It’s been full swing furniture swapping in my house the past 2 weeks….we subscribe to the use what ya got (or can get for a song from a yard sale or dad’s garage!) theory of decorating….But I’m currently stuck on the living room….. I need roman shades….or blinds….or ???…. I have plans to slipcover my sofa…but gray or tan????? and the rug….don’t even get me started on the rug…..
So how do I over come decorating paralysis in my own home…or mind???
I get outside my box and make someone else’s home my target..! Hi Mom! Hi Dad!
No they didn’t ask for this redesign….they’re perfectly comfortable knowing which piece of furniture they’ll be bumping into at night…unlike me in my house! But it’s still fun to dream right…..? And even if we only swapped a few pieces of furniture around, it would still be a fun fall project…
So under the cover of boredom the other day, I gave the parents house a little Recollected Design treatment….
{P.S….I love computer design programs….they let you “see” what a space could look like before you go giving yourself an aching back by shoving furniture around…!}
So here’s what I envisioned….
They currently have light colored walls, the green sofa, brown recliner, white chair, pine hutch and brown bookcases…. (I searched high and low through my files looking for a good “before” picture of their rooms, but it wasn’t meant to be….they all were zoomed in on people {of all things!!} and not the space….so..we’ll just have to imagine…)
I started by giving them a trunk as a coffee table…currently the sofa feels kinda naked because there is no coffee table… but I think there may be an old footlocker that once belonged to me hiding somewhere in that house…use what ya got right??
Then I switched the rectangular dining table for a round one with some happy non-matching chairs…. but this would still work with their rectangular table and matching chairs….(I think I scare them with all my non matching furniture tendencies…seriously I don’t think anything in my house matches except for my shoes…!)
Then I made a cozy reading spot by moving a slip covered chair they already own next to the hutch with an existing floor lamp….
And then I swapped the brown recliner to the opposite wall and borrowed the bigger flat screen from the bedroom and hung it on the wall…..
…..All this without breaking a sweat…!
I also swapped out the current dark brown curtains for lighter feeling printed panels…. Added a cute painted rocker or side chair and we can call it done!
I think it’s colorful and functional and flows well….
Mom thinks she isn’t ready to shop for new furniture yet! Maybe I was adopted…!
But even if you aren’t ready to jump into new furniture (or new to you furniture!) don’t be afraid to shake things up and swap things around! Push that chair from your bedroom into your living room and see how you like it! Fear shouldn’t be a factor in design!
Seize the day and the paint can and go for it!!
recollecteddesign.com 