Been meaning to post this for a while now, but it’s only been in the last two weeks that the final piece to the unfinished puzzle that had been our livingroom area was finally put into place. The first pic shows what it looked like prior to the initial suburban renewal project we started in the spring of 2010, replacing all the wall-to-wall carpeting and outdated stone tile with travertine tile and wood laminate:

Out:

* Wall-to-wall carpeting
* Stone tile around kitchen island
* Area rug under coffee table
* Venetion blinds in all windows
* Black wrought-iron curtain rods
* Dark blue curtains and window dressings
* Brown wall paint
* Southwest-style earthtone table lamps
* Vivitek 44″ DLP TV (it was a piece of junk)
* Woodland painting above couch
* Indian nick-nacks on wall above TV
* CD / DVD cabinets on each side of TV

In:

* Laminate wood flooring
* New area rug under coffee table
* White plantation shutters in all windows
* Two-tone sea green Venetian plaster paint
* Art-deco wall art above couch
* Artificial floor plant
* Bar stools for kitchen island
* Wrought-iron floor screen to hide CD/DVD cabinets moved into northwest corner of room
* Our original two-tone blue/green table lamps from storage with new “racetrack” style shades
* Two-tone decorative earthenware bowl on coffee table
* Vizio 55″ LCD TV (beautiful TV, excellent picture BTW)

And here’s what it looks like after all the changes. Pretty nice, huh?

We love all the soft, muted colors and the sense of open space that has been created. The most surprising aspect of it all is how it came together without any kind of plan. I mean, I knew I wanted plantation shutters to replace the blinds and window treatments, but the two-tone paint colors were chosen on a whim – little did we know that later on, the wall art and floor screen (found by pure accident while perusing the Internet), and our original lamps would all compliment the colors we had chosen. With the white French doors replacing the slider door out to our redesigned back patio, it’s like a little piece of the Caribbean in the desert Southwest.

Speaking of the lamps, the one extravagance about the whole room turned out to be the damned lamp shades. The original shades that had come with the lamps had begun falling apart – heck, they were twenty years old and had survived three big moves. Finding suitable replacements, however, became a challenge that forced us to a specialty shop. What we got weren’t exactly custom, but the shop owner knew exactly what would look good and, without disclosing cost, they weren’t what you’d pay at a Lowe’s or WalMart, that’s for sure. Have you priced nice lamp shades lately? Wow. But they look great, and it felt really good to see our old lamps look so good in their new surroundings.

Once we pay down our debt, the pièce de résistance will be the replacement of the brown sofa and love seat. Tracey wants to do something in eggplant or a muted plum; I think it will look great.