Style Refresh

Our family has wanted to significantly add onto our home for a lot of years. We’ve done three “small” additions, but we still really want one or two larger additions to make our home fit our family better. But the addition plans keep getting kicked further down the road. One of the biggest obstacles is finding a reputable builder who would work in our area.

I’ve also wanted to refresh our home and update the style for a lot of years. But it didn’t make sense to make any big changes when additions would change how we use certain rooms. Decorating a space for the way we use it now seemed like a waste when we’d use it differently after our home additions.

But I was recently convicted to make our current spaces a beautiful as I can. There’s a good chance we may not ever add on to the house, or that it will be a lot more years until we do. So why shouldn’t we enjoy our spaces as much as possible now?

I started in our living room. I made the old curtains when I was expecting my youngest son 11 years ago. They served us well, but I was ready for something new. I was actually looking at buying fabric to make new curtains, but then I found already made curtains for less than it would have cost me to buy the fabric. I realized that I’ve been saving a lot of blue and white photos as inspiration so I decided to go with that color for the curtains. And I’ve always loved the classic look of toile.

Our old curtain rods were too thin, and the hardware was constantly bending, so I wanted to upgrade them as well. I found these and these on Amazon and I love the touch of gold. Because we have a tight space between the window frame and the built in bookcase next to the window on the right, these were perfect.

I also found a slipcover for our futon sofa. The sofa was our older son’s, but he didn’t want it in his bedroom any more. Some friends gave him the futon, they had received it from friends, who (I think) also received it from friends. The futon mattress is new, but the frame is still going strong. There’s a missing screw that keeps it from locking into place on one side, but we’re going to try to fix it. The futon style isn’t my ideal choice, but it’s so nice to have a pull out when our far away children come home to visit. I was going to sew a futon cover, but again, I found one already made and my time to sew (other than for work) is limited this month.

I added a gifted quilt to the back to lighten up the dark green futon cover and I think it works. I have plans to make new pillows too (hopefully before Christmas).

I love the style shift in the living room. I have some painting plans as well, but it will have to wait until the new year. I’ve made a few other small changes to our home as well. None of them cost very much, but it makes me love my home even more.