new couch || gus modern

Holy crap you guys!  I have a legit blog post for you today filled with new photos, and as a bonus, it has nothing to do with sewing!

I came across the company Gus Modern awhile back on Instagram.  The Spencer sofa, which is the one I purchased, popped up a few times through various handles.  I really liked what I had seen, so when I found out that a local company carried the brand I was excited.

This couch met most of my requirements, and out the year's worth of shopping I had done, this was the best pick.   I mentioned and shared a photo of my dream couch - the Coco sofa by Kim Salmela, in my previous post.  One day that couch will be in my home!  ;)  But I am happy to have this couch living with us.

By the looks of it the comfort level is questionable.  I mean, just look at this photo, right?  So I was really happy to know that a Spencer couch was in a local showroom for us to try out because I did not want to buy anything that I could not sit on.  It was actually really comfortable!   At 84" long, it is perfect for taking naps or watching a movie.  Matt is 6 feet tall, and he can lay on it without his feet touching the arms.   The cushioning is firm with a soft touch, if that makes any sense.  If this was Goldilocks, it would be just right.  There are future plans to take off the chrome legs and replace them with tapered wood legs when I can get around to it.  I was not too sure about those long rectangular pillows, and now that the couch is here with us, we use them all the time!  They are the perfect headrest/armrest.

One last look at what the room was like.  I talked about my feelings and why this room even looked the way it did in this blog post with more explanation here (which have even older photos -hehe).

Jan 2014

Here is where it is at today.  The floral chair is here to stay, at least for a little while.  It is down filled and oh-so-comfy, but yeah.  It totally clashes with everything else.  The color is okay, but the print is not, which clashes (but absolutely perfect for a traditional home!).  I would love to replace the fan as well, but for right now, it is not a necessity.

I always struggle getting proper natural light into this particular section of the house, and it has been mostly overcast for the week, which was not helpful and why this post was late.  But this lighting will suffice for now.  After checking out this photo above with fresh eyes, I want to move the bench over to the left more.  I can't help but to have everything look off-centered in this room from this point of view because the windows are off-centered, so I just try to deal with it.  :)

 Did you notice the new wall color?

If you are like my husband, your answer is no.  But to me, I can see a big difference!  It is Snowbound by Sherwin Williams.  I actually splurged and bought name brand during their half off sale over the holidays.  It is hard to find a perfect white, but I have found that a warm white works best in our home.  I believe the color on the window frame is the basic white that comes in the can off the shelf at Lowe's.

But I am pretty sure you noticed the addition of the wall shelf.  This is the exact same shelf we used in Owen's room a few years ago.  They are holding up great, so I placed one in our living room.  I also stained it walnut to help give it a little warmth and contrast to the cold walls.

 After finishing my book, I congratulated myself with the painting I talked about in this post.  It was originally intended for the dining area, but I had my eyes on this for a long time that I decided it needed to take center stage.  Very, very happy with that purchase and the shelf.  

You may have also noticed a big black thing in our living room that was not there before.  It is a new chair I got from West Elm.  I had been eyeing it for a while, and when I saw it on clearance in the store, I snatched it up.  I love it so much.  It's comfortable, kid friendly, and has the perfect place to rest your head.

The curves on it are pretty sweet too.  If you are interested in seeing close-up photos of my wall hanging, you can find that here in this post.

I'm loving it and loving it all.

HUGE progress, no?

xx nancy

One year ago: Unconventional way to remove Water Stains
Two years ago:  #7 quilt finish
Three years ago:  Fabric Silhouette Tutorial

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Stockholm in the crib || Rug Pad USA

  

*There are no affiliate links in this post.  Just 100% pure awesome.

I changed out my living room rug when I scored this Ikea Stockholm rug on Craigslist.  I unknowingly pin a lot of interiors with this rug, so it only seemed fitting to have it in my home.   And when the chances you come across this rug in your hometown when Ikea is a 6 hour round trip drive, you hop on it like white on rice.

So this was the state of my living room awhile back.  A lot of brown?  Check.  Too small of a rug for the space?  Check.

During Christmas, this was the state of the living room.  It's amazing how the rug made such a transformation for the space.   After Owen ripped out the curtains (see that orange spot above the window frame below?), I thanked him for taking charge.  The curtains needed to go in my opinion.  The space looks much better without curtains.

What happened to my old rug?  I used it as a rug pad since this one is a flatweave.  But there was a BIG problem, which you can kind see in the photo above.  The rug draped over my existing rug.  And do you see that slight ripple under the chair?  Yeah, the rug was NOT staying in place very well.

And this.  Do you see that dip next to the couch leg???

So apparently I had a problem, but I was okay to live with it until I got a proper rug pad.

