So, after rearranging my furniture half a dozen times, I found an arrangement that worked at the time. And then my friend L moved in, bringing her TV and entertainment center. Since I had made the fireplace the focal point, TV-watching was rather uncomfortable. And really, I didn't like it how it was anyway. For example, I had the back of the couch facing the front door, which I hated.
The truth is, I was losing sleep over it. I know that's insane, but it was true.
I scoured design blogs, looking for an answer. I rearranged my furniture another half dozen times. Finally, once I gave in and said, "FINE, the piano doesn't need to be on an inside wall," (since that thing has already survived a fire and several moves, hasn't been tuned in 30 years, and still sounds pretty good) I had more options.
At long last, the living room is comfortable. And at long last, you get to see it.
"Entry" before:
"Entry" now!
The coffee table is a one-of-a-kind Craigslist find. The top is marble, and it was custom made for the guy I bought it from. The cat I already had. The mirror next to the front door was found in the attic when I moved into the house. I suspect it's been here since the house was built. The tiny blue lamp is Ralph Lauren, which I got for a steal at TJ Maxx. I bought the little white shelf at IKEA ages ago and didn't wind up using it as originally intended, so I was glad it finally found a home.
Couch placement before:
Couch placement now!
The velvet chesterfield that I've written about a bajillion times is really more grey than green, as it appears in the photo. The bookshelf is the IKEA Vittsjo. You'll also notice that the rug is different than the "before" picture. I've written about the rug here.
There's the piano, on the outside wall, but it's fine so far. I moved the Meizen print above the piano and bought a faux sheepskin at Homegoods for the piano bench. The cat has enjoyed eating it. She is horrible.
The blue and white pillow is Calvin Klein, also purchased at Homegoods for super cheap.
I don't really have a "before" shot of this wall, because I've changed the placement of the chairs so many times, I don't even remember what it looked like before, but here's the "after":
Remember those little grey end tables I bought at Homegoods? I decided to keep them grey for now. The chair is Cynthia Rowley, which I also got at Homegoods. I live there now, apparently. Up close, it's a Greek key pattern in grey, which I love. I got it to replace the two round chairs, which have made cameo appearances in past blog posts, but I don't have a great picture of. They were super uncomfortable, and reupholstering them seemed silly, so they had to go. They're in other rooms now. The little square ottoman usually goes at the foot of the chair, and I just realized there's a fly swatter on the table and the curtains are all jacked, but this is real life, am I right?
The "blank" wall, before (sorta - you can't really see the piano to the left, but it's there):
"Blank" wall, now!
I got rid of the rickety old shelf and replaced it with the IKEA one pictured earlier in this post. I've wanted to do a gallery wall forever, so I figured that doing one around L's TV would be a good way to soften the impact of the giant appliance in the room. I need to get a few more of those baskets for the three cubby holes that don't look like the others...
The sunburst mirror is from Target, and used to be next to the front door over the cabinet that is now serving as the bar. Remember those little coral tables? They were too small to really work as a coffee table with the couch, but I adore them, so they are now holding plants. The begonia on the right is my beloved darling, but it's dying because I watered it too much. When I first bought it, though, it was glorious. I'm hoping for a resurrection.
Built in shelf before (some of it):
Built in shelf now:
I turned it into a "bar" area, which hides the ugly creepy cabinet underneath (which isn't finished on the inside, and serves primarily as a dorm room for spiders). I had a moment of clarity and pushed the former entry table in front of it. With the mirrored top, it works as a bar. It still needs to be painted, and I've decided that white will make it look more like it's built in. By the way, I'm not trying to flaunt my liberties here - this is just a place where people can get their drinks (water and such) and ice when I have parties. I cook with the wine you see here!
Then there's the "tea area," as one friend called it, which is in front of the wall of windows. There's no "before" shot - it was just windows before!
Those yellow pillows are gone - gave them to a friend of mine - and now I need to paint and reupholster the Downton Abbey-esque Hepplewhite reproduction chairs. Probably black. The purse...I forgot it was there.
So there you go! It's not fancy, and I still need to balance out the excess of blue and blue-grey in the room, but I'm working on it. I hope you've enjoyed my little tour.
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