Our growing furniture family

Hi all (don't freak out about the Christmas picture yet - there's a point)! Short but sweet post to introduce the newest additions to our furniture family! We've been looking for chair to go in the alcove by the fireplace. See here, where are Christmas tree is?

Well, without the tree, it's essentially an empty space. As much as I would LOVE to keep the tree up year-round, Mike says no. Ergo, we needed to get a chair. So here it is (sorry these pictures don't do it justice - eventually we'll get something that's not a phone camera!)

Surprisingly we found the chair at Target (I L-O-V-E their newest home line, Threshold!) And I had a coupon so it was even better! However, I didn't like the ottoman Target offered with it (it was too similar in size to our exisiting ottman). Luckily, we found this square beauty of an ottoman at Marshall's for only $40!!

And here's a close up of my new wall art. I love it! Another great find at Marshall's; it was more expensive then I would've liked but I couldn't resist. Again, sorry for the poor quality of the picture, but it's an awesome modern sketch of New York. Love Love Love!

 

 

That's my update for now! Look for a tutorial on how to make a side table. We want to make one (similar to our coffee table design in our living room) to put next to the chair. I love that spring is coming because now we have the ability to start building things again! You may wonder why that matters - well, it's because our garage has been a freezer for the last couple months. And sadly, the garage is our "work shop." So get excited for the projects ahead!!

Couch Recap

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Today, I thought I'd recap the couch experience. I know it was just a TREAT for Mike. We got there early afternoon and I thought it would be an easy trip to buy the couch, after we had thought about it for a couple days. However, after discussing the couch with the ladies in my office the afternoon earlier, I was having second thoughts.

The original couch we were going to get was beige. According to one of the ladies in my office, her beige couch has now been destroyed by her 1-year-old and 2 dogs. Clearly, Mike and I would both eventually like a dog and a child. I'd also still like to like our couch after those 2 things come along. So we sat down on the couch (see below) and pondered.

Because of my original idea, the color was perfect. And I loved the detailing on the arms, which also traveled along the bottom edge of the couch as well. It was traditional with detail. LOVE.

However, the color still made me nervous. So out of the corner of my eye what did I spy?! A great charcoal gray couch! It was made out of more durable fabric and was quite comfortable. The color is also one of my FAVORITE for furniture and other home textiles.

For the next hour we traveled within about a 20-foot radius testing these two couches. At one point I found a great vantage point to see both couches at once. So there I was - standing in an area between the dividing wall - visualizing (tilting my head back and forth, even closing my eyes). I think Mike pretended not to know me at this point. He even tried to corner me and force a quick decision. I believe his exact words were "Quick, Kristin!! Pick a couch!! Which couch?! Which couch?!" as if it were a life or death choice. To his defense, I was giving it that kind of thought.

So after all that time. We (I) decided ..........GRAY COUCH! Best part about it was this couch was even less expensive than the other one (which my dad said should have been the best decision maker), especially because of the 4th of July sale! (Note: July and January are some of the best times to buy furniture because most retailers are trying to get rid of the inventory that's currently on the floor to make room for the new stuff.)

This couch is inviting, durable and more modern/updated. Mike and I both agreed we shouldn't buy furniture that can't withstand being loved and lived in.

Living Room Couch. CHECK.
(Don't mind the ruffled couch cushions in the picture - I think Mike jumped for joy after I made the final decision)

Maybe I should have warned you...

First and foremost - HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! To celebrate, Mike and I bought our first piece of furniture for the new home ...a couch! Because it was 50% off for the 4th of July, of course!

And as the title of this post says, maybe I should have warned you that I'm one of the most indecisive people in the whole world. I went in for a cream colored, traditional couch that I would have selected specific people to sit on to keep it in quality condition. We left with a charcoal gray couch with a more modern simplistic feel that is inviting to all to sit on.

Ergo, my entire image of our living room has changed. I created a VERY rough and simple trend board to capture my crazy thoughts.

I'll go further into detail tomorrow about the excursion that was a hour and a half of only two couches and "visualizing" them in our home (yes, complete with eyes closed and weird hand gestures). As for now - enjoy the fireworks!

The Shopping Starts!

Today Mike and I ventured out to see if we could find a couch for the living room. Below is a picture of my inspiration for this room. I love the serene feeling (and if only we had vaulted ceilings to allow for those gorgeous beams)! The nuetrals with the pop of rich blue - LOVE.

Credit to www.houseofturqouise.com

As of right now we have ZERO furniture for this room. Big job I know - but go big or go home right? You'll probably read this phrase a lot here ...especially once you all figure out my rapid fire game plan of getting things done in the house!

First, we went to World Market (one of my all time favorite stores that I can never leave empty-handed). Unfortunately, Mike is not nearly as enamored with the store as I am. We walked around - I fell in love with a couple pillows, a vintage coffee table, and window curtains. The hubs was apathetic at best. He's more of a traditional man and doesn't understand why you would want to buy a weathered piece of furniture at a full-price store.

So our search continued at Steinhafels. We've walked this store numerous times, mainly dreaming about what we could maybe afford. Today was a nice change of pace! Except for Mike threw me off by wandering around. This store is a circle. I like paths. Clearly I won out by refusing to wander after him. Another thing Mike and I probably should have discussed is what couch we were looking for. I assumed the couch for the living room; Mike, however, thought we were looking for a much larger couch for the family room (think large L-shape with a chaise). Don't worry though - we got on the same page after about a solid 20 minutes of wandering around!

 The options we found are shown below. I love the writing on those pullows and that chair! But I love the pop of color of the blue/brown chair - I'm just not in love with the pattern.

So none of these options made my heart race - and that's what a good chair (or any decor for that matter) should do. Alas, our search was unsuccessful but that just means more shopping in the future! (Mike's excited)