Finally, Color!

When we moved in the house years ago, the thought of painting the entire thing exhausted me before I even packed one box.  I admit, I got lazy and did the unimaginable for me--I paid someone else to come in and paint every square inch...walls, baseboards, doors, closets.  I wanted it fresh and neutral because I wasn't sure how I was planning to design my home.  As you can tell, I didn't do anything real exciting for color with my furniture either.  Hence, the pictures below: drab, boring, and total snoozers.  

I did reupholster those floral dining room chairs though...those bad boys were my first reupholster job and took me an entire summer. Alas, the dining room is my next project. Now, I'm normally not one to paint my walls a dark color, but I really wanted some contrast and pop.  And for whatever reason, my iPhone picture quality stinks and everything is super grainy, buy you get the idea of the 'after':

I wanted a tufted couch, and I knew I wanted another brown (don't ask me why) but one with a gold/copper tint to contrast with a royal color.  The problem with most tufted couches, other than the cost, is the low back, I had yet to find an actual comfortable one, and the feeling that you're a giant sitting on dollhouse furniture. Your head ends up resting against a wall, your butt nearly goes to the edge and looks and feels like the most uncomfortable thing.  I had been looking for the perfect set for over a year and had almost given up.  Then, one day, I walked into Pruitts into their last showcase floor room.  Rays of light shone and I swear I heard a choir singing.  Almost as if in my head, I found exactly what I'd been imagining.  The only drawback are these things are HUGE. (Said in my Donald Trump voice).  Jason looks like he climbed the beanstalk and appears to be an 8 year old while sitting in them.  

I went with smaller modern style tables from Ross and geometric pieces from Hobby Lobby; had I gone with anything bigger no one would be able to walk in the room.  I had decided to go with a royal blue due to the copper and golds.  At first I was looking at big area rugs, but once those couches were in the room, it felt like everything needed to be smaller.  Again, the picture doesn't do it justice, but this is a glittered shag I bought from the At Home store.  Background story:  The only one left was one they just opened to display- which the manager was using to set up a Christmas display.  I told her I wanted it and that I hoped it wouldn't be too much of a problem.  Her response:  "Yes, it's a problem."  Me: "Sooo, this means I can't purchase it?"  Her:  "Well, yes, you can purchase it, but it's still a problem and hassle for me."  Who does that?!  I'm not sure if I ruined her grand plan for the display of the year award, but if someone is willing to pump money into your store, you just deal with it.  I only mention this because this has been a frequent occurrence for me here.  Great, low prices, but you pay in having crappy customer service.

Also got the gold sun mirror at At Home, but am still debating putting a piece of art there or possibly trying to find a bigger mirror.  Notice my Valentine holiday tree in the background?? :)

My mom and I love going to antique stores.  The quality is sound and we find some really amazing pieces.  One of which was these pair of seriously outdated wall sconces.  I loved how big they were (to compete with the King Kong couches), and the fact that I don't have any wall sconces instantly made me covet them.  Problem, since it was an antique mall, the Brass Armadillo, hence no refunds.  I had to make sure I could do something with these hideous retros before I spent Jason's hard earned cash.  I went back 3 times within a couple months stalking them.  I took Jason to get his opinion and the look on his face made me second guess myself, or possibly be more determined.  The copper night lights and brass fixtures were perfect, but those shades and wood handles were the issue.

I refinished the wood and painted them gold, and got these fabulous lamp shades at Lamps Plus.

I'm still on the hunt for some bigger sized pillows to go with the blue and gold pillows and will remove the animal print ones...so if you have any ideas, let me know!