Letters from Pemberley

Once I got the library squared away, I actually knew what furniture I was working with in the living room.  I hear from the contractor that the painter isn’t coming out for another couple of weeks, so I’m just going to set everything up how I want it (except for stuff on the walls) and make him move it all when he comes.  It has been such a headache because there’s actually very little wall space, and I want to reserve some of it for a piano.  We’re going to get a real piano (or actually decent keyboard) sometime this spring so the kids can start real piano lessons.  First view from the stairwell:

I am actually really opposed to TVs being the centerpiece of living rooms.  I prefer for them to be a bit inconvenient, a big uncomfortable, as that discourages watching too much.  I would much prefer bookshelves or family pictures be the focal point of the room.  But when Pepperdine updated the unit, they built the cords right into the wall, assuming that anyone moving in would have a flat screen TV that they would of course mount above the gas log fireplace.  So we had no choice.  And realistically, there was no other place to put it, anyway.

That staircase goes up to our room.  We had those bookshelves in our room, but it was too claustrophobic, so I moved them to the only other place in the house where there was wall space.

The darker color is what the accent wall is going to be.  The cool, unwelcoming greenish gray that is lighter than and clashes with both our beige walls and our furniture is the “accent color” that the idiot Pepperdine designer said would “look good” with the rest of the color scheme.  It doesn’t.  I hate it more every day.  And at least I know now and will never be tempted to hire a “professional” interior designer myself.  I wish I’d painted a larger sample swatch, because I love the new color more every day.  It brings out the green in the trees right outside the windows.

My corner desk was handmade for me by my grandpa.  But it is a difficult piece of furniture to actually use.  There were so few corners in this house, and I originally had it in the corner above, behind where the piano is, but it fit better in this alcove.  Yes, it does cover some of this narrow, funky window, but better that than crowding the couch.  I didn’t know where I’d put the red chair and just happened to stick it there the other night when we were moving around couches, but I really like it right there.  The kids are always hanging round the computer, listening to audiobooks, so this is a more comfortable place than my desk chair.  It kindof hides the mess that my desk always is from the rest of the room.  And it promotes conversation.

Next up: the girls’ room, which is also not completely done, but is currently cleaned up, so I figured I’d snap pictures now, even if the blackout curtains aren’t hemmed.

Yesterday I had a breakthrough on how I could fit two tall bookshelves and two couches in the library room!  When I last showed it to you, it looked like this:

That smaller loveseat was in the middle of the room because the wall behind it was covered with bookshelves.  I spent our whole first weekend organizing them:

It was a very satisfying and very pretty wall-of-books, but there was no way we could fit more seating in.  And it’s a small room.  And there was no room in the living room for another loveseat.  We have these nice, big windows with a beautiful view, and we’re not going to cover them with bookshelves or couches.  We thought we’d have to move that loveseat down into the guest room until I had my flash of brilliance.  In the past three weeks, the kids haven’t played at all with the play kitchen, which was nestled into a corner of the library (just to the right of the couch out of view in the first picture), taking up precious wall space.  They’ve been carting all the play food down to the guest room, where their new play teepee from Uncle Matthew is currently hanging out.  They really want to make that guest room into a play room.  And realistically, we’ll only be using it as a guest room once a month, and I’ll only be using it as a sewing room occasionally, certainly after the kids are in bed.  So why not go with that (and figure out that room later) and take the kitchen downstairs with all the other toys and make this room a grown-up room like we’d originally discussed?!

I spent this morning undoing all the work I’d done on those bookshelves and moved them to the opposite wall, sliding the loveseat in between them.  Then their original wall was free for the couch.  I kept the kids’ short bookshelf in there since nothing else would fit under my counter, anyway.  I liked it.  I hung pictures.  This room is DONE!  It’s a small space, so it’s hard to capture in one picture.  I tried to get it from several angles, to give perspective.  And the rest of the house is NOT done, as evidenced by tools sitting out and boxes shoved out of the way for the purposes of a cleaner photo shoot.

Next up: the living room, which is not done (waiting for the Pepperdine painter to get his act together and get out here to repaint for me), but at least I’ve finally figured out how I want to set up the furniture!

Because some of you have asked for any pictures of the house, even in the midst of chaos, here are some pictures I’ve gotten with my phone (because I still haven’t unpacked the cardreader for my camera).  Telling myself I won’t be living in this state forever…  These two pictures are both taken from the kitchen/library doorway, so envision them facing each other.

We did manage to get the island cleared off before Brett and GraceMarie came over last night.  By putting all that junk in a box again.

The library doesn’t have room for two couches, but we’re not sure the second one will fit in the living room or not.  Waiting for the painter (who was supposed to come Tuesday but now might come late next week) to finish the living room before we start figuring out combinations in there.  Probably one loveseat will end up in the guest room, or as Janie calls it, “Grandma’s Room.”

I’m actually actively hanging pictures in the bedrooms, so maybe I’ll take pictures of those tomorrow!