Mom's Living Room, The Basics.

In early July, my Mom ripped out the twenty year old carpet in her living room and began the slow, laborious process of finishing her original 60 year old hard wood floor.

We developed a floor plan, started collecting inspirational images and began a major declutter of her house and garage.

Finally, as of yesterday, her living room is functional once again.

To help orient you, here is the floor plan we came up with, using her current furniture:

The window wall is to the left behind the sofa, the brown wall is at the top of the page, and the study is to the right and the TV wall is at the bottom of the plan.

When I arrived yesterday, this is what we had in the room:

Here is the gigantic 42" TV, which truth be told, really started the whole process. Currently, it is sitting on a cupboard and two cube units we gathered from a couple of different places in the house. I am hoping we can switch this out for a chest of drawers or something like this (though I seriously doubt we have room for it):

from The Lettered Cottage

Moving along:

This is the "fireplace." It is actually an electric heater, cleverly "disguised" as a fireplace. Obviously, nothing is styled or decorated, yet. The room to the right is the study. We're taking out that carpet and doing the floor in the Spring.

These chairs are the perfect size for the room. Unfortunately, they are both in poor shape. That lamp in the middle will be getting a new shade, obviously. Oh, and that carpet? Mom purchased it from Value Village while I was on vacation. I have vetoed it but she didn't return it in time to get her money back, so it's staying until we can afford something I approve of.

And here is the window wall (with the entry to the left). I took down the old curtain rod and purchased, painted and installed the new one about a week ago.

Here's what the old one looked like--clearly not wide enough for the window! When I first installed it about 15 years ago, I hadn't yet learned about the stack back and the importance of clearing the window frame. (These curtains are intentionally short, by the way. We needed something on that window while Mom was working on the floor.)

I bought new 1 1/2" hemlock dowelling, 12 feet long.  I installed the new rod at the same height as the old one--but it was still quite tricky to get it right--(especially with a stucco ceiling). I can appreciate why there are professionals who do this job.

Mom got the great retro curtains from Value Village.

After work, my husband and son moved in the couch. Then, my husband and nephew promptly plopped down on it to watch a movie.

And so, the first, basic layer of the room is done. Another angle: (sorry for the blur and the water bottle on the mantel!)

We still have to discuss and decide on the colour scheme, the rug, and slipcovers. Then, there's the art work and pillows and accessories: the fun stuff!

Stay tuned.