Living Room Reveal

Have you guys noticed I post about the house when I don’t have anything going on of interest? 🙂

I realized when starting this post I didn’t take a very good before picture of the living room space, but I think you can get an idea. White walls. Beige carpet. Standard military housing.

In keeping with our vow of simplicity I determined that we were only going to have one piece of “sitting furniture”. Considering the fact that we are in South Dakota and at best we might have two other guests a select few times a year, our furniture really just needed to seat the two of us comfortably.

We had been told horror stories of how the movers ruin good furniture, and since we knew we would be moving no less than two times in the next four years, we went for cheap. Our couch is the Ektorp from Ikea, you just can’t beat $300 for a three cushion sofa, and I chose the white slipcovers ($50 each).

Most people looked at me like I was crazy when I said I was going with white, considering we have a black fur factory living amongst us. But I did my research. The slipcovers are machine washable, and came highly recommended by mothers of multiple children for their easy to clean maintenance. I bought two sets just in case. So far I still have to vaccuum the couch once or twice a week (we are still working on keeping Jim off the couch), but in general it stays clean, and I wash the covers about once a month (to wash out Husband’s inevitable spills from eating dinner on the couch). In my opinion being able to wash them seems a lot cleaner than spot treating anyway. All in all, I’m very happy with our purchase.

So this is our living room.

(Please ignore the wrinkled slipcovers, they were fresh out of the wash)

*Jim not included 🙂

The lamp is not even plugged in. We really don’t care to buy an end table, nor do I really care for the lamp shade, but when we need extra light it’s there, so thus the random lamp hanging out in the corner, at least it semi-matches the room.

This little cabinet was built by my father for storage purposes in one of my college apartment bathrooms. Now it serves as a home for the spheres that never made it to our bedroom, and random workout equipment like my foam roller. The picture is of a vinotech in Berkastel-Kues, Germany that we visited a few summers ago. The little owlet is a wooden whistle gifted to me by my best friend Lu.

These canvases are pictures I took at Graveyard Fields back home. I ordered them through CVS Photo. I have actually ordered eight canvases (some as gifts) now from CVS and have been absolutely thrilled over all but one, the one being a poor quality picture on my part, not CVS’ fault. I HIGHLY recommend their canvases. My most recent one was a large 20×30 of a picture I took in the Badlands. It currently resides over our bed. It’s the first one I have ordered in color and it’s all I can do to stop staring at it I love it so much.

Going to go on a little tangent here. Some of the best advice, and unfortunately probably one of the only two things I got from an photography class I took a while back, was to take pictures with a purpose in mind. Having a million pictures stored on your camera, or in a folder somewhere on your computer, is a waste of time, and a waste of memories. When I shoot photos now I try to always think about the story I’m trying to tell, and the end use of my photos whether it’s for the blog or for a hopeful project I plan to do for the house. There is not much I have found to be more fulfilling than seeing my work blown up and showcased in our house, and knowing that our “decor” is a product of a memory or experience we shared, and is a piece of “art” that I created.

Ok, moving on.

These vintage apple crates and Cherokee woven baskets came from Husband’s mom’s collection. The owl was a gift from my mom. The antique law books at the bottom are from Husband’s family collection. And the barely visible black owl book ends were a birthday present from Cliz.

Jim is a regular decoration for the air vent.

Our coffee table was built by the same man that built our dining room table and bed. The wood came from an old barn that was torn down.

I’m not totally satisfied with the placemat sitch in the middle. I bought it at Target when I couldn’t find the basket/tray piece I had been scouting for. I look at it as a space-saver for now.