Living Room Finale (11 months later)

This post has been in draft form for ohhh… 2 months! And we’ve already moved back to Texas! If you follow on instagram (thecraftblog), you saw the 26 hour road trip madness.  So, here’s the as done as the living room got before we moved out pics! I was an official Floridian for 11 months (more on that here)! Warning: This post has tons of pics. Skip to the bottom if you’re just interested in the afters!

I was on a to-do list making frenzy a few months ago, and low and behold… I actually did some stuff in the living room! It got a major room makeover in 11 months. Here’s the living room to do list post from the May 23, 2012 update… I had 2 lists a saving up list and a do it now list:

• a new 8×10 (or bigger) rug… the 5×7 thing is not doing it for us anymore. That’s expensive and a big item commitment purchase… Those always scare me. I can’t just paint over, sand it, or recover it! It’s also hard in a rental because the rug I’d buy for plain white walls is drastically different than the rug I would buy if and when I can paint those suckers. DONE! (and it was a super deal) (see more here)
• a new couch… our cozy couch wouldn’t fit in the elevator and had to be put in a consignment store… Boo! We are now using the fancy futon from the Austin, TX guest bedroom as our everyday couch. It’s handy for overnight guests, but the no arm thing is getting old for watching DVR’d Parks and Rec, 60 minutes, and Seinfeld re runs, every night! (never happened) (I did add a ton of fun pillows!)

• lamp shade redo… My mom got me the gorgeous lamp for my b-day last year, but we never loved the shade. I’m just trying to decide on a rug and couch. DONE! (see more here)
• Recover the blogging chair. It’s old and super crusty. Andy got it for free from a neighbor. DONE! (see more here)
• TV piece of furniture… the dresser makes the TV way to high. I feel like we can find something cheap and give it a makeover. I’m on the look out. DONE! (It was free!)
•  Recover the pillows on the couch to brighten it up and go with the NEW rug. DONE! (see more here)
• Continue adding to my wall of frames. I want the floor to ceiling look (see more here). Lots of  progress!
• Fix the black bar things Andy got for free. The magnetic doors are broken. (see the decorating debacle here)
• Paint those 2 chairs next to the bar. Maybe a little dipped feet look. (never happened)
• Recover the dinning room chairs. Really, I want a new dining room table top. I love the bottom, but glass is super not functional. It is always. dirty. Always. It’s yucky. I like the chairs, and I LOVED the fabric, but it’s time for an update. (this never happened either!)

Here’s how she started (see more here):

My and my stuff took over (see more here):

Looking a little more like a living room:

Giant white wall and painted 360:

Electrical tape stripes:

Got a tv stand hand-me down for free (fist pump!):

Added lots of frames:

Found a cheap 8 x 10 rug at Target and added lots more frames:

Covered old pillows in new fabric and spray painted the end table:

Hung up some DIY art:

Finished the DIY felt art:

Gave this chair a makeover:

Went crazy at World Market:

Painted my lamp and moved the baskets:

And here is the “as finished as it’s going to get living room”, before the boxes come out:

And there you have it living room in 10 months. This post makes me feel accomplished! The bedroom is another story. That sucker never came together. I still can’t believe we  packed up and moved back to Texas after 11 months. (Andy was in FL for 17 months, but the apartment looked like this while he lived here.) What do you think of the transformation? Clearly it wasn’t perfect, but it was a fun process. What’s your living room decorating story? Do you enjoy the process? Or are you a super speedy, decorate in a weekend and call it a day type of gal? I’d love to hear…