living room update

As I've been posting for the Color My World challenge over the past few weeks (week 1, week 2, week 3), I've realized that our living room has undergone some major changes that I haven't really told you all about yet. Shame on me. The last time you really heard anything about our living room was 5 months ago during the house tour. Well, a lot has changed since then people. I think it's high time for a living room update, don't you??

 

 

Here's what we were working with beforehand...

 

 

And here we are now...

Much better, right?? Some pretty major changes are taking place here... new sofa... new rug... new coffee table.

 

 

Let's talk about that sofa, shall we? Right after Christmas Lance and I got an insanely good deal on a sectional sofa. We had been sofa shopping for months at this point... looking for a sectional sofa that didn't break the bank. We found one we really liked, but it was $1,200... yeah... a little out of our budget. We were hoping to stay in the $800 range. AND THEN... then we found it. The exact.same.sofa we saw before that was originally $1,200... for $499. That's right... you heard me. It was a display. I called Lance and he immediately met me at the furniture store... I mean, this was a code-blue-sofa-emergency, was it not? Best part of all... we were able to use some Christmas gift cards for the purchase. Awesome, right?

 

 

Then there's the rug... That beautiful, glorious, colorful rug. I'm kinda-sorta-really-totally in love with it. Like, a lot. I LOVE the colors and the pattern. The whole thing just makes me super happy. We bought this bad boy at TJ Maxx... pretty much right after my 2011 bonus came in. I had been eyeing the rugs at TJ Maxx Home Goods for months, but my heart skipped a beat when I saw this beauty. The rug was also my inspiration for my color pick (mustard yellow) in the Color My World challenge.

 

 

And the coffee table... It's the Aiden Coffee Table from World Market... and was also compliments of my 2011 work bonus. (yay job:) Lance absolutely despised the old coffee table... like-secretly-hoped-it-would-break-and-shatter-into-a-bunch-of-little-pieces despised... it was a little too feminine for his liking and much too breakable. It wasn't a take-off-your-shoes-and kick-your-feet-up kind of coffee table, for sure. So, the requirements for the new coffee table were... a strong, new, manly style (for Lance) and a shelf on the bottom to hide all of the mess (for Julia)... and the Aiden coffee table met both of those requirements.

 

 

In addition to all of the new elements, we also did some rearranging. The TV is now tucked over in the corner where our bookshelves used to be. I love it here. We first tried putting it on the mantle... but that was a hot mess. Cords everywhere. And it's not like we have some super fancy wall-mounted TV that looks like it should be over a fireplace mantle... it looked pretty ridiculous there. So... we slid the table we were using for the TV previously in the corner, and it fir perfectly. The TV is way less unobtrusive there.

 

 

Just in case you need a refresher... here's what it looked like before...

So, where did the bookcase go, you ask? Why over on the opposite wall, of course!

 

 

We flanked the bookcase with the 2 chairs we already had. It's now the perfect little reading spot and great for extra seating when we have guests. Oh... and how do you like that fun new lamp shade?? 

Here's what that wall looked like before with the TV... kind of a jumbled mess, huh? I love the height that the bookcase brings to that space.

So there you have it... our updated living room! Happy Friday!!!