From the window, to the wall...

Do you ever start a small update and then it just grows and grows and grows into a big honking expensive update.  Well, that's exactly what happened with the living room.  It started with selling the old sofas and buying new ones.  We have wanted to update the carpet since we moved in so hey, why don't we do that now too?  For a second there I thought about just replacing old carpet with new carpet.  Then Murph got sick.  I mean projectile vomit sick (think Exorcist - only smaller and fluffier).  After that swift dose of reality, we decided to replace the carpet with some kind of wood or laminate flooring.  And while we're replacing the floors, we might as well paint the walls, right?  And that's how we ended up redoing the whole living room.

In for a penny, in for a pound!

I liked the teal, but I didn't think it would look good with the new dark grey sofas.  Dark sofa, dark-ish walls and dark-ish floors was going to be, well, too dark!  So out came the testers.

I LOVED not having to cover the carpet before starting to paint - I just pulled it up around the edges so I could get low into the baseboard.  The flooring guys were going to remove the crusty old carpet as part of the new floor installation.  We literally painted the walls on Saturday and the flooring guys arrived on Monday so it wasn't too long to deal with the chaos.

We heaped all of the big pieces of furniture into the middle of the room so we could get around the outside of the room easily.

And two coats later we have a much brighter room.  It's a light taupe/grey colour that really changes depending on the time of day.

Do you like the floor lamp smack bang in the middle of the room?  It's a new trend I'm starting.

Next up are the floors..........

Kate

xxx

Sofa so good!

And we have new sofas!  We lived with the hand me downs for the last 6 years so it was definitely time for something our own taste.  I tried my best to disguise the lumps and bumps with pillows and throws.

But ultimately, they looked like this.  Holy 80's Batman!  They did, however, wear really well, were a nice neutral colour and were super easy to clean.  I had a load of interest on Craigslist and they ultimately went to a good home.

And for their replacement we chose the Luxe Sofa from World Market.  I shopped around loads online, I must have ready about a million reviews.  The Luxe Sofa is slip covered so we can take the covers off and wash them (important with a mischievous little dog) and it means we can change the colour easily if we want to update the look of the room.  We took full advantage of World Market's post Christmas sale and managed to get a 3 seater frame, a 2 seater frame and both slip covers for $600.

To save on shipping costs I ordered them at the store to be delivered to the store and picked them up using a Home Depot rental truck.  I saved about $200 doing it that way so it was definitely worth it.

Here's a little sneak peak.

Next up are the floors.  Oh yes, and the walls too.  It's all change around here!

Kate

xxx

Around the House

Today I wanted to share a few smaller updates that we've been working on over the last few weeks.

First up is our shiny new fridge.  We had always planned to update the appliances at some point, but when the freezer section of the old fridge stopper working completely, we were forced to act sooner rather than later.

I can't believe we managed to fit this beast in the same space as the old one.  As you can see, it has French doors and is working out really well so far.  It's waaay quieter than the old one, has loads more room and is energy efficient.  We bought it from Lowes and managed to qualify for the military discount which was a major saving.  Plus they offer free delivery and free haul away of the old one.

Sold!

Next up is a sneak peak of the new family room rug.  Excuse the terrible pic - I was trying to hold it up with one hand and take the pic with the other.  Rugs are HEAVY!  I thought it was a little bit like the West Elm souk rug?  Maybe?  If you squint?  I picked up this guy at HomeGoods.  We've made some major changes to the family room - updates soon I promise.

And of course I couldn't buy just one rug!  I grabbed this little one too.  It's like walking on velvet.  Seriously.  In the morning I'll pop into the guest room just so I can stand on this rug!

I bought the radio you can see on the nightstand during Targets after Christmas clearance.  It was only $10 and reminded my of the Crosley radios you see (only this one was way cheaper!).  Perfect for guests.

Kate

xxx