Because I love a good before and after….
When we moved into this house I was about 7 months pregnant and at the time a fresh coat of paint was about all we could handle. Fast forward about 3 years and I had about all I could take of the living room situation. I dreamed of a lighter brighter room with shiplap (of course). The first thing I did was a little crazy, but I got rid of everything. For about two weeks, we lived with a couple of chairs, a couple of lamps and the tv. I have always read from decorators that a good way to refresh a room is to take everything out and then slowly put it back in after you’ve determined what you want to keep and/or where you want everything to go. That’s what I did, only I gave away our furniture. (I like to go big or go home.) I have slowly, over the past 8 months, put things back in place and purchased new item. The first thing I did was pick a fresh new paint color, a really light grey. Next I ordered a couch. Yes, I ordered it online without ever having seen it. It came from Wayfair and I was actually pleasantly surprised! It was really cheap, and sits pretty good. If you haven’t checked out Wayfair, you should. I’m hooked. So far, everything I have purchased has been pretty good quality and they really do have “just what I need”. Anything you can think of for home, they have it. Disclaimer, their furniture does have to be assembled, but was not too difficult. The best part about the couch is that it’s slipcovered so I can wash it. To me, this was a MUST with the boys. Even though they are not allowed to eat in the living room, they find a way to sneak food (and markers, and dirty shoes, and then there’s the dog…) I had my husband shiplap the wall, which I wrote about in a previous post you can find on the website. I also purchased a new rug from Wayfair, which I was also very pleased with. The curtains I made for about $30. I took an old rod that I already had and ordered curtain hooks from Amazon for around $10 for two packs. The curtains  themselves are painting drop cloths that I also ordered from Amazon for around $10 each. I bleached them a little, washed them and hung them from the clips. I do need to hem them to the correct length but you can also just fold them over, like I did or if you don’t sew, you can cut them and use Velcro. Easy and CHEAP! The rest of the time, I have been trolling through Target and antique stores finding things to decorate with. I still need to replace the big brown recliner but can’t find exactly what I want to replace it with. I’m waiting for the club chair that matches the couch to come back in stock. I also change the throw pillows almost monthly, so we are still a work in progress and probably will be for a while!
