Chairaholic

Yes.  That would be me.  My FB and Twitter followers knew this was coming.  I got an early present.

Are those the same chairs I moaned and pined for here?  Because I live in a smallish town, and there can’t be THAT many people with these hanging around…They are the very ones I saw at my mall that were not for sale.  Turns out, I met the awesome owner of these beauties who runs the vintage clothing section of the mall, and she’s downsizing. They are IKEA from 1986 designed by Niels Gammelgaard. Apparently he also did some moonlighting over at Fritz Hansen, Cappelini…NBD.

Now wait, you say…do you NEED any more chairs?

Why, that would be NO.

Where will you put them?

I don’t know, but I think they’d be great in front of the fireplace…take up less visual space, and if I powdercoat them white….(you roll eyes and stop listening)

So why buy them, you don’t need them and you don’t have a place for them?

This is where sensible people say..”you’re right.” and walk away.   NOT ME.

Because….look at them!  They are fabulous!  So much cooler than Bertoias, and I NEVER see them, and….and, I’m a chairaholic and I need help…but AFTER I buy these…K?

You walk away in disgust…rightly so.

I start singing.

 

Tour-Chapter 1

After avoiding it ALL summer, I’ve finally gotten around to devoting some time to the Tour.

Here’s the plan…as I maniacally rearrange update rooms around here, I’ll always keep the most current incarnation…or NOW shots on the Tour.

Now, what I’m curious about is…should I bother with the close-up shots of random vignette-y crap that is so incredibly hit or miss (mostly miss here), or are we just interested in the overall “before and now” sense of things?  Talk to me.

When I get a feel for how it will be most useful, then I’ll start to add some other rooms and maybe add more photos…gotta start somewhere…right?

So, Let’s start the Tour in the Living Room!  Link Updated 9/16

Via Gallefrey on Tripadvisor

Movie Night

I’ve always been dead against a TV in our living room for MANY reasons.

1) This room should be for conversation.

2) I don’t want to spend all the energy and money required to hide a TV properly.

3) Unique to this house, the living room is situated so that nothing inappropriate for children could be watched since it could be heard up in their bedrooms (or they could creep out of their rooms and peek through the railings below).

For all of the above reasons, we have a TV in the playroom and in our bedroom and that is more than anyone needs.  In the past, I’d agreed that if I were to be swayed to eat my words, it would need to involve a projector so it could be well hidden, yet allow a decent view for all in the room.  This has been high on the CC’s dream list with visions of four foot high rugby matches causing his eyes to glaze over.  Me…sounds cool, but I’m a proud late adopter with landscaping on the brain.  Pricing proved that this techie scenario would, indeed, remain a dream.

By a stroke of good fortune, we have been granted semi-permanent use of a projector!!   All our walls and ceilings are white which makes things pretty nice for viewing purposes.  The logical place to view would be where the large painting is, but I didn’t want to take it down and figure out where to keep it out of harms way while we were testing this out.  So we turned the sofa to face the doors so we could project onto the empty slanted ceiling.  This required a bit of a reclining position, kinda like in a planetarium. Great fun, but in no way a permanent solution.

BTW, I don’t need to tell you how much the Things LOVE this concept.

Sorry-crap photos…I need to learn how to take ’em in this low light.

The view from the nook/catwalk area is too slanted for viewing, but it was cool to see the images as you walked up the stairs nonetheless.

This was all brought to life via this big hot mess behind the sofa.

Now that we know this can work (for family viewing only)…a game plan is afoot to get it right.  Hook up the Roku to it, run a cable line and most importantly, figure out a way to get it to project onto the fireplace wall without disrupting the painting.  All the A/V stuff can hide out in the bookshelves.  I don’t want to see a wall mounted pull down screen, so I’m considering options.  Perhaps putting the painting on hinges so we can lift it up out of the way and project directly onto the wall?  Barn door sliding mechanism?

I dunno…must think on this one…best troubleshooting project I’ve ever had.  The lack of patience on the part of the Things will be a driving force to find a solution.  The nagging will be relentless….

