Our Home Makeover

Never before would I have described myself as someone who is passionate about home decorating, but this pregnancy has done something very strange to me and gotten me interested in things I never pursued before. Case in point: decorating our house. I have always enjoyed having things neat and tidy and over the years I have bought some cheap decorative things to make our space pretty and stylish, but I would never go so far as to say that I knew what I was doing in that department.

Now I am obsessed. It’s all I can think about, and many of my internet surfing time these days is spent looking at home decor and decorating tips. I visit this blog every day, I can’t get enough of it.

Which brings us to the decorating nightmare I like to call my “living room project”.

It all started with me wanting to “prettify” our living room. I thought I had a photo to demonstrate the dire circumstances of this room only two months ago, but alas, I cannot find it. Let’s just say the carpet was brown, the couches were black leather with holes in them, the walls were tan, and the rest of the room consisted of Mark’s ode to watching television (aka 7 speakers, a subwoofer, and a 42″ TV). It was a “man room”. It bothered me somewhat before but now in my pregnant nesting state it became an eyesore I could no longer bear. So Mark and I had “the talk” and I convinced him of my need for some femininity in that room, stat.

So I went to work. Of course we do not have oodles of money to throw at such a project, so the possibilities were not endless. I surfed craigslist, I enlisted the help of my good friend Elena, and I started dreaming of a room that I would love and feel comfortable and beautiful to spent a large quantity of time it during the upcoming months of confinement after the baby arrives.

Phase 1- We bought a used bookcase, something we needed since moving in- our old one did not fit. Only after we got it home did I realize that it was an antiqued white that looked awfully yellow next to our tan walls. So then I started the arduous project of refinishing them in pure white. They look great but man, what a project!

Next, I bought a blue rug for a great price that I thought I loved. Mark and I had both loved our old rug but it just didn’t work with our black couches (try explaining that to your hubby though, mine just did not get it). The plan was to relocate the brown rug to our bedroom since I couldn’t bear to part with it. After a week with the blue rug Mark and I agreed that it just didn’t work. I loved the colors, but not the pattern and it just didn’t feel like “us”:

Phase 2-So we resold the rug on craigslist (at a huge profit mind you), and took the plunge- selling our black couches and ottoman as well and buying a used couch to match a brown leather recliner we already had. The room finally started to take on the feel I had hoped for. I was starting to see the possibilities. Unfortunately, Mark was not happy with the level of comfort with our new furniture since he requires the utmost reclining, relaxing, comfyness to make his evenings enjoyable. Can you blame the guy? He sits at a computer all day! I had finally gotten my dream couch and it just wasn’t satisfying knowing that the hubs couldn’t chill out, max, and relax the way he had hoped. Bummer.

So at this point we were at a loss for what to do. Does anyone else struggle with having such different styles as their spouse? I never realized before how differently I would decorate our home than Mark would. I never bothered to ask him what he liked before, and now I see that we do not have the same style at all! It’s frustrating but at the same time I am enjoying getting to know this side of Mark I didn’t know before.

I would describe my own decorating style as casual and eclectic. I like brown leather, “pops” of color and interesting and bold patterns and prints. I like large photos, mostly of our family, for the walls. I like a room that feels “lived-in” and practical, but with my own loud personality evident. Mark tends toward the side of comfort and practicality. He wants things to be as comfortable as possible and doesn’t like things that don’t serve a purpose.

We threw around the idea of reselling the couch and moving the recliner back to it’s spot in the den, but what to replace it with? We tried to find a couch that meets Mark’s need for reclining and my need for stylish appearance but I tell you- such a couch does not exist! We did find a sectional we both could live with, but it was massive and would not fit in our space. I kept feeling like there was something important I was missing. Like the magic solution was right under my nose and I wasn’t seeing it.

Then my friend Elena came up with a brilliant idea. Why are we pushing so hard to have everything in that one small living room? We have two living spaces. Our other living space is currently a den that we use mostly for our computers and nothing else. It’s off the kitchen, further from the bedrooms and it it not being used to the fullest extent we should be using it. Why not give Mark his “man room” by moving all the TV equipment to the den and buying a reclining couch that Mark loves? It can be as casual and comfortable a room as Mark likes and we can spend many a relaxing evening watching movies together on our comfy cozy couch. I won’t feel the need to decorate it since it’s not the first room you see when you walk into our house. Then, the living room can become my “girlie room” where my home office will be and I can feel free to decorate as much as I want and even toss a few throw pillows on the couch without fear of ruining the comfort of my hubby. Brilliant.

So we went to work yet again. This time, though, I had a renewed excitement about the project. I finally felt like we had stumbled upon the perfect solution. Even though it saddens me a bit that Mark and my styles cannot really co-exist in one room, I am happy that we found a solution that we can both live with. So last month, while our houseguests were in town, we made the switch. We then lived for another few weeks with the rooms unfinished as we awaited the arrival of Mark’s “man cave couch” (think dark brown leather with built-in recliners). Now we have put the finishing touches on our spaces and while I’m not sure that my room will ever feel “completed”, I am really happy with it. Reese and I spend so much time in it every day and I love that she has the space to pull out her toys and play on the floor nearby while I work at my computer. I also love that the furniture I worked so hard on allows me to easily ans quickly clean up the room and hide away my desk. So if you ever stop by at a moment’s notice and are impressed with the cleanliness of my front room, know that I was probably madly tossing toys in baskets moments before you knocked on the door. It feels farmiliar, warm, and stylish. Best of all, it feels like home.

Here is the result, and we love it!

For the record, pretty much everything you see was a craigslist find. I am especially proud of the computer armoire which I found of craigslist for $40 and persuaded Mark to go pick up for me. It was off-white and needed a little TLC, so I refinished it last month in the rich red it is now. I love that I can hide away my desktop by simply closing the doors and yet I spend much of my time working on my computer and it’s nice to have it in this room where Reese and I spend most of our days. The bookcases also were a craigslist find and I refinished them as well. I got some tips on styling the bookcase from this YHL post.

Another refinishing project I completed in the last month was this dresser for the baby’s room. I found it on craigslist and it has some scratches and gouges in it so I sanded it down and repainted it the same color.

The makeover is almost complete. I still have a few things to hang on the walls and a few room arrangement changes to make but it feels so nice to be on the other side of things now and just in time for the nesting instinct to wear off. I love walking into our home now and feeling that homey feel I so love. It was a lot of work but I am happy with the result.

Now who wants to come over and visit?