Hey, friends. I finally got around to snapping some pictures of the house projects that I have been working on. Settle in with a snack, this is a long one. Over the past the past few weeks I have managed to score some awesome pieces that enabled me to update a little. Before I go into to details, I HAVE to start by telling you how amazing the Lord is. It just wouldn't be right of me to show you this without giving you the backstory. It is ONLY because of him that I was able to give this room attention. He laid gifts at my feet this month and answered my prayers. He truly does give us the desires of our heart, when we delight in him. (Psalm 37:4) I am so sure that he DELIGHTS in doing it too.
I know, to some of you, this may sound so silly. But, I have been feeling super discouraged about my living room recently. I just felt like it wasn't "cozy" or "welcoming" enough. It is important to me that when I have a guest, they feel welcome. I mean after all, it is the very first room you walk into in my house. I want it to be warm and inviting, and it just didn't feel that way to me.
I want my house to be like my Mother-in-laws house, and I don't exactly mean her style (although I do love her style). When you enter her house, you just get overwhelmed (in a good way) with the presence of comfort and goodness. It feels like a safe space. It feels like home. If you have ever been there, then you will know EXACTLY what I am talking about. In fact it was one of the first things that I loved about Jereme. When I was with him, usually at his home, It felt like there was no where better on earth to be. I was like, "I don't know what you guys have here, but I want some of it." I didn't know now what "IT" was at the time, but it had absolutely nothing to do with decor. It is the presence of God. It was a family living, eating, sleeping, breathing God. And you could almost tangibly feel it.
So yea, I wanted my house to feel like that too. I wanted a safe space too. So I prayed specifically for the Lord to help me make my house feel Home-ier and one worthy of hospitality should I need it to be. I wanted to build up my house and I needed help. I didn't mind doing the work. I just need the means. Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. (Proverbs 14:1) And "my daddy didn't raise no fool!" Ha. No, but really, it was so heavy on my heart and I know that God heard me. How do I know? You may ask. Well, I gave my entire living room a face lift and only spent 50$, that is how. and just to re-iterate that, here are the updates: a new dresser, sofa, divider, side table, throw pillow, lamp, curtains, vase, and a great big huge mirror. Now I don't know about you, but I don't know of ANYONE who could get all of that in fifty dollars.
It was totally God. He placed everything in my path at exactly the perfect moment for me to find. He Orchestrated every blessing. That is also why I don't worry about it not being good enough to show. If anyone has a problem with my living room decor, you are more than welcome to take it up with the Good Lord. He gave me everything here. I just arranged it. So now let me tell you how this all went down.
Starting with my favorite new update: the sofa. You are not going to believe this. I got it for free. It was a craigslist find and I couldn't believe my eyes. Now I know what you must be thinking based on the photo. That looks disgusting. I am pretty sure that is what everyone thought, hence the reason it was on the site for nineteen days. But I was able to see passed the unwashed slipcover and disheveled and un-fluffed cushions. I saw a Pottery Barn (or Ikea) sofa. I knew exactly what I was looking at. Best case scenario, it needed its slipcover washed. Worst case scenario, it needed a new slip-cover and replacement cushions: still cheaper than buying a new sofa. That seemed like a score to me.
It was closer to best case. The couch turned out to be a ROWE furniture Nantucket Sofa. Just as great in quality. It is identical to the Pottery Barn sofa but about two inches bigger in all directions than the PB. (The PB sofa is also much bigger than the Ikea in case you were curious.) There was a busted seam (from putting the cover on wrong) and one rip in a cushion cover. I fixed the seam and left the cushion turned rip-side down. I removed all of the slip-covers to reveal torn down filled- feather jackets. I will probablly order new in the future but for now I just left them off. I soaked the slip-covers over night in Oxy clean White Revive and used Resolve for the bigger stains. It got them looking brand new. Viola. A new couch. Money spent: Oxy Clean 11$ I already had the Resolve. Also, while the covers were soaking, it was also cleaning the stains out of my old farmhouse sink. I killed two birds with one stone. FYI, if you have animals... or children, a slip-covered couch is imperative.
I got the curtains from one of our booth locations that recently closed down. They are Pottery Barn Curtains that my Mother-in-law and I found at Savers for two dollars a panel a few months ago. They matched my others ones in color perfectly. After our booth closed, they were no longer needed, so I just brought them home. I used branches as rods to match my others as well. I think I have already told the story about how I got started using branches as curtain rods in a previous post if you are interested.
Let's move to with the most visibly noticeable update, the entire right side of the room. You may notice several new added items: a new divider, a dresser, a lamp, and a mirror.
I found the divider on the side of the road a few houses away from me. It amazes me what people get rid of. Jereme and I made the mirror out of scrap materials from Signs of Hope, and my sweet mother-in-law, Hope gave me the mirror to use for it. I found the copper Edison bulb lamp at Home Goods for only nineteen dollars. I was smitten the moment I laid eyes on it.
I got the dresser from a trade also with Hope and my sister-in-law Briana. I had recently found a chest of drawers, you guessed it, on the side of the road. It wasn't exactly what I needed, but it was exactly what Hope needed. Hope had a dresser that Briana wanted, and Briana had a dress that I wanted. So we all just played musical furniture.
The piece I found had a few broken knobs and needed cleaned up a bit. I sanded and waxed the drawers so that they would open easier. Hope used Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint to give it a super chippy look and she replaced the knobs. Viola again. Everyone gets a piece of furniture. Here a before and afters of Hope's piece.
Now, for my dresser, I already had the left over paint and wax. I painted it to match the buffet under my t.v. I think I got pretty close considering that the two are made of completely different types of wood. The Grey is "Coaled Mine" by Behr. It is my favorite neutral gray. I even had a spare knob from an older project to replace a missing one. Money Spent: 19$ on Copper accent lamp.
These mirrors are so easy to make that it should be a crime. If you watch on craigslist (or like me) on the side of the road) they are very easy to find for little or no money. Frameless mirrors are out of style at the moment. It is easy to find re-modelers throwing them out from old bathrooms, and with just a little work you can easily turn them into a statement. You should check out the mirror Hope made on her Instagram. It is beautiful.
The last two things I wanted to talk about were this other side table and this jute fringe pillow. I got the table at a little flea market in Beebe, Arkansas. That town is a flea market heaven. The best part is that the table was only ten dollars. I found this pillow also a Home Goods. There wasn't a price tag, so the worker decided to give it to me for twelve dollars. I got home and looked it up, and it is a forty-nine dollar pillow. I couldn't believe it. Money Spent: 22$ for table and pillow.
My divider box on the bottom shelf is from Allison at The Clever Goose. The vase was given to me by Hope, and my cake server was a gift from my step-mother April. The candle was a gift from my Mimi, and the peacock was a gift from Jereme. I think it is safe to say that I have the best family!
And THIS... is just for your viewing pleasure. This is the face I got from J for taking pictures while we were both super sick. He called me a busy body. Rude... Apparently he didn't appreciate being booted from his couch so that I could shoot the room. Ha.
Isn't the Lord just amazing? I want to thank you so much for stopping by. I know that was a long one. If you have any questions, or if I didn't cover something you wanted to know, feel free to ask me below in the comments. I would love to chat decor with you. Until next time,
Love always,
Sarah Kate
“The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.”