I have the most amazing memories in this living room. From hours spent with family eating cheese and crackers on the floor. A thousand Christmas' with the room close to bursting with family, wrapping paper, and stocking presents. Nights spent with high school friends drinking illegally while my grandparents were in Florida. In my memory it has never changed. It couldn't have always been those plaid couches with that stencil on the wall but it feels like it has. Changing the kitchen was hard for me but this room was worse. It was Nana's kitchen but this was where I spent most of my time. The plaid couches aren't really my style but I wanted to preserve the feel of the room, the memories, the happiness.
I changed the couches but they are still in the same spots. Ikea really is amazing (and really the only thing I can afford!) I have yet to replace the curtains. After all the changes I have made I can't seem to decide on curtains. Its weird. But for the most part, I left this room alone. I repainted. I refinished the floors through the entire downstairs. I replaced and put up moldings. But for the most part I kept the layout the same. With the piano, the fireplace, the gorgeous arboretum, and the family as the focus. Can we talk about the rug for a minute?! I got the floors redone. (AMAZING!! An incredible oak pattern in the living room and cherry in the dining room.) And then I bought these rugs on Overstock.com. Yes, overstock. The first one was so beautiful and plush and just incredible that I ordered another one for the dining room, and a runner for up the stairs, and a different pattern for my bedroom. Best purchase ever. I kept the coffee table because I always loved it. But it turns out that a Great Uncle made it for them.
One of the big changes that I decided to make (with the encouragement of Gammy) was to switch the dinning room and den. Originally, in the Cape style house, the den was off to the back of the house, with the staircase going up the middle of the house it was kind of hidden. The dinning room was the bright one with the gorgeous bay window off the kitchen.
So, after a lot of help moving outlets, I switched them. And got new carpet installed because there was no hardwood flooring in this room which kinda seemed appropriate for a den. I also installed 3 ceiling fans mostly myself with Dads help throughout the house. Go me. I have to say it is a choice that makes sense. It gets the most sun in the morning. Its directly off the kitchen, the rooms where Wyatt and I spend the most of our time. It is also kind of removed from the stairs so I can watch a movie without worrying about waking Wyatt upstairs. And, clearly, this is where we spent our first night's pouf party.
Lastly, downstairs, is the den. Ahh the deer heads and the tiny couch. My Grandpa spent a majority of his time here. It was cozy, manly, always very dark. The deer heads still creep me out. I actually had to vacuum them at one time during this process. It was terrifying. They now live in the basement and they love it down there until they find another permanent home. (Ebay, anyone?)
I tried to take the exact same pictures (although the before was with my phone and after with my Nikon) and I am pretty proud of myself when I see the side by side. First, the chair rail. This was the first one I have ever done by myself. I say myself but it was with the help of my friend Jon. I pretty much bossed him around and gasped when I thought he was cutting it wrong and I nailed it up. It is beautiful. And even though it is my least used room, I love it the most. I think its classic and inviting and just big enough for a dinning room; comfortable but still cozy.
Another dining room shot just to show off the floors. Most of the downstairs is oak that I kept very light. But the dining room turned out to be cherry. The floor guys recommend that I stain it to try to keep it the same as the rest of the house. I refused. I made them leave it natural. Throughout the house there is oak, cherry and pine. It tells the story of the house. How my Great grandfather took the bits that he had and made it himself. I love the history of it, let it be. I love the rugs but I almost wish I got a smaller size in the living room just to show the floors off.
Finally I just wanted to show a picture from the kitchen into the den. I think it really shows how far along it has come. Yes, a lot of it is painting. The only thing I haven't painted yet is the stairway hallway. I've painted almost every wall, ceiling, molding, and radiator in the house. I picked out three colors for the majority of the house. A blue, a green and a white. My thought was to have all three color be seen in each room. So the den has three blue walls and one green looking into the kitchen that has three white walls and one green. It sounds chaotic. Even to me. But somehow it works. From every person who has been here, they say how nice the flow is. How homey everything is. How it just feels comfortable, like you want to grab a drink from the fridge and stay a while. Of course that is what you strive for but sometimes it doesn't quite get there.PS. Don't you love that Wyatt is almost in the exact same spot in both pictures. Look closely. He's a ham.
Upstairs coming up next...
