We have been in our (new to us) home for over a year now! In most of the house we have settled in, confident of our furniture placement, etc… I want to start documenting the process-we are always changing and it’s fun to capture what it is like in each stage.
In design school, one of the first lessons I had was a lecture on the importance of how a space feels. I had previously done a lot of remodeling, decorating and styling of my own spaces and had never once pre-considered how I wanted a space to feel. The feeling of a room powerfully impacts the way we use it.
Some of the feelings I hope for this small room are:
- welcoming (location is off of the entrance and placement of furniture allows you to walk right in)
- interesting (books on the coffee table and photos)
- cozy (comfortable seating)
- nostalgic (photos of our family through the years)
- pretty (drapes, polished nickel on hardware and photo frames)
The functions of the room are:
- conversation (placement of seating)
- read (comfortable chairs, great light, book in coffee table)
- talk on the phone (comfortable chair facing the window)
- nap (cozy couch)
- family discussions (seats up to five very comfortably)
What we love about this room:
- light: the windows are amazing!
- size: we are grateful that it is not too big, and still fits 2 chairs and a sofa really comfortably. The size gives a feeling of coziness
- comfort: the two swivel chairs are the most comfortable chairs we have in the house
- outlets in the floor for lamps and also on a switch so that the lamps for both outlets can be turned off at the switch
The downsides:
- alcoves: the built-in alcoves force some extra styling we may not have included if they weren’t there. There is an alcove above the two swivel chairs that you can see glimpses of in the photos. I believe it was for a tapestry when the home was built. We chose to leave it empty to hopefully NOT call attention to it. Did you notice it?
- flooring: my hope is to find a beautiful vintage area rug one day. We will also change the main flooring when we change the flooring of the whole main level. Currently it is the cheapest laminate from Floor and Decor and is breaking in some areas
- open to dining room: There is a lot of openness on our main level which definitely has it’s upsides. It does also limit an intimateness that it would have if the room was less open. We also have to consider the design and styling of both rooms together so that they flow well next to each other.
Changes we have made:
- removed plantation shutters
- added curtains
- styling
Before photos:
These are photos taken when we first saw the home. The previous owner had 4 chairs and a hexagon table in the center. This shows you what the plantation shutters were like. You can also see the built in speakers above the windows.
links:
- chairs: Crate & Barrel, the Drew Small Swivel Chair found here. I REALLY love these chairs! It is my favorite seating in the whole house! We have had them for a year and they are holding up well too.
- lamps: Target here and here. After sunlight, lamp light is my favorite light. These lamps are really functional and the price makes them hard to beat. We have had the floor lamp for several years, the table lamp is newer.
- lumbar pillow: West Elm here. This pillow is beautiful on the sofa…takes up enough space with out complicating the styling (sometimes throw pillows are hard). The velvet fabric has a great feel too!
- coffee table: Wayfair here. I love the look of this table and the price! It was REALLY affordable. Unfortunately the glass doesn’t fit as tightly as I would like it. Because of the gaps between the glass and the frame, it is definitely more difficult to clean.
- frames: Pottery Barn here (two different sizes) and here. These are great…look and feel really well made.
- curtains: hardware Pottery Barn here (polished nickel), curtains Amazon here (11 feet). I have used this curtain hardware all over the house. I love it. The curtains were affordable and get the job done. It is a challenge to purchase 132″ long curtains without getting custom. These saved us a lot of money.
- sofa: AO- 23 East E St George Blvd, St. George, UT 84770
- rug: Amazon Loloi II Wynter Collection (8′-6″x11′-6″ here. I love the look of this rug. It wears well too. As I mentioned earlier, I have a vintage wool/hand knotted rug on my wish list-but this does the job well until then!
- flowers: Trader Joes (butterfly ranunculus)
carin + danny 