Tackle It Tuesday: Movin’ stuff around…

So last week I was complaining that I felt like my brown sofa sucked all the light out of my downstairs. I was really on the verge of trying to talk my husband into letting me sell it and buy a (new to me) one, but luckily, you all offered me great suggestions that saved the day! I spent time this past weekend shopping for fabric to make pillows and moving stuff around. The pillows aren’t made yet, but I can’t tell you how much of a difference moving things around made!

I’ve seen Courtney’s Before and Afters, so I should have known what a dramatic difference rearranging the furniture could make… but really, WOW!

Old conversation/television watching arrangement:

New conversation/television watching arrangement:

I still need something better to put the television on, but hubby has vetoed buying a new tv stand until he buys his dream flat screen. But I think the new placement helps to balance that issue out for now.

Old reading nook:

New quiet conversation area:

What I love about this new arrangement is that the chinese cabinet that my mother gave me from her home is now in a position where people can see and appreciate it. Plus this arrangement gives hubby and I a little place to sit together and relax at the end of the day. I think I need to add an ottoman and maybe a side table to round it out but once again, just rearranging things opened that space up and made it feel so much lighter.

Finally, there’s a new reading nook.

Nook before:

Nook after:

This is the only area I’m not satisfied with. Probably because this area was the only “finished” feeling area for so long, it’s hard to get used to thinking of it as a work-in-progress. Hubby says he doesn’t like the big chair there because it feels too big. I kind of like the way the weight of it balance out the weight of the sofa on the opposite wall. I already had plans to make a slipcover for the chair and when I do, I’m going to get rid of the “overstuffed” back pillow and make a couple of more modern looking ones to replace it… what do ya’ll think? Should I sell the chair and get a small more modern little loveseat to go in that area instead? (It wouldn’t be a big loss, I bought it for $40 so I’m pretty sure I could sell it for the same amount).

That’s my Tackle for this Tuesday. Don’t forget to check out what everyone else is up to… I love how motivating this is!

Bonus Inspiration! Kid friendly design…

I wasn’t very satisfied with yesterday’s post; I suppose that’s what happens when you try too hard to work through your “to do” list when you’re actually sick.  Anyway, because I felt I’d gyped you, I’m giving you a bonus inspiration post.  A few weeks ago Tricia asked about kid friendly design and ever since I’ve been keeping my eye out for living rooms that would work for regular families… you know, the kind like mine, where there are crazy boys who run everywhere and have matchbox car races over everything.  It’s been a difficult hunt, I’ll admit.  Either designers have much better mannered children than I do or most people who have their rooms professionally designed keep their children in the basement… But I have assembled a few rooms that I thought had potential and that’s what I’m presenting to you now.

Designs from Whitehouse Builders:

From Designer Zina Samek:

From Designer Loretta Willis:

Hope ya’ll are a fabulous Saturday.  I’m going to sip hot tea and take a nap…

Opinion Poll: To slipcover or not to slipcover?

Hello my sweets!  Happy Valentine’s Day!  My treat this morning is having a whole hour to myself.  That’s right, no kids, no hubby, no anyone but me… all by my lonesome.  You can not understand how rare that is.  Just drinking a cup of tea and reviewing my decorating plans.

This is my new (to me) reading corner chair.  I bought it this past weekend off craigslist (of course!) for $40.  It’s nice and cozy, plus it’s a chair and a half so I can cuddle up with both of my youngest in it.  I like the line of the arms and the color is okay, but I’m not feeling the legs and the overstuffed back cushion.

When I bought it, the plan was to create a slipcover for it and have my hubby change out the legs.  Now that it’s been home for a few days, I’m not so sure I should slipcover it.  So that’s the question of the day:  Do I slipcover the chair or just try to re-stuff the floppy back cushion?

I owe ya’ll an actual tour of my living area soon (once I’ve cleaned, I promise!) but here’s a few photos to help you see what else is in my living room:

 

Those are my favorite orange chairs (also from craigslist!) and my sofa.  The new brown reading chair is actually in that corner behind the sofa, where the dining table used to be.  Across from the sofa are a pair of chairs and my $20 accent table:

(Do you see how I updated the accent table?  I bought a new plant stand that is black iron with a great circular pattern and then added the tray upside down for the top.  The top is black but you get a pop of red around the perimeter and then black at the base.  I LOVE IT!!!  And it was still only $20!)

