Plans for the Living Room

Soooo... there hasn't been much news on here about what's going on in the living room... and that's because not a ton has been going on in there since our fireplace update.

I need to take some "before" photos, even though they're more "during" photos - while the rug from the living room of our last apartment has made itself a new home in our bedroom, the furniture currently in there is the same as before for the most part.  Here's a little refresher from before we moved:

Two love seats... lots of dark fake wood furniture...  I did the best that I could with what we each brought to the apartment together, and we made it work for two years.  I actually kind of liked it once I distracted from all the things I wasn't loving (black man couch... super duper modern everything...)

Well, things are about to change... and SOON!

We just bought THIS sofa from Pottery Barn a few weeks ago. It looks a bit dwarfed in this photo, but it's big.  Really big.  And sooooo comfortable! I can't even put it into words.

We opted for the upholstered version and it's being made for us in this fabric:

It's got a subtle texture like linen, and little nubby bits here and there, and it's perfect.  PERFECT.

I originally wanted white, but everyone talked me out of it.

I mean I get it - it's just not practical.

I already know how anal I'm going to be once we get our new sofa.  People will have a glass of red wine and I'll be holding my breath the entire time.  And with a white sofa... I can't even imagine the sticky baby fingers of the adorable blonde babies we'll eventually have near this thing.  This sofa is an investment for us... something we see having for the next 10 years (at least), so I figure a textured fabric with a little grey and a little tan will help mask spills, and dirt over time.

We saw this fabric on a sofa in the store (photo below), and absolutely loved it - Kris was actually the one who noticed it.  The below picture is a really accurate representation of how it looks in real life. Much lighter than the above swatch, and I'm hoping I love it as much when this thing arrives in another month...

I'm also thrilled that we'll be getting rid of our current coffee table in the very near future.  After buying the new couch, we also bought the Box Frame Coffee Table from West Elm.  God I love that store.

Anyway, scroll back up to the picture of our old apartment for a reminder about what our current coffee table looks like.  I HATE the storage on the bottom.  It was practical for our apartment that literally had NO storage... but it always looked so cluttered.  Under the coffee table was where half of our Christmas decor lived for 11 out of 12 months of the year.  I only wish I were kidding.  Awful.

It was cluttered, and really detracted from everything else.  Plus the enormous dark coffee table was so huge, and manly.  Just this huge dark blob taking up an un-godly amount of room.  I can't wait for it to go away.

Already in our new place, we have a new rug - it's a nubby natural fiber jute rug (same one as the below picture), and it just makes things feel so light and bright.

With it I've layered our white cow hide that I adore.  I don't know that I've really ever photographed it for the blog but it's great... there's a picture of it in this post.  With the new coffee table, you'll actually be able to see it!  Hooray!

In the meantime, I'd been waffling between getting new side tables or trying to revamp what we've got. In the end, I'm going with the "revamp" option since there are other high ticket items on my list ahead of "new side tables".

What to do with them??

They currently look something like this (except the top is solid "wood") - you can see them peeking out in the first photo of this post if you need a real reminder.

They are fine - simple enough lines, functional.  I don't HATE them the same way I really hate our coffee table, but the fake wood veneer kills me.

I just haven't really known what to do with them to change them into something that I'll like, and it has been plaguing me... ok that's admittedly a bit dramatic, but it has been on my mind.

Anyway, a few weeks back, I saw this little makeover on the below chest of drawers, and knew instantly what I wanted to do...

Chalkboard paint.

No priming needed.  They look sort of like zinc which has the coolest finish, and I think that they'll fit right in with the more earthy palette we've got going on.

I mean how great does the finish on those (faux) drawers look??  Answer: amazing.

I also think that that finish will tie in really nicely with the finish on the frame of the coffee table:

I mean... right?????

So good.

Other things to think about for the living room..

Art.  That's been on my mind quite a bit lately.... some updates for you there (hopefully) soon.

Throw pillows - I want to stick with more classic patterns, and I've really been drawn to a white and cobalt color-way.  I'm also open to other shades of blue too...

Side chair - now that we're getting rid of both love seats (hooray) and replacing them with one sofa, we'll need a chair to go where one of the love seats currently is.  Should we do a solid neutral?  Too boring? What about a subtle pattern? Solid color? Something bold?

I don't know people.  There is still lots to think about, but soon it will be coming together, and I cannot wait.  Seriously... CANNOT.  WAIT.

More updates coming soon... I hope!