House Re-Vision Updates

 

            Back in January, I wrote a post about how I’m working to purposefully re-see each room in our home. We’ve lived here a year now and have a better feel for how each space functions for us. It’s important to me to make sure each of our rooms continues to function well. While our house is far from a tiny home, it’s also not a huge home. We want the space to work first and foremost for us as its daily occupants and also for those who come to visit.

            So as I started looking at our rooms, I started with the living room. Some homes have multiple living spaces. We have just this one, and we love it in here. We love the warmth and coziness of the carpet, the hug-like couch, and the throw blankets we snuggle under while we sit in here. We love the view of the lake and the natural light. It’s a small but wonderful space.

            But as I looked around, it just didn’t quite feel finished. So at the end of January, I started working on purposefully looking for ways to complete the unfinished parts. It’s still not 100% done, but it’s much closer than it was, so I wanted to show you the updates!

            One thing I haven’t done yet is find rechargeable batteries to keep our window candles going. I’ll keep working on that part.

            I also told you about our big (free!) plant we were gifted last year, and how Ryan repotted it for me in a big (free!) (ugly!) planter that is basically a recycled petunia pot from our garage. It was sitting on a dinner platter to catch drainage water. It wasn’t working well. And do you know that right after I decided to spruce up the room, I ran into this big old gorgeous basket for THREE DOLLARS at the Goodwill? That planter slides right down inside and dresses it up – and I have my platter back where it belongs. I could not love this basket more, and the price was an extra gift.

            Then there were all the big old couch pillows. Our couch came with eight pillows, and while we enjoy having half that many on the couch to use for naps and decoration, we really didn’t need eight. But I came up with a storage solution! I put the remaining four behind the couch, out of sight and out of the way – but accessible if we have friends over and need them for anyone sitting on the floor. I also nabbed a big basket from my parents’ garage sale pile and put my little throw blankets inside. They previously lived in a black vinyl basket that fit my décor about 15 years ago. I put it in the garage sale pile and brought in my new (to me) free basket and very much like the update.

            I also told you in my original post that our big free plant sat beside the TV, but the space felt unbalanced. I was going to keep my eye out for another kind of plant, but then Ryan surprised me with my gorgeous Narnia lamp, and I decided to put that on the other side. It’s not a plant, but it feels complete to me. And I have adored having this little flickering light to brighten up the cold winter evenings.

            And this brings me to the crowning corner. We had this one decent-sized wall that felt incomplete. A couple of pictures and a wreath – and a lot of blank space. It felt, well, blah.

            This is the part that isn’t fully complete yet, but I love where it’s headed. I kept all three pieces we had: the wreath (made for us by our WillowBridge coworkers as a going-away gift), and two pictures of us from our fall photo session. Lots of beachy white and greenery in those pieces.

            Then I shopped at Goodwill and found a beachy looking arrow and a matching picture frame that holds photos with clothespins. They were a couple of dollars each and I grabbed them the moment I found them. Then, last weekend, while thrifting clothes for the spring capsule, I found a photo frame that doubles as a shelf. It also uses clothespins and had a beachy feel to it. SOLD!

            Ryan hung everything for me this week, and this is what it looks like now:

            I would like to hunt around the house and find a couple of small items to put on top of the shelf. I don’t want it to be cluttered, but I would like something there. And maybe something on one of the inside shelves, underneath one of the photos.

            I would also like to add one more picture to the long, narrow frame. I can use tape to put it at the top. And then there’s that one little hole between the white frame and the window. If I can find the perfect small piece, it can go there.

            Not done, but looking SO much more complete. I love the added depth, texture, and color. And I love it that we can incorporate candid snapshots with friends and family and switch them out without too much cost or effort.

            It makes me so happy! Feels good in here. It feels re-seen, and I love that. Now I’ll have to turn my attention toward another area and see how I can shuffle things to re-see it!