Living Room

The Big Reveal

Posted by Lindsay on Dec 7, 2009 in Decorations, Dining Room, Exterior, Featured Articles, Furniture, Holidays, Living Room | 7 comments

Wow…have you missed me? If you’re reading this, I guess it means you might! I have been working my fanny off, but am able to spend a little more time blogging today, and I finally took all sorts of photos to share! So I have to say that I am LOVING our new set-up. I hope our pool table is enjoying his freezing cold new home in the garage, because I don’t think he can come back. Sorry, dude. Especially now that we have a giant new dining room table that has taken his place! A F-R-E-E table at that. It was just sitting in the barn out at the ranch (my in-law’s ranch). And I hope she loves her new home (yes, she’s a she!), because if so, the feeling is mutual! Plus with the whole house (inside and outside) decorated for Christmas I am finally able to relax in here and enjoy my home! Isn’t that the best?

I haven’t really posted any new updates on my living room in a long time (it was never my favorite room in the house), but we’ve inherited a lot of free furniture (my favorite kind!) and accessories that I get to borrow for now (more on that later) so it is much more pulled together, which makes me happy. Not my dream living room, but definitely one that makes me happy. So here is an old photo of the living room, from last February, which is the last time I took photos of it.

And here it is today, after the big switcheroo and Christmas decorating has been all done! So here are the photos, in their un-edited glory (wayyy too many for me to have enough patience to edit, plus I just want to get them to you!). Enjoy!

This end is where the pool table used to be (hallelujah!), and it is now the living room.

And this end is where the living room furniture used to sit, so it is now the dining room.  With a real table that will allow us to have more than 2 guests!

Now with the lights on…(Glenn wouldn’t get out of my shot, hehe).  He’s enjoying the new space, too.

Instant dining room!

But now my ‘original’ dining room, which I loved as it was but it was just a little cramped, is now a sad little nook again. Someday we plan to extend the kitchen out there for additional countertop and cabinet space, which will help so much with our tiny little kitchen.

Before…

Today…home to dog beds and high chair.

I can just see an ‘L’ shaped kitchen extension going in there. Okay, back to the living room…husband included.

And the funny thing is, rearranging really breathes new life into furniture for me.  I had stuffed my black cheapie coffee table into a corner in the old arrangement (because I didn’t like it) but now it fits here and I like it again.  And I was also not too happy with my curtains in the other arrangement, but now I like them again!  Before it was because they were stuck behind the sofa and behind a cedar chest on the other window, but now they have space to hang and be shown and just be how they’re meant to be!  Not hidden.  I like it.

Boy Scout wreath…complete with our little hanging puppet, and bow that is falling apart, hung on a Wal-Mart wreath hanger. It smells very good, though.

Dog’s stockings…hung on the metal sun, which I think is going to be moved to the backyard come spring.  I have big plans for that ‘new’ dining room wall!

And our stockings (a la Pottery Barn)…hung on the baby hearth gate.

Did I mention that I love my new table and benches? I do. They just need a little TLC after being out in the barn for a few months.

My house is full of borrowed accessories right now (via my sister-in-law). Her stuff is in storage until they find a new house (they’re staying out at ‘the ranch’ for now), so I get to babysit. And I’m really going to miss them when they’re gone, and by ‘them’ I mean the faux orchids, not my sister-in-law (they’re not going anywhere!).

We’ve even decorated the outside (and have gotten a couple of honks of approval – we live on the highway and are the only house that’s all lit up!). Now, I want to say that we’ve never been on of ‘those people’ with blow-up Christmas characters, but at $20 a piece at Wal-Mart last weekend, we just couldn’t resist. Because Harper would love them, of course.

Maybe tonight I’ll take a night shot for the blog.

And even though it is still technically fall, winter has arrived in Likely.  I can’t wait to let Harper go play in it, but she has to get over her cold first!  She’s excited!

So I’m dying to know…should we bring the pool table back or is the new living room better?  Do tell!  And what do you think of our Christmas decor?  I always miss it when it’s gone! xo, L.

