Living Room Update

Does anybody remember the saga of my sofa from over the summer?

It all started with this post, where I sadly admitted that my sofa was indeed broken.  Mr. Law and I argued a bit about what new sofa to get as a replacement, and eventually we decided on the brown leather sofa. Of course, it didn't fit through our front door, as I updated you all in this post. And then, finally, after well over a month, we got our sofa delivered safe and sound, and I began my quest for completing the living room. In this previous post, I drooled over all sorts of things I wanted to my living room - front bright rugs to pillows to coffee tables.

Oh, and I also remember mentioning our "weekend" project of installing our built-in unit. Well, it took much longer than we thought, but it's about 90% finished now, and I thought I'd share some pictures. I think I might also devote an entire post to how we went about the TV unit, since it was kinda awesome.

Here are some pictures of our living room before and after the updates....

Before:

 

After:

Looking sharp, right? I LOVE all the changes and I'd say right now the living room is about 80% finished. Aside from the new sofa and TV unit, you might notice our lack of area rug. We moved the previous area rug into the dining room, where it seems to be staying, and the orange one I loved (and still love) is making me nervous - too much orange? It was on sale back when I wrote the post, which made it even more appealing to me, but now that it's full price, I seem less motivated to add that POP of color.

I did, however, purchase the amazing decorative pillows from Martha and Ash, as mentioned/showed in my previous post.  The ladies at Martha and Ash were awesome to work with, and I can't lie, I kinda have a crush on ALL of their pillows! I would most definitely purchase from them again - the pillows I have are the perfect shade of orange, they are a good high quality (I love the down inserts, even if they make my husband sneeze), and they improve my quality of nap. Overall four thumbs up!


Now I'm off to work on a few things, and hopefully I'll be back to posting a little later today!

My Mind Hurts....

I'm sorry everybody for the lack of posts over the past few days. I took five days off from my 9-5 job with high hopes for relaxation, enjoying the summer and catching up on all of my stationery projects. Unfortunately, my body had other plans for me, as I've so far spent 4 out of the 5 days on the sofa with a migraine.

I've suffered from migraines for as long as I can remember, although they were recently diagnosed as "cluster" style migraines. Clusters are the most debilitating type of headache, as they last for days/weeks and progressively get worse as the time goes on. Imagine a migraine that wakes up with you in the morning, and goes to bed with you at night, day in, day out - until, all of a sudden, it's gone.

Ick, I just hope this thing goes away by the time I have to return to work tomorrow....

On a lighters note, I've spent a whole bunch of time this weekend on our new, leather sofa! Yes, the saga from this post, and this post, has finally come to an end. We were finally able to get the sofa inside, and I have to admit that I love it. Our living room is starting to come together, although now I need a new (I'm thinking round) coffee table, and a new sofa table (maybe a white parsons?), oh, and a few pillows would be good too!!

I've been secretly wishing for this pillow, from Martha & Ash on Etsy. I'm just smitten with the ikat pattern, and we alllll know I'm a sucker for all things orange. The only thing holding me back right now is that I can't seem to find a perfect, luxurious down alternative for the insert. If anybody has a good source for super lush pillow inserts, let me know!!!

Orange Ikat Pillow Cover from Martha & Ash

I'm also digging this pillow, from Giardino, another Etsy seller! Again, sucker for orange. Again, need a good insert.

Faux Bois Stripe Pillow Case from Giardino

Alright - I'm now off to spend my last day of vacation sipping coffee and taking Advil. If the weather holds out, and if I feel up to it, Mr. Law and I are planning on trying to get into the city to try out S'MAC, which has been on our "must dine" list forever. Unfortuantely (or fortunately, depends on how you look at it) S'MAC has recently been on every foodie show on the Food Network channel. I'm anticipating HUGE lines, but hopefully the mac and cheese is as good as they say it is!

