Monday, April 8

Welcome to Our Home: Living Room

When we first got this place, we made a pact to stay home more.  Our goal was to make special family memories in our new space and really, truly enjoy those little things about life.  I wanted to make our living room a place where the kids wanted to play, a place where the adults wanted to relax, and a place where we were excited to host friends.

When we first moved in I was totally stumped by the layout of this living room.  It's not super narrow, but it is very long.  Our last home had a small, boxy living area, so this was all new territory for me.  It took me quite a while to figure out how to make such a long space work, but eventually the room was divided into two sitting areas.  I tried to keep the openness of the room by utilizing smaller pieces of furniture like loveseats and chairs.

Getting some help from friends (I'm looking at you, Rachel) really helped me gain some decorating confidence.  I had all the pieces, but I was really scared of cluttering up my nice white walls, or committing to art.  There was one night when my dear friend, Janae, came over and helped me get all of those things I'd been stockpiling up on the walls and off my floor.  I owe her big time for that.  After that night I was ready to really dive into the rest of the room.

More than the importance of decorating, I wanted to keep our living room personal and functional.  I know what you're thinking... "um, you have a WHITE rug..." The girls have been amazingly careful around the rug.  We've had a couple of spills, but spills happen.  Some of the furniture in the room is still around JUST because it's a jungle gym for giggling little girls.  I love that.  There will come a day when I don't have to worry about Poesy coloring the back of the couch with a red magic marker (yep, that happened), but for now I don't even think twice about it.

You might notice that there is no tv in here.  After some discussion, Johnny and I decided that we would leave the tv out of this particular area.  We have been guilty in the past of leaving the television on at all times, so we decided if we were needing background noise, we would much rather put on a record and listen to music than to have the tv going constantly.  There is a tv upstairs in our bedroom, so when we have family movie nights we all curl up in "mama's bed" (haha- sorry, Johnny!) and watch whatever Netflix pick everyone can agree on.

I'm happy that this room is our dance party room... it's the girls' gymnastics gymnasium (the yellow couch is their balance beam)... it's our "sit and visit with friends" room... it's our music room... it's the place where I sit to have coffee and just relax... it's so many things to us.   I'm happy to be making progress on our home, A) because I enjoy it and B) because it's the perfect setting for us to make more special memories.


Here's a short list of where I found things: leg print via Jordan Grace Owens, family portrait via Pop Pop Portraits, heart garland via Strawberry Moth, white rug & chair cover via Not Too Shaggy, chalkboard USA: thrifted, all furniture: thrifted, record player via ModCloth, flower print w/black background via Amy Blackwell, black mirror: thrifted, plastic canvas cuckoo clock: thrifted, paper dolls and 3 girls art via Wool and Water, Instagram plaques via InstaThis, apple pillow via this DIY

65 comments:

  1. So in love with this room, Katie! Everything about it is perfect! :)

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  2. Wow, this is incredible. I love everything about this space. It is truly wonderful and filled with personal touches, which is so nice. I love te print above the fireplace and every piece of furniture. Man, oh man. Well done.

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  3. You have a lovely home. I completely agree with the television being on all the time, I've got a rule with my boyfriend about no TV in the bedroom or else he would never tear his eyes off it.

    Carina
    http://carstina.blogspot.co.nz/

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  4. I love it! the picture of you dancing is fab. I cant have a tv upstairs as I would never get outta bed! haha!

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  5. what a beautiful living room. love to see these peeks! I agree with no tv, it's nice to enjoy some time with your family, dancing, playing records,... :). www.sweet-marylou.blogspot.com

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  6. Wow. You truly have a beautiful house and a gorgeous little girl. I totally agree and respect your choice of not having a TV as well, we have the same idea at home but are slight video gaming addicts so even though we do have a TV we never really watch anything on it.

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  7. I love your living room! Great style and cute details! :)

    Kim
    http://www.birdskies.net

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  8. I love everything about it! :) I absolutely love the Map on the first Picture!

    xoxo

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  9. Wow! Your house is freaking amazing! I love every single furniture in it!

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  10. Your house is perfect I love every single item in it! I can't wait to be able to do this myself :)
    Kerry x

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  11. oh my goodness! This is just so perfect! Such a cute and lovely space!

    Ngaio xx

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  12. It looks like you put your heart and soul into that room, it looks so homey :-) looking forward to more picture of you guys dancing in the living room xD

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  13. So lovely
    I really like the bright white offset by cheerful coloured furniture and fun art.
    I too am tempted by the thought of not having a tv in the main living area, it's just so easy to rely on switching it on to relax when reading or dancing or chatting would be lovelier
    http://ahandfulofhope.blogspot.co.uk/

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  14. What a PERFECT space!
    I love everything (especially the vintage).
    I am pretty envious.

    http://maltmemories.blogspot.com

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  15. It's absolutely beautiful, Katie. You've made the space such a homey and personal one, yet you've definitely kept it uncluttered. Love the idea of two separate sitting areas in the one room....
    Ronnie xo

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  16. Wow, I have total living-room envy! What a gorgeous room!

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  17. I love your living room,such inspiration :)

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  18. Love how the living room looks and how much personal touch and little details it has. And at the same time it feels so "light" and spacious.

