Friday, September 11, 2015

Friday Mishmash

Inspiration comes from all over, and I have to credit blogger Biz, and my friend Andi, for making me want to rearrange my family room.  Biz is in the middle of remodeling part of her house and has posted some really pretty decorating pictures, and when I went to Andi's house recently, I liked the warm feel of her family room.  If you're interested, click here to see what the room looked like before, when we bought this furniture, nearly four years ago.  Here's what the room looks like now - this was using only what we had, with nothing new: 
I angled the couch and split up the chairs.  I liked it...but it was still missing something.
View from the kitchen area.

It didn't take me long to realize that all of my furniture was very neutral, color-wise.  A great backdrop, but I needed to add some pops of color to make the room feel warmer.  After shopping and striking out at finding anything I liked, I hit the pillow jackpot at TJ Maxx.  I couldn't narrow down which pillows to purchase in the store, so I bought them all, intending to return most of them once I figured out which few would work best.  Well, turns out they ALL worked, and after consulting/confirming that with several people, I ended up keeping everything...which is pretty unusual for me.  Normally I'm a one or two pillow person.  But I love the mix and match aspect, plus the extra dimension they give my furniture, and of course, the added color as well: 
Kip approves.

 
As long as he has his perch, Paco is happy.  The pillows seem to work in a variety of configurations, so naturally I keep changing them up.
Paco tested one out for sleepability - it passed his test.

The other thing that had bothered me about the room was the large receiver-thingie that controlled the TV and all the devices.  It originally belonged to our oldest, but when he moved to North Carolina, he gave it to us.  Well, it was too big to fit on the shelves of our TV stand, so we had it sitting on a little table next to the fireplace.  I finally started looking to see if Ikea made a different TV stand that would hold it, but when I mentioned that to Jeff, he suggested removing the drawers that were in the bottom of the stand we already had.  That worked great!  Since I had an empty slot, I bought a basket to fit there, and filled it with the DVDs that were in the drawers:
After I got the basket home, I saw that the weave pattern looked like the stockinette stitch in knitting, which was a happy accident as far as I'm concerned!

I'd love to find a big fake houseplant to put on the floor next to the fireplace, but so far I've not come across anything I like enough to spend the money on (and I just read in my aforementioned linked post from January of 2012 that I said the same thing...which means I really should try harder to find that dang plant).  Still, I'm very pleased with the room and I love that I was able to make it feel so different while using all of my old furniture and just adding a few (OK, six) pillows!

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Sit and Knit update:  I finished another pair of socks!  I don't know why I get such a thrill over knitting socks, but what can I say, it's the little things that make life fun.  Here's my Happy Stripe Socks:
Yarn is Knit Picks Felici, colorway is Gummy Bear, pattern is my basic sock, with a Fish Lips Kiss heel.
Better shot of the Fish Lips Kiss heel - it is so easy to do and fits my foot perfectly.
Considering I wasn't smart enough to measure the length of yellow yarn that started the toe, I'm really impressed that they are almost identical with the stripe placement.

This was the first time using this brand of yarn, and I really enjoyed knitting with it.  Good thing, because when I ordered this colorway, I also ordered two others!  I think I have enough yarn leftover to make a little baby hat, so I'll get started on that just for my own entertainment.

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We are waking up super early tomorrow, driving to Bastrop State Park, and running the Burning Pine 5K/10K.  Then breakfast in Bastrop, followed by the drive home, which hopefully won't be too bad considering it's Texas A&M's first home game of the season and nine katrillion people will be coming into town.  We plan on hunkering down and avoiding the crowds...a pizza delivery will be in order, I suspect!

Have a great weekend!

24 comments:

  1. Your room looks beautiful and I love the pillow choices!! :) The socks are so fun!! :)

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    1. Thank you! I am having so much fun with the socks!

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  2. Ooooh! You know I love posts like this. Love the color accents. People are too afraid of color and it really adds so much.

    Do you have a Cost Plus World Market near you? They usually have a huge selection of fake plants. Or even Pier 1.

    I hope your drive is timed just right to avoid sports traffic!

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    1. I started at World Market - nothing! I did find an artificial plant at Pier One that I liked, but it was $129. I wouldn't pay full price for anything at Pier One as they are always having sales...now I just need to pay attention to their ads.

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  3. The pillows were exactly what you needed. Love the pops of color and the different patterns you chose!

