Living Room Mood Board

I can't decide if I like doing things to the house more or buying things for the house more. As far as the living room, buying definitely wins. If for no other reason than that there isn't much to be done beyond paint, and that is at a standstill until after the ceilings are finished (next Thursday). 

Here's the lovely before...

And here's where we're going to take this room with a little help from our friend, Visa. 

Let's break this thang down.

A. A Fiddleleaf Fig. A girl can dream. I can't keep basil alive, but I'd like to take a stab at keeping one of these alive. I feel like my deep desire to have one will preempt any tendency John and I have to neglect houseplants. I suppose we usually cross our fingers that Kansas City's humid air will be enough moisture to satisfy the thirst of whatever plant we're trying to keep alive. But, for reals, how is our humidity NOT enough? Ok, alright. I'll stop. Clearly what I know about botany could fit in a shot glass. 

B. The Rug. A few weeks ago while we were staying at our inlaws and I was wired one night, I got my online shopping groove on. To the tune of...well I'd rather not say. It wasn't pennies. But for the sheer number of awesomeness I was able to purchase I think the sticker shock should be a little less shocking. That's what I keep telling John. These things I bought will last forever! You can't put a price on quality! Anyway, this River Rock Rug from Serena and Lily was among my purchases. It was a summer flash sale and I had about an hour to decide. The price bumped back up to almost double the next day and all my previous reservations were wiped away. It was a solid deal, people. And apparently everyone and their mom agreed. The sale was so successful that it took them two full weeks to even get it on a FedEx truck. Fi-na-lly it's in transit. 

C. The Art. So why I have this painting on here is for the very purpose of the 'mood.' This is after all a mood board. It establishes the mood of the room; it doesn't necessarily show the exact pieces. As in, this is the painting I passed up in Aspen earlier this month. As in, this painting is not actually going in our living room. As in, I'm having major regrets to not have bought it last month. But here's to liking the mood this painting would bring to the living room if it were to find its way to Kansas City. And here's to finding something in the same vein for half the price in the very near future... 

D. The Fabric. Brasserie - Tangerine. Saw the fabric in a design shop. Choked on the price. Tracked it down on a shady website a few months ago and am now just waiting to pull my order out of the POD to whip up some new couch pillows.

E. The Couch - we already have. Crate and Barrel floor model from about four years back. Another solid deal.  

F. The Coffee Table. Very, very rarely do I stumble upon anything worth bragging about on Craigslist. Usually I find that site totally picked over. But, alas, I scored. A driftwood coffee table. I think I got took a little on price, but whateves. It was substantially cheaper than a new table from Pottery Barn and the like. But maybe a little pricey for the Craigslist crowd. Plus I when I called her she had already promised it to someone else who couldn't pick it up until the following week. I paid her $20 extra to break it off and sell it to me that same day. Bing-o. Front row. The table was mine.

G. The Windows. The other part of my late night shopping spree included capitalizing on a drapery sale at Restoration Hardware. Well, I should clarify. Even their drapes on sale are well above my budget. But I bought a curtain rod and rings for our living room with a price tag I could swallow. The drapes I'm going to have to sew myself. Gonna get all pinch-pleaty up in here real soon. Triple pinch pleaty. Linen. Buckram. Boom. 

H. The Seating. I'm. in. love. After my coffee table saga you may not believe me, but truly I am not a good deal finder. I hate thrift stores and garage sales. I'm not a digger and will rarely weed through junk to find a treasure. But I did have the afternoon to myself Sunday and went down to the Rivermarket Antique Mall. Everything I've ever bought there over the years has fooled no one. It all clearly came from an antique mall - chipped paint, broken pieces, frayed edges. Basically, I buy junk and it looks like junk. I bum out when I see some gorgeous house featured somewhere and the owner's source list consists almost entirely of "found this at a thrift store." Where are these thrift stores with beautiful things? Not on Wornall Road, that's for sure. Anyway, I was bumming walking through the Rivermarket. Third floor, no AC and 8 months pregnant. Told myself I was wasting my time and then I saw them. And then I saw the price and I had to check myself. Clearly, I was mistaken. They were just too cheap to be for real. And why had no one among the swarms of Sunday shoppers at the store not already bought them? I thought I must be crazy. So I texted a picture to my aunt Jeanie to see if I was losing my mind or if these were in fact great chairs. She told me to absolutely buy them! And well, what do you know. I went in looking for a chandelier and came out with two chrome and leather chairs. Pretty gangster. And the funny thing is I took them down to the register and the guy said that the seller had only just brought them into his booth about an hour earlier. No wonder they hadn't been snagged yet. 48 dollars, my friends! Anyway, I have a renewed faith in antique malls and thrift stores. They may not come through for me often, but when they do it's real bad worth it. Real, real bad. 

And there you go. The basic plan of the living room. Oh, and picture white walls, ebony stained hardwood floors, more art, canned lights in a slick white ceiling, and a fireplace. Oh yeah, the fireplace. I don't have a great picture of it. But I think I'll go dark on the mantle and surround. We'll see.

For now, I'm just excited to have a room that won't require much work on or after move-in day. All the finds have been found! Glory to God! 

Before I go though, I'd like to introduce you to my new BFF, Porter. Porter Cable. And his buddy Rigid. That's right. I bought a pneumatic finish nailer and compressor. Third best day of my life following the obvious. I get butterflies in my stomach just looking at this nailer. And I hate to play favorites with my  babies  tools. I love my compound miter saw equally and unconditionally. 

More to come on the closet I started building yesterday for the master...