Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Evolution of a Living Room - Part II


Welcome to Part II of 'The Evolution of a Living Room' series this week. After yesterday's view of what our living room looked like when we bought our house 3 1/2 years ago, today's view shows what she looks like now. She's not 100% complete - thus the reference to 'evolution' instead of a 'before and after reveal'. And besides, I have a terrible habit of changing around my furniture every 6 months or so, not to mention rugs, pillows, artwork, etc. It's all stuff that I already have in the house - but it tends to get shifted from room to room and space to space. So I don't think my home ever really has an 'after'. But I'm happy with evolution.




Since we changed out our 'wall of windows' in the living room, I've been forced to rethink my passion for dark heavy pieces and let her settle into her brighter environment. And while the space almost cries out for a vibe from the 60s or 70s, I continue to commit the crime of decorating for myself and what feels right for me - vs. what is considered right for the architecture.




Now let's just stand in various areas of the room and have a look around.


















So there we have it. Still evolving, but serving us well every step of the way. As I described it yesterday, I have come to refer to my style as 'Untraditionally Traditional'. As you can see, I don't follow any particular design rules. Things are not perfectly matched and I don't stick to a maximum three color rule. I don't have perfect vignettes, but I'm surrounded by things that I love and things that speak to who I am and where I've been. I'm quite lucky that my Swedish man lets me decorate as I wish - and he never complains when I ask him to help me move the sofa one more time to see if it works better 'over there'.

What else can you expect to see in the coming days?

The Evolution of a Living Room - Part III:  The love is in the details.
The Evolution of a Living Room - Part IV:  The 'Wall of Windows' transformation
The Evolution of a Living Room - Part V:  How to build your own ottoman
The Evolution of a Living Room - Part VI:  How we upcycled our sofa









Until next time...
Mike





6 comments:

  1. I happen to love that you leave your "to be finished projects" in your living space! Can I move in?

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    1. Thanks! LOL, I have no shame :-) If you can handle two little half-breed kids running around, you're welcome to move in anytime!
      M

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  2. Thank you for sharing the photos of your living room with all those notes! I was very curious to read each one of them:-)
    I saw that you are searching for the inspiration for the light fix in your room. As I am obsessed with lamps and lights I have a Pinterest board for this purpose - the images that inspire me. Maybe there is something that would be interesting for you- http://pinterest.com/aboutgoodness/lamps-lights/
    I am sure that whatever you make - it will be completely unique :-)

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    Replies
    1. Hey...thanks for the tip. Going to check out that Pinterest board now!
      M

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  3. so fabulous! Doesn't look like the same house at all, you're done an enormous amount of work and it's completely gorgeous. And I think I spy your mosaic planter - one of the first things I read in your blog that captured my imagination. Great job on the ottoman too, looking forward to reading about that in the next day or so. xo, diane

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    Replies
    1. Diane - yes, that is the same mosaic planter that I posted when I first started the blog. I need to do more mosaic (it makes my heart sing)!
      M

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I'm listening! And responding - so let's create some buzz together for recycled and repurposed arts and crafts.

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