A not-so-much living room.
Warning: planning-slash-idea dump-fest of my living room.
Going from a "huge" open space floor plan to a smaller living/dining area isn't easy. Especially when your furniture doesn't work, because that just = more $$.
Just because I had a coffee table that is awesome at our old house, doesn't mean it fits seamlessly into our new one. In fact, it's quite the opposite. My house looks really crowded in this picture, with special thanks to the chunky white coffee table and awkward temporary Target tables as the impromptu coffee table.... and don't forget those boxes of books being all annoying.
And my adorable credenza/buffet/tv stand thing that I found at Salvation Army for $14 and then re-did with the help of Patrick, pictures below... is just too big! Or too brown, or too much pattern, or too something. Whatever it is, it's just not working. I'm pretty sure I have before pictures of the credenza, but they're lost with my phone I left out in the rain on a camping trip. My bad. What's cool about it is that it's actually one of those old speaker/entertainment center boxes with the lift-up top on each side and everything. Someone smarter than me then put in a piece of glass as a shelf that stretches the entire length inside, and then I added the mirror on the outside (got it cut at a glass place in Panama City for about $30... or maybe it was $15... I can't remember). I found the wicker baskets at World Market - I didn't like all that empty space in the middle so those helped fill some of that void.
Going from a "huge" open space floor plan to a smaller living/dining area isn't easy. Especially when your furniture doesn't work, because that just = more $$.
empty - view from dining/living area to front door
Just because I had a coffee table that is awesome at our old house, doesn't mean it fits seamlessly into our new one. In fact, it's quite the opposite. My house looks really crowded in this picture, with special thanks to the chunky white coffee table and awkward temporary Target tables as the impromptu coffee table.... and don't forget those boxes of books being all annoying.
with stuff - view from front door
I'm pretty much over my couch. It's totally uncomfortable, it's inevitable the dogs will get on it, and it's that cheap microfiber that just sticks to the dog hair and retains it for life. So annoying. Although as soon as I stop procrastinating, and because I don't see a new couch anytime in our near future, I want to try this approach, where the owner puts upside down office mats on the couch while they're gone so the dogs don't think they're sneaky and get jump on the couch as soon as we close the door. Lesson learned: don't ever buy a couch on the internet without trying it out first.
And my adorable credenza/buffet/tv stand thing that I found at Salvation Army for $14 and then re-did with the help of Patrick, pictures below... is just too big! Or too brown, or too much pattern, or too something. Whatever it is, it's just not working. I'm pretty sure I have before pictures of the credenza, but they're lost with my phone I left out in the rain on a camping trip. My bad. What's cool about it is that it's actually one of those old speaker/entertainment center boxes with the lift-up top on each side and everything. Someone smarter than me then put in a piece of glass as a shelf that stretches the entire length inside, and then I added the mirror on the outside (got it cut at a glass place in Panama City for about $30... or maybe it was $15... I can't remember). I found the wicker baskets at World Market - I didn't like all that empty space in the middle so those helped fill some of that void.
ugh boxes of books.
With me in school for almost 7 years (5 years undergrad + 5 semesters for my masters) and Patrick for 5, we have a few too many to know what to do with.
What's crazy is that I was totally into this Terrace Mirrored Buffet from Pottery Barn for $1299.99 at the time of the buffet project. While not the same, (and considering I'm about to get rid of mine, super glad that I didn't splurge for it) the buffet I redid is an awesome ~$50 substitute (after paint and supplies and whatever the mirror cost).
Then I have this huge coffee table I found at the indoor flea market in Panama City, repainted white and bought some cute starfish knobs from Knobs4Less.com (although not really the style I'm going for anymore) that just seems to be way too huge for the space. It definitely didn't work as my coffee table, but for now it's in a little seating area near the front door. Still too awkward, but having it there makes me realize I do want some sort of ottoman or sturdy something there; I keep sitting on it for some reason. I do like how we're going to have a separate seating area - I have visions of an awesome bookshelf and a cute little reading nook.
And there is totally nothing pretty or colorful in this post. Maybe a cute dog picture will suffice?
big table + anna is horrible at iphone pictures.
And there is totally nothing pretty or colorful in this post. Maybe a cute dog picture will suffice?