The Big Rearrange

Posted by Lindsay C on Nov 24, 2009 in Featured Articles, Furniture, Living Room | 1 comment

Glenn and I recently started discussing what to do for our holiday decorating, and finally came to the conclusion that our living and dining rooms are just too packed to fit a tree anywhere! Our living room is actually a very big room, it’s just a little awkward to work with because there are 2 8-foot windows in it, the wood stove in the corner, and a hallway at the other end. So unfortunately it’s the type of living room that you have to place the furniture around the walls in, and the rest have to float out in never never land.

It’s a long and skinny room, and we’ve always had the living room furniture arranged down at one end (by the wood stove) like this:

And last year in our first Christmas in the house we put the Christmas tree in the corner (on the right side of the photo), and we knew that we wanted to do something different this year, but in order to do that we knew we needed to do some rearranging. First up – the giant elephant in the room needed to go. And by that I mean – the pool table. We rarely use it. And when we do, it’s only right after we talk about getting it out of here. Or when we first come through the door to stack our stuff on. We thought that this holiday decorating season would be a good excuse to test out the waters and see how much we’d miss it if it was gone.

And so out of nowhere, we got up and did this on Sunday!

Rearranging the Living Room from Facebook User on Vimeo.

In order to move the TV, we had to move the cable, so at the end of the video above, Glenn and I are getting bundled up to go crawl under the house to re-run the cable. And yes, I did crawl under the house! Which is good because two heads and pairs of hands are better than one under there as our central heating system runs down the middle of the house and of course we had to run the cable from one side of it to the other, and this way we could just pass the cables to each other. Awesome. Along with the piles of bones that are under there – yuck. Cat bones, I think.

And this is pretty much how the house looks today! It’s so weird to us…it feels like a different house completely!! It’s also pretty bare now, but after we get the Christmas tree in, and inherit Glenn’s great-grandmother’s kitchen table, it will fill in a lot nicer. And I’m looking into some art options for the bare wall next to the wood stove, and how to rearrange what is over the couch now. I would show you some ‘after’ photos, but after updating my iPod (I haven’t done it forever!) for the road trip we’re taking today my hard drive is full so I can’t download the photos yet, ha! I’ll make some room.

With all of that moving, my sciatic nerve still hasn’t recovered. A lovely after-effect of having a baby…maybe I should finally make that chiropractor appointment!

We are off to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving! What are you guys up to? xo, L.

Safety First…

Posted by Lindsay on Oct 19, 2009 in Baby Stuff, Featured Articles, Likely Solutions, Living Room | 0 comments

…and unfortunately, style comes second in this case.  Last week we ordered a hearth gate to surround our wood stove because our little Harper LOVES to climb on the hearth, and she is fascinated by the ceramic medallion on the wood stove.  It’s been alright during the warmer months, but now that we’re burning fires we knew we had to protect her.  It isn’t the prettiest thing (I actually really like the look of our stove and hearth), but it is necessary, and we knew it would just be a matter of time before she fell on the hearth or before she snuck past us and got burned.  Not something that a parent wants to think about!

Adjusting the gate angles.

What we purchased is a KidCo Fireplace Hearth Gate, and I bought it on eBay. I love a good eBay deal!  It is nice because it is made to fit around a standard 2′ x 6′ rectangular hearth with 5 – 2-foot sections and a gate in the middle, but if you need extensions you can find them in many different sizes.  The standard 10′ gate set made a nice semi-circle around our corner hearth, and Glenn got it assembled in about half an hour…with me looking on as supervisor, of course!

Still adjusting…

The 2′ gate sections are adjustable to any angle, and it comes with all of the required hardware to attach it to the walls, and secure it to the floor if needed so that it can’t be moved. The gate is very easy to open, if you’re not a baby of course.

Attached, but testing out the gate!

We simply popped the caps off of the end bars, slid on the mounting plates and then screwed them to the wall. There were 4 plates (2 for each end bar). Then you just pop the caps back on, and there are also screws included to attach the gate to the floor.

We had to play with the angles a little to get the gate centered in front of the wood stove, and I was worried that we’d need some extensions when I bought it, but after a little manipulation we got it to work.

