New Living Room
Here are the pictures I promised yesterday. The living room originally looked like the photo below. Not bad, it was nice and full but I have fallen out of love with blond wood and the bookshelves just looked very boxy and plain. I've wanted to get rid of them for some time, but didn't know what to replace them with. I have a nasty habit of buying things too fast because I need a shelf or the room looks empty, without taking the time to find something really nice. Also, getting a discount at a certain Swedish furniture store means that we usually end up with something from there, just because it's cheaper.
Living room - before
I wasn't a fan of the way the bookcases didn't really contrast with the paint colour either, and I've been wanting something dark brown for a while. We took the shelves apart, moved the big one to Alex's room so he could use it for his books, disassembled the corner unit and put it in the basement for now, and the two smaller units we kept.
Living room - after
So far this is what we have. The new (to us) end tables are now a tv bench. We cut the legs down on the table to to the right (we used to use it for our phone) and today I'm going to get to work on staining it a dark walnut. I think we need to cut the legs down a bit more, maybe another quarter-inch. Pay no attention to the green bag or the stuff in the corner, that's all stuff that used to be on and around the bookshelves and I have no idea what we're going to do with it all.
Living room - after
For the time being we've got the smaller of the bookshelves against the other wall. Eventually I want to replace them with a sideboard or something. I saw a few I liked at the antique place, but they were a bit pricey for now so they'll have to wait. I also saw a couple of cute wall cabinets. We don't have a lot in terms of wall decoration, we still need to figure out where I'm going to put the three watercolours (from the top photo) and then we'll need a few other things. But I'm not just going to rush out and buy stuff anymore...I'm going to wait until I see something I really like. The walls can stay bare until then.
Anyway, you might not be able to tell from the photos but the living room looks a lot bigger. I like being able to see more of the walls instead of having those huges shelving units. Yesterday I wasn't sure if I liked what we'd done, but today I'm very happy with it. This morning we hit Home Depot for stain and supplies, and I'm going to get started on the plant stand table and our coffee table, both of which are plain, unfinished pine. As you can see the couch is a dull beige. These are the slipcovers that came with them, we also have bold red covers but I took them off for the time being until the cats learned to use the scratching post. I can't wait to put the red ones back on, then I'll start looking around for some co-ordinating fabric to make panel curtains. I realized everything in the house is sold colours, no prints, and I really want to add more colour. I'm thinking about rusty orange and olive green for fabrics.
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Comments
This does look better than the boring bookcases, indeed. Pretty end tables. The darker wood will be nice with the red covers as well.
Marjon · Jun 7 · 3:02 PM
Love the tables Maggie! Dontcha love redecorating? It's like moving without the HELL. We've been phasing out the "Swedish furniture" we accumulated in our 20's for a while now, though it's still definitely good for things like office furniture and bookcases. My desk that I've had for at least 5 years is of the orange-y wood laminate family. I'm starting to get a little tired of it, but it's certainly held up well, considering it's been moved 4 times. I'm also going through a darker wood phase. I have started to accumulate a lot of antique-y furniture that has been passed down through my family, so I have every color and type of wood imaginable. And I usually take whatever they give me, so not all of the pieces fit in the rooms they are in. Still workin' it all out.
The one thing we are severely lacking in our entire house are wall decorations. We have a few random things that we've each had forever and no longer go with our decor. Aside from the expense, I can never make up my mind and commit to a piece of art.
Check out this fabric place: www.lsfabrics.com They have fantastic deals on upholstery fabrics, and I think you can order swatches for cheap. (though I don't know what shipping would be like to you). They have a showroom in Atlanta and I'm am there all the time. If nothing else, great for inspiration. I'm all about using colorful fabrics!
Emilie · Jun 7 · 3:02 PM
I am all about orange and olive green lately. Don't know why.
The living room does look bigger! Very nice. Can't wait to see it in person.
freakgirl · Jun 7 · 3:42 PM
Love the new TV table! Your house looks great!
More kitty pictures please!
Chelle · Jun 7 · 3:58 PM
nice work! i love those tables. one day we should go to aberfoyle - it's pretty far, but it is a great big outdoor antique market where you can haggle for really great stuff.
sandra · Jun 7 · 10:28 PM
Sandra, I just looked it up, near Guelph. Looks like a fun day out.
Emilie, it feels more like I'm STILL decorating rather than redecorating. We moved in here almost exactly a year ago (a week today makes one year!), and nothing is finished. But yeah, I do love redecorating. Even though we're mostly just shuffling around the same stuff, I like a fresh look.
Up until this point, we only had one piece of furniture that wasn't Swedish, a little cutlery table that was my aunt's that I refinished. Now we have three pieces! Hooray!
I love all the fabrics at that site! It would be way too pricey for me to order online, unfortunately. Also, I'm very inexperienced at sewing so I want to be able to buy extra material in case I fuck up. I'm going to have to look around for local shops with nice fabrics. I'm a little daunted by the idea of making curtains, but I think I can do it. I'm not great with sewing straight seams, but I think I can camoflage that as long as I iron everything perfectly straight before I start to sew. Some co-ordinating thread, and hopefully no one will notice that my seams are drunk.
Yesterday I stained our coffee table, and it's not the right colour. Today I'm restaining it, mixing a little bit of black into the walnut to flatten out the reddish tones. I'm sure it will work out just right in the end, but it's turning into a big pain in the ass. I can't wait until it's done. I want to use my coffee table again. :D I don't even want to think about the three coats of varnish I have to apply afterward.
Maggie · Jun 8 · 11:20 AM
Oooooo, ahhhh. I will come by tomorrow to see what it looks like! Hooray for new furniture. I want some :/ And I'll see how bad the cat-rot will be on your shiny new plant, lol
Nicci · Jun 8 · 3:03 PM
Well.... I can't say I like it better. It doesn't look bad, but I preferred it in the before picture. We will have to see if it grows on me when I see it person. Sorry to be the only naysayer, but, everyone is different I suppose.
We still want to come over and play with your kitties and play at the beach!
*littlestar · Jun 8 · 8:49 PM
It took me two days to like it better. Moving all those shelves wasn't easy and I wasn't immediately thrilled with the result. At first I thought we made a huge mistake, and it felt awful after all that work. Then I spent the day at my mom's and when we came home, I had forgotten what we did and was expecting to see the bookcases. I was pleasantly surprised. I really don't like the two bookcases on the other wall, but it'll do until I find something to take their place.
My beach and kitties await you!
Maggie · Jun 8 · 9:37 PM
Some co-ordinating thread, and hopefully no one will notice that my seams are drunk.
Easy answer to this, of course, is to keep your guests drunk. ;)
Wow, I can't believe you guys have been there for a year already. I'll chime in with most of the rest of the peanut gallery to say that I think it looks great, too, though; all the work you're doing is really paying off.
Jen · Jun 9 · 9:44 AM
Thanks Jen. I wish I could afford to keep everyone drunk, but with the cost of booze in this country it's probably cheaper to hire a decorator and a seamstress. :D
Maggie · Jun 12 · 10:42 AM