Sunday, March 3, 2019

Living Room Redecorating Project Update

Last month in THIS POST I shared with you that my husband and I were redecorating our living room.  In that post I showed what the room looked like before and I also included pictures of what I hoped the room would look like when we were all done.  Well, fast forward one month and let's just say things have not exactly gone as plan and we are doing a complete 180 with this room.

With the exception of the staircase, I finished painting the room with a Colonial White paint.  I also gave  the ceiling, and all the trim a fresh coat of Ultra White paint.  Ignore the tv and furniture in the following pictures.  None of those items will be in the final room.


My husband put in a new floor.  I love the color and the way it turned out.  I would have loved to have done the entire house in this new floor, but we did not think it was a wise financial situation;  so the dining room, kitchen, and office have the old cherry wood floor.  I chose Amber Hickory because it blended with the old floor of the dining room the best.  I'm thinking of placing a small space rug between the dining room and living room so that the difference in the two floors is not so obvious.


The only painting I have left is the stair treads and spindles.  I can't paint them till I pick out a new stair runner as the old stair runner has to come off to paint the treads.  The steps are so slippery without a runner,  so I want to paint, and then be able to put on the new runner asap for safety reasons.


Is this floor gorgeous or what?  I love it!


I did purchase new wall sconces, but they did not work out, so I had to pick out new ones and they haven't been hung yet.  The first pair I chose hung too low on the wall.


I did paint the dining room too.  It's the same color as the living room.  When I finished painting the living room, it really clashed with the red dining room.  I love how fresh and clean it all looks now.  I already decorated the dining room for spring. I didn't see the point of putting the winter decorations back up for only 20 days.   I'll show you my dining room spring decorations in a future blog post.


Now to explain all the issues we've had with the room and why it's taking a complete 180 from my original design plan.  I really wanted neutral furniture in this room.  But I also wanted comfort.  Remember, I'm trying to keep my old age in mind.  It's less important to me that my house looks like a magazine cover and it's more important that the space works for me and is comfortable.  So I started looking for furniture on line but the reviews scared me.  I was nervous about ordering furniture I had never sat in.  So then we went furniture shopping.  I sat in the all white Ikea furniture everyone in blog land raves about.  I thought it was uncomfortable.  And frankly, I thought it had a "sloppy" look.  Well, after about ten more furniture stores, and being tired and cranky somehow I ended up coming home with a grey recliner and a leather chair and ottoman. 🤣 Hmm, I wonder if my exhaustion after shopping all day had anything to do with this decision.


I do love the leather chair, but never in my life would I have thought I would buy anything leather.  But I saw this piece, and I was instantly drawn to it.  I wish I had another picture without my husband sitting in it, but I don't.   He's covering up a lot of the gorgeous detail.  It has a warm, Carmel colored threading in it (you can see it on the footstool).  That unique detail really drew me to this chair and I decided to buy it and make it the focal point of the room.  It's super comfy too!  It'll be the perfect reading/blogging chair!  I plan on putting it in the corner where the tv is now.  You will be able to see it right when you walk in the front door as it's visible from the dining room.


We did have a recliner on our wish list for new furniture.  My husband has wanted one for years.  For now, we will tuck it in the corner along the staircase wall.  You won't be able to see it from the dining room, you literally have to walk into the room and turn around to see it.  Hubby said if it's been there awhile and it still makes me want to barf every time I walk into the room, we can move it into the family room.  ðŸ¤£ I absolutely love to sit in recliners, who doesn't, but I hate the way they look.  We looked at some of the more modern, stream lined recliners, but they were no way near as comfy as the plush one we bought.  

