I've been sick for the last week so I haven't really had much to blog about... nothing anyone would want to read anyway... unless you like reading lots of complaints about feeling sick and being bored and wanting to feel better. Fun stuff.
So life for the last week has consisted of lots of ginger ale, Hulu, and movies in bed (one of my favorites is Baby Boom. I've seen it a million times.). Spending all this time in my house has made even more antsy to make the changes we've been talking about around here for the last YEAR. Ugh. I hate how long it takes to get things done. I didn't really know where I was going when I started this post, but let's talk interior design now, shall we?
Our plans for the living room:
- paint it!!! We're going light pink in the living room and a slightly darker shade in the dining nook. And yes, Levi supports this idea. It won't be completely girly. We're going for more of a neutral pink than a bubblegum Barbie pink. Also, we're going to leave one wall white and accent with lots of different colors to keep it from feeling too pink. As far as paint chips go, I like these colors...
- new couch. We want this one but with chrome legs instead of wood ones. White leather may seem like a weird choice, but cat hair won't get woven into the fibers of this couch (I'm allergic to our kitties), and we can just wipe it clean! And Ikea has like a 10-year warranty on their couches. And and annnnnd it's so much smaller than our current big, ugly, clunky couch. Sold! I seriously HATE our current couch. The cushions got all squishy and crappy after less than a year. I haven't even sat on it for about a year now because it hurts my back and makes me so allergic.
- rearrange furniture. We're completely flipping the living room around. Everything is going somewhere new, and I think it's really going to open the place up a lot. I found a really incredible old dresser (circa the 1910s/1920s) a really long time ago - it was free! It just needed some work. Levi worked absolute magic on it, and it is GORGEOUS now. It's just really really large. It'll look so much better on a different wall.
- pull down shades. We don't get tons of natural light in our place (kind of a bummer, but it keeps it nice and cool for most of the summer) so I've been wanting to replace our nasty, dust-catching blinds with pull-down shades that will let in more light. I'm thinking these. Can you tell we love Ikea?
- accessories/details. We really really want to complete the living room this time. No more 50-80% finished rooms. I want my house to feel DONE and grown-up. I got this switchplate at Anthropologie last spring. It's still wrapped in paper sitting in my bedroom waiting to be used.
- new dining chairs. Our dining chairs are really clunky and big. They take up way too much space in our tiny apartment, and we'd like to downsize. I'd love to get some metal café chairs like these, but they're always at least about $100 a piece... and that's not gonna happen.
We also plan on adding some new storage solutions, getting rid of a bunch of crap that takes up too much space, pulling our dining room table out of the nook so that we actually use it, and adding a pendant chandelier to the dining nook.
Ahhh, I can envision it all, and it is so fresh and clean and serene feeling. I seriously can't wait. It's just a really big undertaking, and we haven't had the money to make it all happen! Maybe writing it down on my blog will put some things into motion so we can get started sooner than later. I just feel like I need a peaceful, efficient, CLEAN living space to feel sane. Hopefully, once the house is looking the way I want it to, I'll keep it cleaner....
Maybe?
I can completely relate with house projects taking forever...maybe it's spring but I'm itching to finally getting things done too. Btw, I love that switch plate !
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of pink walls! The swatch on the left is especially beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love the color scheme sparked by that wall plate.. The only thing I would do (I KNOW how I live).. is I would make the couch the brown color in the plate because even though leather does wipe clean.. white would get too dingy in our household.. but then again we live in the country.. not the city.. and probably bring in a lot more grime into the house vs city folks:) Very cool vibe though
ReplyDeleteIt probably would be smart to do brown, but I absolutely hate it. Haha! Our current couch is a neutral brown color, and I never really liked the color but thought it would be a wise choice. I just hate it. I've never liked neutral shades. I've always wanted a white couch, and it's probably nuts with animals (and one day - children), but I've gotta try it! We're going to coat it with a protective spray and drape it with blankets and just try to take really good care of it. Luckily, it isn't thaaaaat expensive in terms of couches (still a lot of $ to me) so we're willing to take the risk. We'll see what happens! Fingers crossed!
DeleteOh yeah! And in person, the couch is actually off-white (it looks bright white in the picture), so, hopefully, that helps hide some of the dirt we'll add to it... ;)
DeleteIt should be ok.. and leather cleaning products are pretty good too. I also keep something on the bed and the couch for the dogs to lay on.. so they don't get hair everywhere.. and their muddy paws don't leave prints!
Deleteah! jasmine these changes are awesome!
ReplyDeletebut one suggestion! if your cats still have their claws and you plan on having that leather couch for a while... I highly suggest against the couch... the cats will rip it to shreds. they are attracted to the skin-leather fabric. I highly suggestion microfibre or faux suede couch because cats do not like the feeling of that on their paws.
We really have to do a leather couch because of my allergies. The cat hair gets woven into anything fabric, and it's just killing me. Our cats are actually the most well-behaved animals I've ever seen (we trained them like dogs), so I think it'll be fine. I'm sure it'll get one or two scratches while they're learning, but we'll figure something out. Good to know that they're attracted to that kind of fabric though! Maybe we'll spray it with something that cats don't like the smell of before we bring it home. I'll have to do some research!
DeleteThose shades will be cool, I hate our ghetto vertical blinds sometimes. What is the name of that frog juice stuff? In answer to your question, No :)
ReplyDeleteYou mean Fern Gully juice? That's Fresca. Or are you talking about Bullfrog sunscreen? I don't know why you'd be talking about sunscreen, but remember that stuff?? I hadn't thought about it in forever. I still remember the smell. It smells like surf contests and summer.
DeleteNot Fern Gully juice. I was asking about that magical french liquid from Congregation. I tried to look for it at Trader Joes but Chrystal said I couldn't have any at home because I would be drinking it for no reason. So I need to know the name of it so I can buy it when I go there alone.
DeleteHa! Well, no wonder I was confused - frog juice??!! It's called Framboise. It's made by Lindemann's. They definitely have it at Trader Joe's. It's in a bigger glass bottle, like a wine bottle. I'm pretty sure it's in the beer section.
DeleteNice! Thanks FF
DeleteI have similar dreams what our new place will look like--thinking that if we sort it out when we move in then it will stay like that an dbe much easier--but the reality is this will not happen, oh well a girl can dream.
ReplyDeleteI just had to say I think it's awesome that you watched Baby Boom - I watched that just the other day when I wasn't feeling well. :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it the best?? I don't know why, but I have always loved that movie. Baby Elizabeth is soooo cute!!
DeleteYay!! I love diy projects and you have such pretty taste! That switchplate cover is like room jewelry, I love it :) Can't wait to see the finished product!
ReplyDeletelove all your ideas! you and stacey should collaborate and get it done! i would love to see the before and after of that!
ReplyDeleteevery room in my house has something from IKEA. WE LOVE IKEA!!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like your "total makeover" will be a welcoming fresh look!!
ive also got the spring decorating itch!!! its hard to resist!!!
please do a before and after blog post when you get it done! THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!!
The great thing about having a white couch, and pink-ish walls, is both of those colors are basically neutral-- but not boring, biege neutral. You could even have maybe throw pillows for winter and summer-- like in the winter, maybe some nice rich browns, and in the spring/summer something more punchy, like a great green. That way you can switch it up without having to completely redecorate :)
ReplyDeletethis is going to be so wonderful!!
ReplyDelete