Freshening Up

In our post wedding blissdom, we’ve had some serious time to kick back and relax.  It’s been strange to come home and not have to do anything.  No wedding crafts, no DJ meetings, no nothing.  It’s been relaxation maximation here at the roost and we’ve been 100% enjoying it.  And since we’ve spent the last six plus months trying to clean up our bedrooms and prep the house for house guests, we haven’t had much time to think about any of those frivolous fun projects in our house.  And in the last week we’ve been scheming up projects in just about every room in the house.  Things we’ve been dying to tackle but just haven’t had time.  After careful deliberations, very Design Star judge like, the room we decided to focus on for the next couple of weeks, our sad little living room.

I like to refer to the living room as the room where misfit furniture goes to live. Seriously…there’s a china cabinet in the corner of the room!  We haven’t really touched the living room since move in day 2.5 years ago, other than a few tweakings here and there.  Like the lobster art and Maine Cottage style media cabinet.  So it’s about time we set out on a little freshening project in the living rooms.

And it all started last Monday, our last day off together on our vacation, just a few days after our wedding.  We wanted nothing more to do than to relax on the couch and watch movies all day.  But our couch, a small two seater, is not so conducive to our synchronized couch lounging ways.  It’s not comfy for both of us to lounge simultaneously and we were officially over our two small love seat.  It was time for an upgrade.  Armed with some wedding money, we cruised the local furniture stores for a couch and finally settled on this guy:

Excuse the iPhone photo.  The couch hails from the American Mattress & Furniture Gallery in Bangor, Maine and he was on sale for $688.  We loved it!  We can both 100% sprawl out, me on the chaise and Colby on the couch part, comfortably.  Believe me…we tested it out.  Thoroughly tested it out squishing our behinds into the plushness.  Anyway, we wanted the chaise on the other side so we had to order the couch but he is scheduled to arrive in the next week or so.  More on that later when the big dog makes his big appearance.  So with a new couch on the way, I HAD to come up with a little living room mood board to help guide me in the freshening process.  You know I couldn’t stop with just getting a new couch!  He’s deserving of a cute space to come home to.  Thus, there’s painting and sewing and building to do!  Here’s the game plan:

1. Valspar Baywaves Paint In Satin:  It’s the same paint color that’s throughout the rest of the open spaces in our house and it’s about time the living room was painting the same color.
2. The Couch:  This guy came from Ikea, which was the original plan, but we found one we loved even more at the American Mattress & Furniture Gallery
3. Rustic Chunky Wood Coffee Table:  Like this one via Ana White based off a Pottery Barn style coffee table.
4. Jute Rug:  Which is the same rug we had used in the master bedroom mood board.  He hails from Overstock.
5. Drop Cloth Slip Covers:  For the pair of pink chairs.  The chairs are my grandmother’s old chairs and I’m pretty sure they’re older than I am but in great condition.  I love them to death, just not the color.  Since I’m infatuated with drop cloth upholstery these days, I’m thinking of trying my hand at crafting a slip cover.
6. Built In Bookcases:  I dream of built ins in our living room around the window overlooking the porch.  I also dream of painting the backs of the built ins a light blue color.  Sadly, this may need to be a long term project idea since adding built ins probably wouldn’t make sense until after we replace the floor.  Sad.  I believe the inspiration pic came from Better Homes & Gardens but I can’t seem to track it down.
7. Bamboo Window Shades:  layered with…
8. Wide Striped Drapes:  That I plan to sew using my Spoonflower Fabric creation.
9. PILLOWS:  I’ve been dreaming about throw pillows for weeks!  I have been waiting years…YEARS to invest in throw pillows for a big ol’ couch and I finally get the chance!  I shall leave no stone store unturned as I search for the most epicly awesome throw pillows for our new couch.  But I’m digging orange pillows to play off the pair of Pottery Barn orange lamps (that I LOVE) already in the room.  These orange pillows would be perfect and they come from Etsy here.

This plan should keep me busy for awhile.  First up, wall painting, which is well under way.  Actually…if you follow me on Instagram (I’m angiesroost and I just, JUST joined so go follow me) you’ve already seen that I’m up to trim painting!  Woo to the hoo progress is being made.

Pssst…Stay tuned for a wall painting revelation tomorrow.  Sad little living room no more!