BEFORE:
You'll notice two similarities between the "before" and "after" pictures. The coffee table is still kickin' it in the living room. Mainly because it is one of the amazing lift up tables (a.k.a. our dinner table.) The blue chair is still around too. Though I must say I would do anything to get rid of that chair. It was free.99 so what can I say?
I created a monster. Shaun is totally attached to this chair.
Me: I hate it, it's so not cute!
Him: It's comfortable! I'm keeping it!
What is it with guys?? Cute can be comfortable too! You just have to look around for the right piece!
Anyway, the couch was a hand-me-down also and I always found it too bulky looking and...tan. The vinyl was awful mainly because the couch is my dog's spot. He's a couch potato and there were little tears all over it in no time. And besides looks, that was the heaviest couch I have EVER had to move and barely fits through our doorways. Good riddance!
So pretty much just everything about this room was not working for me.
AFTER:
I have since made quite a few changes in here. (And Mally refused to leave for pictures.) Let's talk about my new couch first. 'Cause I love it. :D
I had been keeping my eyes peeled for a while, knowing that I wanted something else anything else. I had heard good things about a new antique store in my hometown, One Last Dance, and went to check it out.
This beauty was about the 4th thing I laid eyes on and I knew I must take it home that day. I checked out the price tag, expecting the worst, but to my surprise it was quite do-able! It was $495, but I figured I would pay more than that for a brand new couch that would be way less special. Plus this baby was in perfect condition. SOLD. And the owner even gave it to me for $415 out the door. Niccceeee.
I love this couch. Can't say it enough. It's so comfortable and it's a real statement piece.
As you can probably tell, I love mixing patterns too. I believe that the interior design world definitely takes cues from the fashion world. Mixing patterns is very hot right now and one of my favorite trends (as well as using neons as neutrals, which you will probably notice in other areas of my home decor.)
I like to keep a tray on the coffee table to collect smaller items that tend to land there. I feel that it just helps to keep things looking a little more organized and put together despite everyday use. I picked up this cute little bird and cage design at my local antique store for .99¢! I can't resist anything with gold on it. It's a problem.
Here's a terrible iPhone picture. I wanted to let you see a close up shot of my little wall collection. My skeleton head was something that I did in a high school art class. I never get rid of anything. And he is pretty cool looking.
The big flower print is just a canvas that I covered in fabric using spray adhesive and hot glue. It was a short term solution and now I am thinking of taking the fabric off and doing something more...modern. I want something graphic and lighter/brighter. I'm very inspired by Kate Spade's gold polka dot mugs. I like the imperfect edges of the dots. It gives them a real hand drawn vibe and I totally dig it. I was thinking of trying to recreate something like this.
The cedar chest came with the husband. I re-painted it a glossy black and added a new bright, brassy handle. We use it to store extra blankets and all of our board games (though I would like to find a better solution for the board games.)
Nevermind my photo-less photo frames. That's one of my bad habits. They're too cute to have hidden away until I print the pictures for them! That gold geometric one is my pride and joy. A Nate Berkus that I picked up from Target quite a few months ago. The smaller, boating-themed frame is something I snagged at Goodwill for another .99¢. I had a really adorable picture of Mally looking scared on a boat that I wanted to put in there, but the picture is just too big for that frame! And you don't get the full effect if it's smaller or cropped. You win some you lose some...
This vintage swag lamp (yeah I love that they're called that) is one of my favorite things. I had been wanting one for SO LONG. Then I found this at an antique store in Pittsburgh and it was exactly what I had been imagining for this space. $20. Boom.
Are you wondering what the other side of the room looks like? Well here it is...
Our pride and joy. Our built in bookshelf to hold books, games, dvds, knick knacks, and big flatscreen that I designed and we worked together to build from scratch. Shaun and I have never wanted to murder each other more, but it was so worth it. It probably cost me a total of $300 for all the necessary supplies. So worth it.
The only thing is I still have to get around to adding the decorative trim on the front. I know it's so lazy, but we were so happy to finally be able to actually use the shelves that we just kind of called it good at the time. Someday.
A few of my favorite things below:
A shoe box that I painted gold as a quick solution to hiding away some rarely played games and one of my favorite things to collect: really old books.
Thanks for looking through all that, you guys! I love sharing my interests, hobbies, and collections knowing that somebody is enjoying checking them out.
Is there anything in particular that you are crazy about collecting? I'd love to know what kinds of different things interest you too. And what have you come up with to display your collections?
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