So this is, for the most part, my finished living room. Some of the things that changed are the sconces. This room, when we lived in CA, had much more beach-y feel. White sconces, light wood tones, and more Americana decor. I was able to re-purpose all of the decor, which was a huge plus. I bought brushed bronze spray paint at my local Home Depot. Mike took the glass out of the frame and we simply spray painted about 3 coats to get a nice even finish. I left the shelf in here that I usually use with my living room set - I felt the frame for the artwork was a close enough match. There was no place for my china hutch in the dining room, so it now acts as a book case. I haven't quite got the accessories right there yet, but it's stained the same finish as the shelf, so it works nicely. And that corner seems as if it was made for that piece because it fits perfectly!
OK, the curtains aren't working for me. I originally bought them as a room divider (my office is in the back portion of this room, in what should be the formal dining room - who uses a formal dining room?!) and I like that, but I had mossy green curtains in here when the brown sectional was in this room. Mossy green and red sofas are just not a good combination! Believe it or not, Walmart has some beautiful red drapes that lined with some insulating material (because this room gets quite toasty in the summer with the morning sun, ugh...). They're $22 a panel, and I probably need 4 panels, but they're perfect for this room and so I just need to save up for them. I have the matching drapes in the office (er, that's another blog) so it would really pull the two rooms together - which is good for reasons I'll go into another time.
A different angle. It's so funny that I can tell you where each of the pieces in this room came from, and how they've worked in every house I've had, even when the color schemes were completely different.
I really feel it's important to decorate with pieces that you will love for long term, not just what's popular at the moment. These red sofa's are a perfect example. I love red. Every home I've lived in has had something red in it. But when it came time to buy new sofa's, I originally wanted a soft aqua. I had seen a beautiful sofa at a furniture store that was going out of business and I was hopeful that it would be at a price I could afford. It wasn't (seriously, who spends $2200 on clearance for a sofa that they're going to let their kids breathe on...not me...). So when I bought these MUCH more affordable pieces ($400 for the set) I almost picked out a similar color in the micro suede. But then I really thought about it. Yes, at the time, my living room done in black and white, and the aqua would have looked beautiful. Except these sofa's were for my family room, not my living room. Which meant they had to be in a kid friendly fabric (aka, micro suede) and a color that didn't show dirt the moment the kids walked into the room (uh huh, that wouldn't be aqua). And then I really thought about how they would work in my house. They were replacing denim slip covered sofas, which I had originally thought about doing these sofa's in. But that was just a little too casual. And then I saw the lipstick red. It called to me. And three years later, I love the color as much as I did when they first arrived, even though my color scheme and accessories have changed quite a bit. So I know the red was a great color choice for me - even though my mom would never agree! :)
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