I’ve had several requests from readers to add a house tour to my blog and I’d like to oblige. However, I’m finding the whole thing quite daunting. You see, there are still many things I want/need to do to my home (i.e., add a kitchen backsplash, extend our kitchen island, finish my boys’ bedroom, organize the master bedroom closet, install new flooring…the list could really never end). Plus, I can’t fathom that there would ever come a day in my life when my ENTIRE house would be “picture ready.” (Let the record state that I have 2 boys – ages 5 and 2 – that are pretty darn damn good at pulling this place apart.) But then I got to thinking…and that’s sometimes not a good thing, but this time I think it was…so, I got to thinking that when I started this blog I wanted it to be about a real house. A house that a family lives in, messes in, eats in, plays in and sleeps in. A house that has no dire problems but needs a shot of personality. A house that is being tweaked by people who: 1) do not have design, art or architecture degrees 2) must DIY on their time off from their day jobs 3) are on a budget 4) do not have access to high-end goods of the design trade 5) want to enjoy their children while they’re little. I wanted other people to be able to relate. That led me to an idea. (Yes, this is all going somewhere, I promise.)
I came up with Feature Fridays. On Fridays, I’ll be featuring one room in my house in its current condition even if there are some things I’d like to change about it. If I do happen to improve something later, I can always revisit it when the time comes. Plus, I’d kinda feel dishonest if I only focused on “finished” rooms in my house. And if what they (the professionals) say is true, a room is never really finished anyways…you’re always tweaking it. Concentrating on just one room weekly should give me some time to tidy it up a bit, too. At least, I can throw all the toys into another room!
So, without further ado, I’d like to show you my living room – as is. Our living room is the first room you see upon entrance into our home. It’s a long, narrow room that is open to a foyer and a hallway (“The Landing Strip”) that leads to the back of the house. It functions as a living room and office and offers additional dining space. Take a look…
View from the front door to the back of the house (i.e. The Landing Strip) – The secondhand bench that I painted white is a good place for removing/putting on shoes
From the front door into the living room (I’d love to rip up all that carpet and put down hardwoods)
Behind the front door I invented a makeshift mudroom since there’s no closet – notice there are adult hooks and kid hooks
A basket on the floor holds items waiting to be taken upstairs
Into the living room from the hallway – because the room is so long, I tried to establish a seating area on this side of the room…separate from the office/dining area
A bookshelf holds magazines, books, toys and other miscellaneous items – the basket on the floor is actually a recycling bin conveniently located next to our desk for sorting mail
The desk where I blog, pay bills, sort mail and waste time – I pull a chair over from the pedestal table
Almost everything about this extra dining space is Craigslist…the pedestal base and chairs were both via Craigslist…the tabletop is from Lowe’s. I’d love to add some geometric stenciling to the wall in the background – it’s so blah.
For fun, the lights on…
More “for fun” stuff…a textural HomeGoods planter (If you’re wondering what’s under the sofa, it’s my kids’ electronic keyboard; everybody has one under their couch, right?!)
IKEA curtains…
Etsy pillow covers…
Kid-friendly decor down low on the coffee table
So ends my living room tour. Next week I’ll be making my way to the back of the house into our main living space.
budget decor, kid-friendly