The Parlor. That sounds so fancy. We could just call it the "side room." Or, if we wanted to be overly descriptive and not at all fancy, "the TV room." ;) But, I like "the parlor." The parlor is actually one of my favorite rooms in our house, which is interesting, because it's filled with old, mismatched furniture. This is a perfect example of how a room can be totally imperfect, yet still pretty close to perfect. ;) Here are some photos and some thoughts...
It's hard to get a good photo of this room. (I need a wide angle lens!!) It is off on the side of the living room with French doors that open to the living room and a glass panel door that leads to the dining room. Here is what it looks like if you are standing in the middle of the living room:
That red couch is a WRECK. It was the very first piece of "real" furniture we bought a long, long time ago. Since then, it's been peed on, puked on, and had food spilled all over it. Our dog used to chew her rawhide on the arms. The back cushions are destroyed. The flip side of the seat cushions are covered in sharpie. Once I had the brilliant idea to try and wash and dry a seat cushion cover...yeah that worked out well. ;) This couch is a well-loved disaster. We are thinking about having the back cushions restuffed. Note to self - never EVER buy a couch with soft detachable back cushions again! You may know that I have a thing for pillows. I like to think that my fun pillows totally detract from the awful couch! The table was a Craigslist find. My husband refinished the top, and it's as good as new. Solid wood and sturdy! I also got the two Coke crates to hold magazines and library books from Craigslist - in case you haven't noticed - I get a lot of stuff from Craigslist! The "end table" is a TV tray. We are classy. ;) The only new item we purchased for this room was the rug from IKEA. My husband was skeptical at the time, but I really think it works well...and in the words of the Big Lebowski, it really ties the room together. ;)
We got a set of the black IKEA chairs for our wedding - so they are 10 years old. Only one is in the room right now. Again...the pillows are my plan to draw your eye away from all the "not great" stuff!! ;) It's hard to see, but my mom gave me the crossstich of Madison that is sitting by the plant. It's probably as old as I am, and I love it. The window coverings are the same as the ones in the living room. I don't love them, but they were a quick and inexpensive fix when we moved in and needed to get rid of the old ones.
On the other side of the couch is a hand painted chair that we received a gift and an old soda crate that has special meaning to me! I envision it someday holding vintage quilts or afghans!
Our entertainment center and TV are against the back set of windows. It's not the greatest place for a television because of all the light, but it was the only place in the house it would fit. Our entertainment center is from IKEA. It's much more modern in than the rest of the room, but it fits in the space, so we'll keep it for now! This is the most boring photo ever... ;)
If you look in between the two sets of doors, we have an old Mission style library shelf that I got off of Craigslist. When I first purchased it, I was worried I had made a big mistake because it doesn't stand flush against the wall. It would have originally have been a free standing shelf (or attached to others like it) in an actual library. However, I've grown to love it. In the interest of "keeping it real" here is a photo - complete with remote controls, books and toys, and that fan which we put there in the summer and never bothered to put away in the winter! ;)
I didn't even bother to take a photo of the other corner of the room. It holds a gigantic radiator and a single picture on the wall. It's even more boring than the TV side of the room, so I thought you'd be okay not seeing it!
As with all the other rooms in the house, when we moved in, I made a a big list of "changes" to make. Most of them will probably not happen for years...but I will share just keep track of our progress!
- Fix ceiling (cracked) and put up a tin ceiling
- Take down plant holders
- Hang pictures
- Clean walls/touch up paint
- Window coverings
- Refinish Floor
- Clean/Fix red couch
- New chairs
- New coffee table/side tables
- Fun pillows for couch
- Rug
- Replace outlet covers
- Repaint radiator
- Eventually replace windows
