Subject: Living Room Curtains, Part 1

To my lovely friend Peach,

Okay, so now that we've covered your dining room, it's time to talk about my living room. Specifically: curtains. I thought I knew what I wanted and I was just saving up all my spare change to splurge on all the materials I would need to make exactly what I want (because why buy something off-the-shelf when you can go through the trouble/agony/frustration of attempting to DIY something?). The only problem with waiting - new things catch your eye. So then you start wondering if you should go a completely different direction and you start to doubt your already-made decision. (Which, in some ways, I'm grateful that I don't have the resources to do everything I want exactly when I want to do it...I would have made some really wrong decisions - or, worse decisions. But in waiting, you are able to really think something through and it takes into account your constantly evolving tastes to ensure you land on something you will love for a long time. Mostly though, I get frustrated when I can't do what I want when I want to do it!)

So, before we begin, perhaps I should take you on a tour of the living room. It is the first room you come into from the front door - there is no foyer or anything, just a little side entry table that I have showed you in the past when I have various things to improve the lamp situation there. This room then opens into the kitchen, which has black & white tile (the living room is hardwood) and it was formerly green, but now the same khaki-ish/beige color as the living room (Dunmore Cream by Benjamin Moore).

There isn't much furniture-wise in the living room, because it isn't a huge room, and there is a fireplace in one corner. We used to have a big armoire thing in corner opposite the fireplace to hold the television, but we replaced it back a few months ago courtesy of my mother-in-law. Next to the television is a ladder bookshelf that is on its way out, but I'm not sure yet what I will replace it with (a wider ladder bookshelf or a new piece altogether?).

There is a leather couch that is similar to yours in that it isn't formal at all gets better with more wear and age. There is also a coffee table (the Rhys table from Pottery Barn) and then a blue leather recliner that we inherited from Mr. Lass's parents and that I loathe, but that Mr. Lass has sworn we will never get rid of because it is so comfortable. Ahh! I curse that chair every time I want to incorporate a turquoise or inky blue into the living room, but then feel like I can't once I remember the blue chair. Behind the couch is the entry table I mentioned earlier and next to that is a chair I found at an estate sale and covered in a fun color and painted the wood black. There is also a rug under the couch. Here you go:

As for artwork, there is a painting above the fireplace that I loooove and do not plan on moving. It is flanked by blue plates to play up the blue pottery in the painting. Above the entry table is a pasture scene that I have always admired from my MIL's house and one day she brought it over and gave it to us. The last picture is located between the front door and the big picture window and has sentimental value to our family.

The only other colors in the room come from the throw pillows, pictured on the couch above, but I'm ready to switch those out, so don't really take those into account.

Okay, so now that you're familiar with everything in the room...tomorrow we'll talk curtains!

Can't wait,
Kara