New Living Room Pictures and Free Printables!

Do you 'member I mentioned there had been lots of tissy-ing up going on over at my hive?

Well, something I had been wanting to change for a while were the bird prints in my living room.

(Here's how my living room looked around 18 months ago)

They are cute and I do like them though the proportions were never quite right and it was simply time for something different.

At the moment I'm really into vintage illustrated nature studies; botanical, anatomical, zoological (anything with a 'cal' on the end really!).
For my living room I ended up deciding on botanical fern lithographs, mainly because I think they're cute though also because of their green foliage.

You see, to a fickle girl like me who can't seem to commit to colour, green foliage adds that little punch of life to an otherwise unsaturated room whist maintaining an overall sense of harmonious neutrality.
I always like to include foliage of some kind in all of my spaces.

I switched out the original chunky frames for finer ones I found at a cheap dollar store.
To better fit with the proportions of the new leather sofa I created two rows of four prints (and yes, my 'new' leather sofa is over a year old now!).

(Please forgive the reflections)

I found the fern illustrations on the NYPL Digital Gallery. I edited them a bit using Photoshop then simply printed them off.

(Again, please excuse the reflections)

I really love the way they look though best of all they were virtually free!

I know I'm being stingy by not showing more of the room as a whole though I have made so many changes since getting the leather sofas it's practically a new space! So I'm planning a proper reveal post to showcase the entire makeover soon (promise :-).

If you're interested in using the same fern illustrations as me, for convenience I have included them below.
Just click on an image to open it to full size then simply save it to your computer.

Library Card Cabinet Upcycle

Whatda you do when you come across something you really love?

Something for your home that you know there is no practical place or use for?

Do you buy it just because?

Just because you might never come across one again? Just because it was a really good price? Just because your mother's sister's second cousin Mavis had one just like it? Just because you could remove that, paint this, add some of these and turn it into an umbrella stand?

Well, a while ago I blogged about this old library card cabinet I bought 'just because'.

It sat in my junk room serving absolutely no purpose for about a year until the arrival of Charlotte saw my junk room (which was the temporary home for many of my 'just because' items) become sole real estate for one beautiful bouncing bambino.

(You can see the nursery makeover here if you missed it)

So, with our shortage of storage space made even shorter it was finally time to let some things go, starting with my card drawer cabinet.

Before selling it though I decided a mini makeover was in order.

Rather than paint over the character-filled timber I simply gave it a good all over clean and oil (just with furniture polish) to retain and enhance the original patina.

I also attached some solid metal castor wheels (as I had always originally intended). Along with the advantage of mobility the wheels also add enough height to give the cabinet perfect proportions for a coffee or deep side table.

I could only find silver steel castors which looked too modern paired with the old cabinet so I tinted them black to resemble cast iron.
Here's a little trick; rather than use spray paint (which easily chips off smooth metal) I coloured the wheels with a black permanent marker!

It sounds time-consuming though it was actually really quick and so far has held up great. Whilst I imagine it will likely fade a little over time where the wheels roll it will probably look nicely worn rather than just plain chipped.

So, mini refresh complete, I re-arranged my living room a bit to plonk the cabinet beside my leather couch to take some photos for the eBay listing and....

....I'm kinda loving it!

Luke even made the rare comment that he also liked it!

Did I say we have a shortage of storage space and it was time to let some things go? Well, maybe not this...for now anyway.

Hmmm, perhaps I should stop buying stuff 'just because'.

Linking up here.

New Sofas Equals More Changes

We were out window shopping the other day (I swear, I wasn't going to actually buy anything) when we spotted some sofas on sale. There were two two-seaters in premium waxed leather (mmm, that's the vintage-looking kind - love) on floor-stock clearance for $1800 (for both!). In top grade leather they are normally over $2000 each! 

This is them though our leather is more vintagey.

We have always wanted to up-grade our fabric living room sofas to traditional leather though couldn't quite justify spending as much on them as a small car so when we saw this deal it turned our heads.

Because our living room is so tiny most of the sofas we've liked in the past have been way too big though these were just right. Luke was convinced it was meant to be; that some divine light had guided us to the store that day. I however had one very finicky reservation; I wasn't 100% keen on the double rolled back. I know, weird and fussy right?

Soooo, after lots of umming and arring, impatient looks from the staff and my eventual realisation the double back would inevitably be covered with a pile of pillows anyway, we headed to the register and made them ours!

Of course, new sofas means (exciting!) new changes for the living room too.

Don't get me wrong. There was nothing wrong with the room before though the sofas were really compact and kinda uncomfy and I was over cleaning up dirty dog paw prints.

"What? Who me? But look how sweet and innocent I am".

With the new dark sofas the black coffee table will probably be replaced with something earthy and rustic and maybe a bit outside the box.

It will need to be square or round though so I might have to be a bit patient (oh poo!).

And with more brown in the room some of the timber furniture will probably go white. Like my dining table legs and/or chairs perhaps.

And I have plans for oodles of linen grainsack style pillows too. 

Now, just to make it all happen!

