Living Room {Reveal}

Hello, Merry Sunshines!

We managed to survive Day 4 of Sick Kiddos, 

none the worse for wear.

Thank goodness!

I'm trying to decide if I have a touch of what they have 

or 

I'm just paranoid.  

LOL!

But...

As promised...

I did manage to snap off some pictures 

of our living room to share with you today.

It's not fancy, but it's home.

The image quality isn't all that great, I admit.

Some were taken in the morning, some in the evening.

I was trying to avoid blowing out the windows, so I took some first thing yesterday morning and some later in the afternoon, to no avail.

It still looks like an atomic blast 

is coming in through the windows!

Obviously I still have a lot to learn about taking pictures in Manual.

;)

Without further ado, please come into our living room and make yourself comfortable.

:)

First I'll start you out with what the living room looked like 

when we bought our home in 2007.

East End

West End

And then what it looked like after we moved in:

East End

West End

Over the years, I decided that the midwest 

was not the place to have coastal decor.

I admit I hung onto my southern beach roots for as long as I could!

In the end, out went pretty much everything

and

I got to start from scratch.

About that time, I had just started my blog 

and was trying to figure out what "fit" me.

 To make things harder, I have never been much of a decorator.

Everything in the "after we moved in" pictures above 

belonged to my Dad, except for the couch (and it was chosen for its durability and ability to camouflage kid stains).

When he passed away, I pretty much inherited everything, 

since my parents were divorced, and my brother was still pretty mobile in the Marine Corps.

So...

It was like "Home in a Box".

And let's be honest...  6 young kiddos?

I never had the energy to decorate!

I admit, YEARS went by 

and decorating my house was the furthest thing from my mind!

The following pictures were my first attempt.

EVER.

And I'm only showing you 

if you promise not to laugh.

Promise?

Okay.

Deep Breath.

I'm trusting you, now.

I cannot believe I am showing these!

This was one of the first "after" pics 

I posted to my old blog:

October 2011

East End

Why are you laughing???

Stop laughing!!!

I thought you promised you wouldn't?!

That's okay...  

I snorted when I saw it yesterday too.

Yes, this is last year about this same time!

How horrible is that???!!!

*Hangs head in shame*

And this was the west end:

Lord have mercy.

So, I've learned a few things in the last year.

(Understatement of the Century.)

Technically, the living room is still not "finished".

I still want to get around to painting the walls.

I still have furniture to paint.

Floors to paint.

I'm hemming and hawing over painting the trim.

And there are a few things I'm still not sure I like.

I'm sure it'll get changed around some more.

Here's that horrible before again, just in case you forgot:

(Like anyone could forget that train wreck!)

And here it is today, our very humble abode:

The one thing I like about our living room is that everything is either thrifted, bought at an auction and redone, handmade, or bought on clearance.  

The only items that were not are the swivel rocker (my Dad's), the antique ship's compass (my Dad's), the couch (Bought brand new, but the slipcover is Sure Fit bought on Craigslist), the framed navigation charts (my Dad's), the rocking chair (my Dad's), and the lighthouse on the card catalogue (my Dad's).

It definitely feels like me.

It just took me a while to figure out what "me" is.

And while the dry sink is unusual for a living room, it serves the purpose of hiding an unused wall heater, until we can rip it out.

(I tried.  Didn't get very far.)

I love the little touch of Fall 

the white pumpkin brings to our space.

The coffee table was a Craigslist find.

You can see what it used to look like in the "before" pictures above.

It was the very first piece I ever painted with ASCP.

It's made out of old barn wood and porch posts.

Here's what it looks like looking towards the east:

The morning light 

just streams through the windows.

I know we're probably the only people in the free world that don't have a flat screen, 

but our big one broke last winter and since we don't buy on credit, 

this $35.00 Craigslist TV is doing the job until we have up enough to buy the flat screen we want.

And while I don't usually like to brag or name drop, 

I happen to be on a first name basis with ole St. Nick.  The last time we talked, he mentioned he might be dropping one by sometime in December.

;)

It's amazing how different the light is, isn't it?

And this is the west end:

As you can see, we ripped out the built-in hutch on the kitchen side.

Don't shoot me!

That little project was started three years ago 

and in my defense, I was an idiot.

I admit it.

But since we can't put it back, 

I do enjoy being able to see the kids from the kitchen.

It just looks stupid.

:P

I'd rip out the entire thing if it wasn't a supporting wall 

and I didn't care about incurring the cost of a header.  

Plus, I like the storage the built-in buffet provides on the other side.

This corner still needs a little something, 

but I haven't figured out what that is yet.

I'm waiting for a certain rug to go on sale,

I have a wall sign in progress, and the table and armoire are both getting a coat of paint, but still...

It's a little MEH.

I really don't like this side of the room.

:/

Any suggestions would be awesome!

This room has been a challenge to decorate, 

just because of it's unusual proportions.

It's long and narrow.

Plus, it has a door or closet or window or something 

on every available wall!

Last month, I decided to bring in one of the three oak pedestal tables that I had in the shop, to make an eat-in area in the back.

Mostly to deter the kids from eating on the couch while they're watching TV.

So far, it's been a success.

And because I still have a little one that enjoys his trucks, books, and toys, the far left corner is his little play area.

The corner entertainment center was my Dad's and I'm currently on the hunt for something to fill this space a little better.

The little baskets were 50% off at HL a couple of summers ago and work well to store Landon's odds and ends.

The toys on top are mine.

;)

Along with a little DIY art for the walls:

And in all, I'm pretty tickled with how the room is coming along.

Like I said, I still have things that I want to do.

In fact, I have a couple of wall signs in progress.

Hopefully, I'll be able 

to share those with you next week.

Until then, I'm really enjoying 

our new and slowly improving space.

But just to keep it real, this is what the living room looked like 30 minutes after the kids got home from school yesterday:

At least it stayed straight for the day.

LOL!

Tomorrow, I'll give you the DL 
on what a few of these items cost and where I found them.

Until then...

Dream Big,