Making it Lovely

Tag: Living Room

  • The New Side Table

    The New Side Table

    Yes, yes, yes. The new table looks awesome.

    I got mine for a song (15% off, plus some store credit), but a couple of people pointed out this excellent alternative yesterday. The carved pattern is a little different (though still nice), and it’s a little more affordable.

    Now I really want to finish painting the trim in the living room. And if I were feeling fancy I’d stage the table with pretty decorative objects and fresh flowers, but the reality is that it will be soon have coloring books and action figures on top, no doubt.

  • Carved Wood Side Table

    Carved Wood Side Table

    I was a big fan of this coffee table when it came out and I wrote about it here, but I decided it was too low (and potentially tippy) for our living room. The new side table version, however?

    It may just be perfect next to the crazy floral chair. I still love the little table that we have there, but it’s too spindly (and tippy!), and I’ve been looking for something with more presence. I think I have some store credit too which, as we all know, is essentially free money. (Never mind that I did actually spend that money once upon a time.)

    What do you think?

  • Changes in the Living Room

    Changes in the Living Room

    I had written earlier this year about how the living room had stayed fairly consistent over the last five years. I still like the room, but I had been feeling the need to shake things up a bit. So I’ve been making some changes.

    I got my hipster Chia pets. (Local friends, Carriage Flower Shop here in Oak Park has them.)

    I sold the orange chair (fare thee well, sweet orange chair!), and I have the floral chair floor sample that I repaired in its place. I was able to almost pay for the new chair with the old, and the chair paired with a floor lamp makes a nice reading corner.

    You may recognize the pillows in the room from yesterday’s post. I should point out that August gave me that red/orange pillow for my birthday last week. Didn’t he do a great job picking it out? I suspect Brandon helped him, but good job all around.

    The rocking chair is upstairs (because I am lazy sometimes and don’t like to cart it upstairs and back down for August’s monthly photo), so we brought back the other Eames chair and the elephant. It is possible that I have too much of an affinity for Eames furniture, but they’re classic investment pieces that I don’t tire of. Plus they’re sentimental for us. We got the LCW when we were married, the rocking chair when we were expecting, and the elephant for our first Christmas as new parents.

    There are still some things I’d like to do in the living room. I took down the silhouette quilt above the sofa. It was funny to have that many heads in one space now that the busts are on the side tables! So we need some different art. Or a mirror? Not sure.

    I’d also like to switch out the side table next to the floral chair. It’s cute, but the spindle doesn’t play well with the floor lamp behind it and something chunkier would look better. Oh, and I keep putting it off but I need to paint the trim white. I’m always too busy, but I don’t think there will be a time when I’m not busy, so I really should just force myself to tackle it.

    What else? Maybe one more pillow. Maybe different curtains (maybe). Not much… the room if feeling pretty good now.

  • Living Room Floor Lamp

    Living Room Floor Lamp

    This little corner of the living room is looking so nice.

    I found a floor lamp to light up my life.

    I’ll take better pictures soon (these are from my phone), but yes. I found a floor lamp. A little brass, a little bronze, and a little more expensive than I would have liked, but it’s really nice.

    Adding a light to that corner makes the whole room feel better! I should have done it years ago. And I took the down the print that was hanging there. I’m not sure if I’ll replace it with something else yet. The blank wall seems strange, but that could just take a little getting used to.

  • In Search of a Brass Floor Lamp

    In Search of a Brass Floor Lamp

    I’ve turned my attention to this corner of the living room. It needs a little something-something.

    The previous chair had been great, but the crazy multi-colored floral is where my taste lies these days. I still plan to paint the trim white, it’s probably time to switch out the art, and the chair needs a pillow too. I’ve moved the dress form down to the basement, so I need something else with some height there. The living room doesn’t get enough light for a house plant (thanks to the front porch and a large tree out front), but it’s an ideal spot to add another lamp to the room. The only problem is that there is no outlet there. I think we can run a cord along the trim, maybe along the other side so it’s less noticeable, and it will be fine.

    I’m thinking brass might be the way to go.


    1, 2, 3

    That second one above would be perfect, but it’s expensive. I’ve not had any luck in vintage/thrifted yet, and I haven’t seen anything else in the stores that’s terribly exciting. I’m kind of into this one too, but it’s still pricey. Maybe by the time I get around to finishing the trim, the right lamp will have come along? Maybe.

    p.s. Interested in the orange Astrid chair from Anthropologie? It’s in great shape and it’s for sale. Email me. Sold!

  • Floor Model, Half Off

    Floor Model, Half Off

    Score! I found the chair that I wanted, marked down to 50% off! Why, you may wonder? What’s wrong with it?

    Oh, nothing. Just a 2″ tear smack in the middle of the fabric where your head rests. See it? It’s up near the top on a blue part of the fabric.


    (click to enlarge)

    Do you think it can be fixed? Right now, I can still return it. Then I can either go for the full price (non-torn) chair, or skip it and keep the orange chair instead of selling it.

    The busy pattern is in the chair’s favor here, as a repair job would be much less noticeable than on a solid color. And in a way, the tear takes some of the preciousness away from the chair; It’s coming into a house with a toddler and a baby, a dog, and several cats. Something, at some point, is bound to happen to it. (Although the orange chair has survived the last five years completely intact.)

    It looks like my options for repair are to patch it, or to darn the upholstery with a looped stitch. The chair came with matching armrest covers that I could use for a patch. I could probably take it somewhere to be repaired too, but if I’m going to put more money toward the chair, I may as well buy a new one.

    Think it could be saved?