moving the couch, and then moving everything else!

This is what my living room looked like last it was seen around these parts. The layout has pretty much been the same since I first painted and moved in real furniture. However, it was starting to feel a little stagnant and honestly I'd never really been too keen on this version, but ever time I thought about rearranging I was stumped on how, due to the extra large size of the couch and the difficulties of having so many doorways to work around.

Then, when my mom was in town last weekend after we spent the weekend in Lake Tahoe visiting my brother, and I asked if she wanted to help me come up with a different arrangement, well we were shoving couches around pretty soon after that. 

The first thing she suggested was moving the couch area over to the window seat. It turns out that this was the key to making this odd and door-heavy space work, since everyone always gravitates towards sitting on the window seat (it's excellent for people watching) it was only right that the rest of the seating should be there as well. At first I was skeptical about the large couch being out in the room like that, but it ended up working out great. 

Sitting in the window seat you can see the front door, as well as the little dining 'nook' of sorts we created in the left corner, and then the record table was moved to the right, leaving the large mirror unblocked by the couch (again, surprisingly I like this a lot better than I thought I would) and the space in the middle is much more clear and open making walking through this room more comfortable while also providing some excellent dance space should it be needed (it is!)

The giant heart pinata (previously hanging above my bed) has been a nice backdrop behind the record player and that corner has seemed much lighter now that the dark wood corner bookcase has migrated elsewhere (more on that soon). Other furniture to be appropriated from elsewhere includes the gold spray painted trunk from my studio and the tall tree branch table which used to be a plant stand and is now serving as an excellent side table. At my last dinner party a few people remarked on the lack of places to put drinks while at the couch so I sought to remedy that in this new configuration.

I plan on doing some smaller color updates over the next few weeks, switching out pillows and such, though I am also thinking of re-painting the hanging lights and doing some artwork rearranging as well. But for now, and for a total of zero dollars, this update has been working great. It is wonderful when something as simple as moving around furniture can make such a difference. I've found myself sitting on the couch just to read through my mail or work on the first cup of tea for the morning because the light and the view is so wonderful. So a big thank you to my mom, who is always unafraid to move the couch!