Ideal<->Reality: Living Room Edition
I’m jumping in feet first with this idea from Peter Walsh (h/t Colleen The Communicatrix) about articulating what you WANT your life to be like before you tackle getting your home to embody that. This little series will be a description of what I want for a particular room accompanied by the before pictures. Later, (this year sometime) I’ll follow-up with the After pictures.
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Ah. Here’s where the rubber hits the road. I do want this to be the living room. Where we gather as a family to talk, read, watch TV and hang out together.
But I also want it to be a cozy place. Right now it feels almost too big (!!) and we need more and more comfortable seating. I’d like to be able to have book club discussions in this room without having to drag chairs in from the dining room or kitchen. Soft seating for 8 or 10 instead of the 3 or 4 there is now.
Adjustable and better lighting. This room doesn’t have a ceiling light fixture. I need to figure out how to provide general, softer lighting for quiet evenings in conversation or TV watching and brighter lighting for reading or knitting or something like that.
I don’t mind that we (the boys and I) sit here and multi-task by working on laptops while watching TV, but I don’t want this to be a permanent home for the laptops.
More art that reflects who I am and who we are as a family. Include some of the awards the boys have received, or more family pictures or something.
The furniture should be comfortable enough that I can curl up to read a book but not rumpus room like. Something I won’t mind the dog sitting on, but that also doesn’t look like it is owned by the dog. (Is that even possible???)
A place that looks inviting for a Sunday afternoon nap is also on my list of ideal characteristics for this room.
EDIT 8:14AM: Scheduling posts is great and all, until you forget to add the pictures. You can’t “set it and forget it” until you add the pictures. Libby had a poopy butt this morning so my picture uploading time because wash the dog time. Maybe tonight I’ll be able to find and upload the “before pictures.”
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A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…
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Sunday the 27th 2008
Dr. Zhivago 2007
untitled 2007
X-ray Hip 2007
January 27th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
It all sounds very inviting. I am looking at buying my first house this year. Any tips?
January 27th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I hope you can get the photos on here. I’d love to see them.
January 31st, 2009 at 5:29 am
I place washable throw covers on my couch. They look decent and the dogs can lay on them.