. They've survived 10 years, 4 moves, and 3 kids.
Last, but not least, is no man's land, the area under the stairs. There's not much to see here. Well, there is the cute little cubbie where we lock the kids up when they are very, very bad (not really). We hung the other two bird prints from Target on this wall to break up the monotony. I eventually want to put a pretty little table under them.
So, there you have it, the living room. It's not much, but we're glad to have it, and it doesn't come without positives. Like, it's really cool to watch the 52" HD TV up close and personal now. Seeing the actors' every pimple and flaw has really helped with my self-esteem. Also, I can't wait for it to get cold, so we can burn some real wood in that fireplace. I've only had gas logs before, so I'm looking forward to experiencing the real deal. It's the little things.
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It looks really great! You've really done a lot with it and it sounds like you've got great plans for the future. I've got all four of those bird prints too! I went bird crazy in my guest bath and thought those were perfect. FYI, when you do purchase your big squishy couch, you might consider microfiber. I admit, they are not the most attractive, but I've got them and those suckers repel everything from cat hair, magic markers, vomit, sticky fingers, ink....I can go on and on. Water and Oxy and it's clean-yay! To break up mine, I've got a couple of quilts and throws to make it look better. It's boy proof! Your house is beautiful-can't wait to see more!
ReplyDeleteLovely Living room :D I love your decorating style. It looks inviting, comfortable, functional and pretty.
ReplyDeleteSo cute! I love your Pottery Barn pillow. I'm going to go hunt for one now! Maybe angle the tv between the two windows?
ReplyDeleteNice!!! Enjoyed the tour. Hope nobody steals your tv lol :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, I feel like I need to clean my house now. Please tell me yours doesn't look that spotless all the time!
ReplyDeleteIt looks beautiful, Bonnie! That staircase is amazing!
you have great style. I'm totally in love with your house! Your living room looks so warm and inviting. Love it!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your living room! It looks so relaxed and cozy. Just an idea: Would your TV fit above the fireplace? I know it sounds kind of tacky, but I've seen it work in a few friends' houses.
ReplyDeleteI love this room! The colors are gorgeous and it "feels" so homey and comfy! You did a great job! I wanna sit on that couch and watch TV and feel the warmth of the fire in the fall! ;) Cheers!
ReplyDeleteReally late to the game, here, but where is that mirror from?
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