A few changes

I moved my giant starburst mirror into the living room:

Burt models the finished runner

Finished it off with some black nailheads:

Drapery Hooks, or, I am an Idiot

I had not a clue what these were for:

Until the other night. Backstory: I had ordered some PB drapes for the living room. Because I'm not familiar with "nicer" drapes, I had no clue what the metal hooks that came with them were for. I knew they had something to do with attaching the drapes to the rod but beyond that I was stumped. So I hung my drapes with the ring clips I'd purchased and went on my merry way. it looked ok, but lacked the professional look of fancy-schmancy houses with big old fluffy decorator-hung drapes.

Here's what they looked right after I hastily hung them back in February:
See how the top looks all sloppy and just, well, sad? Not the result you want for such a lovely print.

I was lying on the sofa looking at the tops of the drapes as I am wont to do and it hit me like a ton of bricks: the hooks attach to the rings, which then attach to the rod. DUH! (And to think I am college grad.)

(Beware, here be bad nighttime with flash pics)

This is how you do it!! I guess if i were a perfectionist I would remove the clips but they don't show at all so why bother?

See, isn't that better? I hope someone learns from my idiocy!

Repurposed

In a fit of productivity a few weeks ago, I decided to drag up the sisal rug I stashed in the basement. It's an 8 x 10 I got for a steal from the Company Store and had been using in the dining room. For some reason Burt, who typically has very few accidents, decided it was a nice place to have a restroom break. Though I cleaned it pretty well, there was a telltale ring left that just couldn't be covered. So to the basement it went to eventually be tossed/given away.

Then I remembered I had been seeing some great layered rugs in various mags/blogs and realized the blue binding on my defiled sisal rug matched the tone in the wool dhurrie in the living room. (That rug ALSO experienced a rude welcome by the dog, but the coffee table covers that chew-hole now).

I love it! It gives the living room that layered look that to me makes a room feel purposeful. And I got to reuse an item I thought was done fer'. Always a good thing!

I put up my prints a few weeks ago and I love them! My living area is yellow/blue so they fit right in. I think they class up the joint a tad, no?

My drapes came! Well, they came last week but I had to have Jake help (read: just do) re-hang the hardware higher on the wall because I bought 96" length. 84" would have been too short. i am convincing myself the room looks bigger in order to justify the high cost of the longer length. They still pool a bit on the floor but in what I hope appears to be an I-totally-meant-to-have-my-drapes-drag manner.

The other notable update is the paint. It's now Oyster by Behr. I don't know what manner of hallucinogenic I was ingesting when I went with a boring beigy brown last year. I have generally bad taste in paint colors (save the master bedroom). Note to self: just copy what color you like from the shelter mags, you cannot be trusted in front of the wall of LowesDepot paint chips.

Patterns

So these drapes are making their way into my life. I kinda love them. A splurge for me, for sure, but sometimes you need a couple of *great* items to make a room rather than a bunch of blah junk.

Watch, when I finally get the to the PB outlet in SC in the next few months, they will be there for cheap. Ah, such is life.

Open Up and Say Ah!

Our house, built in 1965, still has some *lovely* original details. Like these louvered slats in the living room.We'll I'm assuming these are original. I seem to recall a phase in the 80s where design elements similar to these enjoyed a revival. We have two sets dividing the dining/living areas and the others are on the wall overlooking the entry way pictured below. After being gifted a reciprocating saw for Christmas (thanks, Harriett) it was time to attack these babies.

Here's the before:

And the after! Doesn't it open up the space so much? Now we have to refinish the top of the 1/2 walls with a little wood filler and paint but that's easy-peasy.

We actually dig that light fixture hanging in the entry way. It's definitely original and one of the elements we want to preserve.

Living

I snagged a new sofa from the ole CL over the weekend. My heart was set on white but with a sneaky beagle and a sloppy me, it probably would not have ended well. I found this basic, steel gray piece in excellent condition. The simple lines will help it last throughout my many decorating moods (hopefully).

The living room will need to be painted again, it's going to Behr Oyster. I need it to coordinate with what's going on in the dining room. Boring, yes, but again a basic backdrop to build upon.

Tabled

I picked up this coffee table in a warm honey-ish brown from the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams outlet in Hickory over the weekend. It was $50! Apparently, it sells for much more than that retail. I can't even buy a crummy table from CL for that price. Jake is always annoyed by my bargain hunting, especially when he has to unload the car + dog to make it all fit. But I just can't help myself sometimes.

Cadman Spine Bookcase

I'm liking these shelves from West Elm. I could do one of each, in white, to flank my credenza in the living room. I wonder if it's worth trying to build my own? Probably not...

The perfect coffee table!

My dream coffee table for the living room. It's only $300 from Bassett but strangely they won't ship to NC so I'll have to hoof it over to the store and see if it's in stock. In any case, I'm still holding out for a thrift store find to walk into my life but this might be worth it.

Found via the fabu new-to-me blog, Brooklyn Limestone.

Like I Need a Hole in the Head

image

Is how much I need another couch. But, But.
This is the Jonathan Adler sofa that would complete my living room.

Except in snow white.