Warning this is a photo intensive post, for those on slower connections.
Hey ladies (and any guys heh)!! I finally got my camera back from my daughter and have the photos of my livingroom re-do!!
But to make sure you all realize what kind of a change we made, here are a couple of pics of the "Before":
The layout was just not working, and it was way too easy for the kids to mess it up and hard to get clean and keep clean. Besides, I really hated that green chair. Also, I seemed to never be able to get that bag of give-away stuff out of my house!
Here are some of the "During" photos...
The carpet in front of the front door has turned black from the traffic and some weird stain that was there before that started appearing after we moved in. It's near where there were huge holes in the wall that had to be repaired... I wonder if I should mention the stain is vaguely body shaped... Thankfully the steam cleaner made most of it disappear. I'm just going to have to deal with it til we can do something with that area. I do want to get hardwood floors throughout eventually, but I think until then, I want to rip up the entry area only, and just put tile or laminate down as a temporary fix.... but even that needs to wait.
This is the carpet where the coffee table used to sit. I doubt a day went by without *something* spilling. No matter how many times we'd tell them not to take drinks in there, they never listened... but to be honest, I think my husband spilled more than the kids (and his cups hold a lot more!) haha. I do know KoolAid does NOT come out of this carpet. I'm even considering using bleach to get the pink up! ACK.
And now... (as HGTV says)... The Reveal!
This is my new "office". A LOT different than where I was a few months ago, secluded away in the laundry room. Now I'm more like a member of the family! haha. It's been kind of distracting having the TV like RIGHT there, but I have them turn it down a little and I put my headphones on and crank up Pandora and can work without being bothered. I'm really kind of used to zoning everything out and concentrating on the screen and work after doing this job for 3 years now. The best part is the desk chair basically adds another chair to the living room when we have people over. I can sit here and still be part of the conversation easily.
The newish dining area. The table and chairs are basically in the same place, but the china cabinet has moved, so it kind of makes more "sense" now, and the buffet has been turned and put back in the kitchen so it's a lot more open now. I didn't add pics of the buffet yet. It's a MESS still!
It's so cozy now! And it's easy to move the table over and there's tons of room for the Dance Dance Revolution Wii mats. Now, to figure out how to get the kids to put the table back again.
This is a chair I got an antique store and I just love the shape. The footstool was given to us by my Mother in law. I used to dislike the colors, but actually they go great in this room with the earthy tones and orangish maple woods, and ethnic type decor. The table is an antique also from my Mother in law. It's got a great aged mottled finish, I don't even want to refinish it. I'm happy I kept the table simple and decluttered.
Sorry for the blurry pic. The hallway looks bigger with the stuff on the left, so it's going to stay there. The toy cubby and guinea pig cage will be moving to the back bedroom with the younger girls once we move the extra bunkbeds out. Then between that doorway on the left (the older girls' room) and the bookshelves will be the storage trunk/chest/bench and coat/backback hooks. Just need to move things out and find the right chest. Oh by the way, that red curtain at the end of the hallway is the "door" to the girls' back bedroom. It works well til we can install a white door to match their sister's.
Oh my poor carpet. I can't wait to replace the little entry way area.
It's still stained, but it's really a LOT better than it was believe me.
Loving it! It feels SO much bigger now!
When I get the buffet fixed up, the hallway finished and the girls' room done, I'll post about those things as well. I just love how the house feels really open again (which is why we bought it in the first place). Come on over! We'll have a cuppa tea and watch HGTV haha!
Oh! By the way, any ideas what color I should paint the walls? The color would really need to go down the hallway and be in both the living room and kitchen since it's all one big open space. Hubby is partial to yellow. I'm considering a Tuscan yellow. We'll see. Painting is still a ways off. Since we'll have so much to paint, I'm going to wait til we can get enough of the same color to do it all.
Hey ladies (and any guys heh)!! I finally got my camera back from my daughter and have the photos of my livingroom re-do!!
But to make sure you all realize what kind of a change we made, here are a couple of pics of the "Before":
The layout was just not working, and it was way too easy for the kids to mess it up and hard to get clean and keep clean. Besides, I really hated that green chair. Also, I seemed to never be able to get that bag of give-away stuff out of my house!
Here are some of the "During" photos...