The Makings of a Living Room

Thank you everyone for the lovely comments about my little living room. It really made me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Now, as promised, here are some details about how I achieved the look:

Sofas
When we first moved in we had nothing to sit on for a while. Then we borrowed my now brother-in-laws bulky 70's setting. Then we decided to buy some sofas.
It doesn't really look it in the photos, though our living room is pretty tiny so the requirements were: compact, good quality, comfy enough and cheap!
I was really craving some gorgeous vintage leather style sofas (not even close to in the realm of possibility for us back then) when I spotted these sofas on clearance in a furniture store.
Although not quite as classic in shape as I wanted they have a nice neutral palette and clean lines.
$900 (for both)

Coffee Table
This is the third coffee table I've had in this space. The first was a glorified side table big enough to hold one glass of wine (okay, exaggerating slightly) though it was all we had. The second was a big round ottoman I made and covered in blue and beige damask (now sold) and this one was picked up on eBay. Sorry, I don't have a before pic (had no idea I'd need one for a future blog back when I bought it) though it was jarrah stained. All it needed was a light sand, a few coats of black acrylic, a distress and a seal coat. The handle is original and I love the fact it has a drawer so I can hide the remotes.
$30

TV Table
As you can probably tell from the photos, it needed to have pretty perfect dimensions to look 'just right' in that space. I searched for a l-o-n-g time and was so excited when I first spied it - in plain timber lanky hall table form - on eBay...it was just right, minus the long legs of course, though that was easily fixed by my friend Mr Circular Saw.
I stained the top walnut and painted the base a soft antique white before distressing and sealing it. The handles were originally shiny brass so I scorched them with a blow torch (to penetrate the protective coating) then soaked them in some verdigris solution for an aged patina.
$80

Side Tables
At the risk of sounding like some kind of eBay addict (okay, I may as well just confess now) that's exactly where I picked up both the side tables.
The drawered table was sun-damaged and had unattractive veneered drawer fronts so I painted them black. I wanted to retain the remaining timber finish so freshened it up with a light coat of walnut stain. The gorgeous handles are original.

The elegant tray style table is as I found it. It came complete with a hall console which I didn't require so on-sold for a profit which more than covered the original cost of both tables (which was $30 for the tray table and $20 for the drawered table) which basically makes them FREE.
$0

Window Furnishings
Okay, so these weren't particularly cheap.
We needed blockouts (for light filtering and weather reasons) and I certainly wasn't going to make them! I had seen these ones at a homeware store and knew they'd be just right so waited until they went on sale. The day I chose to buy them there was also a storewide 20% off everything including sale items so I ended up saving a couple of hundred dollars - score!
$380

French Chair
Found as is on eBay (yes, I know, eBay...again!).
$50

Cushions and Throws
Both throw rugs were gifts (thanks Mum!).
The floral cushion is from Ikea ($30 when I bought it a few years back).
I got the faux fur one in a pack with a blanket from a local manchester store. It was mega cheap though is really plush ($8).
I made the dark brown one ($6).
The three linen cushions were bought on clearance from a local furniture store ($18 for all three). I added numbers to two of them using iron-on transfer paper. By cutting precisely around the graphics I was left with no shiny residue as is usually the case with transfer paper.
$62

Wall Art
The wrought iron grille was a gift (thanks again Mum!).

The six timber frames above the sofa were found in a dollar store. I painted and distressed them before filling with 'Cavallini and Co.' postcards gifted by one of my sister-in-laws. I made the matt boards myself.
$35

Cane Cases
These are both old picnic baskets I've had forever. One was a gift and one is my sister's (shhh, don't tell her I've got it!). They were hiding away in the cupboard for a while then one day I had a sudden wicker craving so dragged them out and put them on show (not sure why I didn't think of it sooner).
I added the numbers myself with a stencil I made and some black craft paint.
$0

Decor
Tray - Another gift from Mum - $0
Wire Basket and Apples - I found two of these baskets (the other is in my entryway) at a local charity store. They were gold so I sprayed them. The faux apples are from one of my favourite stores: Provincial Home Living - $17 
Pewter Jug - Yet another gift from Mum (gee, is it starting to sound like she's furnished my whole house for me?) - $0
Cane Basket and Hydrangeas - The basket (actually supposed to be a candle holder) is from Target and the hydrangeas are from a local hardware store - $18
Books - The two large books were gifts. The little blue one was my Dad's primary school dictionary and the green one was hubby's Dad's 'How to Play Tennis' book (I love little personal touches like that). The other two are vintage thrift store finds - $1
Birdcage - Dollar store find (I wish I'd bought more!) - $15
Topiary, Terracotta and Twine - I made the standard topiary by attaching a bought topiary ball to a stick I found outside (rocket science I tell you). The terracotta pots were bought cheap from a local plant nursery. The twine is from a hardware store and the spanish moss I already had - $16
Letter 'F' - Bought as plain MDF then painted with hammered metallic black - $3
Vintage Fan - Found at a local antique store - $15
Cane Basket and Pinecones - The basket is a thrift store find and there are millions of pinecones in the reserve behind my house. It's always nice to go hunting for them with my little puppy - $2.00
Large Wire Basket - Wedding gift - $0
Decor Total $87

Overall Total $1624.00