And then the craziest thing happened.  Will, from Rug Pad USA (not to be confused with RugsUSA), contacted me asking if I would be interested in trying out a rug pad.  After getting my measurements, they custom cut the pad to fit your rug.  Will sent over the Premium Lock pad for my new rug.

Here's a link to a coupon on their blog!

Y'all.  This was the BEST decision, and I am so thankful Will contacted because I really, really! needed a rug pad!  I was not too sure what to expect since I thought anything would be better than my old rug, but Rug Pad USA exceeded my expectations and excelled in customer service, fast delivery, and great product.  And I'm seriously not saying this because I got the rug pad.  This pad has added a bit of cushion to the rug, has elevated it off the floor (pic to come), and my rug DOES NOT move.   How many flatweave rug owners out there complain about the ripples and movement?  Come on.  We all do.  But we just love our flatweaves so much we just deal with it, right?

When we got the rug pad, it came rolled up.  It was easy to flatten out and place where we wanted it.

My walls were half painted for Creating with the Stars.  It's slowly getting painted white.  :) But here's a great shot showing you how flat the pad is even after it came to me rolled up like the photo above.   We were able to sell our old rug for $75!

The pad lifts my rug off the ground.

I'm sure many of you are wondering about the durability and clean-ability with this rug.  Because it's white, I am sure you are weary, especially if you have kids.  We have a no shoe rule with this rug, although it's been walked on plenty of times with shoes.  We also had a guest spill soda on this rug.  I found this rug to be a little more difficult to clean, but my stains came out.   Overall, I am very happy with my Stockholm rug!!

I still have a lot of work that needs to be done in this space, but for now, that's quite the improvement, no?  If you are wondering where the brown couch went, it's actually no longer in this room.  I'll save that for another day.

Thanks Will for hooking a sister up!  The pad is freaking amazing and does wonders for the space. I love it!

What do you think of my new Stockholm rug found on Craigslist?  Do you think it helped change the space?

xx nancy

One year ago: The going ons
Two years ago: Instagram  [you can follow me here]

Rug Pad USA supplied me a rug in exchange for a post.  I would only share with you products that I feel confident about.  I don't like fishy content, and I am sure you don't either.

screw it || home

i said screw it.  i wanted a large chalkboard wall from the get go, and against my husband's wishes, i painted a large chalkboard wall.

we just got back from CA, and our neighbors came over for a quick visit.  after watching four kids try to draw on my existing chalk wall, i decided it was time.

without thinking of any repercussions, i started painting.  fortunately, it's just paint.  something i am not scared of.

so here is the wall before i slathered yummy black paint on it.

okay, i know what some of you are thinking.  holy freaking nut balls that is dark/clashes/insert thought here.

baby steps, okay?

i know my living room does not match this, but it's all a process and progress.  wait until i show you the ultimate clash fest photo.  don't worry.  it's coming up soon.

*the chalk bag was made by me using film in the fridge's tutorial // high chair thrifted*

"conditioning" the wall.

and if this chalkboard wall doesn't work out, i just paint it to match my living room wall color, which will soon be white.

i am not rushing into painting my chevron wall just yet.  i will definitely paint my living room walls first, but i need some time to live with my chalkboard wall.  i painted those chevrons when i was 41 weeks pregnant, and i just love that wall so much!  but one of them will definitely go in the end.  either the chevrons or the chalkboard wall.

so there's something you should know about me.  i don't really plan too much when it comes to decorating.  i just go and do it.  if it fails, oh well.  i have to start over.  i'm the type of person that if i have an idea i will do it almost immediately without thinking much about the pros or cons.  it's an awful characteristic of mine.  trust me.  but sometimes it can be a blessing because if i were the type who had to methodically think out everything and create a mood board, i may not take as many risks.  and then there are those times where i can't force a single design idea out of my brain.  and i wait.  and wait.

what's interesting about decorating, in my opinion, is it's an opportunity to discover yourself a little more in a way that's not conventional.

so . . . are you fan of chalkboard paint?  it's freaking amazing, and i think it should be in every parent's home.  just don't go painting a wall that touches carpet, m'kay?

here's why i love chalkboard paint.

1. it's a great black color.
2. it has a nice finish on it.  somewhere between matte and eggshell?
3. you can lighten it up by wiping white chalk on it, or you can leave it dark by cleaning it with a wet cloth.
4. you can draw on it.
5. kids love chalk, and they love to draw on walls.
6. it makes a great killer back drop for future photos.

this is why carpet is a no go.  apparently, i have issues wiping a floor properly.  :/

sometimes, you just have to say screw it, and take a design risk.  paint is probably the easiest thing a DIYer can fix.



have a good weekend y'all!!

