Last living room post for a while, I promise!

I'm in the middle of working on some random house stuff and creating last minute decorations for a baby shower but I wanted to post these shots of the living room put back together. I mean, you're not tired of seeing the same room over and over, right? It's just the one thing that has taken over our lives and refused to let us go. So, without further ado here is where things stand now and how it will look until after C's birthday.

BEFORE. Way before. Circa 2009.

This couch is going to go as soon as we can afford it. It's so dingy and the black has faded a ton so it always looks dusty or something.

Next in this area I need to hang some letters I bought (they will spell out "hello"...or "holel". I haven't decided.) Plus we're going to paint the front door black. Or charcoal grey? Anything other than that nasty peachy-beige that's going on now.

This side still needs tweaking but I'm okay with it for now...that stack of books on the floor has to go though.

We re-hung our curtains higher and now they need to be hemmed and ironed. But let's be honest, that's not going to happen anytime soon. I love my midcentury chairs though. Me love them long time.

This whole grouping is coming down and getting rehashed. See how my cool book cover art is falling down inside the frame? C likes to kick her wall (just on the other side) and it knocks stuff off of the walls. Not cool babycakes. Not cool. 

Oh, and I just noticed that the baseboard isn't finished in this corner, so that will have to be done before the party. Blerg.

***note: the two bookshelves on either side of the tv console dresser thingy were made using free plans from Ana White found HERE. Thank you Ana for doing what you do so we can do it too!***

It's this or the laundry.

I don't like doing chores. Like cleaning? Cleaning is just the worst. Not that I like to live in filth but given the choice I will always always pick watching the worst tv show (Real Housewives of New Jersey?) rather than do laundry and dishes.

Plus, if my house was always clean then I would never procrastinate and blog, and I wouldn't want to deprive you of these super meaningful glimpses into our fascinating lives. I'm just not that mean.

I went on a little weekend trip to visit my sister-in-law and her family in California (but I'll maybe blog about that some other time) and while I was gone Gary gathered his troops (his parents and my brother) and attacked the living room flooring. It. Looks. Awesome. I think maybe I will marry it...although I imagine things are going to get super awkward since Gary does live here and all.

Here is our living room before: 

Don't be jealous of our gross old carpet with stains (and smells) that were mostly here when we moved in. I know it is nice and all, but lookey what Gary put in instead!

Ooh la-la! See the baseboard going in?!

Okay, not the greatest picture, but you can see the floors...and the missing curtains (we rehung them higher)...and the book art above the couch that is falling down. We so classy.

I love my floor. I love that I will never have to vacuum it. I love how dramatic it looks against the white trim. I love that my Mister worked so hard to install it (and did such an awesome job!) before I got home. I love, LOVE that it isn't carpet. L-O-V-E.

And see those white shelves on either side of the tv dresser? Yeah, Mister built those too. And two others just like them. And two other shelves that are tall and narrow. He's been a busy dude this summer. I'm super excited to show you where the other bookshelves ended up once that room has been polished and tweaked (I'm oh-so close!)

The last of the flooring is *supposed* to be done tomorrow and then we just have to finish the baseboard, paint our bedroom, paint the hall bathroom, clean the office, install some board and batten in the hall bathroom, gut the backyard (again!) and give the house a goof scrub from top to bottom before C's birthday in a couple weekends. Oh, AND I have to plan that party as well as help throw a baby shower this weekend (crazy excited to share those pictures!!)

The cherry on the top is that school starts in ten days. Cross your fingers that I get through August alive and in one piece!

Progress in the Living Room

This weekend Gary and I finished up the bookshelves for the office and made a couple for the living room too. We're trying to fill out that huge empty wall so you don't just see a TV when you walk into our house.

Before. And messy...no, actually this looks pretty good for our house these days.

And now! Over the weekend Gary built the two bookshelves (I primed/painted) and hung the floating shelves. More storage = awesome. We're loving that the wall finally looks more finished with the new furniture and my next job is to tweak the styling. And also finish putting the room back together. And clean. Also the new flooring is going into this room in the next couple of weeks. Yeesh.

