So one room I haven’t shared on the blog is our living room. One reason is because it never felt finished. Of course the reason it never felt finished was because of a purchase mistake I made that I wasn’t sure how to fix. At our last house we built this great desk/tv unit along one side of our tv room. It housed both my husband’s and my computer. Which worked great while the kidlets were small as I needed to be in the same room as them most of the time. An office just wouldn’t work.
At this house, we knew that the kids would be in school and that an office would be a great thing for me and so that was in the plans. I also knew I wanted my husband’s computer (the one the kids use) to be in the great room where we can all see it, use it and monitor it. So I decided right away to purchase a desk.
I wanted something clean and that I could hide away the computer, so I started searching for armoires. I ended up liking the Ikea corner Alme unit (no longer available) and purchased it in black. In black because the wood one wasn’t available at the time and I figured I couldn’t wait. SO I ended up with this:
The minute it was up, I knew it was wrong. I HATED that thing for many reasons:
- It was TOO dark. Just too big and too dark.
- The doors were never closed. Never. Ever. Mostly because the computer was in use a LOT, but also because if you closed the doors then you had to figure out what to do with the chair that couldn’t slide in. Do you flip it around? Drag it back to the kitchen? I couldn’t figure it out.
- Also when the doors were open (ALL the time, see above) they would block a portion of the fireplace and the window. DROVE me NUTS!
So for the last while I have been pondering what to do. Originally my idea was to save up and build built-ins like before but more of a bookcase nature on one side and computer deck on the other. The only problem with that, is I am not a knick-knack/display type of person. I have one in my kitchen and it took me forever to figure it out and I doubt I will ever change it. I don’t do bookcases well. And the bigger kicker was that our finances couldn’t handle it.
So I did nothing. Because if it wasn’t going to be perfect, I didn’t want to do it. I was at a stalemate.
This spring, my husband wanted to switch around the living room layout. He moved everything from the structured L shape furniture layout that was in my head as the only way for the room to work. He just said “let me try”. So I did and the new layout grew on me. While it may not be the most functional layout in terms of company, we don’t actually HAVE company that often and I liked the new open layout of it.
And by shifting the furniture, he shifted my mindset. Instad of doing things that way I thought that HAD to be done, I decided to just do what I wanted. So I removed the cabinet doors and this weekend, I did this:
It is almost done. And I love it.
But I would have never done this if I hadn’t been inspired by my husband’s desire to do something different. And once I gave myself that freedom and overcame any doubt I was able to see that although I didn’t LOVE the piece, it was functional and worked for us and I could make it look better. So I got some paint and primer and just slapped it on. Yup, no thinner, no desire to have a perfectly smooth finish, cause let’s face it, this piece is not one that will be handed down any time soon. I just needed it to stop making my eyes bleed. ha!
So while it isn’t perfect. I love it already. I have a couple more shelves to finish and then will be looking for others things to paint. And maybe even put a full shot of the living room up here.
:)
