I made some major progress on decorating the living room. Although I still have a ways to go before I can do a full "Before & After" -- I feel like this room has found its groove. Between adding a new area carpet, hanging some art, and a new blank canvas (that is going to be painted to replace my old painting) things are finally finding homes, and the room is feeling warm and cozy.
The biggest investment in the update was the rug. A decision, and a search that has taken 3+ years. Why did it take me so long to decide on a rug? Our room is an awkward size and standard rug sizes meant I was either getting one that was too small, or too large. After measuring the perfect size it turned out we needed essentially a 9ft x 9.5ft carpet and after 3+ years came to the conclusion we just needed to go custom. Custom always terrifies me because it can't be returned. (and is generally more expensive)
Because I'm a creature of habit, I picked the exact same stripe wool carpet that is on our stairs. It's perfect. It's not inexpensive but it can come with us should we move, and it can be cut and bound to a new size in another house - which means it has a longer life span. I also picked it because of the durability. Within 24 hours of having it, Mak (the Cat) barfed on it. Because it is wool it cleaned up easily (but it also helped that I had this). The stripes mean that it has some style, but is classic and doesn't compete against everything else in the room.
The artwork is a mix, which I will go into another day - but I just wanted to post the updates.
xo Linds
Ps., The gallery wall hanging took me 4 hours. I'm not kidding you. It was the most stressful experience of decorating to date.
Pps., Yes - the blank canvas is resting on water glasses. I did this to envision placement of art. Don't judge.