First off, a quick flashback to what the living room looked like when we bought the house–

I haven’t posted any living room updates since we first moved in, when the fridge was still sitting in the living room, waiting to return to the kitchen. Here’s what it looked like then–

Definitely improved, but messy, for sure.

But that was three weeks ago. A lot has changed!

For one thing, we got a new carpet. It’s huge (9’x12′), because the room is huge. And it’s geometric, because obviously. I mean, what did you expect from me? It’s also new (almost all my rugs have been vintage), and so I’m constantly in awe of how plush and luxurious it is. Love.

For another thing, I made that giant pouf! I used brown handwoven wool we bought in Morocco this past spring. I’m so glad I spent three weeks hauling that heavy wool around in my backpack.

It was very straight-forward to make, and there are lots of tutorials out there, so I won’t walk through it–basically it’s just a cube (well, rectangular prism, if you want to get pedantic with me). One of the sides has a zipper across the center for stuffing it with polyfill:

If you’re going to make one, might I suggest that you buy at least twice as much filling as you think you’ll need? To make it really stiff so it can support some weight, it needs to be super tightly filled. This one is 20″ x 20″ x 14″, and it has 10 lbs. of polyfill. It could certainly use a little more. Right now it’s perfect for an ottoman (and that’s why I made it, so that’s good!), but it’s still a little too soft to serve as extra seating.

I’ve been clipping random things from our beautiful yard (no credit due to us, the previous owner was a master gardener). Currently, I’m really into whatever this leafy green thing might be–

This is where we sit with our morning coffee and our Morning Edition on NPR, like a couple of yuppies. Which we are, I suppose.

The house came with two MASSIVE mirrors, one of which is in the living room (the other–you guessed it–is in the bedroom). I kinda like the one in the living room. Before we had any furniture in here, it was a pretty sweet dance studio (if you like your dance studios with wall-to-wall carpeting). I took advantage of that, don’t worry.

We have other plans for an art piece above it, but for now, the Mucha poster seems happy there, alongside some pretty dahlias from our yard. I got that vase at a thrift shop this weekend, pretty happy about that! That little ceramic trivet was a gift Ben’s parents brought us from a trip to Turkey.

It’s a good spot for the radio, too, and soon I’ll set up the record player here, too. I’ll have to haul my pared-down record collection out here from storage in Wisconsin, too. The record you see sitting out in the photo above is Ella Fitzgerald with The Temptations. I’m eager to play it.

Like I said, the other two cases will go below the mirror on the opposite wall. Hopefully it’ll bring a little cohesion to the room, plus a nice spot for more pretty vases and the like, which gives me a great excuse to keep on thrifting.

Here are the remaining two cases, below the mirror, waiting to be hanged hung.

That’s the living room! Next up, my office. Stay tuned.