Our Illinois Living Room

I've meant to share some pictures of our living room here at Scott Air Force Base (if I haven't explained before, we live in base housing that's not technically on the base) for a while now, but you know, with all the living happening in there, I just couldn't get myself motivated to take the time to straighten it up and photograph it!  I was finally motivated to do so yesterday, as I've got a potential buyer coming to see my sofa, so I knew I needed to document the space (for my own memory's sake!) before a major piece is eliminated.  Fingers crossed they like the sofa!

Two quick things I want to mention:

1.  As referenced above, of course I cleaned up this room before I took the pictures!  I share that lest anyone come away reading this wondering how I manage to keep my house so clean with two kids running around.  I have two kind ladies come clean my house every two weeks and it still looks messy most of the time.  Just ask my husband :)

2.  Yes, one of my curtain rods is totally wonky and hanging half way out of the wall causing my drapes to hang crooked.  Haven't you heard that's the latest trend in window treatments?  Not really--truth is, my kids like to play hide-n-seek in the drapes (I've since forbidden it) and pulled on that one a little too hard.  Seeing as how we've moving so very soon, the rod has remained in this chic placement for a good month or so.

Here are two pictures of how the room looked when we first got the keys. Also, my children have grown so much in a year, especially Holland!




And here's what it looks like now:

With the exception of the coffee table, all of the furniture is from before we actually moved to this house.  Most of what you see is the result of buying things I loved, so long as they met my budget constraints.  While the house itself lacks a plethora of character, I have to say I have loved the spaciousness of this room and the fact that it is bathed in natural light. It has been a good room to live in, and it's really hard for me to believe it'll all be packed up in a few week's time!

A Tale of a Craigslist Sale

While it's arguably the most fun to score a great piece on Craigslist for cheap, it's pretty darn thrilling to sell things too!  (I've written about my love of doing so before.)

This past September, I bought a dining table and set of six chairs from my friend Craig for $100 total, with the intention of doing some work on the chairs and using them with my current table (this one).

I planned to sell the table, even though I thought it was actually lovely itself.  (When I mentioned to my husband the possibility of storing the table in the garage long-term and "switching it out" with our current one when the mood struck me, he basically told me I was insane and no way were we going to be doing that.)  Sad face.  

As for the chairs, I was inspired by this photo while re-reading the Domino book.

 

  I love the look of pairing a wooden table with chairs that provide some contrast.

I felt pretty sure about what color I would paint the chairs (white), but wasn't quite sure what I wanted to use for reupholstering the seats.  Ultimately, I knew I needed something kid-friendly (read: wipeable), so I debated between laminating some fabric or going with a fabric that was already spill-proof.

When I found this orange faux-snakeskin at a local fabric shop for cheap, I felt the decision had been made.

I can't remember exactly what I paid, but it was well under $10/yard I'm quite certain.

What followed were many, many hours of prepping, painting, repairing and reupholstering the chairs, which though old, were actually quite sturdy.  (post to follow with details on this process)

I finished this one chair and was pretty pumped about it.

However, once I'd gotten three chairs done, I found that fitting them each on one side of our table (like we're used to doing) was a bit tight.  womp, womp.  (I think Decorating ADD probably started to set in too and I was probably already dreaming up a new scheme that I thought would work better.)

At this point, I was already half way in, and I'd probably spent about $100 on supplies, so there was no backing out.  I finished the rest of the chairs and got these babies ready for their photo shoot.  With nearly two months till our move (at the time), I figured I had enough time to try to be fairly patient and sell the set on Craigslist.

Turns out after a couple weeks of reposting my ads on Craigslist, I was able to sell the set for $450 to a very sweet girl who was very excited about her new furniture!  Granted, I spent some time and money on this project, but I continue to be encouraged by what a little elbow grease and spray paint can do :)  Rest assured my profit of $250 will go towards some new pieces we definitely "need" for California.  I hope perhaps this inspires someone reading to get creative if you happen to be looking for an unexpected way to make a little extra cash!

Happy Fourth!

Source: etsy.com via Jo on Pinterest

Source: traditionalhome.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: lemonstripes.com via Lemon Stripes on Pinterest

Source: simplifiedbee.com via Cristin Priest on Pinterest

Source: tuttibellablogs.com via Tuttibella on Pinterest

Follow the source links for free flag printables!

Source: liagriffith.com via lia griffith on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via cindy on Pinterest

Really wishing I had picked up the ingredients for this!! (click source link for recipe)

Source: simplyhappenstance.com via Nicole on Pinterest

I hope you all have a wonderful fourth of July!  I will tell you I am particularly thrilled to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy in our country when it means my husband is off work for the next two days :)  We are planning to spend time together as a family and enjoy food at not one, but two gatherings, at which I plan to make a festive trifle inspired by the one pictured above.  I'm hoping there will be some fireworks involved in our celebrations too. Oh, and that last picture of the killer beach house?  That was our neighbor's home at Bald Head Island two summers ago!  I've never been able to forget that beauty!


{Also!  I think most of you probably heard our news via facebook or Instagram, but I'd hate to leave anyone out.  Our family is growing!  Baby #3 (do you even know how crazy it feels to write baby #3?!) is due to arrive around December 23rd.  Not the time of year I would necessarily have planned to have a baby, but these things don't always work that way :)  As you might imagine, we are very excited and also rather afraid of how challenging this next year is going to be!  You know, moving across the country (we don't even have a house yet, btw), living in a really expensive area (read: how will I afford a babysitter to help me?!), and having a new baby!  Prayers appreciated!!}