We've been in The Station for almost a year now, and we're still not completely unpacked or moved in. My goal for March is to get everything put away so that we'll have space to hold our first seder. The first room on my list to tackle was the living room. After the kitchen and breakfast area, it's the room I spend the most time in.
Our living room is nothing fancy. What it is, is cozy and welcoming. The furniture is a hodge podge of childhood pieces, mixed with IKEA pillows, a leather chair and ottoman from IKEA, a Serta chair and a half that folds out into a twin bed, a futon, tables from Pottery Barn, and a few throws. (The tri-color afghan was my first crochet project.)
Initially when I started shooting I thought of removing the baby fencing. It was a very fleeting thought, but it still crossed my mind. Then, I came to my senses. You know that I have a very active, mobile, eleven-month old. If I showed photos of a living room with a gorgeous open, easily accessible fireplace, you would probably be alarmed. (Okay, you might think the baby proofing had been removed for the photo shoot.) So, it stayed. One thing that's super convenient about the fencing is that we can place computers and cameras on the hearth out of Gates' reach. I do wish it was a little more pleasing to look at, but luckily it's not permanent.
For awhile we seldom used our living room. Then, I decided we should stop watching TV on our laptops and take advantage of the big screen monitor we got for our wedding. We've since reverted to eating dinner on trays in our bedroom and watching TV there; the coffee table is usually covered with my work.
If you've been to our flat, you'll know that I didn't shoot all of our living room. The front of The Station is actually a double parlor where the original dividing wall was removed to open up the space. The built-in glass front cabinetry common to flats of this period is also gone, introducing a nice reading nook. The following collage shows the rest of the space.
Why am I revealing what's just outside the view of the camera lens? Because I don't have anything to prove. I don't think you need to have an immaculate house to have The Good Life. I'd rather fill a space with people eating, laughing, and enjoying themselves, than never invite anyone over because I still haven't unpacked from our move last May. (And yep, the reading nook looked almost exactly like what you see when we celebrated New Year's.)
Would you entertain with moving boxes still unpacked?
Or, if your house was a mess?
Why or why not?
Or, if your house was a mess?
Why or why not?
Here's the other reason I'm showing you behind the scenes here on the blog instead of on Facebook: to illustrate that no matter how big a task, start somewhere, and celebrate your progress. Often we tackle a project and only see success when it's completely finished, getting frustrated if it's not going as smoothly as we'd hoped. I wanted to reveal a completely put together space -- that was my original goal. However, with an under-the-weather toddler last week and me also under-the-weather this week, powering through to clean an entire room is beyond what I can do.
What do you think of the living room? Would you join me for a movie and a cup of tea? I'd love to have you.
Ciao Bella!
Eden!
