Living and dining room makeovers! And the curtain swap.

Living and dining room makeovers! And the curtain swap.

• 1.28.2016

I put so much thought into decorating our home for after we first moved in. We went without a couch and dining room curtains for ages while I waited to find the right things. Some trial and error went into the dining room curtains, then I found some I liked... I played around with the gallery wall in the dining room, but it was always a little too dark... all in all, we loved our home but we learned a lot in having free reign to decorate it--and I finally decided to do something with that knowledge!

After 3+ years of our home looking like this, I wanted big change, but didn't know what that would be. So I found a totally risk-free, literally free solution. I switched the curtains from the living room (the pink lined ones I made) with the light tan Ikea ones I had hemmed to our 107" length for both rooms. Of course the ikat look zigzag pink/red/turquoise painting had to go with the pink curtains, so we put it in the dining room and were left with a blank wall in the living room.

These simple changes totally transformed the look of the dining room, and gave it a light pink rosy glow and simplicity that feels really calming for eating.

Another change we made in the dining room was I sold the grey nailhead chairs I recovered. It's sad to get rid of something you've made and put time into, but they were just too big for the space with our big table! To replace them, at least temporarily, I found some classic 90's honey oak chairs for $6.99 each at Goodwill--they are totally plain and dated but I actually really like them. The color is actually nice, and the style really is functional for, you know, a chair.

For the living room... putting the tan curtains up on the big window immediately made the room feel calmer and more grown-up. Grey, white, and tan--what's not to like? For above the couch, we hung some special charcoal drawings done by husband's grandpa, who was an art teacher and still is quite the artist.

I really love the calm neutrals in this room now. But I think we might want to add a few colors! Maybe with spring I'll add some bright pillows. (The home body pillow is not going anywhere, though. I love it.) Any other suggestions?

I did bring down the vintage turquoise lamp, which is pretty cool. I'm not sure it really matches, but we wanted a lamp there. I also played around with moving the Louis XV chair I recovered and painted to a more prominent, use-able spot.

Now that the Christmas tree is gone I love the bright, smaller plants around the room!

It's amazing how small, cheap (well, free) changes updated our living space and made such a big difference in how we feel about the space. Those pink curtains were feeling stale in the living room, but now I love them in the dining room! And the living room feels more elegant and relaxed without that painting, but I really like it above the dining room table. Here's to redecorating and doing more with what you have!!