i'm literally obsessed with making the "right" choices, and the sad result is that my house is still very empty. this was sorta "cute" in the beginning -- i do have these furry white bean bags...but now, since there's nothing on order, i really do think it has gone too far.
So, in order to make some sort of progress, i mapped out my living room in visio (which has a handy furniture/room template) and tested out a bunch of options. Below are notes on my current top issues -- which i really hope to resolve in the next week -- if you have any feedback i'd love to hear it!
ISSUES:
shipping.
I would like to order everything at once so that i can minimize my shipping / delivery costs.*sigh* this is probably the largest source of self-torture because it means i have to make a bunch of decisions at once. not that i've really made many decisions, but still...
colors.
i've decided that i would like a neutral tone for the furniture, with dark woods (but not that new trendolicious ebony, more of an espresso) with red-rose accents (for things like pillows). however, neutral is posing a challenge, because i inherently think buying creme colored couches is kinda, well, kinda silly. I mean things spill. like wine. but, i think it looks good in the house and that a dark leather couch is too "heavy"... i am trying to find a "camel" color that i like, but often they look too tan (i.e. too much yellow-orange). The secondary tone in the living room is olive. I'm hoping to pick that up, along with the red-rose, in the rug.
rug.
I fell in love with a ridiculously beautiful and expensive afghani wool rug. It's too big though, or so i thought. Now i'm not so sure. Either way, I don't think i can swallow the cost. The smaller green rectangle in the image above is for an 8x10 rug, the larger green rectangle represents the "forbidden" carpet.
budget.
i have some money set aside for this, but the total amount just makes me uncomfortable. even though i'm an amazon-addict, i really don't like to spend money. and deep inside i think owning real furniture somehow means i'm an "adult" and that just creeps the hell out of me.
couch.
I've had the couch that I am thinking of getting selected for weeks now. it is pretty much exactly what i wanted -- three pillow-couch, about 77 inches, and with a modern but elegant feel to it. I like the skinny arms and i wanted the three-pillows because i like to repeat threes in my house. BUT, i still need to settle on a fabric. The boucle linen that it comes with worries me -- i am concerned that it will catch on things. Luckily i can select any fabric from their selection (for a cost of course). Unfortunately that means i'm waiting for more fabric samples. Ideally i think i want some sort of linen (true linen) with a grain, however, i'm also considering a micro-suede because i like the texture. Texture is really important.
accent chairs.
ok, i am completely losing it when it comes to accent chairs. I don't like the ones that coordinate with the couch -- they are too boxy. I want something with a bit of a curve to it. but that doesn't look too old-fashioned or traditional -- i still want a modern feel. right now i am leaning towards these harlowe chairs -- but they are armless. will guests miss the arms? will they fall off the chair? will it be uncomfortable? i have literally run about a million scenarios through my head on this issue, and i've even gone and sat in an armless chair to test it out. it felt fine. but it still worries me. i like arms. i prefer arms. at the same time, i really like the clean lines of the harlowe armless chair...see: self-torture continues.
reading nook.
i think i have this one figured out. I'm going to get the Luke chair w/ ottoman in ambassador fudge leather. it looks sumptious, and should provide a perfect comfort zone for reading the NY times on sunday mornings listening to itunes. Mind you, i looked at about 100 chairs first, do i want bronze tacking? what about thick-stiching? how deep should it be? smooth leather or textured? pillow-back or flat back? uh-huh...
tables.
rectangle or circle. i think i've finally decided to go with a circular table - more flow. now that shape is decided, what should it be made of? glass? wood? a glass-wood combo? that would be ideal, but so far i haven't found one. I'm also thinking about getting a bench that can repurpose as a table. two-for-one.
accessories.
i haven't even started to think about accessories...accent pillows and flowers seem easy and i surely have enough knick-nack stuff to pull out some cute stuff. the key here is "grouping:" according to one magazine i read. If you have, say, random statues and little desk things you picked up in hong kong all over the house they look unrelated..but you pull them together into a group and they become a "harmonious and interesting collection". hmmm.
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