Living Room Decorating Ideas Phase 1: A Commitment and Plan

I love interior design. I secretly wish I would have become an interior designer.  Let's just throw it out there.  Yes, I have expensive taste.  I always tend to draw towards the stuff that's the most expensive.  Can any of you can relate?  Like many of you reading this, I love high end design but don't have a high end budget.

When I moved into my house over 2.5 years ago I had a lot of grandiose plans.  Our house had solid bones, it was kept very clean, but needed some updating.  I made a list of everything I wanted to change, rip out, paint, and redo.  It was a VERY LONG list.

I was so excited to become homeowners and to be able to use the knowledge and skills I learned about how to decorate beautiful spaces in the interior design classes I took in college.

The wannabe interior designer in me sketched out each room of our house and had each room planned out as how I was going to place the furniture and decorate.  We moved into our house and everything seemed to be going to plan when I started to change my ideas about this "plan" I had. 

I found myself not using the space as I thought I would have used and my "plans" for painting, remodeling, ripping out carpet, and reupholstering came to a screeching halt.  I felt confused as to what I really wanted, not being able to compromise about decor with the Mr., feeling insecure about my "style", feeling overwhelmed, and not knowing where to start. 

You know how life goes, life gets busy: new job, moving, school, and having a baby. Things get put on the back burner.  

So our living room has been neglected.  Some attempts to decorate have been made when I paid an up and coming new interior designer to create an e-design for me.  I didn't tell McKay about it and surprised him with the design, well let's just say it didn't go over well and he absolutely hated it. 

Our living room is the first space you see when you walk into our house.  It's really important to have the living room be a statement piece because its going to set the tone for the rest of the house.  Ever since my sisters and I have started this blog, it has been my goal to get our living room decorated!  Blogging has given me this new confidence for ways to use my creativity and because I'm on the computer a lot, I've found a lot of new inspirations.  I'm planning on doing this HUGE project in stages so I can stay sane through all of it.  

Here is what our living room looks like now, sorry for the fuzzy iphone pictures!

This is the view from the top of the stairs, looking down.

Seriously, who frames wallpaper with crown molding?  This was one of the first things to go down when we moved into our house.  Sadly, I wasn't patient enough to wait for McKay to get home so I took the crown molding off the wall and most of the wall came with it &%$^!  

The front door and entryway

The view of the north facing window benches

The nicest piece of furniture I own is the designer damask couch I got off of KSL Classified for a steal!  

My list of things to do for this room are the following: 

1. Replace the carpet and laminate floor with wood flooring 

 2. Paint the china hutch

3. Rip out the carpet on the window seat and create a cushion for the window seat upholstered armchair 

4. Get rid of hand me down love seat and purchase another armchair 

5. Paint room a lighter whiter color 

6. Do something about the wall going up the stairs

7. Add more lighting to make it not so dark 

8. Make curtains for the north facing window seat

9. Hang pictures and artwork

10. Paint the front and back of the front door

11. Replace baseboards molding

I realize with my small budget some of these projects are going to take a long time to finish, or I might find it doesn't fit into my budget so I'll have to make do or get really, really creative.  Some of the items I'm willing to do diy but there's some I think it will be worth to spend the money to get it done professionally.  Also, I need to remember what my mom always tells me about decorating and a room and a home, that it doesn't happen overnight, and it's ok for it to take weeks, months, or 20 years (she's saying this from experience).       

Just a few of the inspiration I found during my I can't fall asleep so I get on Pinterest until the early morning  Pinterest sessions.

Source

couldn't find the source! :(

I'm a little Celtic knot obsessed Source 

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I can't wait to get started and this time around I'm committed!  Any tips on overhauling a room on a budget and by yourself?  What rooms are you working currently working on?