stuff it in a basket

Do your kid's toys slowly start to vomit out into the room?   We do a pretty decent job of corralling our little guy's toys in a certain area of the living room but they start to multiply and before you know it they are creeping outward.  You are tripping over them and cursing them and the worst part is the more toys there are the less they seem to play with them.

Last weekend we did a major living room toy overhaul.  Babyish toys that are too young got packed up.  Broken bits and pieces were tossed.  Some toys got moved to the basement, some toys got moved upstairs and we added a basket in the entertainment area to help keep it tidy.

This wall is a major focal point of the room so I try to keep it looking as neat as possible.

Only when you slide the bins out can you see the true mania.

Since we eliminated some toys our little guy is actually playing with everything more.  Too many toys can be overwhelming.

It is no easy feat to keep the main living area of a home looking like an adult space with some kid things in it rather than a kid space that happens to house your furniture as well.  I love a clever way to hide the crud so you can still see the room overall.

Like these:

Source: remodelaholic.com via Hillary on Pinterest

Source: younghouselove.com via Miranda on Pinterest

Source: iheartorganizing.blogspot.com via Lisa on Pinterest

I'm not the most organized person in the world but a little tidy up makes me so happy.  How do you hide the mess?

The NEW new rug

Mother Nature isn't cooperating with sunlight so I did my best with the living room lights on.

Here is the new and final rug!

From the beginning of my search I kept gravitating toward these lattice rugs I was seeing but I kept second guessing myself and I was having trouble finding one that I liked in a color that would work for us AND a reasonable price.  Of course we end up with what I really wanted from the beginning!  I tend to do this so it isn't a surprise really. 

The other rug was super reasonably priced, and natural fiber and I wanted it to work but as you know it didn't...

As soon as we decided Knotty McRug wouldn't be staying with us I got right back on the computer and found our new rug.  100% wool, a soft green that goes really nicely in the room and a pretty reasonable price.  Good old Overstock delivered it for their flat shipping fee which is less than $3.00, can't beat that!

I'm not going to lie to you.  100% wool means it is a bit itchy.  I'm getting used to it and our little one could care less.  He was playing with legos bare legged in a diaper the day we received it so it's safe to say he doesn't mind.  It is a flat weave so there isn't much cushion to speak of and we're waiting for a rug pad to arrive.  I bought a regular old rug pad from Home Depot and found the chemical scent so offensive I had to return it.  I figured it didn't make any sense to lay our natural rug on that stinky thing!  We found a company that makes natural rug pads.  I'll let you know what we think when it arrives. 

We are really happy with the look.  It changes the room in a good way.  Warms it up and adds more interest.  With each day I find I'm liking it more. 

So, there it is.  I'll take a break from rugs for a while and get back to other obsessive, I mean passionate pursuits around the house.  Have a happy weekend!

French Country Cottage
Its Overflowing
At the Picket Fence

just a peek

Yesterday was one of those blah kinda days.  I've been wanting an orchid for a while but I'm pretty confident I'll manage to kill it.  Yesterday I decided I didn't care and it was time to spring for one anyway.

I'm so glad I did.  It's so pretty and is making me happy when I walk in the room.  I made a little vignette with my blue bird and this lovely book.  If you look close you'll see it's entitled "Birds and Flowers" and the orange makes it all pop!  Yeah, it will probably be dead in a month but hey sometimes it's worth a little splurge to brighten your day!

Wait, what is that?

The new rug came!  It's a keeper.  Even Olive approves.

I'll be back with more photos of the room overall.  It is a nice change.  More color and pattern but it layers nicely with our color palate and I think the second time's the charm for us. 

cutting the rug

Thank you for the nice comments on the new rug

It was growing on me.  I was digging all the texture and the knots.  The thing about those knots was that you could feel them.  When you walked across the rug it was sorta like you had thrown a rug over a bunch of pebbles.  It was an odd sensation.  We are a lay on the floor to play and watch a movie kinda family.  That was not happening with knotty McRug.  So on Friday evening after the little one went to bed my husband and I did a lot of ...

" I like it"
"yeah, I like it" (walk into the other room and walk back to stare absently at the rug again)

This went on for a while.  Clearly neither of us were sold and we were both trying awfully hard to make it work because the thought of rolling it up and sending it back sounding far too annoying.  Well, the rug lasted to the following morning when I admitted defeat and rolled it up.  It is currently in the back of the car awaiting it's haul over to UPS.

We've already ordered another rug but I'm far too nervous to share my selection yet.  You'll have to wait and be delighted or disappointed right along with me.  Rugs are so darn tricky.  I wish I was a fancy decorator and I could have a bunch sent over and figure out what works.  Ah well, keep your fingers crossed number two does the charm and is a little more comfy to lay on while I watch Downton Abbey.

New rug

The new rug is here...

It's much different than our last.  It's a chenille jute.  Very nubby, knotty and natural looking.

At first I wasn't sure but I think its growing on me.  How about you?

