Sunday, August 23, 2009

It All Started...

... with this chair:



A glider with footstool picked up at the thrift store in June for $25. It has sat in the garage since then because my intent was to redo the pads before bringing thrift store cooties into the house. Last Thursday, however, I got over the cootie issue and decided that it was time to assign this baby to active duty.


So there it was... and while I spent 48 hours adjusting to the new addition in the living room and considering fabrics to recover it with, I got to thinking that something more than just the upholstery needed to change.

This is the first house we've lived in for more than a year, and it occurred to me that I didn't have to wait to move again to make our living space different. While convinced that the long skinny room was already being put to best use given the furniture (or lack thereof) that we have, I had just enough of an idea to give it a try. And what better time to start than ten o'clock at night?

I don't have a decent Before picture that shows the whole room, but you can get an idea from the shot above. The nicest piece we own is our big blue couch, which is just at the foreground of that picture, facing the window, with the tv to the right of the window. The computer desk is at the opposite end of the room, with assorted bookcases around the wall of both areas. The tv/couch area was cozy, but tiny, and visually closed off from the rest of the house. There was a fair amount of unused space between the back of the couch and the computer area, and the daybed along the wall next to the computer desk never really got used for more than a place to put stuff.

And now...


Ta da! While there was a scary moment around 11:15 when I broke the little blue vase that was a wedding gift from my dearest and oldest friend, and realized that everything yet to move was in the way of moving any of it, and books were stacked everywhere, I persevered. I finished triumphantly at midnight and am completely satisfied with how it all turned out. The room is much more open and seems larger, you can actually see the nice couch, there is more seating in the living area, and the excess scchtuff is not as much of a visual focus.

Oh, and one more thing: I did all this myself. Me and my scrawny little arms and bare feet. And some cats who thought this was all most amusing. Don will be in for a surprise when he gets home from work on Monday morning...

Still to do: rehang a picture or two, possibly eliminate a few more knick-knacks, consider what to put on the wall over the couch and over the shelf next to the tv, and proceed with recovering the chair and the daybed and the pillows. And while we're at it (because I'm made of money, right? - ha!) a new rug would be nice, and curtains, and somewhere down the line perhaps a larger entertainment center unit that would be more attractive than the current setup. And how about a nice flat panel tv to go in that? Sure! We'll see...

But I am happy and content now, and feeling so inspired to continue to work on a more cohesive decorating scheme. Trip to the fabric store, anyone?

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