A Photo, a Rug, and a “New” Couch

There are a few small projects that we have been meaning to do since we moved in. We have gotten around to some of them, we have a few more to share with you here, and there are still plenty more on the list to check off!

First: the photo. I think I mentioned before that we were in the process of painting our massive gold frame black and finding the right picture to put in it.

The gold frame, “before”

Great news: missions accomplished! The black paint on the frame looks amazing, and it really makes the wood inner frame pop. As far as the photo, it wasn’t that hard to choose. We settled on our favorite picture from our favorite hike in Patagonia, and lucky for us we actually both liked the same picture! And here she is!

The now black frame, with our photo from Argentina. It makes me want to go back!

So much better! Believe it or not, this is the first photo we’ve taken that we’ve blown up to bigger than 11 x 14. I think we need to start doing this more often!

Second: the rug. We have been scouring Craigslist, home improvement stores, and many other places for a reasonably priced rug to add to our living room. We finally found the perfect rug at Lowe’s and it was on sale! So buy it we did. It’s thick and cushy without being shaggy and gross, and the pattern adds some much needed color to the room. I have to say I was slightly heartbroken to cover up our beautiful floors, but I’ll be the first one to admit that I have sat on this rug at least once a day since we put it in. I love it! And I’m also really happy we didn’t end up buying a used rug on Craigslist. I’m all about buying used, but there has to be a line somewhere. I think a used rug is on the wrong side of the line!

Rug Installation

So pretty!

Sitting on the rug. One of my new favorite places to sit in the house!

Third: the “new” couch. After we got the rug on the floor, we sat back to admire it. While admiring, Justin had a brilliant idea. We’ve had two couches sitting in the shop for about a month now. They aren’t the best couches and we thought they were too grey for the living room, so we had them pegged for “man cave” couches at some point in the distant future. However, the new rug inspired us to try out one of the couches in the living room, as a replacement to the cute but uncomfortable wooden chairs. When we got the couch inside, we loved it! Not too grey, and the perfect height for under the window (which will be very handy for another project we have coming up!). We plan to add a few pillows for color and comfort at some point, but it’s better than the wooden chairs (sorry to anyone who has had to sit in those for an extended period of time!).

More couch, less chairs