It's not Perfect, but it's our Home -- #1

Pretty much everyone in the decorating/diy blog-world shows photos of their homes.  Since I started this blog four months ago, I've been putting off a house tour for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it seems like every time I think about taking some photos I'll notice that the furniture is dusty, or there are dog nose smears on the windows, or something needs to be picked up. So I'll start cleaning, and by the time I'm done I've either forgotten what it was I started to do, or need to be doing something else!  But really the main reason is I tell myself I should wait until the room is "perfect."  For instance, we need a new sofa in the living room.  The poor thing is just worn out.  The dogs (who aren't supposed to be on it) love to sit on top of the sofa and look out the window anytime they think they can get away with it.  Apparently they get away with it quite a bit, because the back cushions are now scrunched about two inches shorter than they used to be! 

However, today I realized that as far as I'm concerned, our house will never be perfect.  There will always be something I want to do or think needs to be replaced. So I'm starting a series of room views to share with you.  I'll let you know the things I want to do, and when I do them I'll show you a before-and-after.  In the meantime, it may not perfect, but it's our home.  It shelters our family, provides a playground for our dogs and cats, and gives me an unending list of projects! 

The first in this series will be our living room, with the aforementioned sofa.  We have a basic Colonial style house.  You walk into a foyer, and in front of you are the stairs to the upper level.  To the right is the dining room, and to the left is the living room.

When we first moved in every single room had wall paper.  Each room had a different pattern, and the entry and hall had a dark grass cloth.  Because of all of the trees surrounding the house, it's not particularly light, and all of that wall paper just made it look darker.  So the first thing I did when we moved in was pull down all the wall paper, except for the living room.  It had a pretty, soft blue silk paper that I loved and kept. 

See what I mean about the sofa?  To the right of it is a chair I bought from Miss Mustard Seed at the Lucketts Fair, and an old skinny door or window that I found at an antique shop. My guess is it was probably a panel on the side of a larger door.  I love the patina of the old white paint on the wood.  I originally planned to put mirrors in the top, and I may get to that one day!

(Please ignore the fact that you can see the tag on the pillow -- I just noticed it, but I am too lazy to go take another photo!)

To the left of the sofa is an antique buffet that belonged to my mother.  It's been through many iterations over the years.  My mother used to have it in her kitchen.  Since I've had it, it has been an entertainment center, a dining room buffet, an entry console, and now it's a bar.

Here's a close-up of the Fall arrangement I have next to it.

Here's the view continuing to the left.  You can't really see the watercolor above the chair because of the reflection of the lamp, but my Aunt Peggy painted it and gave it to me for Christmas years ago. I have her paintings throughout our house.

You'll notice that the only window treatments I have in this room are cream-colored valances.  Because of the trees and the way the house sits on the lot, it is very private so we don't need drapes.  I wanted to let as much light in as possible, so I had the valances made.

Directly across from the sofa is this wall.  I found the console table at a flea market.

Here's a close-up of a couple of my recent finds -- a $1 shell I found at my favorite thrift shop, and a first edition of Horace Greely's The American Conflict that I found on Craigslist for $25 and bought for my husband who is a big Civil War history buff. The books aren't in pristine shape, but they're pretty cool!

Continuing to the left is this little reading corner. (Again, I was a bad stylist since you can see the cord to the lamp!)  On the wall are a couple of wall pockets.  I used to collect them, and when I had my cottage in Seattle before I got married, I displayed all of them in my office/guest room.  Now I only keep a couple of the special ones out.

There is a set of French doors that lead from the living room to the family room.  Here's a peek:

So that's it for our living room tour.  It's a mixture of new and old, favorite pieces and not-so-favorite pieces!  One of the things I like best about the room is the cream-colored furniture against the blue walls. My "to-dos" for the room in addition to a new sofa are to paint and reupholster a cane French-looking chair I found on Craigslist to compliment the one from MMS, and I'm looking for a swag Chandelier to add in the corner with the old door.  Of course I'll post those projects when they're done, but by then I'll probably have another list of things I want to do to the room!