inspiration from Nate

Last week I was watching The Nate Berkus Show and at the end, he said something about how moving your couch and switching the placement of your lamps can give your living room a whole new energy. Because of where our TV is hung in relation to our fireplace, our giant sectional can really only face one direction. It was kind of centered in the room, away from the wall so you could walk behind it. The only problem was that it created a lot of dead space that no one really used. Except the kids when they are running laps around the living room. I forgot to take a picture before I went all crazy and starting moving the furniture out of the room. Here's an old picture that kind of shows the couch.


So since the couch can't face any other way, I decided to push it back against the wall. Then, I took the nightstands from our bedroom and put them at either end of the couch. I took the white CB2 lamps from the living room and put them on top. The two ladder bookshelves that were flanking the TV were moved out. I brought one back in and put it on this little wall.

The TV looked really naked on the big giant wall by itself. As soon as Jay saw it, he was online looking at 55" TVs. But all it really needed was some sort of entertainment center/console to hold the components and some books and decorative objects. We liked this one from West Elm:

It was on sale for $279 which was great, but it was only 40" wide and on the 17 foot wall, we decided it might look a little silly. We also liked this one, also West Elm:


It was a bit more expensive ($399) and since the TV is already hung on the wall, we thought it was a little low (only 16" tall). And since I am THE most impatient person on the face of the earth, and I want what I want when I want it, I also didn't want to wait to have something delivered. The nearest West Elm is over and hour away plus nothing would fit in my car with 4 car seats in it. So..... we decided to take a family trip to the IKEA. We figured they were bound to have something that would work and since everything has to be assembled we could probably squeeze the boxes in the car somewhere.

***Sidenote: Jay and I decided if we every think we want a 5th kid, we should have to take everyone to the IKEA first. It is always a nightmare. We usually put Ava and Emerson in the kid playroom and I baby bjorn Finlay and we put Declan in the stroller. Usually about half way through one or both of them is screaming. This time it happened pretty much instantly. Even bribing Declan with Swedish Fish didn't work. And everyone usually rides home cramped in the car with boxes on all around them. It makes for a good day! ***

So we get home and take all of the pieces out of the boxes. Here's what we had:


After about 45 minutes, we had this:



Just like when Jay sees an empty wall he needs a bigger TV, when I see an empty shelf I need to buy more "coffee table" books. Good thing I keep an Amazon wish list for these types of emergencies! So this is how it was looking a couple days later.



It still needs some love, perhaps some actual pictures in those frames. And definitely some more books. We also decided to finally (after 2+ years in this house) to hang something on the walls. I blew up 4 pictures of the kids and put them in 16"x20" frames. Here's how they look!


Here's a better shot of the whole room:


I think with some time, it will all come together. The couch needs some throw pillows. The console/media thingie needs some more "stuff". Maybe a big leafy plant in the corner. Eventually, the orange chair might get moved to the basement and maybe an upholstered print slipper chair in its place. I could go on and on! But, here's what I was thinking for throw pillows:







The 1st and 3rd are from Posh House Originals on etsy. The 2nd and 4th are from milk&cookies Canada on etsy.

Even though the room isn't complete, it does have a whole new energy. I'll post pictures as it progresses!