Showing posts with label living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label living. Show all posts
Sunday, March 2, 2014
A Corner in the Living Room
For a while now Ive been gradually working on a corner in our living room. You may remember the shelves we recently hung to give some structure to a large bare wall. Adjacent to the wall with the shelves was yet another space I needed to fill.
Our living room updates have included a new ceiling, new trim, new ceiling light fixture, new drapery and fresh paint. Ive tried to keep the rest of the updates minimal and inexpensive. With that in mind, I needed to make our existing furniture work. After finding a furniture arrangement that I liked, I brought our originally black console table over to this wall.
BEFORE:
BEFORE:
I knew the right piece to hang above the table would be a mirror, so I took a trip to our local antique mall to take a look. I found this mirror for $20. It was heavy, obviously old with a solid wood frame and back. I knew I would have to paint the frame so that it stood out against the wood walls, but after thinking about it for a few days, I realized it would be perfect and went back to buy it.
I first painted a light coat of BM Titanium (the same gray I used for the shelves), then a light coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Coco, lightly sanded and finished with clear ASCP wax. I was so pleased with how it turned out and was thrilled that my husband had to agree (especially since he tried to talk me out of buying it - smile).
BEFORE:
The following week I went to work on our generic console table, which we purchased as newlyweds.
The truth is... I painted too many coats on this piece to count. I just could not get it to look right! Finally I ended up painting BM Titanium over ASCP Coco, and finished with both ASCP dark wax and ASCP clear wax.
The neutral colors really pop against the wood walls and hopefully help to create a look that is soothing and cohesive. You may have heard me mention before that the wood walls are original to our home... as hard as it has been for me to decorate this room, I really wanted to try and embrace that rustic element.
Originally I had planned on buying a couple lamps to set on either side of the mirror, but Justus had the suggestion of buying oil lamps, and I was instantly smitten with the idea. In our old house, we dont have many outlets and its also nice to have a source of light when the power goes out. I bought these nearly identical lamps at our local antique store. All we had to do was add lamp oil - fun!
Slowly the corner was coming together. Then last week my dad came over and brought me some antlers he had found on their farm. I knew immediately they would complete the look I was going for and hung them above the mirror.
In actuality, our sofa sits in front of the console table. Weve had this red sofa for nearly nine years (another newlywed purchase) and will likely have it for another nine (smile), so that was certainly another reason for opting to keep the background decor simple and neutral.
Sometimes I feel like there is still so much to be done in our home, but tonight when I happened across "before" photos of our living room and our entire house, it was so rewarding to see that we actually have accomplished a lot. Yes, there are still many improvements that need to be made, but I feel like I need to be more thankful for what we do have and recognize that it doesnt all happen overnight.
With that being said, were looking forward to starting on some outdoor projects tomorrow we hope to accomplish before spring, and one of those is a chicken coop! Today was rainy and overcast (hence the bad photos), but if we see sunny skies, well be getting started.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Sharing at Miss Mustard Seed
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Living Room Shelves
Hi there! I hope you had a nice weekend... its hard to believe its almost over.
We have a large wall in our living room that Ive never known exactly what to do with. With our recent living room updates, Ive been trying to do a little "freshening" in the room. Recently it dawned on me that some shelves might provide a nice contrast and also be an inexpensive way to add some interest.
After suggesting the idea to my husband, he so sweetly agreed (let me tell you, I am thankful to have such a handy husband that doesnt mind all my crazy ideas) and a trip to Lowes we made. We picked up four of these wooden shelf support brackets (two for each shelf).
And we also bought two 48" pine stair treads to use for the actual shelves. Once we brought them home, I primed them and then painted two coats of Titanium by Benjamin Moore, which is my all time favorite gray. Then Justus screwed them into the wall studs. Once he finished, I filled in and painted the screw holes. It was such a simple project. Overall, for two shelves, the cost was about $50 (not including the paint and primer, but I already had both on hand).
I love how they turned out and how they look on the bare wall but I did struggle for over a week with what to display on the shelves! I wanted a neutral look but the vignette also needed to stand out from the wall. In the end, this is what I came up with, although I make no promises that it will not change in the future (smile).
This weekend Justus finished all the trim work in the living room, so now I just need to paint it ... and dare I say... we will be finished! (Please tell me that you too have projects that end up taking you 4 months to complete!)
Do you see the stained corner trim in the above picture? The previous owners had painted the corner trim white. Once we raised the ceiling, the trim needed to be replaced anyway, so we opted to stain the new trim to match the walls. Its a change somebody else probably would not notice, but we love how it creates a more cohesive look. (Soon Ill tell you about the stain we used... it was amazing!)
The natural wood bead board walls in our living room are original and when I first walked into this room, my first thought was paint... but since then, Ive not only came to respect the history of the walls, but love them. Somehow over the span of eighty years, they were never painted and still remain in superb condition. So even though decorating has been a struggle for me in this room and wood in its natural state may not be popular, I just cant bear to change their originality. Ive grown to love how the sun gives the wood a golden hue when it goes down in the evening and how the smell of wood becomes strong when it rains.
I guess you could say it just feels like home.
P.S. Look what Justus found in the garden today!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Living Room Update Feature Friday at 6th Street Design School
Whats the best thing about having my family here besides exploring California together?
(to see some off my day to day adventures and what project Im working on next, you can follow me on instagram at sarahmdorseydesigns)
Having my talented Mom here to help me with sewing projects! Everything that my Mom makes turns out beautifully, so when the fabric arrived for the living room / office, I asked ... ok begged, do you want to help me make some pillow shams?
1 down and 1 to go!
We used KAS Cavillo Bluebird for the front and Waverly Stepping Out Pool and a navy blue bias tape for the cording.
Mom used the same method as the envelope tutorial that I wrote about earlier, but added cording, Ill be back later to share how she did it!
--
Also, today our home is being featured at 6th Street Design School, make sure to stop by and check it out!
Kirsten is an amazingly talented Interior Designer, if you havent already (which Im sure most of you have), you must check out some of her gorgeous projects!! (one of my recent favorites is a complete model home design, click here to see it!)
It was such an honor to be included in her Feature Fridays! Thanks Kirsten!
Read More..
(to see some off my day to day adventures and what project Im working on next, you can follow me on instagram at sarahmdorseydesigns)
Having my talented Mom here to help me with sewing projects! Everything that my Mom makes turns out beautifully, so when the fabric arrived for the living room / office, I asked ... ok begged, do you want to help me make some pillow shams?
1 down and 1 to go!
We used KAS Cavillo Bluebird for the front and Waverly Stepping Out Pool and a navy blue bias tape for the cording.
Mom used the same method as the envelope tutorial that I wrote about earlier, but added cording, Ill be back later to share how she did it!
--
Also, today our home is being featured at 6th Street Design School, make sure to stop by and check it out!
Kirsten is an amazingly talented Interior Designer, if you havent already (which Im sure most of you have), you must check out some of her gorgeous projects!! (one of my recent favorites is a complete model home design, click here to see it!)
It was such an honor to be included in her Feature Fridays! Thanks Kirsten!
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