How's it hanging? || Home post

Just a little living room update.  Before you are all like, "Girrrl, why did you add more brown???" just bear with me here.  Using what I had on hand, I took some things from other places in my home and placed them into my living room.  Also, Young House Love has a great post about "the middle."  So just refer to their post for understanding "the middle."

My curtains came from my bedroom.  I have plans to paint the entire panels in white and then add a graphic print on top of that.  I have no clue how this will turn out, but I don't mind taking the risk.  I've painted on curtains before, but only on a portion of them.   Before I paint them though, I have plans to shorten them, so the hundred feet of draped curtain panel on the floor is gone.  I'll also remove the grommets and use clips instead for hanging.

I kept this antique dresser I found on Craigslist.  My original plan was to experiment using Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint and resale it, but I decided to keep it and as is.   On a side note, I did end up buying  AS Chalk Paint but not to use on this piece.  I'm thinking - new knobs?

I bought my clock from Kirkland's a few years ago on clearance for $15.  Though I do like its pattern, it reads a little more traditional to me, and in order to break up all the traditional items in my home, it needs to be painted. (Remember- I discovered my style is transitional.  I like modern with a touch of traditional.)  I'm thinking of using my hello logo in the header of my blog that I designed and having the center be black with bright neon clock hands.  What do you think?  I think it could look pretty awesome.

wow.  Check out that overstuffed library cabinet over there.
I would like my two sitting chairs to look more like the photo below.  I just want to sink into my comfy chair and toss the upholstery into the wash.  I would love to add these pillows to my chairs, if I slipcovered them white.   But you may have remembered the day I cursed slipcovers.  Wouldn't metal zippers down the back look pretty cool?  Yeah, they would.

As for my coffee table, I purchased the Pottery Barn piece off Craigslist several years ago.  It is so heavy and solid.  If my son is able to jump up and down on it, then I think it could handle anything else that comes it way.  What I dislike about this piece, which was not an issue pre baby, is the glass.  It was in mint condition when I bought it, and after having Owen, the glass has seen better days.  I'm soooo tired of wiping glass.  So tired.   My plan is to cover the top with a thick piece of wood and stain/white wash it .  My only concern is will it become too chunky, too boxy, too heavy looking for the space?  It is something I will not know until I place wood on top of it.  Sometimes, I just can't visualize things.  TIP:: Glass allows light to pass through and can make a room feel more spacious than it actually is.  But this is my goal:

source

The rug.  Oh, the rug.  Rug. Rug. Rug.  I just cannot make up my mind about that darn rug!  I blogged about rugs here.  But after looking at this photo, I realized my 8' x 10' rug is actually a little small for the space.  Personal opinion probably, but now it is something that is going to bug me for awhile.  Can you relate?

As for the ceiling fan . . . it has to stay.   For now.   It gets really hot and humid here in the South, so we use it all the time.

So here's the progress.

Don't forget to enter my Facebook giveaway.  Thanks for stopping in and have a great weekend!  If you live in the Northeast, please be safe.  My prayers are with you.



Relevant Links

A new(ish) credenza for the living room
The before photos of my living room

My Living Room

Redoing my living room is one of my "home" goals for the year.  I should preface by saying there really is nothing wrong with my living room.  It is comfortable and can seat guests.  It's just a lot of brown.  A LOT of brown.  So that makes me depressed, and I am sure it depresses our guests.

My living room has had many "before" experiences since the 5 years we have been living in our home, but this photo is where it was at most recently.  I realized this room really wasn't me.  I think I was decorating to how I thought it should be.  Now I want my space to reflect me.  My style is definitely transitional; something I was really hesitant saying for awhile now because I love modern wayyyy more than traditional.  But nowadays, I am accepting that I do like some traditional things in my home, even if my cool self wants to deny it.

I just cringed a little.  Just so you know.

Here's my to do/wish list:

• Since replacing furniture is probably something the husband won't be on board with (not very economical either), I *might* slipcover either my couch or two chairs in a crisp white canvas fabric  (machine washable, of course!)  <----This will probably be just a wish considering my last encounter with slipcovering.  If I had thousands of dollars, I would sell my furniture and buy a grey sofa from West Elm or Crate and Barrel and have some funky leather or upholstered chairs from Dwell Studio or Jonathan Adler.  I love dreaming, don't you?  :)
• Replace rug
• Curtains
• Pillows
• Transform existing coffee table into something else (get rid of glass!!!)
• Hang art
• Hang light by couch
• Paint mirror
• Possibly build a small shelf directly behind and level with the couch

And this is where I am at right now.  Sorry for such bad photos!!!

As you can see, I've got some work to do.  :)

*The kitchen is almost done, so you haven't missed out on that yet.  There's been more waiting than doing on our part, so technically, it should not have taken a year to remodel it.  Sorry about that!