So now you're probably wondering why the huge 180 from my inspiration pictures.  One reason was that after we painted the walls and put in the new floor, the room developed a very cozy, warm feel.  All white furniture didn't seem to go with it anymore.  Hubby was also worried that all white furniture against all white walls wouldn't look good, even though I kept telling him that's what everyone does now.  But I also worried about the practicality of all white furniture.  I read one blog post (quite a funny one too, you must read if HERE!) of a woman who bought the all white furniture from Ikea and said it was now a room everyone was afraid to sit in.  Her husband would only sit on it if he covered it with a blanket first.  I don't want that for my house.  I want people to feel comfortable.  We also had issues finding white furniture in the stores.  Other than Ikea, none of the stores carried it.  Everyone was selling recliners, sectionals, movie theater seating, etc.  It seems everyone is about comfort these days.  All white furniture looks awesome in magazines, but is it livable?  And finally, because of the awkward space of the room it was hard to find anything that would fit it right.  

So back to the drawing board I went, or my Pinterest Board I should say!  I looked for furniture with leather pieces in it and I found a treasure trove of ideas.  Turns out, leather is pretty "in" too.  The hints to incorporating leather into a room is to use only one leather piece (with me it is my chair), light colored pillows and throws, and basically keep everything else in the room light.  Here are some examples:



Once my leather chair arrives (it's not available for pick up until April 2nd! 😭) I will have a better idea of the look of the room and hit the stores for a white cotton throw, white pillows (preferably with an abstract or textured patterns), lights, and art work.  I don't want to buy anything else for this room, till I get the furniture in place and see how it looks.  So, sorry this Re-decorating project is taking a little longer than expected.  I never thought I'd have to wait an entire month for my furniture.


So what do you think?  Did I make a huge mistake or should I have bought the white Ikea furniture?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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12 comments:

  1. We are doing re-decorating now too- more of sorting out and re-looking at everything. I love your leather chair- so pretty and love your floors. We have wood on main level and upstairs- for allergies. I so love them!

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    1. Thanks Shelly, yes, wall to wall carpeting seems to be out because everyone has allergies. The floor is gorgeous, but it really turned my design plan upside down.

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  2. I think you are wise to stay away from white furniture. With small grandchildren visiting, there will be spills and spit-ups and who needs the worry of that on white upholstery? Comfort and easy maintenance should come first.

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    1. Thanks for the support Julie. I know, The more I think about it as much as I love the look it's just not practical.

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  3. This sounds really exciting! Love the chair, so comfy, I could sleep there. Ha!

    Jessica | notjessfashion.com

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  4. Things never do work the way we first plan them, do they, but in the end it will turn out great!
    I do like the look of lighter colored furniture pieces but really not a fan of white seating because it gets dirty so easily. We just purchased a new leather sofa last summer and our previous one was leather as well and lasted us for almost 15 years. They may not be the "hot" item of the year, but you know what, I think many styles of furniture goes out of style, but a leather sofa or chair will just be a classic piece. So I do think you made the right choice with your chair. Not a fan of recliners either, but I love how you said you don't need/want your house to look like a magazine cover but want it be an inviting and comfortable place. So well said and what a home is all about!
    Oh, and the floor looks gorgeous!

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    1. Thanks so much for the encouragement Ellie! I'm especially happy to hear about your leather furniture as I know you have cats too. I've been worried about Jackson ruining the new leather chair, even though he is fairly well trained to use a scratching post.

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  5. You did right not to buy Ikea chairs Amy. I had them before and they are crap! asted all of five minutes. The rooms joined together have a great flow. I love your windows! xx

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    1. You are not the first person to tell me that about Ikea furniture, which is why I went and checked it out myself. When I sat in their furniture, I just wasn't comfortable either.

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  6. I'm looking forward to seeing how this room comes together! I absolutely love leather furniture - totally prefer it over cloth. Funny enough, I scooped up two WHITE leather barrel chairs for my family room from Costco about a year ago. So, you can occasionally find white furniture outside of IKEA. ;) I agree, though, that comfort is way more important than having a showroom. Thanks for sharing at Sweet Inspiration!

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    1. I'm so happy to hear about another leather furniture lover. White leather, wow! That would be really cool. A lot easier to keep clean than white cloth too.

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