Living Room

Aptly named, this room sees it all. From rough-housing, to naps on the sofa, to friends laughing. Our living room has three areas: the entry area, the study, and the main sitting area. This first photo is what you see when you come in our front door. The rug is the natural fiber kind with a rubbery backing so wet shoes can come in and the floors are still safe. Directly to your left, we have a dresser (pictured below) that holds mail, hats, scarfs, gloves and the kids shoes, since we go shoe-free in the house.

tip #1

mix modern pieces of art with traditional ones and then throw in some family photos. Of course all 
your portraits are amazing, but  too many faces in a room makes you 
start to feel stared at. And as a general rule, hang art six inches above the top of your table.

We call this little area (to the left when you walk in) the study, which sounds very fancy but it makes larger gatherings possible. I'd dreamed of an overstuffed chair and this one is extra cozy because it's right in front of the radiant heat register. Brian and I are both readers and the books we have are ones we love or intend to read, plus a couple author collections. Arranging bookcases can be a puzzle. Start with the books and try for a balanced look before adding the fun objects. One day, I hope to trim them to look built in and put color on the inside. The main part of our living room is to your right when you walk in. (below)

The fireplace doesn't function right now, so I hot glued slices of wood to black foam core for my inset. (If you'd like to make one, you'll need to brace it with 2x4's on the back side.) I've mentioned before that decor should be personal, telling the occupants story. An example in this room is the driftwood on the mantle. We brought it back from a camp in Kansas that has a beach. I love it's color and shape and price, but mostly that it reminds us of happy times. 

An inexpensive way to add color to a room or boost a lamp that's too short is books. I pull from our library mostly, but in a pinch, I've peeked inside jacket covers at Goodwill. A bit more expensive, but effective way to bring in color is buying yarn and wrapping anything free - I used old nerf balls and extra golf balls, but yarn adds up surprisingly. The framed quote is from The Help and it's something I want my family to know deep inside, all the time. Even if it's my job to encourage them to go someplace better in their journeys, I want them to know they're always fine with me.