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  19. I am rather bummed that your US chalkboard was thrifted! I was hoping to pick up one myself. In light of that, nice find! I love how eclectic yet practical your living room is! :)

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  20. I love how light it is in there! Such a lovely, relaxing looking room. I love all the personal touches, artwork and photos on the wall. It always takes me forever to get round to putting up all the stuff I own. And that floral print chair is gorgeous xo

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  21. Oh good Lord, your taste is impeccable. Nearly squeaked when I saw your 3 bears/Goldilocks family pic. Ugh. Perfect! :')

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  22. Your home is so cozy feeling. Your family bear picture is my favorite.

    Vintagehoneybee.blogspot.com

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  23. looks great! love how it turned out. xo

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  24. This is such a lovely room. I'll confess too it is good to hear even owner of such lovely rooms have unsure decorating moments- makes me feel more confident that our living room will in the end look lovely too even when I feel unsure!

    Thank you for sharing your home with us.

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  25. I love getting a little peak into your world! I love your place! I can't wait to finish decorating my house. xx. McKenna Lou
    www.lynnandlou.com

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  26. It's amazing that a kid friendly space can be so lovely. You have created such a pleasing balance of white space and color...so bright and inviting. I'm sure your girls will have such wonderful memories of living and playing in that space. :)

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  27. It looks so inviting and homely, you did a great job =)

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  28. Your home has such a peaceful, homey vibe, Katie! What a special place you've created for your family. I definitely applaud your ability to "edit" - you have lots of special things on display, but nothing feels cluttered. (As an interior designer, I always struggle with wanting to add justonemorething!) xox

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  29. Pretty sure I've said it before, but I need that rug in my life. Is getting spills out of it hard? Any methods?

    http://www.whyyesdeer.blogspot.com

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  30. I really adore what you did here, the place looks so homely and clean at the same time!

    Have a fantastic week,
    -Kati

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  31. Lovely, katie :) I'm loving the lantern above the piano. It's also "mama's bed" in this house too ;)

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  32. Your decorating style is so adorable. It really inspires me to get some pieces I have lying around up on walls or displayed somehow!

    Thanks for the tour!

    Blessings!
    Star
    http://www.beautyandbows.com/

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  33. So beautiful! It's like a lovely little dream.

    xo
    Diana
    http://unusuallylovely.com

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  34. What a beautiful & personal home!! I love all your lil touches, especially the three bears & goldilocks pic! That's awesome!!!

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  35. Katie! I love everything about this room! It totally reflects what I would picture your house to look like. It's so inviting... speaking of which, can I come over??? xo

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  36. Your home is so beautiful!! I love everything you picked out, it just fits so nicely!

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  37. It looks gorgeous! I love what you've done with the space.

    Christen
    http://www.anunordinaryhello.com

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  38. Your living room is so cozy and whimsical! I could get comfy and not surface for days in a room like that. I love the idea of banning the TV to another room and focusing more on music as background noise - I've been wanting a record player so bad for about a year now for that reason!

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  39. BEAUTIFUL! I LOVE ALL THOSE VINTAGE DETAILS, SO SWEET!
    XOXO

    www.marshylicious.blogspot.com.ar

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  40. Saw this on Pinterest and popped over.

    GORGEOUS!!! I just love every little thing!

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  41. These pictures are so great! Looks like you put such a personal touch in this room! I like the idea of no TV in a living room actually, it makes living time not glued to the tube and movie times more special, too!

    Also, those pictures of Poe are just too cute for words!

    xoxo,
    Laura
    http://lauraisthriftingthroughlife.blogspot.com/

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  42. Loooove this! And I'm glad someone else's girls do gymnastics on the furniture. :D

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  43. Gorgeous! Thanks for showing us your living room. So lovely that it's a real family space.

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  44. Gorgeous room, love all the little details.

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  45. so simple, so cuteeeeee!!
    Gorgeous!
    http://lacajitadeaeris.blogspot.com/

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  46. Awesome furniture display, is this a display room or a real house?

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  47. I love your place its so personal all the little details make it unique. Its all put together so well. I aspire to...

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  48. Love the picture of Poe with the cracker! And of you two dancing. She's so adorable.

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  49. Your home is beautiful. I love everything about the living space you created.

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  50. LOVE the random pops of color!!!

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  51. Oh! I really love this pops of color and going to do same as... Thanks for sharing this ideas..

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  52. Gorgeous! Thanks for showing us your living room. So lovely that it's a real family space.

    Hospitality design firms

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  53. Hi there! I'm new to your blog, but I love it! I was wondering if you could tell me what white you painted your walls with? I would really appreciate it!
    Thanks!
    Xo- Kaara

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  54. This room is lovely, I love the quirky little touches....the family picture is such an original idea - I love the cushions, the record player and the general pops of colour through-out the space! The natural lighting looks incredible too :)
    Emma
    x

    http://dearthirty.blogspot.co.uk/

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  55. I really like everything you have added in this post. Thanks a lot.

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  56. Incredible blog post. Love it.

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  57. I love it!!! Very cute room!!
    I love this blog
    kisses
    http://criscriacoisas.blogspot.com.br
    http://www.facebook.com/criscriacoisas

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