to work, to work.

i mentioned we have embarked on a bit of a re-do here in the house. when we moved into our lovely town home we thought it was a temporary stop on the way to possibly buying a new house when my husband found a new job or even moving overseas. either way, we knew it was a time to regroup & enjoy the space we have while we have it [like a full basement, for example] in case eventually we don't have it anymore. at the time, we really had no way of knowing how temporary or not it living here might be.

well, that was 3 years ago.

and through the moves, the changes, the kids & the years, our hodge podge of furnishings just never felt quite right, never quite finished. we lived in the trap of renting & not wanting to buy for or decorate this place 'just in case' a move to the next place came up suddenly. that possibility is still there, but we want to live here while we're here, know what i mean? so we set aside a little money to truly decorate.

enter my complete & utter excitement. time to decorate! time to finish projects! time to make it all look pulled together & time to maybe even... buy furniture.

of course, we are still on a budget. don't you hate when those diy and home magazines decorate a space on a 'budget' & that ends up being the total bargain of like $5000? for like one room? yeah, that's not us at all. but i did want to use the money wisely, get as much as possible done with it as i could, & keep track of it all so that i didn't wake up one morning & wonder what on earth i spent it all on, so...

i made a mood board. my first!

what used to be the dining room in the official house layout is now going to be our den, a cozy spot for movie watching and snuggling & probably some card playing & hopefully friends visiting. here's what it looks like now, stripped to bare bones:
honestly, these 'before' shots are so terrible, the room is sure to look better even with only a slight change of some sort! isn't it strange how you can really see a space for what it is when you take a picture?

and here's my visual for what i'd like it to look like:
our 'living room' is really just a sitting area on one wall kind-of down the hallway on the way to the den. because it's a town home, there's few windows which means lots of wall space to fill! here's how it looks now:
& here's what i'm working towards, a tiny bit more formal, but still home-y & welcoming:
[the site that i used for the mood boards, olioboard.com, while super fun and helpful, only provided rather pricey options to pick from, so these are just a visual inspiration, not the things i plan to actually buy.]

i only have 2 rules for myself:
1. think big [large scale & not small & trinket-y]
& 2. go with my gut, even if it's a bit different or 'out there' for me.

even looking at them now, & clicking through old pictures on my laptop of our other 'layouts' i'm never quite sure what the best furniture arrangement is for this space. sometimes i think it feels like a little too much crammed into one area, but this truly is our living room. it somehow manages to encompass our family room where we watch movies & occasionally eat in front of the tv, our kids' main toy/playroom area, our living room & even our desk/office type area. that's probably too much to ask 1 large room semi-sectioned into 2 rooms to do!

so my work is cut out for me, & i can't wait to start seeing it come together! i'm on a deadline to finish in the next 2 weeks before everyone comes over for little man's 1st birthday!

p.s. if you're looking to redecorate in any part of your house, i found these wallet-friendly coupon options for bed, bath & beyond.