When we moved into our rental in October of 2022, it was a mad dash. We had to leave our previous living situation quite suddenly and spent all of September looking for a place that would fit our specific needs. It was a hot market and rentals were being snatched up hours after we viewed them, sometimes for more than the advertised monthly rent! Needless to say we were quite relieved to have finally found our current house, a cute little shoebox cottage with a garden, patio, and garage, not far from the foothills. It was an awkward time to be moving, right before Halloween and the impending holidays. I was trying my best to make what furniture we already had work for us and spending minimal money on necessary organizational items to make the space function for us. There was a long list of wants and needs for the house that just had to wait for a while. It’s always good advice to live in a place for a while to get a sense of what’s working and not working before committing to any big purchase or changes. Well, dear reader, it has been a little over a year, and I can say its now time for a little refresh. Also, its February and what else is going to occupy my time, besides watching copious amounts of 90’s rom-coms…
I’m starting with the living room, mostly because that’s where I’ve been spending most of my time. We prefer to use a projector to watch movies instead of a tv, as it makes it more of a special experiences with the added bonus of needing darkness to view it, which means it keeps movie-watching to the evenings after dinner. And in the summer, its not used nearly as much since the daylight hours last long after dinner! However, when we set up our living room, we did it quick and fast and haven’t done much with it since. Here’s a short list of problems I’d like to address with this makeover:
The Projector Shelf & Exposed Cords – my eye always goes straight to this area of the ceiling when I enter the living room, its the central hub of the house, with access to several rooms off of it, so you can see the projector from practically any point in the house! I would like to paint the shelf white so that it doesn’t stand out as much from the ceiling. The cords will also need to be covered and camouflaged in some way.
Seating Arrangement – we have an awkward seating arrangement at the moment. Our couch is placed almost in the center of the space, which makes the room feel much smaller than it is. Like I mentioned earlier, there are many rooms that lead off of the living room, almost every wall has a doorway to another space, and the other two walls without doors, have windows. The green armchair – which is the comfiest in the world – gets moved across the room for movie nights. Its not a big space so its not that difficult to do, but it’s getting old. I’d like to come up with a seating arrangement that doesn’t involve moving furniture around for movie nights. Which leads to my next problem, not enough seating. The little brocade sofa is perfect for two people and a dog, but when we have guests over, the seating runs out very quickly, and guests often end up on the floor. It may be time for a bigger couch. I love my little vintage sofa, and I’m very reluctant to let it go.
Bookshelves – my last few problems with the space will all be solved with some floor-to ceiling bookshelves! Right now, my books are on a small shelf in the little sunroom just off the living room. They are slightly inaccessible because the couch cuts off the sunroom from the rest of the house. There is no place to sit in the sunroom and read. Also, its a sunroom so it gets LOTS of sunlight and my book covers are starting to get sun-bleached. Not the best location to be keeping books. I want to be able to see all my books and grab one off the shelf whenever the fancy strikes. If I can’t have a library wall, then what’s the point of having books? The other problem I’ve recently come to realize, is that all my living room furniture is low and all the lamps are at the same height. There is no variety and it’s visually very boring. I think adding a wall of bookshelves and mixing up the lighting will allow the eye to travel around the room and visually it will feel more balanced. It may even feel larger.
I’ve put together a little mood board to show off my vision. The new couch will come first, then the bookshelves, and maybe a new rug. I’d like to mix up the lighting and add in some sconces instead of having all table lamps. I’ve always wanted to design my own lighting, so maybe this is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for! I’ve also always had my eye on a large potted tree for the living room, so I’d love to make that happen for this makeover.
aspen mitchell 