Hei everyone! I'm sorry I've been awfully quiet on here lately. I promise to do something about it, starting right now with telling you some exciting news!
I don't know if you remember the project I enthusiastically undertook a couple of months back? The one called "Project Makeover"? Yeees, now it's coming back to you. ;) Anyways - if you don't remember the details of the project, I'll recap for you:
I decided to completely change the interior design style of my living-room. And I decided that I wasn't gonna spend any money doing it, other than money I could raise by selling off my existing furniture and nicknacks. And VERY importantly: When acquiring something for the new design - it all had to be second hand or gifts!!
I've written a few blogs about the project as it has progressed, and I'm now happy to report that I DID IT!!! Wooop WOpppp! My living-room is now completely transformed, adhering strictly to the rules of the project. I'm very happy about the result, and feel very much at home in my new living space <3
So here are a few pictures of what it USED TO look like before the makeover:
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| The sofa-corner. Grey, brown and cold metallic colours are softened up by the use of materials like the white sheep-skin. Note the small table under the crystal-lamp. It houses the DVD-player, router, cable-tv-tuner +++. |
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| The DVD/CD-cabinet and our beloved baby-piano. It is a kid's toy, but a cool one, so it has its place under the baroque -inspired mirror. Metallic candlesticks complete the look. |
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| The dining area is dominated by modern, white furniture that contrasts the baroque-inspired decor around the rest of the room. Behind the dining-room furniture, there's a long surface (originally a nightstand on wheels - intended to roll up and down across the bed for those yummy breakfasts in bed that I never have...) and under it, three smaller nightstands on wheels where black boxes hide all sorts of clutter ;). The pictures on the wall are made by me, depicting my favourite band. |
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| Taken from the comfy sofa, this picture effectively shows the size of the living-room, by tying toghether the dining-room section with the sofa-section. Also, the white curtains with the black trees are deliberate - again contrasting the metal and baroque, and bringing a bit of nature into the flat. |
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| The guitar-corner! My beloved Ginger Dove, Gabriels smaller guitar (and a dented little drum) form a decorative corner in the living-room. |
As you can see, the old style I had was very feminine and metallic with it's base in the colours white, black, grey, brown, gold and silver. After the makeover, you will notice that some things are still present, like the two brown swiveling chairs that I got from my grandma, the silver lamp with the hanging crystals and the black mirror that hangs over the baby-piano.
Now, let's have a look at what the same room looks like TODAY:
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| As you can see, the curtains are in a very different colour to earlier. They were bought at a charity shop, and adds drama and contrast to the space. Under the window, the heater (shaped like a proper oven) was an early birthdaygift from my grandma, after my old heater stopped working properly. |
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| Can you recognize the chairs? And the pictures of my favourite band? The picture group over the chairs are only pictures that were hanging somewhere in the flat earlier, but they become a statement piece in the decor when I group them together like this. And now, I even have a clock! |
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| The sofa is new, and I'll get back to talking about it in a later comment. The crystal lamp is not perfect for this style, but it has such sentimental value to me that I just can't sell it....! I've decided to go for three small sofa-tables in stead of one bigger one, and the one in the middle used to be the lamp stand that contained the DVD-player ++. The other two tables I found at a charity-shop for a total of 80,- NOK! They have drawers in them, so now I ALWAYS know where I've put the remote and the charger for my phone! :D |
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| Behind the sofa, I've created a (long desired) workspace for me and Gabriel. It consists of the rolling nightstand that used to be up against the wall earlier and is completed by a fabulous dresser that I bought used from a lady in the neighborhood. |
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| The new dining table is smaller than the old one, but just what I was picturing for this new look! It is norwegian (acclaimed) design, and I got it used from an interior design company here in town. It had been used as lunchroom-furniture at their office. The green on the chairs are one of the splashes of colour that I really wanted in the new design, and ties the retro in nicely with the modern. |
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| Also, the green flower pot is a charity shop buy, and the plastic green stuff inside it is just about perfect for me to be able to keep alive. Any living flowers would probably have to be replaced every couple of months... :p |
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| Where the guitar-corner used to be, I've now positioned my beloved (and very out of tune) piano. Given to me for my birthday a few years ago, it has a lot of history and is a very special member of this household. |
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| The lamp is a retro thing of beauty! It used to belong to a friend of mine, and it had just been in storage for years. She originally got it from a family member, and I was overwhelmed when she suggested that I get it from her as a gift!! I love it so much, and am so grateful! The shelf behind it consists of the three nightstands that used to live under the rolling one. I removed the wheels on the upper two, and stacked them on top of each other, creating a focal point with plenty of storage for books and DVDs. |
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| Amongst the pictures we find a few inspirational things. The Dreamcatcher guitar, a Sudanese Pound and the diploma that accompanied the "Talent of the Year"-award that Dreamcatcher won. I like surronding myself with things that have meaning to me, and that reminds me of the good things in my life. |
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| It might not be a real fire-place, but it looks very pretty when all lit up! |
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| This sofa is just the coolest thing I've ever seen! I had to drive for a few hours in snowy weather to get to the people who sere selling it, but it was so worth it! It's comfy and original, and a good example of the kind of durable furniture that was made decades of years ago. All the pillowcases come from charity-shops and have some of my old cushions inside them, and the sheep skin (that I've had for years) helps soften op what could easily have turned into a masculine look. |
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| For his 8th birthday, I got my son an african chess-board, and we've decided that it should live on top of the piano in the living-room. It is a beautiful wooden board with metal pieces, and looks lovely in our home! |
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| As I said earlier, I like to surround myself with things that remind me of the important things in life. This sign (from my hallway) tells me one of the MOST important things to remember, and it is in the company of a few guitars and my darling cajon. |
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| For the sake of the mood (and a bit more colour), these light-holders in green, orange and purple just screamed YESS at me when I saw them in a charity shop. They really wanted to come home with me!! |
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| And finally, two light-holders from the old decor have survived the makeover. A girl can't get by without a little bit of golden bling, right? ;) |
So there you have it. My own personal take on retro modernism! (Did I just create a new term there?). My main objective was to bring in a bit of colour and warmth to the place, to go more retro, but to not make it look exactly like a carbon copy flat from the 60's or 70's. I'm very happy with the result. What do you think? xxx
