Before & After's, Trying to make it all work...

This week I decided to take a break from all the studio re-organization and focus my attention back to our home. I quickly discovered that I must try to keep up with it, cleaning and decorating, if I desire to get anything else accomplished anywhere...

Some days, it seems that there so much on my "To Do" list that I'll never get it all accomplished, but I still keep plugging away at it, little by little, doing whatever I can here and there.

On Thursday, I sat dreaming of doing some fall decorating within our home, but before I attempt to do that, I decided that I was ready for a change the layout of our living room. I must admit that I wasn't brave enough to attempt removing all my pretties vignettes and to re-arrange all of our furniture with a 2 1/2 year old Little Miss and Chaos under foot, so I played around with a paper room re-arrangement. At least until Alexxis noticed what I was doing and decided she wanted to play too. Needless to say, that didn't last long either...LOL!

Anyways, the above photographs are my "Before" photos. The first photo shows how I had arranged the room during the spring/early summer. The second photo was taken after the purchase of our new pair of spider back chairs, that we just recently acquired, sitting in the only area that they'd fit at the time!

I'm on the hunt for the perfect circular table to set in between the two of them. Preferably wood with some beautiful details when naked, although I can envision these chair on opposite ends with a beautiful floor length tablecloth, with its wonderful trim spilling out onto the wood flooring, and a co-ordinating topper that will in adding some additional softness in the form of fabrics to the room. I may just resort to stealing one of the patio tables for just a bit, adding the table coverings {oops, did I forget to mention that I've yet to even create those!} and a lamp, a figurine, and a picture frame or flowers perhaps. Anyways, they'll provide one comfortable sitting area somewhere within our home, for the years to come.

As you can see, the before photographs show that this wasn't the most comfortable furniture arrangement. There's definitely too much furniture in this space for anyone to be able to navigate through it successfully. So I continue to struggle to make all these furnishings work in this half of the large rectangular box with it's three doorways, defined traffic patterns, that still enable me to work on and fix what needs fixing, mostly on the opposite end of the room.

I still have the love seat and chair to slipcover, figuring out what exactly to do with the big screen and all its electrical components , before we'll be able to figure out the details on the opposite side of the room. But once done, we be able to utilize the entire 11'6" x 30' space, mixing and co-ordinating all our furniture together. So, it's worth it, yet still a major work in progress. But that didn't stop me on Friday, as I dove in... transforming it from that into this!

It's a big improvement in navigation, yet it still feels a tadbit cramped and crowded. Hopefully, it's just going to have to work for just a little while longer...

One thing that I discovered along the way is that by taking photographs of the space that you're working in, is that you can instantly see areas of the room that are still in need of improving. So I cropped off the top of the photo, to remove the crown modeling, the ugly ceiling, and the ceiling fan --- all items on my "one these days" I want to repair/replace list! For now, cropping was the "instant" fix... until I can find the time to deal with all of the above, LOL!

And I definitely need to do something to that wall niche behind the sofa! This is the south wall that I've placed the sofa upon. It's actually the shortest wall in the entire space and one that I'd not normally consider putting the sofa upon, but with the use of the coffee table and the end stand at the opposite end, it works for now.

By leaving the corner curio in its place, I was able to rearrange the pair of chairs, another end stand, and one of the tropical plants in front of it to create a small sitting area that is both easy to get in and out of. Yet, there's a big bare spot on the wall, next to the corner curio cabinet... hmm, what to fill in there?

Here, againm you can see a "bare spot" on the wall above the lamp, that could use a little "something". Perhaps, a small framed photograph, hung in "landscape" mode? Or what about the birdcage on the coffee table hung on the wall? I can envision it with filled with a fall colored candle and some silk leaves trailing out... perhaps, an empty bird nest filled with feathers and an acorn? That would certainly allow for another fall arrangement to be placed on the coffee table. Oops! and there's that darn "niche" again and the "bare bulb" hanging with its long ago broken globe that's attached to the ceiling fan, that I so desire to replace!

One day, I'm hoping to place the sofa on the opposite of the room. Of course that means we'll needed to purchase and finish the hardwood flooring, cut and stain the trim, purchase a large bound rug........ See, it never truly ends! ROFLOL! Anyway, the wall on the opposite end of the room is so much longer and so much more accommodating for the sofa. And the area where the sofa is now will either be the love seat or a chair with one of the two ottomans and perhaps, the bookcase that I've yet to get painted black. Do you see a repeating pattern here? Yep, it's time to get to work!!! But for now, I'm happy with these small, little changes... a few more touches here and there, lists of items to be on the lookout for finding, supply lists to be made for all the "little" projects... Perhaps, one day this room will be finished, but for now, I'm thinking that's a long way away....