Before and After: Home Edition

I said I would do this a loooong time ago, but I just ran across these living room photos that I had set aside for showing our before and afters. Maybe I was waiting to post until I found some better befores, but these still do the job. Having lived in the after for so long now, seeing these old photos proves just how glad I am that I painted and decorated! Personalizing really does make the difference between a house and a home, even if it is a rental.

A lot of these photos have a certain Beagle in them who has since passed, and it's reminder of how much having her around made the house a home, too. Though, for someone who hated having her photo taken, I don't know how she managed to end up in almost every shot :)

Before/in progress: 

This is the best shot I have of the boyfriend's old mod couch. 

The red loveseat that Betty claimed for herself. 

After: 

(We've since gotten a fancy new coffee table, too.)

(Note that Betty's bed got an upgrade, too.)

Couch Potato

My new sofa was delivered a couple of weeks ago, and as excited as I was to write about it the day that it came, I couldn't decide just which angle I wanted to take since there were so many hurdles that make this couch so much more than just a couch. I wanted to take the "adventures in sofa shopping" angle (store after store after store--what style do we want?--what color do we want?--that one costs HOW much?!--hey look at this disco-mirror deer head), but now that it sits in my living room, it's a lot heavier than that. Tankboy wrote about how it helps our house become a home; here's my version.

After living in my roomie's condo (that he owned) for a couple of years, and then living temporarily in Tankboy's apartment for many months (we literally used one bedroom to store most of our stuff while we shopped for "our" place), I grew tired and frustrated living in a state of limbo for so long. I was excited to finally get into a place that I could put my own stamp on. But we've been in that place for over a year.

At the same time all of this was going on, I was getting my debt and finances in order, so money for decorating was more than tight. Making that shift in thinking and budgeting is hard enough, so saving and waiting to be able to afford a new sofa was tough, especially when the couch we did have was, while cool looking, less than comfy. But, the waiting gave me lots of time to plan. Everything I've done in the house is intentional, and with some things, I'm glad I mulled it over instead of making impulsive choices (which is ironically a lot of what got me into such debt in the first place).

So this sofa represents a lot of things; I guess it represents becoming an adult.

Now all the other pieces (literally and figuratively) can fall right into place. When I'm finished painting the living room, I'll have more decorating adventures--including some before and after photos--to post here. And who knows, maybe one day I will tell the "adventures in couch shopping" story--including my lengthly prep for it's arrival!