Tuesday, March 3, 2009

New Challenge: Decorating my living room & entryway

Ok, we painted the living room/entry way last October and I STILL have bare walls! I think I think too much about what I want to go where. I plan it in my head, draw it on paper, make lists, and then when something new or unique comes along, I think "Hey, I can incorporate that if I just tweak this and change that..." and the next thing I know my original plans get so twisted that I wind up confused and excited at the same time. Am I normal or am I weird? I've lived with me all these years, and I should know by now that I'm not really going to change! Ha!
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So...here is my new challenge for the week...

How can I tie the living room and entry way together on a shoestring budget?

I want to finish decorating my living room and entry way walls with a natural outdoorsy kind of feel. Three of the living room walls are Pittsburgh Paint Whippet and the fireplace wall is one shade down the paint chip called Earl Gray. During the day, it looks like shades of stone. At night, it has a hint of mossy green. That was a surprise and has really grown on me!






Pretty non-descriptive mantle. I'd like to dress it up a bit. I can shop around my house.



This shows the two shades. The ceiling is the same as the wall on the right.



Borrrring! But I have an idea. Actually about 8, so I HAVE to narrow it down to one if I'm going to meet my challenge!



Ugh. That's all I can say. Ugh! Our old TV used to sit on this corner unit, which completely blocked the window. Now the TV hangs/swivels/tilts from the wall, but we need to tame those cords and video game! The corner piece doesn't work there anymore, but funds are limited right now. (Good thing my imagination is free!!) My pots, which I moved from the dining room (left) sit on the corner thing, waiting for new friends to fill them.



I have never known what to do with these windows. I recently made these valances...I wanted something simple. The red/orange-ish fabric is actually a swag from Penney's. It was pricey, but the color was perfect. I still have about 4 1/2 yards of it, but I have not decided what to do with it. Yet. Any ideas?



In the entry way, I mixed the two colors and came up with a color for below the chair rail that is only slightly darker than the color above it. The space is small with no natural light except for the door when it is open, so I try to keep it as light as possible.



I have fantasized about painting this door for about 5 years. (What the heck has been stopping me?) This bench has quite a story ~ I bought it several years ago at a huge craft show at a festival. It is an old church pew that sat in a man's barn for about 50 years! His wife started throwing them away, and he dug them out of the garbage heap, which she was going to set fire to! He agreed to clean, sand, and stain them if she would recover them. They had about 5 on display and after they told me the story, I asked if she would cover one with my own fabric. (They had another 40 of them!) She was delighted, and so was I. This fabric no longer works for me, so I am anxious to recover it and give it new life once again. Maybe the leftover swag fabric? Hmmm....


Well, wish me luck. Stay tuned...I'll post as I complete each space. Yippee! HEY, if you have any ideas, PLEASE leave me a comment!!!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Great project! Oh, and by the way, if you're weird, then I'm downright eccentric! We're are birds of a feather when it comes to decorating!
That church pew is so cool, I'll bet it would be perfect covered in the leftover window fabric!

Jamie Catania said...

I think a nice, big, Cubs logo would look great over that fireplace. Or maybe a Bears logo...no, no, go with the Cubs logo. I can't wait to see it in a few weeks on spring break!

Anonymous said...

Funny, my son. Very funny. I can't wait to see YOU in a few weeks!!!

Mandi @ Sweetly Home said...

I can't wait to see what you do! I'm in the process of sort of redecorating/repainting my living room. It's fun to say the least!

I really like how you have the "hope" letters hanging from your window. Great idea!

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