We have a house that was built in 1918. It has the original hardwood floors and baseboards ... loads of charm! We love our house! There is a room just as you walk in the door, off to the left, that is odd. It's not a bedroom ... no closet and no door into it. It's not a dining room ... the formal dining room is between the living room and kitchen. It seems odd to have two living rooms side-by-side with no divider. It's not an office ... there wouldn't have been offices in 1918. My mom suggested that it was a sewing room, perhaps? Who knows. All I know is that it has been wasted space since we moved here. We hung some family portraits on the wall, our family canvases, added an entryway table from our old house, and hung some leftover valances. But, otherwise, it has sat there empty.
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| You can kind of see the room behind Kyndal. It's pretty much empty. |
When living in a small home you need to maximize every single space and make it usable. With a medium-sized family that feels very large when the older kids are here with their friends and/or significant others, it can be difficult for me to find a comfortable (and quiet) place to be. If the little kids are in the living room playing Wii, or if they are in their room playing and the older kids are in the living room watching a movie, I really don't have anywhere to go to relax beside my bedroom. And, my bedroom is not big enough for a comfortable chair so I have to sit on the bed, which I don't like.
I thought it would be so nice to have a comfy chair or couch to be able to sit on and read when I am needing some quiet time. And then I decided that the sitting room would be the perfect place for it! The problem? We had no funds to furnish such a room.
My mom made some drapery changes in her house recently so had four drapes that would match the room perfectly. I hung those and moved in our old green loveseat and the ottoman from the matching overstuffed chair. We had these wrapped in plastic and stored in our garage to give to Kyndal in a year or so when she moves out on her own. I had some trouble with furniture placement, but finally came up with an arrangement that is comfy and cozy! All I need now is a side table for the lamp. I am sure I can find one at a garage sale or consignment shop.
I love this space! I have moved my Bible, devotional and journal into the room, and I see myself there every morning having my coffee, starting my day. I also see many books read and power naps taken. It's also great because there is enough space for the dogs to join me ... and they are always joining me.
Now the challenge will be keeping everybody else out of my space! (In fact, yesterday morning Brynne came into it and said, "Well, it's nice to see you have set up this room nice for yooooouuuuu." I told her to scram. Then I sat down with my cup of coffee, my Bible, and my dogs. Ahhh .... )
The final space to tackle is the small dining space in the kitchen by the back door. Right now it's empty and is our dump-off spot when we walk in the door. I have plans. But, it's not going to be free, so I'll have to wait a bit longer.
LOVE your new room!!! It's funny because we have one very similar connected to our primary living room. We have used it for a school room, a library (which is what it is now), a playroom filled with toys and a sitting room with a loveseat facing the window to watch the snow. The school room and playroom were too messy to be right inside my front door. But the library and sitting room worked out nicely! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the piece in the last picture to the far left. It is beautiful! But what is it?... with those cute little drawers and fancy print at the top?
It's a curio cabinet. I have had it for many years, a gift from my parents. It is actually kind of a useless piece of furniture, but I never can seem to get rid of it. I just took some fabric samples and stapled them to the inside of the glass doors.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lovely sitting room but would also make a great school room. Where do you do school and keep all of that stuff?
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