Décor Dilemma

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Aside from the national pride, picnics, hot dogs, BBQs, ice cream and mosquitoes, the fourth seems to bring about my absolute need to shop and spend all my money! This fourth seems to be a bit worse than ever, due to the fact that our sofa broke and needs to be replaced.  We purchased our sofa sectional last year when we got our home, and within 6 months we noticed that the frame of the sofa was cracked in several places. We waited a few weeks before finally calling Macy's customer service, and then we had to wait another almost 4 months to get the whole thing sorted out. Turns out Macy's no longer carries our sofa, so we have a store credit to get it replaced.  Here's a picture of our current, broken sofa....don't mind the photo, it was taken last year in the midst of cleaning.....

my beloved, grey sectional

Part of me is heartbroken, because I LOVE this couch. I love the cool grey color, I love that the fabric is so soft, I love that it's like the most perfect size for our small living room, I love how clean and modern the lines of it are, and I love that I can take the best naps of my life on it. What I don't love is that it seems to have been very poorly made....the frame is cracked in at least two places, one entire leg broke off, and the fabric is piling. Remember, it's not even a year old. While I'm looking forward to replacing it with something a little better quality, I am finding it daunting to find something else I love so much. And then there is the ultimate debate between myself and my husband (and most women and their men): leather, or fabric??? Oh, the agony of deciding. Our home is by no means completely finished as far as furniture goes, but I always wanted a bright, clean, modern and effortless look. I love the cool neutral walls with neutral furniture pieces and then big POPS of colors in the accessories. I think I am up to any decorating challenge, however it's so much easier for me to stay in my light-colored comfort zone.

That being said, my husband wants a dark chocolate leather sofa. I want an off white chenille sofa. And so the debate begins. We've narrowed it down to two sectionals we both like. One is a nice dark leather sectional with a sleeper. It is also in stock at our local Macy's so we're able to sit on it and slide off (leather = slippery). The other sofa is a gorgeous chenille fabric, in a nice light color. Unfortunately it is not sold in New York so we cannot see it and would have to order it online based on the photo. But, but, but - it's reallllly beautiful in the picture!!! Here are the two top contenders:

So, if we buy the lighter one, yes, our dog will have it covered in dog hair within 10 minutes, and if we spill red wine we might be in trouble....but it's so nice, and I was instantly smitten the moment I saw it. Actually, it was pretty crushing when we went to Macy's and they said they didn't have it and wouldn't be getting it in either. Ugh, just my luck. I mean, if we go with the fabric sofa it will instantly add to the feel of our home. It'll blend effortlessly with all of my other furniture and decor in a timeless, elegant way. Right?

The whole car ride going to Macy's my husband was making his case for a leather sofa. I declared "I will not, under any circumstance, ever buy a leather sofa. They are cold, dark, ugly and incredibly not friendly for the cows." I feel like I was standing up to something by refusing to get a leather sofa. If there is one thing I've learned in life, it's to never say never, because the harder I promise I won't, I tend to do that very thing I thought I'd never do. And so here I am, seriously thinking about a leather sofa. I'd have to redecorate pretty hard core to make it not seem like a giant brown caterpillar in the center of my open layout living area. I'd need a new, lighter colored rug, a new coffee table (ok, so I needed that anyway), a new console table, new lighting, new pillows, new throw blankets....

Actually, not that I've done any research, I think I would need all of the following:

This rug, in my favorite color, from West Elm.

This clear coffee table, from CB2, it would most definitely help make the room seem lighter!

This pillow, also from CB2.

And then the dining room would also need some help, since it's an open floor plan and essentially one big room.....

This little bugger is from West Elm, and is unfortunately sold out. Harumph - I want two of them.

 this hanging pendant, from Amazon.

So, even as I write this post, I know in my heart I'm going to end up with the leather sofa. It's the better choice.....but if you have an opinion, I would love to hear it.....

Pictures of my new leather sofa to come soon (I'm sure!)