So what do you think?  The corner where the new chair is used to be really dark, so I didn’t think I wanted another dark piece of furniture there.  Now I’ve added a floor lamp and a lamp on my desk (which is directly across from the chair), so the corner isn’t so dark.  I’m just not sure how to proceed.  And I don’t want to buy accent pillows or anything else to complete that corner until I’ve decided.

Opinions please!!!  Ya’ll have fabulous taste, so I know you’ll have great suggestions.  : )

Accessories: The Icing of Your Room

Today I had to deal with a parent’s worst nightmare (well, in my case, a stepparent’s worst nightmare). There’s definitely nothing worse than being forced to standby helpless as a person makes bad choices, especially when they affect other people as well. I’m so upset with my teenage stepson that I can’t even talk about it!

Of course, being me, I turn to design to drown my anger. The plus for you is that this means I’ve lined up a whole slew of inspirational eye-candy to share! :0)

Today’s eye-candy centers around accessories. Accessories– things like curtains, paintings, photos, plants, and vases– are the finishing touches to a room. They’re like icing on a cake. Even with the best furniture in the world, a room missing the right accessories will feel cold and unfinished.

The following rooms are accessorized in a way that really make the rooms shine. I hope you find them as inspiring as I do! (And if you happen to be a mom who has survived teenagers, please let me know how you did it!)

Designer Erica Islas made this room pop through the combination of color on the wall, eye catching art, inviting pillows on the modern sectional, and texture with the rattan coffee table.

Lori Dennis’ room is a study in perfect balance. Her modern room is enhanced with the simple but fitting round pillows on the sofa, glass balls on the coffee table and gorgeous art on the wall. Notice how the lines of the coffee table and the shape of the wall sconce echo the rectangles in the art.

Designer Don Raney uses accessories to create a romantic, dreamy living room.

And last, but not least, is this beautiful room by designer Shelly Riehl David. I love everything from the zebra rug, faux painting around the mirror, white vases on the coffee table, and especially the starfish!

Happy accessorizing!

Note: Opening Mirror from West Elm

I <3 Pottery Barn!

Sing with me: “Pottery Barn saved my soul… oh Pottery Barn saved my soul to-night! Yeah Pottery Barn saved my soul…”

Earlier today, I was having a mental breakdown. You moms out there will understand what I mean. The kind of breakdown that happens when you’ve heard “MOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!” one too many times. The kind that makes you wonder exactly why you thought motherhood would make your life so much fuller? And what drug did they slip in your epidural to make you multiply more than once?

Yeah, it was that kind of weekend. (And if you’re childless and don’t understand… well, God bless you, I’m jealous!)

Anyway, in the midst of it all, right as I was squeezing back tears and abusive tendencies, I discovered that dear hubby had hidden the new Pottery Barn catalogue from me. It must have come with the mail on Friday, and, bless his heart, he decided to do me a “favor” and put it away with my other inspiration catalogs. He couldn’t manage to put the junkmail away in the trash can… but he managed to put my much coveted catalog away. So thoughtful…

Couldn’t have been better timing for me to find it though. I ran that baby straight to the bathroom and locked the door. You’d have thought I was a 13 year old boy with the latest Playboy, I was in the bathroom so long! My youngest kept knocking on the door to check on me. I told him I was making the world’s worst stinky. Actually, I was sitting on the counter, lusting over page after page of pretty sofas.

Whenever I finally have my downstairs clean long enough to take pictures for ya’ll, you’ll see my design aesthetic leans toward mid-century modern. Today however, if I had the available credit, I could have EASILY charged a good $10,000 in Pottery Barn furniture. The styling, the colors, and the photography in this newest catalog made me want to throw everything I own out, rethink my budget conscious philosophy, and completely redecorate.

So, without further ado, I present you with beautiful eye candy from the latest Pottery Barn. These are the pieces I’m lusting after the most; if the spirit moves you, I’m definitely welcoming donations to my “I need some PB in my life” fund via Paypal to my e-mail address!