Leather Sofa

leather couch | American Furniture Warehouse    curtains | Target    

teal side table | thrifted    white pottery | ikea    stitched pillows | Pottery Barn    

monogram plate | Anthropologie    striped cushion cover | ikea    

tufted chair | American Furniture Warehouse    white dresser | second hand 

wall paint color | Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey

We had been eyeing a navy couch at American Furtniture Warehouse for months. Labor day was finally here, and the sale validated us taking the plunge to purchase a sofa. But then, right when we walked in that Warehouse's doors - bam! We saw this couch. The lines, the color, the nod to vintage. All thoughts of the navy couch vanished. We needed a bit of an anchor in this room, especially one that was masculine and classic. We have visions of this room eventually being more of a library feel, with floor to ceiling bookcases on the far wall, maps and botanical prints framed in a gallery collection, and a hint of mid-century modern meets Wes Anderson meets crisp white simplicity. It is hard to describe just yet (and I know that decryption really does contradict itself) but I tell you, the vision is there -- I can see it. In the meantime, this couch is doing a wonderful job pulling things together. The walls are bare (yet painted!), fixtures still need to be changed out (that chandelier, yikes!), yet I don't care if that takes a year because we have a place to lounger when the morning and afternoon light are just right, and the sun creates dancing sparkles in the air, making you never want to leave. We have a place to sit with friends, Pale Ale's in hand, after a rousing game of Settlers of Catan and a belly filling supper. Plus, this couch feels like autumn to me. I'll choose a leather couch over pumpkin spice lattes to help transition our little home from summer to fall, any day.

Two Dressers, Lamps, and a Bed | Before

This is where you'll find me catching up on Downton Abbey on flake out Friday, or from 5:00 - 6:00 a.m. hitting snooze, or sipping my early morning coffee on those days I work later.  Our bedroom! The camera died about halfway through shooting our room, so this is really only part of the space. I know, I'm sorry! To the right of the bed are two windows, which are brilliant - literally. They give of so much light, and I intend to embrace that fully, you know, harness that clean and bright feel with crisp white window linens and such. And to the left of the wide dresser is the bathroom. Consider this an official before post (even if it's a halfsie). Half of the things in this room are old, thrifted, or waiting to be refurbished. Can you figure out which is which? There are a handful of Target and West Elm finds in here to. A gold star to the most correct guesses!

Oh and P.S. Went to Ikea today, and walked out a happy lady with the perfect pendant lamp. 

Guest Bedroom | Before

When you have one week from the day you move in until your best friend comes to visit, motivation settles and you get the guest room organized. With a south facing window, this room gets such a pretty light in the mornings. Pretty light means bright and cheery. And with the mix of florals, yellows, and whites, it helps bring in that spring time feel, year round. I mean, that's like an ideal feat - spring all the time! Whites, woods, and gold are the palette right now. This room reminds me a lot of my mom, who is a huge yellow gal (her whole house is shades of yellow!), and that makes me happy. :)

I just put up the curtains a few weeks ago, since it had no furnishings at all. Our whole house came like that: nice new windows with polar opposite furnishings (or none at all). The blinds in the master look like a shark took a bite our of them. And the drapes down stairs might still be the original from when the house was built in 77'. Anywho. Guests don't really want to wake up to neighbors peering at them through their windows, typically, so white linen curtains for the win. They are from the Threshold line at Target and the clean crisp look is just what I want in the rooms upstairs. Especially the rooms with south facing windows. I'm a sucker for the morning glow they tend to make. I love this room. Even in its plain state, it has so much potential already.

Upstairs Guest Bedroom Tour:

  

And to end this post, the most lady-like photo of Shelby:

Family Room Den | Before

I like calling this room the den. I've never had a room in a house that is sunken with windows at ground level. This room is that. What would be the formal living room, I'd really like to be a cozy feeling once we get furniture in it, also another reason why this room I am calling the den. There are so many idea that I have bubbling up for this space. I'm going to save those details for another day, and just give you the tour of this room. Location wise, this family room/den is situated on the first level, down from the kitchen, dining room, and front door area that opens to the living room. The garage, powder room, closet, and entrance to the basement are right in the hallway that is off this room, as you'll see in the photographs. This room has been completely untouched since we moved in, only adding our things - but I am so pleased with the warmness it has even without any decor really added in yet. We're going for a really warm feeling achieved through mixing of neutrals and textures!

Family Room / Den Tour:

Most importantly Shelby does all of her rolling around and shaking of toys in here. She pretty much has claimed post to this room, and runs laps around the coffee table.