Living Room: Before & After

Over the winter, we changed a lot in our living room and entry way.  We wanted a space that was functional for playing, reading, and visiting, peaceful, fun for kids, and looked nice, all without spending too much money.  We kept it to $200.

Most of the changes we made were just moving around furniture we already had, changing wall art, and painting the walls.  With minor purchases, we were able to make big changes to our space to make it more beautiful and functional. While looking for ideas for our space, it seemed most of the online examples were of really large spaces that weren't practical for a home with young children.  Many spaces also seemed impersonal and trendy. I hope that there's something useful here for a few people.

I don't know about you, but when I start a project, it's not generally a cleanly-planned-carried-neatly-out-all-at-once type of event.  With me, it's more of "I know we're already late going to bed, but can you please help me move some furniture?" type of thing.  Andrew, the wonderful documenter that he is, often asks if we can pause for pictures, but when I get going I can't stop.  So, sorry for the lack of normal looking "before" pictures.  (My wide angle lens is sick in bed, so we'll just have to make due.)

Before

After

We swapped out our hide-a-bed couch for one that was in our study that fit the space much better.  We ditched the grey carpet for our study carpet, too.  We traded in our table for an ottoman for a few reasons. The table always looked cluttered and messy, and it really took up a lot of space.  The ottoman takes up less space, but has more storage (extra blankets), and it also allows for more carpet play space so the kids can spread out and roll around a little more in this prime romp room.  We identified the ottoman we wanted, and knew that, because it's IKEA, before too long it would appear on craigslist, where we found it for half price (we keep our eyes out in IKEA's as-is for a better cover). The sconces are a great way to add to the light, and make that space more of a reading/window seat.

Before

After

The small side table houses Evelyn's toys in the basket, magformers in the drawer, and puzzles down below. It's very functional!

One awkward thing about our living room space was that there was no real entry way, so the minute you opened the door, you were kind of in our living room.  We moved our hide-a-bed there, put a shoe bench and rug to create a legitimate entry way.

 There's also a secret spot for my keys and purse. Andrew's commuting bike gear is hiding underneath.

Before (when the house was for sale)

After

All children's books, with the basket containing library books.

I hope some of this was useful to you!