A Little Home Progress: Living Room Paint, Rug, & Furniture

I've always wanted a symmetrical living room with softly colored walls.

So far I feel like I've achieved diddly squat with our home.
We moved in less than a year ago and I find myself wishing I'd done more than arrange some furniture and stashed 40% of what I own into our unfinished basement...Especially since our home improvement to-do list is about a mile long.

I've spent hours of my life scouring the Internet (Target, Craigslist, Hautelook) for affordable accent chairs, rugs and storage pieces... I've found stuff I like. But I just hadn't been willing or able to drop that kind of money on home decor.
It was really difficult picking a rug because I couldn't decide whether I wanted something more modern or traditional. Though, I like the high-end look of some traditional rugs, the hunt to find one that wasn't dated looking, or dull colored, while still affordable wore me out for two whole months!
In the spring of this year, I actually ended up finding a beautiful rug at Kohl's of all places. It seems to be a happy marriage of everything I wanted.. aside from the fact that's it's not as large as I planned on.

( 5 X 7 Rug from Kohl's found HERE ) **

This floral rug retails for $299 but I waited until there was a sale and used a coupon to get $20 off so I was able to snag this rug for under $100. I love the deeper blues, creams and taupe shades in this rug. There are also hints of vintage gold in the smaller details and flower, which I especially love because I plan on accenting the living room with bits of gold. I also enjoy that it feels pretty soft under my feet. 

The Living Room Paint & Furniture
Here is our living room with it's original paint color.

(Pieces: Ashley Martinsburg Sofa in Meadow, Mirror from Tuesday Morning years ago.)

This is our new couch from when we first moved in (we bought a 2nd identical one months later for the sake of the symmetrical living room I wanted). It came with three paisley accent pillows that had hint of aqua in their design. The wood detailing is dark and ornate. The couch is a soft taupe shade that actually looked slightly green online. Thankfully it was just hints of green in the fabric, but that doesn't translate until you get up close to it.

We also painted the living room months ago because neither Ty nor I could stand how dark that our brownish, baby-poop khaki walls seems to make the room.

Here's a view of the front door from the far end of the living room. 

(Here's a view of the living room and a few wall swatches from the front door. )

You may notice our fireplace is hollow. The previous owners re-purposed it with an outlet to be an entertainment center and had a TV in it. I actually wanted the fireplace (which is sitting in our garage) to be put back in it's proper place. However, I was working the day Ty finished negotiating the closing on the house and he forgot to add that to the closing list. That's why I'm going to put a credenza in front of it because that thing weighs at least a couple hundred pounds and it'll be a while before we figure out how to put it in correctly. 

The paint we ended up picking was "Lagoon Green" in a eggshell finish from Behr. It seemed ideal because I've been wanting a relaxing blue in some part of the house that would lighten up the space and make it feel bigger while complimenting the taupe and browns of our furniture. 

This is how it ended up looking against the new rug. I realize that this mix of dark wood furniture with the oak wood flooring is somewhat unorthodox, but we have plans to refinish the floors and change their tones in the next couple years so I can handle it for now.

*And this table was never free of clutter AGAIN*

So here's the entire color combo here. I planned to upload a full reveal on this progress about 6 months ago, but unfortunately I stopped work on the living room my brother moved in for about three months. Guitars. And. Single. Guy Stuff. Everywhere. 

(This is not the final look of the living room, this was just to showcase the color difference in the walls. ) 

Hopefully ya'll enjoyed this little sneak peak into our home progress!

I'll say that some house stuff is never as quick and easy as I hope it's going to be.. Especially with ya know, LIFE. But it's a great feeling to get some things accomplished while I can. I hope to be posting a bit more of this slow journey for you all in the future. 

Until next time, 

Bethany 

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http://thebethanyfae.blogspot.com/


**Links marked with this symbol are affiliate so to speak, meaning I make a small percentage if you buy from them. However, if they don't list a good price (meaning retail or better) for said item, I don't provide a link.   

