Facing Reality: The Continuing Saga
I was all set to start on the next big project, decorating the big back room, since the painting in the front of the house is done, the drapes are up, we have our new windows, and fireplace, new rugs and dining table and chairs, and the ladders have almost returned to the garage...but then...
But then I stopped for a minute and thought about how we are living vs. how I imagined we would live.
Here's the fantasy:
We designed our living /dining room to be a place where we could eat and listen to music, read, sit by the fire and just have conversation.
Here's the reality: We eat breakfast and lunch together but rarely eat dinner, just popcorn. We each have tvs and laptops in our rooms so we mostly live there. I watch my shows at night ( girly shows like The Closer, House and Grey's Anatomy) and he watches his ( Modern Marvels, sports etc). We get together to watch dvds, but even that is dwindling now that good shows are back on tv.
So what are we going to do with ANOTHER living room in the back of the house?
At first we talked about a really nice entertainment room. And then we admitted we would only use it a couple of times a week to watch a dvd. Thousands of dollars to furnish a room that would duplicate what we already have working for us now. And it really has nothing to do with the money, since we budgeted for that. But that we would have another space, just for two people who are already spending time doing what we want in our own spaces. We don't want an exercise room, or a party room, or a game room. We wouldn't use them. We know us. About the only thing that started to make sense was a workroom. Kind of a shop or studio or something...not unlike a garage...which WE ALREADY HAVE. It started getting ridiculous.
And soon the weather will be nice again, nice enough to live outdoors as we know we will.
Still we spent several hours shopping online this morning and found these great sofas.
These are all the same couch, just different colored leathers. ( I said I didn't want a leather couch...but that red got me)
These are so wild! But we aren't getting any. I cannot buy a couch that I haven't sat upon. And we don't need another couch...but it was fun looking together
on our couch in the living room in front of the fire in our pajamas. It'll all sort itself out.
same here. We have four bedrooms, one for each of us, one for his office, one for my craft room. This leaves us with a kitchen/eating area which we rarely eat in and a living room which we use to read the paper in the morning, and the family room downstairs. The family room is also the TV room and I'm rapidly taking over a portion of it for a sewing area. So we do use two rooms but only because we don't have a TV in the bedrooms and we watch many of the same shows together.
ReplyDeleteI can also tell you if you don't already know that leather is very cold in the winter. We have two leather lounge chairs and it takes a while in the evening to warm them up. If we ever replace them I would definitely get fabric.
Susan in Spokane
Does the room get any sun at all? If I had an extra room I would have a library/sun room filled with plants (hopefully I wouldn't kill them) and books (which I would read). I do read elsewhere in the house but I love the idea of a room that I could go into exclusively for reading. Just a thought-I envy your space if not your dilemna.
ReplyDeleteLibby:), Constricted and Cramped Quarters, California.
PS-Those orange drapes just knock me out!
Hmmm... a bench:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.knoll.com/products/product.jsp?prod_id=144
Gallery track lighting and lots and lots and lots of art quilts!
How lovely it must be to have too much space. Reading you from NYC, where learning that someone has an extra room feels like learning that the tooth fairy really does exit.
ReplyDeleteI agree you can NEVER buy a chair/couch that you haven't sat it, but there is more to it than just that - sometimes you think something's comfortable when you plop yourself down in it in the shop, but it really isn't - you're just kidding yourself . . . I found that as arthritis set in I needed to measure carefully (1) the height from the floor to the seat (2) the depth of the seat (too deep and I can't climb out easily enough) (3) the height of the arms (too low and I can't rest my elbows comfortably on them). By taking those measurements to the store I was able to figure out which was worth persuing - and which would have me feeling like a stranded whale!
ReplyDeleteActually I found a manufacturer who was willing to adjust the height of the seat at no extra cost! Whoopee
Most importantly you've got the luxury of time to have the re-think, whatever solution you come up! Well done you for taking advantage of it!
ReplyDeleteBoy... if I had that nice big room you can be sure my studio would move there in a hot minute! I am grateful I have one of the bedrooms to work in, but would LOOOOVE to have more space! Or... or! You could use it to teach your dye classes for the local quilters' group...?
ReplyDeleteOur living room furniture is by Cassina but I secretly dream of one of those huge 'wraparound' couch by IKEA. I have even suggested selling our designer furniture in favour of a couch that goes up the wall and across and we could all hang out on it and be lazy.
ReplyDeleteYou could always rent that room out! LOL........
make it into a lovely spare bedroom and then you could make a quilt to go with the bed. Apropros quilt..........