Another one of my spaces that could use a bit of love is my living room. I like this room as-is and I've already done some fun stuff in here, including hanging my mason jar chandelier. Still, there is always room for improvement and I'd definitely like to make this room a bit more stylish.
I'm already pretty happy with the table side of the room. Just out of the frame is my mason jar chandelier. I love the convenience of my drop leaf table, but I am thinking about recovering the chairs. That can be toward the bottom of the living room to-do list because I don't really have a problem with the blue. I just think a brighter color could also be fun.
This side of the room is where the challenges begin. First, ignore that big honking brown dresser at the front. I finally moved the yellow dresser into my bedroom, but that left the brown one stranded in my living room. This baby's going on Craigslist as soon as I get the time to clean it up and photograph it. Maybe I should have done that instead of blogging?
In any case, even without the brown dresser, this side is a work in progress. You can see that I put up some pictures for a gallery wall, which I love. Other things I love in this picture are my cozy cable-knit throw and the fabulous yellow and oatmeal throw pillow on the chair. The chair itself provides a lot of food for thought. It's wide and deep and super comfy. My mom found it at a thrift store and it's in great condition. The only thing I don't love about it is the color. The green isn't even that bad, especially once you add the pillow and the throw. I think it's just something I fixate on. I either need to save my money for a slipcover or find something else to focus on.
Something that I would love to have in this space is a second chair or loveseat. Either one would be perpendicular to where the dresser is now. I've been pretty picky about what I want though. It's an important step to making this room look finished, but it's not the kind of essential that I absolutely have to have and so I'm not willing to settle on something I don't absolutely love. Am I setting the standard too high? I'm not sure. I think I'll find something I like soonish or run out of patience and find something that's "good enough."
I think it will be a lot easier to pull the room together once I have a second chair or loveseat. The new piece of furniture would help determine accent colors, whether I need a coffee table, and if I should hunt for a fabulous area rug.
I might add painting that bookshelf to the to-do list, but I'm not sure yet. I don't love the dark laminate but it doesn't look bad because all my doors are painted a deep brown. I think I'm ambivalent about that bookshelf in general. It's made of cheap particle board and I think I could find a thrift-store piece that is more interesting and better made. That's another thing that will have to wait until a second chair/couch moves in.
Oh and I almost forgot to mention the number one thing on my to-do list: get mini blinds for that door! Did you see my lovely curtain? It's not even artfully hung between two cafe rods. I bought one used curtain of the wrong size and had to cut it into two squares to make it work for that window. Classy, right? I should add going to Home Depot or Lowes to my list for say... tomorrow.
Alrighty, now to the best/worst part of the post: the part where I show pictures of amazingly fabulous living rooms. I love this part because it's inspiring. On the other hand, sometimes I find it depressing. I love these spaces that I'm about to show you, but is it unrealistic for me to hope my rooms will have the same feel someday? I think the key to that question is "someday." If I want to wake up tomorrow and suddenly have gorgeous spaces, of course I'm going to be disappointed. If I'm willing to wait and accumulate furniture and accent pieces as I find them at a price I can afford, maybe at some point I'll have a magazine-worthy room. In the mean time, I'm happy with what I have!
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| Example of Cottage Chic from Sproost.com |
As you can see, I'm really loving neutral living rooms. I think neutrals make such relaxing spaces and I love the pops of color and neat accents that a neutral room allows you to add.