Switcheroo

I decided to spiffy up the living room by rearranging some art and FINALLY reorganizing those annoying bookshelves.  Better, I think.  Still room for improvement, but in case you haven’t figured it out by now…nothing is ever finished, it’s always a work in progress…and anything can change, at any time.

I brought my Chinese Pug painting by Paul Edelstein in from the bedroom and I think I like it there.

As for the shelves, I moved out all the classic literature paperbacks, which was a significant chunk! Now they are in an upstairs closet ready for The Minors first English Lit class.  The rest of the books are still filling up the bottom cabinets, but neatly stacked now.  Need. More. Shelves.

Going through all the books got my spring fever kickin’…I don’t think I’ve mentioned my love for all things Sir Terence Conran and Diarmuid Gavin… I possibly have all their gardening books…it’s a sickness.  I can’t WAIT to get the landscaping finished.

Below is a perfect example of why I never have enough bookshelves.  I picked this up at an estate sale for $1.00, who wouldn’t?

Look at it…a nice condition, hardback biography of Zelda Fitzgerald, not to mention a fab cover.  How could you NOT want to read that?  Have I?  Well, not yet…but I WILL.  I have lots of these….sigh.

We spent Valen-New Year hanging out in front of the fire in here…eating spicy pork pot-stickers for lunch and Gorgonzola fondue for dinner.  Don’t ya love days like that?

Switcheroo

I think I’m finally over hatin’ on my living room. For now anyway.

As much as I wish I could say that Erin’s fab post on sectionals at Design Crisis made me go out and take care of business, this little surprise was already in the works.  Remember my longing and dreaming for a groovy serpentine sectional here and here?  Well, I can’t afford those.

I managed to find a 10 seater on E-bay for $480!  I took the money I made from selling the old buffet and actually managed to find something in the budget..I was as surprised as you are…probably more. It may not be De Sede, but it’ll do pig.  It would be nice to reupholster, but that would be about $2k I’m sure, plus, the reason I bought it was because I don’t HAVE to right now. Project 2015 maybe.

The room feels much bigger now, despite this behemoth taking up the whole space.  The Things LOVE it.

I switched out coffee tables to put our lucite and zebrawood table in here and traded the Wassilys for the Barcelonas in the bedroom.  So far (10 hours) I’m digging it.  As for the other sofas?  Thing One has the orange one, and Thing Two got the green one, so both have very grown-up sitting areas in their bedrooms now.

I think I’ll switch up some of the art and wall decor…maybe move SO somewhere else…You know how Decor-ADHD and non-committal I am, so tomorrow, it will be different I’m sure.

Eh.

With the chill in the air, I can’t help but get into nesting mode.  Even though the landscaping is due to start Monday (yay!) I’m looking forward to a cozy fall in front of the fire at the Regal Beagle.

I haven’t shown a whole lot inside yet because, it’s just not there.  That said…it’s ALWAYS a work in progress with me so it’s never really ever going to be there.  I kinda suck at vignettes, so I rearrange them constantly.  I’m still sorting out which furniture really works in this house and what needs to go.  I still have boxes in closets, not nearly enough bookshelves and an endless list of things to get done, but that’s just the way it is.

part of my "James Mont Wannabe" vibe I'm trying out
part of my "James Mont Wannabe" vibe I'm trying out

crowded shelves
crowded shelves

The lack of multiple bookshelves in the house is causing major overcrowding since I have to have access to my books.  You would die at how jammed and crammed those cabinets below are with books.  In due time.

Reagle Beagle's Living Room
Reagle Beagle's Living Room

Since I know someone will ask, the painting over the fireplace is by Laurie Nye.  It makes me happy every time I look at it and I think it’s what saves the room for me when I get in a rut with it.

My blinding princess chair isn’t working in that corner, but aside from moving it to another room..I’m feeling stuck.  The Flototto pieces flanking the fireplace are destined to replace the buffet in the dining room so I can’t get too used to them there.  I think the room would look great with a retro sectional, but that’s not in the budget at the mo, so my couches are fine, and luckily, comfortable for now.

More RB LR
More RB LR

The chaos that will be the next few weeks with bobcats and concrete trucks will have me focused back outside, but I do enjoy a little pre-season nesting and dreaming.