House Tour, Basement (and the importance of a before photo)

Our basement was partially finished when we moved in and partially finished is used loosely here.  Someone did a DIY basement rec room in 1957 and then time froze until we entered.  The space was totally useable but it was an assault on the eyes.  The only picture we could find was from the real estate listing of the house and it was a poor quality print out.  So,  I scanned the picture and it isn't the best quality but you can get the idea of what we had to work with.   I went through every picture taken since we moved in but regardless of the fact that I, my husband and my mother all swear we took a picture of the basement I've come up with nada.  So a word to the wise, take photos of every room when you move in because it is so nice to look back and see how far you've come and if you think you already took a picture go back and take another : )

the before

The photo shows your view as you walk down the basement steps and look to your right.  A black and gold tile floor.  A half wall of paneling painted in a complimentary gold tone.  An off white wall above with three sconces.  The shades on the sconces had a gold tone as well.  There was a nice built in bench for extra storage that you see to your left.  Perhaps the most amazing part and the part I regret not having a photo of the most you can just make out in the photo on the wall to the right.  There was a glass window in the wall and behind the finished area in the workroom there was a shelf where you could place your television.  There were even little holes for the knobs to fit through.  I guess the idea was the kids could play and there would be no worries of damaging the tv?  Very strange and sort of ingenious!

We really wanted to make this a play area/family room/ area for my husband to have a desk and since the basics were already there we just had to do lots of sprucing up.  We painted, oh did we paint.  Many, many coats on nearly every surface  you can see.  We had carpet installed and placed some furniture to separate the spaces, accessorized and here it is:

the after

 We chose to paint the paneling white to keep it bright and light.  The top is a grey which adds just enough warmth.  We were lucky enough to be given this amazing sectional which has a pretty neutral blue and tan pattern.  Since we were gravitating toward a nautical feel I decided to pick a large tan and white stripe fabric which is actually an outdoor canvas material.  It brought out the tan in the couch and helped the blue to recede a bit.  My Mom/seamstress made the pillows and I did some no sew curtains with fabric bond and curtain clips.  My Mom is going to make a cushion for the large storage bench.  I painted the off white part of the sconces black and replaced the shades with rectangular target shades that match the one I put on the rope lamp you previously met in my lamp makeover. 

There was already a little nook area that could perfectly house an office for my husband.  We just picked up the chair at a garage sale but we're hoping to upgrade the desk and shelf with a little furniture shuffle soon.

that black thing on the ottoman is not a strange throw pillow, it is our dog

the little guy's play table

play table and storage bench awaiting its striped cushion

much improved sconce

We are really happy with the outcome and it has become a favorite hang out of our son and our dog.  It still needs a little final finessing but it feels like a totally different space, a space you want to be in and for fairly little money and only roughly 400 hours of painting : )  I think we have success!

House Tour, living room

My dear friend joked with me that the reason I finally started a blog was because I got a new couch.  This may not be all that far from the truth because the second the new couch came I stood back and thought "yup, there it is".  My original vision for the room changed 100% over time and I ended up with a look and a feel that I am totally at home in but it took a while to get here.  Sometimes you don't know what will feel right until you are in it.  A few months ago after shuffling around some furniture and artwork again it clicked.   I ended up gravitating toward linen which has always attracted me since 10th grade when I decided I must have linen palazzo pants.  Don't all 15 year olds decide to sport loose linen pants...   no?  When our couch arrived it felt like a more cohesive space.  The color palate all came together and I'm so pleased we didn't get the brown sectional we originally considered.  Now we have a light airy but functional space that feels really right!

After we pulled up the brown carpets.

After having floors refinished and painting.  This is the old couch.

And now!  New couch.

The sofa is the West Elm Essex sofa which has since been discontinued it seems.  We ordered it a few months ago just as they decided to pull it in the fabric options and reintroduce in leather.  Since then I don't see it in the catalog so they may have decided to do away with it all together.  It has a structured look but is still very comfortable to snuggle into.  My wonderful Mother who always say yes to all my sewing projects made the beautiful pillows and slipcover for the ottoman which is a drab grey underneath the cover.  We've slowly been adding to the frames above the sofa, many of them cheap frames I've spray painted in gloss white.  The side table which has a slightly smaller matching friend on the other side of the room came from Home Goods.  The lamp shades came from target and after shuffling around lamps roughly 10 times we now have both the lamps in here that used to be in the baby's room.  One from Babies r Us and the other from Target but they work!

Ottoman with custom slipcover sewn by my Mom!

The green chairs in front of the window are shifted down to make room for the Christmas tree.  They were given to us by my Aunt.  They are structured feminine looking chairs that are actually incredibly comfortable to sit in.  My Mom made the throw pillows on the chairs and the drapes.  The shelf under the television was a Design Within Reach purchase that my husband and I were both shocked we made.  We had been searching for something that could hold our television in our very narrow Manhattan apartment and after searching for ages we finally found this.  It was more than we wanted to spend but we really liked it and we've been lucky enough to have it fit very well in our last apartment and here.  I make a futile attempt at keeping the little guys toys in storage bins in the shelf but they sort of overflow out into the room no matter what I do!

Green side chairs

A silhouette I did of our little one.

The rug came from Home Depot.  It is an inexpensive remnant but it has a little texture which makes it look a bit nicer than it really is and also helps hide stains.  I'd love a larger natural fiber rug but I'm afraid to spend any money on a floor covering with a toddler and a dog.

There it is!  I am hesitant to say this room is "done" but it is feeling more complete and very comfortable now.  If you look closely you'll see that the trim isn't all the way painted and there are finishing touches still to be made but we are getting there.  I used to hurry to complete decorating a space but now I really enjoy fussing and shifting as time goes on.  Do you complete a space and just leave it alone?  Or are you an eternal fusser like me?