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Hello, Life of Splendor readers! I’m Jillian, from Earning Our Stripes, and I am so excited to be hanging out here today, doing my very first guest post! I’ve been following Lindsay’s blog ever since I found her big bathroom reveal on Pinterest, and have loved reading along with all of her decorating, renovating and Gracie adventures!
My husband and I have been renovating our 1970′s split level home for the past two years, and while we haven’t loved every minute of it, we are so proud of how far we’ve come. I subscribe to the theory that I’m never actually ‘done’ with a room, and my living room is certainly no exception.
This room is the most used room in our home; it is our foyer, living space, play space, entertaining area and my sometimes-office, all rolled into one! When we moved in, I dreamed of dark walls with a white couch, a jute rug, and an awesome pallet coffee table. But then…. we got a puppy. And had a baby…unfortunately that dream, went right out the window!
After our little one started to become mobile last year, the clock was ticking for some new, baby-friendly furnishings. I didn’t want to give up on my style, but I also wanted everything in this room to work for our new life. Everything had to look great, be baby (and dog!) friendly, and last for at least as long as we planned to stay in our home.
Here is the view when you walk in our front door. Straight ahead is our kitchen, and to the right are the stairs to our second level. We don’t have a ‘foyer’, but we’ve tried our hardest to create a distinct entry space, without closing off the room. To the left of our entry is the actual living room. I’m keeping it real in all these pictures, so please excuse the fan on while it was 100+ degrees, and all of our little man’s toys!
Here are some more perspective shots, once you are fully in the living room.
We love this space! Any weekend morning, or after dinner, we can find us happily lounging, watching our son play, and our dog curl up on the couch (despite his giant bed in the corner!) The couch and ottoman have proven to be two wonderful investments; the microfiber shows no signs of milk, juice, Cheerios or the stomach bug, and cleans wonderfully with a damp microfiber cloth and some homemade linen spray. The ottoman was worth it's weight in gold with an early-walker, and has held up to lots of toys, jumping, and the occasional meltdown ;) The entertainment center was really meant as a buffet, but it works for us. The best part is the toy storage, and that we were able to baby-proof the left side that houses our modem, router & movies.
Some plans we have for the space this fall is a new rug (not jute... I've heard it's terrible with water stains, and, well, we have a 15 month old!) and a new mirror for behind the couch. I'm on the hunt for something much bigger, a 'statement' piece, that I can layer accessories in front of. I often feel like we're lacking some color in here, so once we have a slightly more neutral rug, I may look into some fun drapery.
Here is a quick rundown of sources. but please let me know if there is anything that I've missed.
Wall Color: Cream Fleece (Benjamin Moore), color matched to Olympic's no-VOC
Trim Color: Woodlawn Whitewash (Benjamin Moore), color matched to Olympic's no-VOC
Entryway & Gallery Wall Frames: Pottery Barn
Black bench: Craigslist find
Rugs: RugsUSA
Sectional: JCPenney
Ottoman: Target
Dog Bed: Harry Barker
Blue/Grey frames: Michaels
Wrought Iron handles: Lowes
Entertainment Center: HomeGoods
Blue/White Oar: Pottery Barn
Throw Pillows: Pottery Barn, HomeGoods & TJMaxx
Giant Toy basket: HomeGoods
Shelf behind couch: DIY
Lamps: HomeGoods
Mirror: thrift shop
White frames: Walmart
Blue Pitcher: family antique
Wedding Album: Blurb
Dog statue: HomeGoods
Toy/Book Storage (under ottoman): HomeGoods
Coat rack: DIY, with hooks from Ballard Designs
Barn star: thrift shop
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Happy Friday, friends! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
*Update* - you can find updated pictures of our living room here.
Linking up with
Thrifty Decor Chick
Hi Jillian! I was so excited to see this today! I've come back from all of my two week craziness and am finally back to blog reading :) Thanks again for the guest post. It was great!
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