Monday, July 17, 2017

Change What You Can

I've always been one who likes to change up my surroundings - even if I just move things around without buying anything new.  This is especially good right now, when we are on the downside of our mortgage payments.  Our house will be paid off next summer and we'll do some updating to it at that point, but of course I've already started thinking about what to do and because I can't get started with anything major yet, I decided to rearrange my living room.  Yes, again.  It's become a yearly thing with me, and I'm amazed at how many ways I can change it up with the same furniture.

My eventual plan, which Jeff is on board for, is to move the two cabinet bookcases to one side of the fireplace and purchase another set of them for the other side.  The mantle flares out a couple of inches farther than the fireplace surround, and we can't fit two cabinets on either side with it there, so we're going to remove the mantle above the fireplace surround.  At first I thought this was sacrilege - remove the mantle?  Is that even allowed?  I know you see it all the time on the HGTV home improvement shows, but this is a perfectly nice mantle.  It was Jeff's idea, and the more I thought about it, the more I agree with it.  Along with fitting in a wall of cabinets without having to have them custom made, we can also mount the TV above the fireplace without it being too high.  I want to free up that one wall in order to change the seating in the room.  One thing I loved about this house when we bought it was all the light brought in by the windows, along with the trees and natural state of the backyard...and yet most of the time we are sitting with our backs to the windows in the living room!

When we do the house updates, I'm also going to buy new living room furniture.  As much as I like the style of what we have in there, it doesn't lend well for my back and hips when it comes to sitting and knitting; I'm tired of the backaches.  Oh - and a while back I had new matching grayish slipcovers picked out for the two loveseats, but coincidentally, the price of the slipcovers was the same as two airfares to Orlando, so you can see what won out.

Here's the newest version of my living room, with the two previous years below:
2017 - I can knit in several spots, but my rolling cart isn't always the easiest to access unless I move it in front of the seating area when I'm ready to knit.
2016
2015

Another view:
2017
2017 (yet another view)
2016
2015

This go-round, along with doing the deep vacuuming that comes with moving everything, I dusted all of the treasures in the cabinets and even moved some things around:
The penguins were on a shelf in my office but got displaced when I put all my yarn in bins, so they made the move the the living room.
I love all of our mementos - I can tell you where everything came from, even the things that go waaay back.

I think this will hold me for another year - and then, all bets are off as I'm really looking forward to making some big changes! 

13 comments:

  1. I absolutely love this post as I am in a decorating mood this summer. I am currently picking out paint colors for our den. ( right now I have like 17 different colors on the wall). I've picked out something similar to your wall color. Is that the same color on both walls? The wall with the windows looks lighter but that might be because of the light.
    In your room, what do you refer to as the mantel? Is it the top ledge of the fireplace or the shelf above it? We need to do something different with our fireplace as well. I wish you were here to give me advice with my room and paint colors..lol

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    1. I wish I could help you in person - I love decorating, even though I'm not super bold in my choices. Yes, the color on the fireplace/window wall is different - it's a couple of shades darker than the other walls. On the sample paint strip of colors, I believe we just chose one a couple of ticks down from the color we chose for the other walls (which was probably nearly the lightest color on the strip). We also have that same darker shade mirroring the opposite wall in the kitchen.

      The mantel is the ledge above the fireplace, yes. The white part is considered the "surround" in decorator-speak - at least that's what I've garnered from my HGTV watching.

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  2. This is a beautiful room, no matter which way the furniture is set. Redecorating is such fun! And you have time to really think it through. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

    Maybe a couple inspiration (I'm thinking about....) posts between now and then?

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  3. I love moving furniture! Everything feels so fresh and new!!!

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    1. It really does, especially considering nothing is new, LOL!

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  4. Oh Boy! You are going to have some big fun. I can hardly wait! But your room is beautiful now. I like the new arrangement. And the idea of being able to face the windows is wonderful.

    Do you use your fireplace? I've never heard you mention it.

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    1. We use the fireplace when it gets really cold, but it's a gas fireplace and I literally can see the dollar bills floating up the chimney every time we turn it on - as evidenced by my gas bill. I try to let that go, as it's really only a short time each year that we use it, but ooof, that bill.

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  5. Love it! Reorganizing and rearranging can make it feel like a brand new room!

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  6. Ooooo, I love to see different configurations with the same items. Too bad it isn't so work intensive. I'm all for taking advantage of the huge windows. I've oriented my furniture towards my big picture window to see my flowers and bird feeders. I'm always surprised when I go in my neighbors house who have a similar floor plan (and a gorgeous backyard) and they have closed drapes over the windows. Say what???

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  7. Dear Shelley, please fly to Vancouver to help me out...I'm terrible at rearranging....you are NOT.
    :)

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  8. I like the ideas for the new arrangement, including the tv placement. It sounds like a good plan. I studied the photos and mentally pictured it with the tall bookcases in the new spot. And HUZZAH to no more mortgage soon!!

    I suppose you could put a non flaring mantle/ shelf right on top of the surround to look like all one piece if you missed putting a few things on it.
    And the current mantle shelf could be used as a floating shelf somewhere else.

    Chrissy

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  9. Looks cozy and nice.

    We still had to buy a new dining set after we bought new couches last year and we finally did 3 weeks ago. I already have the table, chairs will be delivered begin October. Room already looks different now.

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