living room | The Big White Farmhouse

June 11, 2012

{home} Getting Ready to Sell: How to Survive a Hardwood Floor Installation

I have had “hardwood floors” on my home improvement list practically since the day we moved in. But like most of you, money doesn’t grow on trees here…bummer. So we started a meager home improvement fund and put a little money aside when we could. Five years and a lot of patience later, the day has come!

BEFORE THE INSTALLATION

The weekend before the installers were to arrive, we moved all of our furniture and toys out of the living and dining rooms. Stupidly, I thought this would be a simple, maybe even quick process. Um…WRONG! It quickly turned into a real life version of Tetris. But we prevailed and the rooms were cleared:

Side story on the unsightly blue stain on the carpet: Way back in December, my cousin was visiting and we updated my bedroom. After a late night paint party, we left the can, which was 3/4 full, downstairs in the dining room. Fast forward to the next morning: one of my sweet cherubs tipped the can over (with a lid not on as tightly as we thought!) and dumped paint in a lovely circular pattern onto the carpet! After a lengthy interrogation with the big boys, we determined a sweet 12-month-old did the crime. At that point, you just had to laugh. Needless to say, that lovely stain has been “hidden” under a towel for the past six months. Keepin’ it real! 🙂

So back to the pre-installation prepwork. With two empty rooms, you may wonder where all of that furniture was stored. Exhibit A:

Fortunately, we had an amazing company work for us. The…hmm, what do you call him? A carpenter? Floor guy? Anyway, Cesar (that was his name) was super fast, but thorough and detail-oriented. He had the carpet ripped out and the new floor down in a day and a half, for which I was forever grateful. Having my three kids stuck in two bedrooms for eight hours was tough!

This is the flooring we picked: Bruce Engineered Hardwood in Gunstock Oak.

AFTER INSTALLATION
And now the after pictures. I still need to work on the mantle and find a suitable coffee table, but for now, we’ll call it done!

October 13, 2011

{home} It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Autumn…

Ever so slowly, I’ve been getting out my Fall decor. Why is it taking me so long to decorate? Maybe it has something to do with those three crazy boys of mine!

Anyway, decorating this time of year is tricky for me. I tend to be really picky. I don’t really decorate for Halloween and I don’t like scary things. Which is humorous in itself, because I’ll be the first to ooh and ahh over the neighbor’s elaborate Halloween Extravaganza display. But for my own home, I think it boils down to simplicity. So here are the beginnings of my decorating so far:

Jury is still out whether I’ll keep the plush. It was mine from my childhood and the boys love it, but I think it borders on cutesy….we’ll see. I found the print as a free printable. So cute and a nod to my Texan husband who actually uses the word “y’all”!

My mantle so far. I bought the mini pumpkins at the farm where we went pumpkin picking. I’m kind-of wishing I bought all white, but I also had a little almost-3-year-old helper and he picked his favorites. So who can complain? 🙂

Our “carved” pumpkins. I HIGHLY recommend these things if you have small children or you just don’t like digging your hands in slimy pumpkins. They poke right into your pumpkin and boom, you’re done. Instant gratification and double plus: they’re super heroes! (And a Mr. Potato Head pirate just to shake things up a little)

August 19, 2011

{home} Living Room Update: Reupholstered Chairs

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that this project has been over a year in the making! Last spring, I found two chairs in an antique store and fell in love with the curve of the backs. So I brought my sweet husband to see them and asked if they could be my Mother’s Day gift. Thankfully he obliged, although he doesn’t quite understand why I get so excited about sheets and chairs instead of roses and chocolates!

Soon after I got them home, I spraypainted them black. And then they sat. And sat. And sat.

It took a conversation with my husband (“Frankly, I don’t even notice the oriental design on the chairs anymore”) for me to get my bum in gear and choose a fabric. I made my inspiration board. I was ready to purchase. So imagine my minor panic attack when the etsy seller had already sold out!

I decided to go with the big guys and to my surprise, the fabric was even on sale!

I’m in love. I love the color. I love the slightly modern design that is still quite complimentary to the rest of my home. I love a finished project. I love it, I love it, I love it! (That’s a nod to Molly Shannon for all you non-SNL addicts!)

———————-
Here is a breakdown of what’s left on my to-do list for the living room:

Rip up old carpet and replace with hardwood flooring
~~Recover chairs with chevron fabric~~
Make pillows from chevron fabric
Make pillows with floral patterned fabric
~~Buy mirror for above the fireplace~~
Purchase map for above the couch and frame with molding
Make console for behind the couch
Decide on new coffee table solution
Find neutral rug
Find two lamps for the console table

Whew…so much more to accomplish! I better get to work!
Have a great weekend!

August 9, 2011

{home} Living Room Inspiration

The living room is arguably our favorite room in our home. We have lots of natural light and there is plenty of room to run and play. But I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with it. Too mismatched and not really fulfilling our need for organization. And with three boys, you know we need organization and storage!! So, last fall before the baby came, I started working on my vision for a cohesive look in the room. We were able to get the big pieces I wanted, like a pull-out sofa for guests and a comfy armchair, but the little details were pushed aside…until now!

So here is my inspiration for finishing up this room:

1. Inspired by Young House Love, I’m thinking of having a console table behind the sofa, DIY style. I really love the cubbies for baskets on either side, so we can put all the boys’ toys away and out of sight when not in use.
2. This bench is narrow enough that it doesn’t take up too much space and can serve two purposes: as a coffee table or also as more seating, if necessary. It’s on sale at PB but I’m wondering if we can DIY it ourselves when we make #1.
3. We hope to replace our worn carpet soon with hardwood flooring. I think this soft, shag rug would help ground the couch and coffee table and add some neutral tones to the room.
4. I like this fabric and this fabric, so I think I am going to make pillows for the couch and armchair.
5. I once heard on a blog that her “home colors” came from a vintage map. I think that would describe our home as well! We are going to buy a vintage looking map here and frame it out with molding. It will go above the couch.
6. I’d like to find two neat lamps like these (picture is from YHL) for behind the couch on the console table.

I’m really excited to get this room exactly like I have envisioned in my head. Now to decide which project to tackle first! What about you? Any redecorating going on in your home?

Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

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