And as you can see it’s already doing it’s job!

Let me in!

The gate itself is far enough away, which is made of steel and in a heat resistant finish, so that it won’t heat up hot enough to burn when touched. You can also use these for pets, or to guard a barbecue outdoors. Read more information on the KidCo website here.

Mommy doesn’t have to worry anymore!

Nice Halloween decorations in the background, right?   I’m sure Harper will find them scary next Halloween, but for now she thinks they’re funny and gives them kisses!

We’re famous! And we have new stovepipe.

Posted by Lindsay on Oct 5, 2009 in Featured Articles, Living Room, videos | 1 comment

You might have seen this video before, but after I shared it with the folks over at Way Basics they asked for permission to use it for marketing purposes.  And I said ‘sure!’  Just like that.    Anyway, one of the Way Basics guys contacted me through Facebook and sent me a link to a recent article on the Orange County Register’s website featuring a few WB videos…but guess which one is his favorite??  The one with the cute baby scurrying around while mama puts together a new bookshelf, of course!!

Very exciting stuff, right? My dad thinks I should be compensated…which I’m not, but that’s alright. It’s fun seeing the video, even though it’s just me in my workout clothes and Harper in a diaper (a cloth one at that – it was hot!!).

Well, I made a new video this weekend, just for fun – I should have started it way before I did so you could see the entire process but it took me awhile to remember how to work the time-lapse program like I wanted. Hopefully I won’t forget again. But this is just of Glenn putting the finishing touches on the new stovepipe he installed for our wood-stove. And I’m looking on as supervisor – that’s a wife’s job, right?? The old stuff was rusty and dirty, so after 2 trips to the hardware store and 2 trips to Glenn’s work to use the correct cutting tools (the straight part had to be shortened), we have new stovepipe. Which is great because it snowed here this weekend and it was COLD!! The wood-stove is our main source of heat here and our stove works GREAT! Plus it’s kinda cute with its scalloped trim and ceramic medallion. We also use small space heaters around the house if needed. I hope you enjoy a typical weekend in the Christensen household!  Don’t you love a man who vacuums?  Too bad he’s taken, ladies!!

Update: Coming up soon, our new windows will be here on Wednesday, so I’m excited to see how that goes (brick house + removing old windows = bound to be some issues!!). Our handyman is going to frame out the new windows with trim, so it should look really nice when it’s done! Plus my Stampin’ Up party order should be in tomorrow and I’m so excited to starting stamping and making some cards!! Fun!! Happy Monday!!

{DIY} Installing laminate flooring

Posted by Lindsay on Sep 2, 2009 in DIY, Environmental, Living Room | 2 comments

Laminate flooring is a wondrous thing. It comes in hundreds of styles and colors, looks great (if you pick the right product and install it correctly), can take a beating, is an eco-friendly product to use (little to no waste in manufacturing and glueless nature), and can be very inexpensive to use throughout the home. When we moved into our house last July, we knew we had to immediately rip out the old carpets and I knew I wanted hard flooring throughout. New carpeting glues, and in most cases, the carpet itself can off-gas nasty VOC’s, plus you can never really get it clean! The dirt, hair, dust, etc., etc., gets smushed down permanently into the carpet, and as a pregnant lady I didn’t want my new baby crawling around in that. I was all about the healthiest environment possible for me and my future child, as well as an easy-on-the-budget option, so we chose laminate for our new home. Plus Glenn had installed it a few times in other houses, and we knew we could save money by Glenn installing it himself.

Lucky for us, our 45 year old brick house was PERFECTLY square and solidly built. We have a rather large living room, and from one end to the other, the laminate was laying perfectly square — unlike the other houses that Glenn has installed laminate in. It just makes the job a million times easier, so that was a huge gift.  In some houses, by the time you get to the other end of the room, you’re cutting your end pieces at an angle and that is no good!

The brand that we purchased was Alloc (the color is Cognac Merbau) — both the flooring and the underlayment (foam barrier between sub-floor and floating laminate) — and it was a simple locking mechanism installation that is glue-free!  You lay down the underlayment, then the flooring and you’re done!

