living room floor plans.

We have been in desperate need of living room furniture.  We have been sitting on a tiny love seat and two chairs that were given to me when an elderly family member passed away.  

What we have right now is way too small for the space... and so far away from our taste it's laughable.  I have to excuse the furniture anytime someone new comes to our home.  It is time for an upgrade.

 We have been saving up for the last few months and I'm so pleased to announce that we finally ordered our very first sofa!

We decided on the Pottery Barn "Pearce" 3 piece sectional sofa.  We have seen it in the stores and I think it's going to be perfect.  We have a very odd foot pattern in our living room, so we had to do a lot of measuring and taping on the carpets to be sure the flow would still work.  I also scored a 10% and 15% off code so I feel pretty good about the grand total.  

(Although this is the most we've ever spent on furniture.  But on second thought, the only other piece of furniture we actually purchased was that tv stand for about $400... ha!  I love a good hand-me-down.)

Here is a photo of the space (as of right now) - meaning I didn't clean up at all. 

The "holes" in the wall directly under this writing are the two windows you see in the photo.

 And here is a photo of the sectional (via google).  It doesn't appear large... but I'm so glad I got the dimensions from the website and put painters tape on the carpet to gauge the actual size.  The Husband and I will both fit on this couch without being on top of each other.  I cannot wait!

The "swing" of our couch will be facing the opposite direction, as you can see from my fancy pants floor plan below (/sarcasm).  You can see that we will keep one of the fugly chairs and matching ottoman for the right side of the room.  Eventually it will be reupholstered, as it's very comfortable (much to my dismay).  The second fugly chair will go into the playroom, as it's a rocker and I anticipate it being handy with little ones someday.  I'm just too practical to toss them.  

...And then eventually we will add to this plan.

I'm looking for a large leather ottoman (opposed to a coffee table).

I also hope to get a console table to cover the back of the couch from the view from the kitchen.  

And last but not least... an armless chair next to the tv stand.  This idea boggles The Husbands mind because "WHO would sit in a chair that didn't face the television?????".  yeah.  

 The delivery date for the couch has been set for two weeks from today.  I think the change is going to be dramatic and I cannot wait!

... p.s.  if I were to post that love seat on craigslist - how much $ would you ask for?  It's a down couch and I'm pretty sure it's custom and was (at some point) a very expensive couch.  It's in great condition but the fabric is just not easy on the eyes.  How about helping me gauge what to list it for??

The Tour, Part Two

Let's continue with our little tour and I can show you the kitchen and family room... along with all the exciting changes we've made. 

The photo above was taken while I was standing in the middle of the kitchen (with the breakfast area behind me).  This looks into the family room, towards the backdoor and master bedroom entrance.  I love the height of the ceiling and dramatic windows in this room.  

We will have to purchase blinds for each window before we move in and I expect a full blown tantrum-style fit from the husband at the checkout counter.  I've (semi) prepared him for the costs... but when he actually has to open his wallet, I'm sure he will swear that he had no idea the costs of blinds.  During his melt down at the store, I also am willing to place bets on the fact he will suggest taping newspaper up in the windows (or something equally as ghetto price conscious).  

I think we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it... hopefully not until late May.  

(The granite slab in these photos house looks kinda dinky because it's only 2cm.  We got the "standard" 3cm and it will hopefully look a little better)

Here is another view of the kitchen (photo taken in a 'stock home' of the same floor plan), while I'm standing in the breakfast area. 

Note:  We will have larger floor tiles. 

Note:  Our backsplash will be on a diagonal... and hopefully, then, I will like it.

Note:  We went back and forth 100 times on getting the brick fireplace above... or the wood/tile one in the first picture.  It came down to $1,000 and we decided to go with the first (cheaper) one.  Do you think we made the right choice?  Honesty is the best policy.

Note:  Dishwasher will be stainless.

Note:  Our oven will be something like this (Without the fancy backsplash):

View from the family room, into the kitchen.  Our tile will not follow those exact same borders... but you get the idea.  

Okay... so let's get real for a second... What do you think about the two fireplaces:

#1:  Cheaper.  Seems a bit more contemporary.  The tile will match the rest of the house (won't be the fugly tile they picked out for the model home).

#2:  Has a hearth.  Seems more "built in".  Has more drama.  

It's actually not too late to change my mind... so what do you think?  #1 or #2?