We moved into our house three years ago this May. All of the rooms have been decorated to some degree, but the only rooms I would consider “complete” are Elise’s bedroom, our new playroom, and our downstairs bathroom that we renovated last year. You know, the basics. Everything else is more than livable, but everything needs a little tweaking. A few pieces of furniture, additional artwork, a couple of light fixture switchouts. Mostly easy stuff that we will continue to work on over time.
But to get it done, I need a plan and some motivation. Every few weeks or so, I’ll be sharing a room of my house with you along with my plans for sprucing it up a bit. The execution will be ongoing beyond a few weeks, I’m sure; decorating seems to have no end point.
With that said, first up will be our “formal” living room (read: no TV). It’s the first space you see when you walk in the front door, so it’s a fitting place to start. We also have a family room in the back of the house, but we use both rooms everyday.
Our living room is suffering from TMDB, or “Too Much Dark Brown.” Brown love seat, brown chairs, brown rug, brown tables, brown curtains, brown door, brown lampshade. Brown, brown, brown! Honestly, I am not quite sure how I arrived here. In addition to that problem, the room is also looking a little flat. It’s a little too simple, too basic, not enough going on. It needs some layering and more color.
The few accessories that haven’t been removed completely via the babyproofing process are a bit of a jumbled mess. Things get moved around, clutter builds up, everything needs a reset.
So here’s my loose plan for what I’m going to do:
Short term plans
- Declutter
- Restyle the bookshelf (totally disorganized!)
- Restyle the mantel (still winter-themed, oops!)
- Rearrange/make/buy throw pillows
- Add more artwork
- Try swapping furniture/accessories from other rooms
Longer term plans (only because there is a bit of serendipity involved when buying furniture)
- Find a coffee table
- Find a bench or other solution for left of console table
- Restore stained glass to the square windows
p.s. Don’t be fooled. I think this is the tidiest this room has been in quite a while.
What a fun space, architecturally speaking. Love the plans!! And love that clock mounted to the wall? Do you have a source for it?
Thanks, Katie! Our house was built in 1930 and most houses around here built in the 30’s have similar features (arches, etc.).
I got the clock about three years ago from CB2. It’s double-sided! Unforunately, I don’t think they have it anymore.
I did a quick search, and there’s a similar one here. It’s not cheap.
If you search for “railway clock” or “double-sided clock,” you’ll find similar styles, but they are a lot more ornate.