Here are the recommended tools that we used:

• Right angle/t-square, or some other tool to mark perpendicular lines
• Pencil – for marking your lines and cuts
• Chop Saw – for cleanly cutting your planks
• Jig Saw (optional) – for cutting angles or curves, etc.
• Small rubber mallet – for locking the planks together
• Razor blade – for cutting extra underlayment off
• And… — that’s it!

Laying the underlayment was simple — lay the roll down with a 1/2 inch coming up the wall (you’ll trim it later with the razor blade).  It has an adhesive strip on the long side that you peel off and stick to the top of the next layer.  This simply floats on top of the floor — no gluing or taping necessary.  Easy peasy – that was the pregnant lady’s job.  I had to feel helpful!!

Now to lay the actual flooring, you simply start at the left side of the room, right on top of the floating underlayment, and the left side depending on which way you want your grain to run (you always go left to right, that’s where the locking mechanisms are) — lock the short ends together and when you get to the end of the row, you flip the last plank right-side down to measure where to cut.  Lay the end that you will be keeping in this row against the wall (flooring side up towards you), lay your right angle on it where the second to last plank ends and mark your cut.  We used a chop saw to cut the pieces in one clean stroke, then you have your short piece for the right end and your starting piece for the next row!  Repeat, repeat, repeat.  The rubber mallet can be handy to help lock long rows in place — and an extra pair of hands is always helpful when you’re tackling a project on your own. Just be careful when knocking with the mallet – you don’t want to damage the locking mechanism of the planks.

Angles and curves can be a little tricky, but we found after a few runs, we could figure out the right cut — so it’s a good thing that the single boxes are inexpensive (about $25/box – covers ~22 square feet), and you should always buy a little extra (a good rule of thumb is 10%) to account for waste and mistakes.

I love the rich look of our dark flooring – I think it looks a lot more expensive than it actually was! – and it is holding up great after the first year. Always check the warranties (laminate has a shorter warranty than hardwood most of the time), but I can almost guarantee you will be very happy with your faux-bois floor. My steam cleaner cleans it up great, and I even have those ding-repair brown markers to fill it any injuries! Unfortunately, it does show dirty dog prints, but I think any flooring you have (light vs. dark) will show SOMETHING! It’s just motivation to keep those floors clean!

{Likely Favorites} 10 Interior Decor Items You Can't Live Without!

Posted by Lindsay on Apr 1, 2009 in Creativity, Living Room | 3 comments

Seriously – follow the links and buy these items NOW!  I have a sixth, or maybe even a seventh sense about forecasting interior trends — you won’t be sorry!

1. Bathtub chair – who wouldn’t love a nice soak in a bathtub (chair) after a long, hard day?  And you don’t even have to lay down.

2.  Side-sleeping bed.  Supposedly the MOST comfortable bed you’ll ever sleep on.  Just don’t roll.

3. Appliances for the multi-tasker.  I would say this is multi-tasking at it’s best.  Don’t you agree?

4.  Cow-print Coffin Couch.  Enough said.  I’m saving up for this one!

5. Chopper sink.  Ladies, take one for the team and get one of these to appease the man in your life.

6.  Zero-gravity Recliner.  We can’t all go to the moon, but at least we can fall sleep in front of the TV like we did!

7. Recycled silverware coffee table.  It’s all about going green this year.

8. Porcupine Pendant Lamp.  Looks dangerous but would be SSSOOOOOO worth it!

9. Fake blood pillow.  Because nothing says “Good morning!” like the thought that you might have killed your significant other in your sleep.

10. Bookcase with limbs.  A warning to your children — what they will be used for if they don’t behave!

APRIL FOOL’S DAY EVERYONE!!!!!!!!

I just couldn’t help myself.  You really didn’t believe that those are things I would like, did you?  I would hope not!!  And thank you to Julia at Hooked on Houses and the Moggit Girls -Joy and Janet- for their inspiration on this post!  It was pretty fun!!

(all images are -unfortunately- linked to their sources.  sorry!)