31 Day Challenge: Living Room

Here's where I utterly failed. I didn't even start this one until the day after it was assigned. I was sort of busy catching up on other things and going to IKEA and then Target and the day just disappeared. Weekends were supposed to be for "catching up" but I think they will turn out to be the opposite.

So step 4 was working on the "Living Room". Which got me a bit stuck because technically we have two, and the basement one is not something I can really do much about, at least not without substantial input from my husband.

The main floor one, well, it's become a play room/lounging area/receptacle for stuff I don't know where to put yet (seeing a pattern? Once things were banished from the entryway...they didn't go far.) We also didn't have much going on in terms of decor, aside from the new-to-us china hutch.

The shape of the room doesn't lend itself well to conversational seating arrangements, as the best places to put the couches are directly opposite each other. I could put them at a 90 degree angle, but that would block the heating vents, which are below the windows. Most of what I actually do in this room is take a break, sit down, and look at my phone. On the other hand, (epiphany?) it is the room that most lends itself to entertaining, which is something I want to do more of.

Before: From the upper staircase

Before: From the entryway stairs

Before: From the dining room

After: From the upper staircase

After: From the entryway stairs

After: From the dining room

So. The first thing I did was banish Sam's easel to his bedroom, and move all the stray bins and bags out of the room. I recently inherited the large basket, which I had been using to store some of my reusable shopping bags before they went back into my car. I decided that it would be better used to collect stray toys, since I really should just put the empty bags back in the car right away. 

Then I put away my aging netbook, but left the laptop speakers out, to be used with an old CD boombox I'd been using in the dining room. I'd like to put in a stereo sooner than later, but this will do for playing Sam's Music Together CD, or whatever I want to listen to while doing chores. 

Then I played musical lamps, bringing down a table lamp from the bedroom and bringing up a torch lamp from the basement. This is a room that has always begged for more lighting, since it doesn't have much overhead lighting to speak of. Now it has a total of four lamps, plus the chandelier over the entryway. 

I removed the faded window dressings, to be replaced by a valance in the near future. I also plan to replace the hopscotch rug with something a little less "playroom" styled. (I also plan to decorate the inside of the hutch seasonally, but we'll hold off on that for a minute.)

So, three purchases from now, I ought to be completely happy with this room. But it's decluttered and good enough for the moment, which is good enough for me. Onward! #LWSLClutterFree