The carpet in front of the front door has turned black from the traffic and some weird stain that was there before that started appearing after we moved in. It's near where there were huge holes in the wall that had to be repaired... I wonder if I should mention the stain is vaguely body shaped... Thankfully the steam cleaner made most of it disappear. I'm just going to have to deal with it til we can do something with that area. I do want to get hardwood floors throughout eventually, but I think until then, I want to rip up the entry area only, and just put tile or laminate down as a temporary fix.... but even that needs to wait.
This is the carpet where the coffee table used to sit. I doubt a day went by without *something* spilling. No matter how many times we'd tell them not to take drinks in there, they never listened... but to be honest, I think my husband spilled more than the kids (and his cups hold a lot more!) haha. I do know KoolAid does NOT come out of this carpet. I'm even considering using bleach to get the pink up! ACK.
And now... (as HGTV says)... The Reveal!
This is my new "office". A LOT different than where I was a few months ago, secluded away in the laundry room. Now I'm more like a member of the family! haha. It's been kind of distracting having the TV like RIGHT there, but I have them turn it down a little and I put my headphones on and crank up Pandora and can work without being bothered. I'm really kind of used to zoning everything out and concentrating on the screen and work after doing this job for 3 years now. The best part is the desk chair basically adds another chair to the living room when we have people over. I can sit here and still be part of the conversation easily.
The newish dining area. The table and chairs are basically in the same place, but the china cabinet has moved, so it kind of makes more "sense" now, and the buffet has been turned and put back in the kitchen so it's a lot more open now. I didn't add pics of the buffet yet. It's a MESS still!
It's so cozy now! And it's easy to move the table over and there's tons of room for the Dance Dance Revolution Wii mats. Now, to figure out how to get the kids to put the table back again.
This is a chair I got an antique store and I just love the shape. The footstool was given to us by my Mother in law. I used to dislike the colors, but actually they go great in this room with the earthy tones and orangish maple woods, and ethnic type decor. The table is an antique also from my Mother in law. It's got a great aged mottled finish, I don't even want to refinish it. I'm happy I kept the table simple and decluttered.
Sorry for the blurry pic. The hallway looks bigger with the stuff on the left, so it's going to stay there. The toy cubby and guinea pig cage will be moving to the back bedroom with the younger girls once we move the extra bunkbeds out. Then between that doorway on the left (the older girls' room) and the bookshelves will be the storage trunk/chest/bench and coat/backback hooks. Just need to move things out and find the right chest. Oh by the way, that red curtain at the end of the hallway is the "door" to the girls' back bedroom. It works well til we can install a white door to match their sister's.
Oh my poor carpet. I can't wait to replace the little entry way area.
It's still stained, but it's really a LOT better than it was believe me.
Loving it! It feels SO much bigger now!
When I get the buffet fixed up, the hallway finished and the girls' room done, I'll post about those things as well. I just love how the house feels really open again (which is why we bought it in the first place). Come on over! We'll have a cuppa tea and watch HGTV haha!
Oh! By the way, any ideas what color I should paint the walls? The color would really need to go down the hallway and be in both the living room and kitchen since it's all one big open space. Hubby is partial to yellow. I'm considering a Tuscan yellow. We'll see. Painting is still a ways off. Since we'll have so much to paint, I'm going to wait til we can get enough of the same color to do it all.
anyway , not bad room
ReplyDeleteLooks good :-)
ReplyDeleteI love yellow but hubby loves paneling so our whole house is paneled,ew lol
It looks great. It's great to knock something off your to-do list. It really does give you the energy to tackle the next thing.
ReplyDeleteYou have greens, browns and some rust colors in the room. I think a light tan or caramel would be pretty. Even a pale sage green. I have a few light yellow walls in my house. And I do like them but am thinking about painting my bedroom a sage green. It seems restful. Also, do you have any houseplants? I love them. They really brighten a room. I am not sure if cats and plants mix. Maybe a hanging plant?
Oh I like the idea of a sage green. And I hadn't even thought of plants! I actually have one houseplant I've not managed to kill. It's a peace lily (I think) that I got as a prize at my family reunion one year haha. I didn't inherit my mother's green thumb so usually kill plants. I think the lily would go great on the table in front of the front window. I always wanted one of those palm fern things too. I had one in my room when I was a teenager and loved it. I think it would go great in the corner behind the lamp table. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteJane, I lived with paneling for 20 years in our old house (God I feel old when I say that sort of thing LOL). We painted the main rooms and it looked great. The paneling kind of looks like beadboard when painted. (Well I told myself that anyway haha). But I guess if he prefers the "masculine" wood look, painting won't happen. You could say the paint fairies did it LOL
ReplyDelete