Taking the time if figure out what would really work in our living room has been a challenge for me. We realized shortly after we bought this house that our massive leather couch was not about to fit through the doorway let alone an arched one.
Empty Living Room
After about a month of living here, I knew we were going to need a couch. Trying to convince my husband that a lane Menards couch was not the move, I began my couch search. There are also a few other things to consider with the layout in here.
We did not paint anything once moving in because it was literally just painted. And its a fine enough color for now (even though every room is this color..) We also know we don’t want to be here, in this house, long-term and can live with what is here. This grey is nice, I just prefer to have variety and I love a more white-neutral color palette.
Move in Month
Now the main entry to the house is to the left of the window in the picture above. There is a small coat closet directly in front of you as you open the door. Then you are in the rest of the living room.
With having a toddler and a large dog roaming the house we quickly hung our TV and our Hydrological map. I think the TV is a titch too high and the map is not *exactly* centered to the wall but they needed to be up off the floor so both were a quick and dirty job. I do however love this lawyer cabinet tucked into the corner off the kitchen, its honestly the perfect size.
Since this window faces the road, I immediately added Ikea curtains for privacy and have loved them. This blanket box doubles as game storage and extra seating. The rug we had in our living room at our last house ended up not being quite the right size.
Around the Holidays
As the holidays came and my husband got tired of storing my thrifted dressers in his garage, we had to find new homes for them. This one ended up being a very happy accident that ended up in our living room. See the transformation here! We were able to move the pedestal table upstairs in our guest room that needed a table anyway. I love a good furniture shuffle 🙂
I did not realize how much prime real estate we were giving the pedestal table until it was gone. Being able to push this dresser flush against this back wall cleared up a good 3 ft of floor space. I also ordered a new rug that fits better in this space as it is narrower and tiny bit longer.
One of my goals before baby #2 comes is to have a couch or at least a comfortable place to sit. After a good five or six months of living without a couch, we ordered the 30 day risk free trial piece from Home Reserve.
A good three days of having the sample we decided to order the other two pieces because we were impressed by the comfort level and the durability of the fabric. It is marketed as stain resistant and pet friendly but sometimes you never know. Once a few muddy paw prints and a chocolate stain came out I was convinced this would be a good couch for us.
I feel a little crazy wanting white furniture with a black dog who LOVES to sneak on couches and chairs along with a toddler that doesn’t always remember we need to wash our hands after we eat. But all the fabric can be washed and it vacuums extremely well. (This post is not sponsored or affiliated with home reserve.)
Today
There are always small tweaks to be made and there is one project that is yet to be completed and I couldn’t wait any longer to reveal this space to you. Having a space for guests to sit makes hosting a lot more enticing and no my house is not this clean all the time. Just look at the before photos lol
I’m so proud of this evolution. Especially when there is such a mix of new, old, thrifted, gifted, and handmade. I don’t love rushing to decorate a space so this feels very intentional. I have debated hanging a few pieces of art next to the tv but really don’t want to clutter up the space.
But as I’m looking at these photos I think it would help ground the tv a bit more. I just love the symmetry of the chairs and the arches. I’d be more prone to hang the art if the tv was a bit lower hahah
