Over the weekend I decided that our home, specifically our living room needed a face lift. It was about a year ago when this process first began. We moved to Portland, and into a 1970's split level, that hadn't been updated since the 80's! We love the layout, and vibe of the house, we love the location, we love everything! We were less than thrilled with the amount of work that we were going to do to bring it up to date.
I have BIG plans for my entryway! Unfortunately this weekend I couldn't spend that much time and money on making it spiffy, however that will be changing soon. If you have been following my pinterest account, then you know how much I have been browsing for inspiration. I couldn't leave it unwanted and neglected, so decided to show a little love where I could. I snagged this super cute, and welcoming decal at Michaels on clearance for less than $5!
Split level homes are extremely prevalent in this area, and all that I have seen have beautiful wooden railings, it was important to me that we leave that railing as exposed as possible. So many times we forget to enjoy and cherish the pieces in our homes that are most beautiful! I don't want the railing to become a fixture, I want it to make a statement when you enter our home! This couch is the best purchase that we have made since moving in! (Well....maybe) It's from Ashley's, we purchased it on sale for only $600 and this is a very large substantial piece of furniture! The coffee table will be replaced soon, sadly it has been harder to find the right one then anticipated.
My newest piece is the TV stand. We have a wonderful gallery furniture shop that happened to be having a sale a couple of weeks ago. Pay attention to those sales! I find that the furniture shops around me tend to have sales, with drastic price cuts about every 6 months. Believe me, I have never had any luck with the "Columbus Day Sale" or the "Memorial Day Blow-Out", and I tend to steer clear of retailers who use those holidays for sales.
I chose a linear layout for the pictures above/behind the television, and I wanted to flank the left side with my DIY chalkboard (tune in next week for my DIY). Of course I had to leave a spot for my chi-babies to cuddle, they like to watch everyone and this is a great spot for them to see everything that is going on in the house. And just because I cannot get enough of this cute lil' face.....
This fireplace will be the death of me I swear! I love this beautiful statement piece in the middle of our large living room! I love looking at it, the colors in the brick are beautiful, they are not "matchey-matchey" it's perfect. I am so in love, that I'm afraid of it. I want to whitewash it to tone down the red in the brick, but I'm afraid of ruining it. I want to change the mantle, again afraid of damaging the brick. I'm dying to get rid of the ugly brass surround, however that I am NOT afraid to do, and am just waiting for the time to make this baby shine! Stay tuned :)
KIDDIE CORNER!!!
The kid work space didn't really get a make over, so much as a make under. I love these awesome wires from Ikea, using them to hang up the kids' art is amazing! Desk and Chairs were also purchased at Ikea.
This is the "kiddie corner" as I like to refer to it. I needed a space where my kids could play in the living room without taking over the entire space. Stylistically speaking, I would not have put kids toys in the living room, but alas I do not have a rec room or playroom so this is my option.
I purchased this amazing KidKraft kitchen, on walmart.com for Hanukkah 2010. It was "THE BIG GIFT". The dollhouse is from imaginarium that I purchased at Toysrus.com
This is a vintage (in great shape) little tykes washing machine and dryer. My mother in law found this for the twins at an estate sale, I am so thrilled that she did! It has been an enormous hit for the kids.
So there's my sneak into the front room makeover that I've been working on over the weekend! What have you done in your home?
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