Living Room Makeover!

Those of you who are my FB friends will likely have seen a couple pictures of this makeover as it happened over the weekend. But here's the background story and some before and after pictures. My Uncle Frank used to have some really nice quality wood furniture in his home. When he died, I was lucky enough to have been able to recycle some of those pieces. Like the desk that I'm using right now to type this post. In addition to the cedar chests, desks, and other pieces of furniture, there was a nice dining room set. You know, the big kind, with six "real" chairs and a table that expands with a leaf. For years my parents have stored it for me at their house - thank you Mom and Honey! And this past spring, I started noodling around with the idea that we could use it at this house. Not in the kitchen mind you, because our tiny Ikea table is already too big in the kitchen.

We have an alcove off our living room where my piano lived, joined by many kids toys, dress up clothes, etc. That area, unfortunately, became the place where my aging and sick cat enjoyed peeing the most. But as an idea formed in my head, I started working with it. Finally, late spring/early summer, I solidified my plan, but knew I couldn't carry it out until after Gus moved on. Sadly, we had Gus put to sleep in August, and shortly after I started getting excited that maybe my makeover idea for the living room would work. A couple weeks ago, John told me about a Boy Scouts camping trip coming up. I asked Bubby if she and Paw-Paw could take the girls for that weekend so that I could transform our living space. Thank you, Bubby & Paw-Paw, for having the girls over last weekend!!!!

Now that you know the story, and that I've been itching to do this project for literally MONTHS, here is the before (I actually had a big, wood coffee table in the middle of the floor, but we had already moved it out before I realized I should at least take before and after pics).

CAUTION: these pictures contain lots of messiness!





And the after...





Now there is still some aftermath to deal with - obviously way more stuff came out of this room than is going back into it. And that kitchen pass-through is still a cluttered mess. At some point I'd like for us to swap the positions of the piano and the green chair, for easier tv viewing from that chair. Even still, to say that I'm excited about the change is an understatement!