Swapping Rooms...Continued

You know, you have an idea and it seems simple enough.

Just change out the furniture in two rooms. Not that big a deal, right?
 Hah! There are sooo many things I did not think about when I began this. 

It's not just a matter of a few chairs, a few tables... there are rugs to move, very large bookcases, lots of chotchkies, and even the art on the walls!

At one point, Husband asked me to explain what my thought process had been and I had to admit that I had not thought it all the way through!

I did think about the bookcases. I knew moving them would be an ordeal (that's why I waited for Husband to help!) I even measured them to make sure they would fit. But I forgot to measure the height. 

You see, we had cut down the white bookcases to fit with the armoire in the family room, so the dark ones we moved in there are way too tall. I considered some options, but in the end I decided that the television in there is bound to die soon and then the armoire is history, so I just won't worry about it right now. (of course, I will paint the armoire, though because I can't live with it white!)

But, back to the living room. I really love how it turned out!

Of course, I am still tweaking, and there are some unfinished projects still, but I think I finally got the color schemes and furniture placement right in this house!

At least for now!

Swapping Rooms

Well, I moved furniture today, just like I said I would, and here are the results so far.

The white slipcovered chairs and coffee table are now in the living room.

The red curtains are still up in this pic, but I did move the rugs as well as the furniture.
 (That was a big job!)

Here the red curtains are gone and I put up the white ones temporarily, but I am going to the fabric store soon and look for something that will bring in a little more blue.

Here's the angle from the other side. It's time for a new mantle, too!

And this is the family room. I took the white slipcover off the couch so the leather works better with the furniture.

I need to get onto the painting now. I didn't want to hang the curtains until that's done.

I am going to try to get the bookcases moved this weekend and at least paint the wall behind them.

(Another HUGE job!)

These two furniture pieces are still hanging out in the living room, but they don't really belong.
The green chaise is Daughter's and the chair is my next upholstery project. I'm hoping both will be gone soon!

Up All Night While Visions of Living Rooms Dance in My Head

It's 3 am and I have not slept at all.
I have too many thoughts going through my head, and they are all about decorating and moving furniture, so I might as well put them on paper, then maybe I will be able to sleep.

Life has been so busy this past year that not much has been done on this House with Potential. A few tweaks here and there, but nothing substantial. But that is about to change, because after living here for almost 3 years now, and going through some major changes with our family, the house also needs to go through some changes to make it work for our new life. 

For one thing, the bedrooms need a major overhaul. I need to be able to sleep 3 or 4 children in one room, plus give them floor space to play.

And I need a grownup guest room for some of my kids who now live far enough away to require overnight accommodations when they visit.

You have no idea the gyrations I have to go through to set this up as a double bed in the craft room!

But these changes will have to wait until summer, because I am currently storing all of my daughter's worldly possessions while she pursues her graduate degree.

This means my garage and storage shed are filled to the brim with furniture and boxes, and I need to be able to move my craft room to the garage and store some things in the shed to make these changes happen!

So, for now, I am concentrating on switching out the furniture, bookcases and accessories in the living and family rooms. You see, I have not been entirely happy with the color schemes and arrangements, but I couldn't figure out why until now, in the middle of the night. (Of course!)

This is the living room. The main color is red, with green and brown and a little yellow for accents. I love the red checked curtains and even the old slipcovers, though they could use a little refreshing.

The walls are a light coffee color with white batten and board below and I really like that too. So no repainting in this room!

The colors in the family room are mostly blue and white. The wall color is a little intense and I have been planning to paint it a sort of wheat color, but I still wanted to keep everything else blue and white,  so I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

 

I really love all the white slipcovers I have recently made.

 

 And I love the white bookcases with pale robin's egg blue beadboard backs.

But it suddenly hit me: why do I have all the white furniture in the room where people (Husband and Grandkids) hang out and watch tv and eat and lounge around? I know I can throw the slipcovers in the wash, but why not have the darker furniture in here? I know it will look good with the wheat-colored walls because I have used these colors before. And I like how the blue and white works with the coffee-colored walls of the living room. 

I know this because the color wraps into the dining room and the colors there are mostly white with some of the same pale aqua blue.

I resisted this idea at first, because it's not just a matter of moving a few chairs and tables.

 It means moving some very large bookcases, not to mention everything that's on those bookcases!

It also means a lot of repainting in the family room, not just the walls, but the armoire as well (what color that will be, I have no idea!)

So, first thing in the morning I am going to start moving furniture.

 Unless I still can't sleep.

 In which case, I might start sooner!