Living Room {Part II}

It has been so fun working along side my husband to transform our Living Room into a place we want to be.  Do you have a room like that in your house?  A room that you want to want to sit in but you end up avoiding it instead?  That's how we have felt about our Living Room for quite some time.  I mean, have you seen the before pictures?  It definitely needed some work!  I've been wanting to buy new furniture ever since we moved in but we kept having babies instead!  We decided to take things we have around the house and make it into a room that we want to be in.  The couches are pretty comfortable but the hand me down decor is starting to date itself.  It's the first room people see when they walk in so we want it to set the tone for the rest of our house.

Our To-Do List included:

1. Paint the walls {check}
2. Make new pillow cases {almost check...3/5 are complete}
3. Hang curtains {check}
4. Paint the clock {check}
5. Make new sconces
6. Make "new" pallet wall decor {almost check}
7. Build end pieces
8. New curtain tie backs (I added this one)

We are almost there!  I am experimenting with a few accent pieces that I'll share if they turn out.  They are one of those, "I wonder what would happen if..." experiments.    

This weekend we should be able to start working on our Rustic X tables.  We are going back and forth between building the end tables or a coffee table.  We think that having a coffee table may make the room look a little more complete but haven't quite made the decision yet!  The yellow clock is, yes, very yellow.  We have more yellows coming in other places that will help bring a balance to the room.  It's not done, but we're so happy with what we've accomplished!

Thank you to my amazing MIL for doing such a PERFECT job on our pillows!

New Curtains

Hooray, hooray!
It's curtain day!
Our Living Room Project is well under way! 

I have completed one piece of wall art (post to follow), painted the clock and hung curtains.  Yes, we hung the curtains before we actually painted the walls.  We were just too excited to wait!  After seeing them hung we decided to make fabric tie backs with left over fabric from our pillow project.  For now, they are hanging straight.  By the way, EXCITING NEWS!  I now have a sewing machine.  I think my first project will be the curtain tie backs.  I don't dare venture any further without proper sewing lessons (or YouTube videos).  Although, I am the type of person who just jumps right on in to a project and figures it out as I go.  I think this drives my husband crazy because he always has a plan.  It's a nice balance. 

 My husband is my curtain man.  I iron them, he hangs them and fluffs them. 

 Excuse me honey while I "document" this.

 

Even though the curtains are white, they added so much warmth to the room.  It's amazing how much curtains will do for a room.  You can change a room so much just by adding curtains and new pillows to your couch.  You're gotta start somewhere!

 

It started raining after my husband finished hanging the curtains.  We absolutely love the rain.  Partly because we are deprived of it and partly because my father-in-law was an Air Force meteorologist for 23 years.  We can't help but love the weather.

 Our neighbors were out splashing in the puddles.  Rain is a big deal where we live!

My heart is melting.

What a perfect end to the day.

Fabrics

We have our fabrics all picked out for our pillows.  Our curtains are ready to be hung, but can you believe I bought the wrong size curtain rod?  What are the chances?  Luckily, we had the curtains already.  Guess where we bought them?  IKEA!  Ikea is THE place to buy curtains when you are on a budget.  They have nice long curtains and incredible prices with packages that include both panels.  These particular curtains were actually 118 inches long and came with hemming tape.  Please hem your curtains.  For nearly a year we had clumps of curtain on our floor.  My mom says that having lots of extra curtain fabric is a sign or prosperity.  I think it's a sign of laziness.  If only my mom had taught me to sew....thank goodness for hemming tape.  I was so proud of myself for hemming the curtains by myself.  Did I hem them backwards?  Yes I did.  Did I fix my problem?  Yes I did.  Are my curtains the same length?  We'll find out once I exchange my curtain rod for the right size.  Who said that redecorating was easy?

We bought our fabrics at Hobby Lobby.  I LOVE my guaranteed 40% off coupon.

Look at the glorious hem.  This is the one I did right.

This is the one I had to fix.

I love chevron.  It's so overused but I love it.  How can you not?

Do you like the walker in the background?  My dad bought it for my oldest.  It of course had to be a car.  No other walker would suffice. 

We wanted modern patterns with colors that would compliment and soften the blue.  We have 5 pillows that we (my MIL) are covering.  Two will be in the blue and cream and there will be one pillow for the other patterns.  Because we have two chevron designs we will make one rectangle and one square. 

Recovering existing pillows is a great way to redecorate and save.  It's just the way to go.  This is a thicker fabric so my pillows will be a little more sturdy. 

My MIL has made pillows for both of my boys' rooms.  I'll have to show their rooms off in another post.  They are of course completely done.  Our room isn't, but theirs is.  Is that how it always works?  After our living room, our master bedroom will be the next on the list to tackle.