    I agree on the cost of fake plants...the really nice ones are so expensive!!

    Love the colorway of that yarn and loving all the knitted socks. I become obsessed with beanies and it is almost time to start a few of those up again!

    Have a great race this weekend! BTW your tips on running has helped me a lot. I'm no fast runner but I'm not near death after a run anymore. Thanks for your advice and encouragement!!

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    1. I'm so happy to hear that my running tips have helped you! Hurray for feeling better after a run! :)

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  4. GMTA! I wanted something to jazz up my living room so I went out and bought new pillows at TJ Maxx - and I didnt' try to find all the same pillows either. Yours look fantastic and I'm jealous that you have the ability to rearrange your furniture. NONE of the rooms in my house allow for that. Maybe that's why I always wish I lived in a more modern open house rather than my 1920 colonial. Sigh.

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    1. I am lucky with this house, but even with our other more traditional houses, I haven't let things like window placement stop me from rearranging rooms...I'm a rebel! ;)

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  5. Love that I can inspire you!! I am starting to feel a bit better and hopefully will be up to start painting this weekend and I also need to start looking at flooring. The problem is that once I finish the living room/dining area it becomes the domino effect and then I am like "I need a new bedroom - the bathroom could use a lighter paint. . ."

    I agree with Lori on World Market - I actually bought outdoor pillows at 75% for my patio chairs - each one originally was $26 each and I got them for $6.50 each! And mine also has TONS of artificial plants - I haven't really priced them, but they looked pretty!

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    1. I started at World Market and that's where I stuck out, surprisingly! No artificial plants, and no pillows that I even halfway liked! I was shocked because usually when I'm in there NOT shopping for pillows, it seems like I always find some.

      That domino effect, I know it well.

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  6. Love the new arrangement and the colors. Just perfect. I wonder about a live plant--probably not, with the cats. But I got a Jade tree plant(I think that's what it is) and its grown quickly, and has a modern structural look that would go well in your room. I read recently that some blogger had had one for 15 years. They're hard to kill, I gather.

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    1. Kip eats the one live plant in the house...irks me to no end to see him lying next to it, lazily chewing on it like I put it there specifically for him. So that's why, along with my black thumb, I wasn't considering a live plant. I'll have to google a Jade tree and see what it it looks like...

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  7. I like your room updates. Have you looked at Joanne's or Michaels to see if they have
    something you might like for your plant. Your self striping socks look so fun!
    My first pair will be a solid color it was what was in my stash.

    Good luck on your race this weekend!

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    1. Forgot about Joann's and Michaels - I will check them out, thanks!

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  8. It looks great! Good luck plant hunting. Isn't it amazing how a few tweaks can really freshen up the space? I used to re-arrange and swap pillows etc. twice a year. Spring/summer vs. fall/winter. Come to think of it, I did that with my bed linens. Hmmm ... haven't done that in a while ... surely that stuff is around here somewhere.

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    1. I should change things up seasonally...but I swear, time goes by so fast!

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  9. I love it! It looks so well put-together, so clean and organized. And I love the colors - very soothing. Makes me want to do something with my home!

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  10. I love how much natural light you have in your room! The colors are so warm and inviting. It looks like a really comfy place to relax.

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  11. I think the room looks great! I like the idea of removing the drawers from the tv stand. You should tell Jeff he's pretty cutting edge with design because that design is all over pinterest...lol.

    Have you checked Michael's for the artificial house plant? I got some there. You can usually find a coupon for them too!

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  12. Your socks just always make me smile. So colorful and cheery! :-)

    I love to change up my furniture arrangment, it makes me feel like everything is fresh and clean!!

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  13. That makes such a difference: adding some color and put the couch/chairs in a different way. I like it a lot. And since I'm a bit tired (it's only 11 am) I am so jealous of sleeping Paco. I want to cuddle up with him on the couch.

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  14. Hi Shelley, I don't know why I am only now finding your blog but I am glad I did! I am 52 and still at the beginning of losing 80+ lbs so I am finding your story and blog very inspiring! Oh, and I love rearranging furniture, used to do it as a kid (amazingly my mother let me) and now I am trying to convince hubby that we need to switch things up every now and then :) I like the new arrangement in your living room, good feng shui! I've subscribed to your blog and look forward to getting to know you better :) Thanks! Kerstin

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