I really like the way the colors in the paper quilt work with the colors on the bookshelves. There’s a lot of gray and a lot of white in this room, but when you’re in it, the room feels really colorful. I also think that it ties in nicely with the pink chairs…but not so well that I want to keep them pink. We also need to find a new home for the coffee table – it’s lovely, but too big, and we found the perfect coffee table(s) to go in here. Now you might understand why we were so taken with the hexagonal shapes of those tables.
1. Reupholster chairs. This can wait a bit longer – maybe a Christmas gift to ourselves. Something neutral, not white, but not so dark that it doesn’t show off the nice lines of the chair backs.
2. Purchase coffee table(s). These are individual tables that fit together, so we’d like several of them. Seems like another good holiday gift idea to ourselves, I’m just nervous they’ll stop carrying them, so I check on them often.
We’ve been waiting to trim the cord on the hanging lamp to length, and right now it’s held in place with a binder clip. I think we can probably get this cut sometime soon, now that all the main things in the room are in place.
3. Finalize center lamp length.
Along with determining the correct height of the center pendant, we need to determine the correct height of this piece. There’s only so long I feel comfortable with it perched on this box because a) it’s heavy, and b) it’s covered in a few thousand nails, so c) it would not be cool if it fell on a person or a new couch. Neither would be happy with a few thousand puncture wounds.
4. Permanently attach / hang the art.
Heading around the room clockwise: New tree stays, but is still in greenhouse plastic container with a foil lasagna pan underneath it. Planter ordered (and backordered) from Crate & Barrel coming later this month. Hopefully I won’t kill it while transplanting it. New leaves budding already on each of the three branches – they will just keep growing out the top. I’ve had the tree for less than four weeks and I see this. It might be thirty feet tall before the kids leave for college. Also, if you know what I might wipe the leaves with to remove this sort of whitish film / water spots, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it with me.
5. Transplant tree into permanent home.
The console table is leaving as well, and those floating shelves that used to hang on the wall before we added the built-in ones across the way, are already gone – Craiglisted into a happy new home. We’ve been on a run with Craigslist lately, and so far the experience has been a good one. I’ve got a blog post brewing with the things I’ve learned from my Craigslist dealings.
6. Move out the console table.
On the other side of the front (side) door is the wardrobe. Its final resting place will be in the dining room, but we’ve already started moving furniture out of that room so that we can work on it in much the same way we did the living room. So it has to stay here for now, shoved into the corner as far as it can go so that we can navigate around the chairs.
7. Move out the wardrobe.
In the last corner you’ll find a collection of things that belong on the walls on one side or both sides of the front door. You might have noticed the white typewriter on top of the wardrobe – that’s part of the collection too. I just can’t think about how these will all get arranged until the extra furniture is out of the room and the walls are clear, so they sit in piles a bit longer. I still would like some type of modern, vertical coat rack, something typewritten and framed for above the typewriter (that I want to mount vertically on the wall – wish me luck with that), and some sort of wall mounted console, ledge, something – to stash some keys or outgoing mail, etc. by the door.
8. Hang things on the wall.
9. Purchase or make missing items to also hang on the wall.
I suck at succulents. They just don’t get enough bright, direct light on the bookshelves, so I transplanted them outdoors and added some low light green stuff to this flower pot. The girls and I think it looks like the ivy in this book that grows from page to page and then occasionally gets eaten by the lamb. I hope this does the same.
10. Continue to water and take care of living plants and hope that I don’t kill them because they look really good in here.
And the big one… install the fireplace. I wouldn’t hold your breath on this one. But at least I might get another white colored pencil and finish the drawing.
11. Purchase and install fireplace (requires relining chimney flues).
…..
There you have it. The final to-do list. Still looks a little long and spendy, but it’s nice to also sit back and take stock of how far we’ve come from here:
It looks like it’s really coming together! That new sofa is fab. Also, thanks for adding me to your links – very sweet! Cheers – CT
Beautiful! And I love that you said “last thingS”. I usually say “One last thing” and it is NEVER the last thing. 🙂