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Around the House: Fake Out

By Dawn Sailors In Around the House, Living Room

Our living room is one of the most challenging rooms in this house for me. When we first moved in, it looked like this:

Then for a long time it looked like this:

And then I came to my senses about the tv placement/furniture arrangement and it looked like this:

The past few weeks, I’ve made a few more tweaks.

Probably the biggest challenge in here is natural light, or the lack thereof. With only two smallish windows in one corner and no options to add any more (because this room is behind the garage), it is hard to not feel a little dreary in here most hours of the day. So this past week, we did a few things to brighten the space up a bit. AKA, the fake out.

That is to say, we mounted the TV on the wall finally, and I flanked it with two matching fake window-mirrors from Hobby Lobby. I’m kind of amazed at how much the small change on this wall has brightened the space. They are clearly mirrors, but they really fake you out and bounce a lot of light around. I’m debating things like hanging curtains around them to further the fake out, but I don’t want to go overboard so we’ll live with it for a while and see how it goes.

As for the photos that used to be on the TV wall, they are now in a little gallery-style grouping above the couch. Instead, I added a photo-line (you know like a clothes-line of photos) display above the TV. I made is super simple, by stringing some thread between two hooks found at Hobby Lobby. I love that we can switch it out easily for whatever we want, whenever the mood strikes.

I’m contemplating another big change, painting out the fireplace and possibly the bookshelf in white. I love how the chocolate color ties into the nearby kitchen, but I hate how dark it is in here, so it’s a mental battle. I’m leaning though. We’ll see. I’m also making plans to ditch the curtains entirely in favor of some roman shades, which I think will let more light in and work better because of how the fireplace encroaches on the corner window so much.

Finally, we’re talking about committing to a new furniture purchase in the form of a large sectional for the room. You know, the fluffy kind with cup-holders that reclines. Ok… maybe not. Even though that’s what I keep finding when I look for sectionals. :( But I do think a nice low-profile clean lined sectional would add a lot of seating and pairing down these two overstuffed pieces to one sleek one would really add some visual space to the room. We’re looking around for a good deal on the perfect piece, so I’ll keep you posted.

Happy Friday!