House Tour: The Living Room

A few people have wanted to see the new house and what I've done decorating-wise. So here are a few pictures of the living room and kitchen, which are really the only rooms I feel like I'm COMPLETELY done with.

The living room presented a bit of a challenge at first, because it's long and narrow. It's completley open to the dining room and kitchen, which is what I wanted. When they say "people congregate in the kitchen," they mean it.

These rooms are a mix of new items, antiques, Ikea stuff, TJ Maxx stuff, random finds, family hand-me-downs and so forth. I like it, because it feels collected - which it is. I hate it when rooms feel like you walked into a Rooms To Go and shouted, "I'll take it all!"


So here she is. I'm standing against the wall while I'm taking this pictures, so you can tell how narrow it is. Trusty Husband and I got new furniture for this room, since the furniture we both had before wouldn't fit. Since the space is so narrow, I had to go with a glass coffee table (from Overstock) so it wouldn't visually take up much space. The Oriental rug was my mom's, and I love the teals and rusty oranges in it. Throw pillows are from World Market, Pier 1, TJ Maxx - I love combining colors and patterns - that Ikat pillow is my fave. Our couch came from Haverty's, and the leather chairs are World Market. My mom gave me the framed palm prints a few years ago, and they're one of my favorite things I own.


This shot is looking from the front of the house into the dining room and kitchen. I love the open floor plan. The mirror to the left was something I searched EVERYWHERE for. I wanted a sunburst mirror, and believe it or not, it's hard to find a big one that's not a skillion dollars. Luckily, Macy's had one left, and the wedding present store credit I had made it a steal. The two little rattan cubes under it serve as extra seating and provide a little storage. And I found them at Walmart for only $29 each! Our silver chest sits next to them. It was a wedding gift, and I found that little table at Stein Mart randomly one day - the chest fits perfectly on top.


You've gotta have a TV. Usually I hate those TV holes that every builder seems hell-bent on putting in new houses, but there's not space for a TV armoire in here, so it works. You see the surveyor's lamp I searched high and low for on the left, and my collection of small globes on the mantle. I found the candle sconces at Hobby Lobby when they were half off, and they look built it. Of course, getting up there to light the candles is practically impossible.


Trusty Husband put these Ikea bookcases together. We decided to get two wide ones and one narrow one so they would look a little more built in. The lights along the top give them a museum-y vibe, highlighting the Doss "library."


Here you can see the dining room table I found several years ago at the Salvation Army and refinished. I recovered the seats here, and I like how the pattern looks with the pattern in the rug. Fake lemons give the table a little color, but don't block off the rest of the room with much height. Our little bar is to the left, with Trusty Husband's Game Day Juice.


Here's the dining room. I had always wanted a dining room table with two upholstered chairs on the ends, and stumbled upon these babies at TJ Maxx one day. My stepmom found the china cabinet at an antique mall in Montgomery, and Trusty Husband used a day off work to go get it. It fits perfectly in the space between the windows.


There's not much to show in the kitchen, but I like that I have plenty of counter space to make all kinds of messes. The cabinets have an antique finish on them that looks really nice.


Yes, we hung a Sonic Youth framed poster in our living room over the bar, because if you can't have a sense of humor at home, where can you?


Here's a close up of the mirror. I love the little flowers on the antique parts.


The globes. Pretty to look at, not meant for geography.


This is a real piece of coral my mom gave me, and I really love it. The birds came from a great store in Birmingham called Yucatan, where they import all kinds of cool things from Mexico.

So, there you have it. Trusty Husband and I were so fortunate to be able to sell both of our houses as quickly as we did, so we could get settled here. We managed to stick to a pretty tight budget and still have a house we love coming home to. What do you think?

The house was built by Tim Yates in Auburn, who is a fantastic guy and pays a lot of attention to detail. And I must give a shout-out to my good friend and our Realtor Blake Cleveland, who sold it to us.

As soon as I put the finishing touches everywhere else, I'll share those too. Thanks for walking through my living room with me!