Monday, October 7, 2013

welcome to my home ~ living room tour

Welcome to my home!
When you step into my house through the front door, you are right in the living room.
There is no foyer.  But you do with what you do or don't have, right? So, I made a
foyer-like spot right by the door with a console table and mirror.


Here's the view looking into the living room. Yes, that's a real woodburning
fireplace. I want to re-do that whole wall. It looks too harsh to me. I want to
surround the tiles with white molding to give it a softer look. I also want to get
rid of the black and white artwork on the fireplace wall and replace it with
one, big colorful piece of artwork. That black and white artwork is not "me".
My cousin - who is a terrific designer, don't get me wrong - picked it out for
the wall after we had the living room painted. 


Perhaps you noticed the little black cabinet next to the ladder bookcase. 
That's actually a piece that used to be at the end of the hallway.
I moved some things around yesterday (what a surprise, I know). 
To the right is the kitchen and straight ahead is the hallway, which leads
to the bedrooms and bathrooms.
I also have photobombing kitties.


Here's what the area beside the couch looks like. That buffet has been in my
family for many years. I use it to hold wine glasses and serving pieces.
The top drawers hold bills, take-out menus, envelopes, stamps, notepads,
and thank you notes.


 On the whole, this room has always been hard to decorate because it's
small, the door opens right into the living space, the fireplace is
on an angled wall, and you can't block the flow of traffic with furniture
since this room leads into the main hallway and kitchen. It's also too
dark for my liking and doesn't get much light. I'd like some lighter furniture
but since I'm not a furniture painter, that ain't gonna happen anytime soon!
I might paint the coffee table one day and also get a lighter colored rug.
We also need new windows and white window trim...oh, the list never stops
when you're a homeowner!




 Monkey, the cat is taking you down the hallway which leads to the bedrooms
and bathrooms...see the red wall at the end of the hallway? That's where 
the black cabinet used to be.


 This is what the hallway looked like before - with the black cabinet.
Nothing wrong with it. I just got tired of the look!


 Here's what I have in place of the black cabinet. Isn't that a delightful
gold trunk? I found it at a local thrift store a few weeks ago for only $15.


Thanks for visiting - hope you enjoyed the tour!


20 comments:

  1. I really love your living room, Melanie. It's not a perfect room for decorating, I can see that, but you've done a great job with it. I love the old buffet, it's gorgeous. Our living room is pretty weirdly-shaped too, kind of long and skinny, and it's been a pain to get it right. I really like your "foyer" space, that was a genius idea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Jennifer - you are so sweet with your compliments!

      Delete
  2. Love the tour and how there is a cat is so many pictures! My cat always comes running when I start to photograph something for my blog. :) Also, I hear you on the frustration with the no entry...ours is one big space with the living room too, and I always struggle with the fireplace which is completely off center. Thanks so much for sharing your tour! Have a great week!

    Angela @ Number Fifty-Three

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With three cats, there always seems to be one in the pictures ~ when they're not sleeping, they like to follow me around the house. Glad to hear I'm not the only one with a house that has no foyer and a weird-placed fireplace!

      Delete
  3. Fun tour-
    love the buffet . . . love the little black cabinet . . . love the window at the side of the front door.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Melanie, I love the plates curved on the wall. Foyers really are wasted space. Mine is empty this minute. xo, olive

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The one thing I do like about foyers is that it's a place for your guests to pause for a moment...take off their coat and/or shoes, put down a bag.

      Delete
  5. Hi Melanie,

    Love your wood floors and entryway. The whole room is very warm, cozy and welcoming!

    Poppy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Poppy ~ you are very sweet!

      Delete
  6. We've got a small entryway, but any more than one person and we're tripping over each other, so don't feel too bad about not having one! Your room looks like it gets some nice sunlight streaming in the windows. I hear you on the windows. Our windows are the original 1921 models, so lots of fresh air, even in the winter! Your floors are gorgeous and your living looks cozy and inviting. And a wood burning fireplace is the ultimate in cozy! Thanks for the tour, Melanie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The windows in the living room are south-facing, but there's so many trees on that side of the house, that it doesn't get much light. It's much brighter in the winter due to the bare trees! Thank you for the compliments. :-)

      Delete
  7. You have a beautiful home! Love your living room!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Maria Elena. Glad you like it!

      Delete
  8. It looks lovely, Melanie! So cozy and inviting and I so envy that wood burning fireplace!

    xo
    Claudia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It IS nice in the winter sometimes, but in all honesty, I would never purposely choose a home with a fireplace. You don't get much use out of them, it lets smoke in the house, they're a pain to keep clean, and they sit empty and boring for most of the year. Much like a swimming pool, I guess!

      Delete
  9. I like your living room. It looks comfortable and cozy and appears spacious even if it isn't 'big'. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Since you often ask for input on your decorating dilemmas, I hope you don't mind when we give it! I agree, those pix are not quite warm enough over the fireplace. My first thought was that simply putting them in rustic wood frames would help a lot, but something colorful sounds even better. I've seen so many inexpensive ideas on Pinterest, like framing scrapbook paper or even fabric. Love that trunk, I'd just like to see something tall on top of it. There's all my advice for today, now do it your own way! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't even want those pictures in rustic wood frames - I don't really like the photos themselves as they don't mean anything to me. And I definitely want color over the fireplace. I'm looking for ONE big colorful piece.

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind comment - I read and appreciate each one!