Tag: living room

The Green Carpet is Dead

Marie Haigh2 Comments

The green carpet is dead!

Perhaps not as momentous an occasion as the Wicked Witch is dead, but really, really close.

For 8 years, I lived with a room covered in green carpet. Sometimes it was several rooms. First, we ripped it out of the guest bedroom. Then, we ripped it out of Elly’s room. Then, Elly and I single-handedly ripped it out of the dining room. On Sunday, we ripped it out of the living room. It was a joyous event!

My finger has a huge blister on it from pulling out all the staples. Dan hurt his knee from kneeling on the hard floor so much. Jake’s heart was broken as he watched his comfy rug being thrown out. Elly is the only one who came out of the project unscathed despite insisting on helping in every aspect from staple pulling to carpet ripping to sweeping.

Poor Jake. He kept moving around the room and laying on the ever decreasing amount of carpet left in the room.

The hardwood floor underneath is in amazing condition. Not a mark is on it.

It truly looks like nobody ever walked upon it. The original owners must have moved into the house and immediately laid ugly green carpet down. Goodness knows what they were thinking, but they gave us a wonderful gift.

Walls of the Same Color

Marie Haigh2 Comments

The living room walls have all been painted a bright, sunny yellow from their dingy pale yellow.

Started this painting project on June 17th 

Finished today, July 15th. It took me a full month to paint 4 walls.

Now the fun can begin.

Guess what Dan is doing this Saturday?

When I asked Dan what he was doing this weekend, he told me that he had plans to go to a board game group and then nothing else. If he doesn’t tackle the carpet by ripping it all out, Elly and I will whip out some girl power and do it ourselves. We’ve done it before. 

I can’t wait to get rid of the last of the green rug. It’s going to feel like a hot shower does after rolling around in mud.

Poor Jake will miss the cushion beneath his aging bones, but the rest of us will love it.

Slowly Painting the Living Room

Marie Haigh1 Comment

The old walls are not terrible , but the 50-year-old golf-green carpet has seen better days. For 8 years, I put off ripping this carpet out. Then, a hole formed and pushed up my timeframe.

Still the rug has not been ripped up. An ugly, tattered rug like this is the perfect drop cloth.

The walls were a light yellow. It was nice, but it was also a bit plain.

I kept with the yellow theme, but just punched it up a notch. Oh, how I love bright colors! They make me so happy.


(only 1 coat of the new yellow next to the old yellow)

Only 2 walls have been painted. Both were painted with only the use of a brush. Due to the windows, front door and fireplace mantle, so much had to be cut in that it was just faster to work with a brush. There are 2 walls left to paint. Little will have to be cut in on the two remaining walls, making a roller the more efficient tool. The only reason I would use a brush is to keep the look consistent. The brush strokes are visible to me.

So, should I paint the other walls with a brush or have I been staring at it too long? Will anybody notice? Will anybody care besides me?

Once the walls are painted, the last of the ugly green carpet can be thrown out. Hurray! I will likely bake a cake to celebrate.

Dave Painted Our Walls

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To be precise, Dave painted our living room walls in 1996. If we purchased this house in 2005, how do I know?

That is how.

It was behind the big mirror that has been mounted over our fireplace since presumable 1996. The big mirror that reflected nothing but the ceiling. For many years, I have wanted to take that mirror down. Finally, I got my wish.

Dan and I got a good laugh out of Dave’s signature and the garish pink paint.

Mr. Elliott, the husband of the couple that built our house, must have been a loving and tolerant man. I don’t know too many men who will allow their wives to paint their living room pink.

Before the day was through though, I had painted over it with a primer. I can tolerate a lot of colors, but pink is not one of them. Sweet Elly will have to live her entire childhood without pink walls.

Hopefully, relocating the huge mirror that once hung over the mantle into her room will make up for the lack of pink paint.

Though I would love to claim that moving the mirror into Elly’s room was my idea, the brilliance came from her Grandpop. He saw how Elly lit up in front of the wall of mirrors in her aunt’s house and promptly informed me that she needed a huge mirror in her bedroom.

Now she has one.

I imagine a lot of time is going to be spent in front of this mirror.

Musical Chairs with a Wood Stove

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My best friend is gifting us her wood stove. It’s been sitting in her house for years and she’s never used (came with the house). She is only too happy to get rid of it.

We’ve been talking about getting a wood stove or an insert for our fireplace for years to make it more insulated and to give off better heat.

The gift sounds perfect until you remember that we live in a small house. A wood stove is going to take up precious real estate in the living room/entryway.

Dan wants to solve the problem by moving the TV to the entryway and turning the couch so the back of it faces the fireplace. This is why Dan is not allowed to make decorating decisions by himself.

My idea involves moving every piece of furniture we own in the living and dining rooms, removing the existing chair rail, installing a new chair rail and wainscoting in the living room, installing crown molding in the living room and buying more cube storage for all of Elly’s toys.

Dan’s idea could be completed in 5 minutes. Mine will take months to finish. Still, my idea is better.

This is what our current dining room looks like.

In my plan, the dining table, chairs and hutch would be moved out. The garish chandelier would be tossed in the trash and replaced with a fan and light combo. The ugly green carpet would be thrown in the trash. The chair rail would be removed. The walls would be painted all one color – maybe a deep brown to cozy the space up. On the wall where the hutch is now, I will put the TV and entertainment center. Where the table is now, I will place the couch. Then, finally, the very first thing that you see upon entering our house will NOT be the TV.


current view upon walking into our house

Oh, happy days! The image in my mind alone has me jumping for joy!

Then, the dining table, chairs and hutch will have to go in the living room.


the living room

I can’t just get rid of it. Our kitchen is small and has no eat-in nook. Thus, we use our dining table every day – sometimes twice a day.

I’m hoping that the addition of a chair rail, beadboard wainscoting and crown molding will help define part of the living room as a semi formal dining spot. An area rug will be used to anchor the table. Obviously, the ghastly green carpet will be thrown in the trash first.

The wing back chair that I am slowly sewing a slip cover for will be placed to the right of the fireplace. I would love to thrift a second wing back chair and place it to the left of the fireplace, but Dan wants room left for his computer desk. Oh, the compromises I make to keep a happy marriage.

So what do you think of my crazy and amazing plan? Would it be weird to walk into someone’s house and immediately see their dining table?

Of course, the real question is do we want a wood stove now. Dan is terrified that Elly would suffer burns. Having fallen asleep in the sun and gotten 3rd degree burn, I can attest that burns are not fun. I would feel like the world’s worst mother if she got burnt by my crazy redecorating plans.