Living Room Project Launch

If you have talked to me in the past month, I have probably mentioned the fact that I'm dying to paint my living room.  I've been wanting to paint it since the day we moved here - but just haven't found the style I wanted for the room.




Here is a before picture of our living room.  I didn't bother cleaning it, just to give that terrible 'before' shot :)

We bought our couches from The Brick about 3 years ago - and they are complete garbage.  They were a tent blow-out sale, so we didn't spend a lot on them in the first place, but just 3 years later, and the cushions are all saggy and deformed, the entire frame is bent and bottomed-out, and it's just not comfortable to sit on. 

Mark and I have been casually keeping our eye on Kijiji for a new couch, but buying a couch on Kijiji is a hard thing.  First of all, they're used.  There's usually a reason people are getting rid of their couches.  Second of all, most of the couches on there are from box stores like Ikea and Leons.  I just didn't want another bad couch.  I considered buying an antique couch and reupholstering it, but let's be frank - I don't have the time for that extensive of a project.

Then one day, I spotted this number:

At this point, my Mom is reading this thinking, "oh no, Jen, you didn't!  It's sssooooo ugly!"  Well, I did.  I wasn't 100% sold on it from the photo, so I thought, "The least I can do is go check it out".  Right before I had decided to do so, the owner e-mailed me and said, "You can have the couch for $75 if you're still interested - we just want it out of our house!"  It was a sign.  I drove to Beamsville to take a look, and it was everything I imagined it to be.  It was in impeccable condition - clean, firm, and solid.

Here's a close-up of the piece.  I was drawn to the shinny teal fabric (obviously), and the gold pattern on it.  It's so luxurious-looking, almost like an oriental fabric.  This couch is a true, original, retro-styled piece.

 Mark was appalled at what I had bought.  He hated it.  He thought it was the most ugliest couch he has ever seen. 

And if you come to my house, and you really hate it too, that's okay.  You don't have to sit on it.  You can sit on the floor.

This just made me more determined to make it a stunning show-piece in my living room.  The whole drive home, I thought, "What colours can I use to best work with this piece?"  I guess Sarah Richardson would call this couch the 'jumping off point'.

I went to Home Depot that night after dinner.  (This was Saturday).  I brought the cushion in with me to look at paint colours.  ALL the girls at Home Depot loved the fabric on the couch.  They 'ooohhh'ed and 'aahhhh'ed over it, helping me choose just the right colour.

We finally settled on Martha Stewart's "Whetstone Grey".

For the accent wall, I chose a colour in the same teal as the couch, but in a much darker shade.  It's "Underwater" by Behr.

So I got home, and began to paint.  I knew I wouldn't be able to paint during the day when the monkey's were awake, so I worked hard to get it done.  I worked until 11pm, then I gave up and went to bed.  I finished it this afternoon.

I didn't buy new curtains - I simple traded the ones in our Master Bathroom for the ones in our living room.  I just wanted something white, flow-y and simple.

Here's our lovely new couch!

I believe Mark is warming up to it.  He still hasn't sat on it.  He's stubborn.  But I'm more stubborn.  They just need to bond.  Time will tell.

My plan is to make new toss cushions out of the stuffing from our old couch cushions.  I'd love some feedback on fabrics / colours.  My thought originally was to do just whites and creams, but then I thought, "how boring!".  So I'm thinking dark teals, golden yellows, browns, burlaps... any other suggestions?

We want to replace the brown loveseat with two armchairs.  I'm thinking they will be either brown or white. 

In a recent post, someone suggest that I put baskets in my Ikea expedit unit to hide the mess.  I found this on Pinterest, and I think I'm going to try something similar with my unit.

 I have a pretty distinct home decor philosophy.  In a day where everyone is painting their houses white, buying white furniture and white accents, I just haven't jumped on the white bandwagon yet.  I think the look is lovely - very clean, fresh, modern and new.  But for me - well, for one I have kids.  And I plan on having lots of kids.  Not only are white things harder to keep clean, but they stifle imagination.  Give a child a room with colour to play in.  Make things fun and interesting.  I mean - I don't want my kids to dictate how I decorate - but I want to create a warm, inviting and playful environment for them.  I believe in incorporating personality into the home.  Decorate with pictures of your family and friends.  The pictures where you're having fun together, you're laughing and playing together.  I love looking at photos when I go to other people's houses.  Have fun with your decor.  If you like it, keep it.  If not, donate it, or put it in the attic for another day.  Bring your personality into your home.  Make it comfortable, and a home you and your family enjoys - not a replica of a magazine photo.

For now, I just have a big boring mirror over the couch.  The vision on how I should decorate these walls hasn't quite come to me yet.

When the girls woke up, they went straight to the couch, climbed up on it, and began to play.  They loved their new couch.  Good thing I only spent $75 on it - let them play :)

And then Hannah totally initiated it by spilling the last drop of Dad's leftover beer on the couch.  Oh wait... that was my beer!  I needed that one today.

 That's the launch of our new living room.  When it's all nicely completed with pictures on the wall and awesome toss cushions, I'll post an update.