Nicole Straw Designs (Custom Charm Bracelets)

A few months ago one of my followers contacted me stating that she'd recent started a Jewelry-based Etsy shop and offered to send me a custom made charm bracelet. She'd even offered make me one based on a favorite theme like "Zelda" (next time baby) or something else if I wanted. I looked at her designs, thought about it and decided I would be absolutely interested in a mermaid themed bracelet.

There were many other themes that would have been tempting... For instance:

This hilariously awesome Supernatural themed bracelet (complete with a shovel and a piece of pie)! I love the deep crimson colored pearls used in this one.

This perfectly detailed Harry Potter bracelet. The set of keys are delightful touch. 

This  Walking Dead bracelet that looks so formidable that maybe it could survive the zombie apocalypse?? Seriously. Weapons galore = awesome. 

Any one of these would have been both memorable and entertaining to wear. At the time I requested my mermaid bracelet, only one of these was available and I had already been itching for mermaid themed jewelry. I told Nicole all the types of charms and details I'd like and that I prefer color schemes that include a lot of teals and purples (I told her this not because I'm crazy bossy, but because she was genuinely interested in making a bracelet that was what I wanted) and wow did she deliver! 

Below are a few of her photos before she sent it to me. 

This curved mermaid is actually part of the clasp! 

This loaded bracelet includes the following:

Sea Urchin, sea opal, and a whole lotta Mother of Pearl. 

A ton of charms including mermaids (obviously), an anchor, a ships steering wheel, an antique-y coin, a starfish, a crab, and multiple metallic-detailed sea shells. 

(Why YES. That is a totally whimsical message in a bottle on my charm bracelet)

Here's one of the many teal outfits I'd wear it with. Yes. I got so excited when it arrived that I painted my nails to match it. (Please ignore my grease-ball hair. Moving was just a big, bad hair day since I couldn't find my dry shampoo for 2 weeks!)

Well, I'm pleased to have shared this special piece of custom jewelry with you all! Especially since I couldn't stop fawning all over this bracelet from the moment it arrived.  I've linked Nicole's info below in the hopes that you will check out her Etsy Shop and Facebook page.  She's got a great eye for creative combinations that fit a theme and I look forward to seeing more pieces from Nicole in the Future!

Nicole's Etsy Shop

Nicole Strawn Designs Facebook Page :)

Finally Moved in!!...(Sorta)

So it's been a week since Ty and I rented a truck and he loaded it all up with most of our largest possessions and moved them to our new home (with the help of my sister and her boyfriend of course). I personally wasn't there because I had to work, but I'm thankful to have had help for Ty...
Over this last week we've been venturing back to the old house and picking up the rest of our stuff by the car-load. Hopefully we'll be done sometime early this week.

So far our living room and master bedroom are actually starting to feel like home.
The cats have gotten used running through the house without sliding across the wood floors.
The other night Ty made me a glass of hot cocoa and we both enjoyed it in a house the wasn't a complete-falling-apart mess in the middle of the boonies.
Now we're in the burbs.
I'll miss the view of the trees, but now we live 2 miles from a Chipotle and just 20 minutes from the nearest Lush and Sephora (A full sized one aaahhhh) so it's a good thing. :)

I know it's not much, but I'm pretty much in heaven! I can't wait to vlog on my older YouTube Channel and blog on here when filming is not an option... Right now my filming room is coming together, and as soon as I can I'll be buying some lighting so I don't have to depend on sunlight for good filming times. Hopefully, ya'll will like my new set up.. But be forewarned the wall color is a particularly unsettling shade of brownish olive. D: But that'll be changed in due time!

(Living room view in progress)

(Leela waiting for our bed to arrive)

Well, I look forward to sharing more of my humble dwellings with ya'll and since that's all of the update I have for now I'll catch you on the flip side!

A New Home.

Hey there and welcome to This Mermaid Life!

I have been meaning to start a blog dedicated to creativity, home updates, DIY projects and any other activities I may get irrationally excited about. 

After the better half of a year, Ty and I have finally found a house and were actually able to snag it before other contenders swooped in. 

We should be moving in early November and I couldn't be more ecstatic!

Once we get everything rolling, I hope to have updates on the progress of the home and other creations I've been looking forward to sharing! So please follow this blog and stick around so I can share my tips and style with you!