We have had a flurry of visitors and weddings over the last month or so, including my brother’s wedding, which has made it hard to find time to write any house updates. I apologize for that but now I’m back on the case and I shall make up for it with a lengthy update and many pictures.
Living room updates
When we first moved in, the living room was in a sad state - it had the sparse quality of a college dorm room and the accompanying disarray of stuff. Here’s a before picture:
Well actually I guess it didn’t look too terrible but that mess of wires by the television is unappealing. We did have a few design challenges because our furniture was really sized for a 600 square foot apartment, the open concept floor makes it hard to delineate functional spaces, and we had also painted the entire floor the same neutral color which exacerbates the issue.
So our first furniture purchase was a giant media center from Crate and Barrel, in walnut, which really warms up the space and splits our 30 foot wall visually.
Then I realized that the house was looking rather bland with its browns and creams colors everywhere. Yawn. The answer:
A BIG BLUE CHAIR
This puppy is from Room & Board and I am loving its gorgeous blue color. It’s also comfy and soft - I’m sitting in it as I’m writing this post!! This picture is a bit washed out in the background but you can really see the blue. It’s not quiteeee that electric in person.
So here is what it looks like all together.
There is more work to do. We had originally bought a replacement chair for the black Ikea chair but there was a bit of a debacle with West Elm. I won’t go into it but it did cost hours of my life and we ended up canceling the chair order. In the end, they gave me a $50 gift card for all the trouble so perhaps my forgiveness can be bought - we will see.
You might also note the new fan that we installed to replace the one that Mike sort of dismembered. This new one has a remote. Yay technology!
Entryway table
After spending a small fortune on good-quality furniture, we’re taking a break. Or at least we were supposed to be taking a break, but then I decided to get an entry way table because I wanted a spot for mail and keys and things. Sticking with the color theme, I bought this cheap table from Kohl’s:
It is definitely a bit scrappy - the drawer does not open smoothly at all - but it is cheap and cute! The art is from my old place, I’ve had it for years and it draws a surprising number of compliments. It’s from Urban Outfitters in case anyone is curious. We’ll hang it up at some point but right now we are beta testing the placement of the table and art.
For the record
For those of you who don’t know, Mike went to University of Maryland and is a big supporter of the school. He is always trying to put his Maryland tchotchkes - like a giant picture of Cole field house - around the house and claims that I don’t let him! So I just wanted to formerly present to the interwebs that there are a few tasteful (maybe arguably tasteful) UM artifacts visible. For example, you might note the small white Terps football helmet to the left of the TV in the picture of the media center above.
Also, lurking in the shadows of the bookshelf is a bobblehead Testudo.
My alma mater is Duke, which is an arch rival of UM, so this was a BIG concession from me to Mike. He might not see it that way though. Testudo is getting optimal placement next to my beloved Rick Bayless cookbooks. In any case, let the record show that I have compromised! You’re welcome, Boo.