If you have any ideas/thoughts/suggestions for what should go on the shelves PLEASE feel free to offer your suggestions! The shelves are fairly sturdy, but I don't want to load them down (literally or visually) with books, especially because most of them are going into the office anyway BUT, I also don't want to cover them with knick knacks. Our dvds are all in the dresser so we don't need to put those up either...decisions, decisions....

The First Step Is Admitting You Have A Problem...

Hi, my name is Holly and I'm a decorating addict...or rather, I have a severe (and seemingly incurable) case of decor ADD. You can ask my mom, I've been weird about arranging and decorating "my space" ever since I was a kid. It would drive my mom nuts when I wanted to completely re-do my room every year, but I've come to embrace that as part of my need for a creative outlet. It would be nice if my outlet were something inexpensive (or free) like writing, or painting, or gardening. Believe me, I've tried all of those things and many many more, but I keep coming back to my space. Call it a sickness, but I have made my peace with it.


My latest victim is our living room. The one that I finally had "done" as of a few months ago. At least, it was as done as it was going to get without new flooring, a new couch and some recessed lighting. And we liked it. A lot. And then I got tired of it.

So. I've been mulling over what to do about our "entertainment center" setup...the bookcases were too much visual clutter and waaaaaay too much horizontal surface for my taste (it took like 40 minutes to dust that sucker! No thanks.) I've been trolling craigslist and thrift stores looking for a great dresser to take the place of the bookcase under the tv, but everything I found was either a) too ugly or b) too expensive. I did tend to find great potential pieces, but they always popped up right around the times when dropping an extra chunk of change was just not feasible.This is the look I was going for:

 

I know it's pretty standard fare these days, but I like the idea of drawers (keeps dust off of dvd's and video game crap) and it's affordable, and frankly, while I love me some ikea (like, I'd marry it in a heartbeat love) I have always felt like it was starter furniture. It is the kind of stuff that is great in small doses, but too much feels like "hi, I just graduated college and am finally getting into my first 'grownup' place so I'm on a limited budget" kind of thing. And while we did  just get our first grownup place (a year and a half ago) and we are almost college grads, I'm ready to move on from the ikea life. We already have a tried-and-true ektorp couch in the room, and it was more fiscally feasible to replace the bookshelf setup, so the hunt was on for a new dresser/tv stand.

And then, THEN I found what I thought was an amazing deal on CL for a great big hideous dresser with matching mirror and headboard, for 80 BUCKS! It was still more than I wanted to pay but with the money I made selling our two bookcases I was able to grab it and still have a little cash left over for the supplies to repaint it. Sweet. I say "I thought" it was a great deal because it looked like solid wood in the add, but when the Mister got it home, it turned out to be part wood, part composite, part plastic. Yeah, plastic.

Yikes.

Do you see that glorious brassy hardware?! I'm pretty sure this is not something you want your kid banging their head on, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Because I'm a good mom like that.

                                         
The dresser is still going to work just fine, but I'm not sure what to do with the headboard and mirror. I had planned on selling them to bring in a little more cash to make the small bookshelves to flank the dresser, but who is going to want to buy a PLASTIC headboard and mirror?? Even if they do have a great vintage feel...would you?? Maybe if I paint and spiff them up first?

 

 We got started today while C went down for a nap. I took off the hardware and the Mister took a brush and vacuum to clean the dirt and dust off the drawer faces. There are a ton of nooks and crannies in the faces, which is what I love about them, but they were kinda gross from sitting in the previous owner's home.  

 After we taped plastic garbage bags around them (which was one of my more brilliant ideas...worked like a charm!) I threw on a thin coat of primer, because in case you forgot, the drawer faces are PLASTIC. Sheesh. Usually with primer I use regular old kilz in a can, but while we were picking up painting supplies I noticed that there was kilz IN A SPRAY CAN!! Genius. Pure genius. It ended up going on pretty well...we did have to wipe down the nozzle after each  face because there was some buildup that caused dripping. However, I only got primer on ONE fingertip (I have a knack for getting primer all over my hands for some reason, and it is just the most impossible thing to try and clean off) so I'm calling this one a success.

Primer on the drawers has dried so in the next couple of days we will prime the dresser and then slap on some paint thanks to a sprayer we borrowed from friends (fingers crossed it works better than the one we bought to do our kitchen cabinets with!) After that all that is left it putting it back together with a new top we are building from 1x4 planks and we're done!