Loony Living

 

     Over the summer, I worked to make our living room feel warmer and more inviting. The coffee table that had been beaten on by two toddlers and the faded Ikea chair with the wobbly leg found their way to the dump. The too-small, discount rug was retired to the basement. I replaced the mirror over the fireplace, a leftover from the previous owners of our home, with our Woody Crumbo Native American print and the oars we've used to paddle New Hampshire's rivers (I bought two new, inexpensive oars at Cabela's for the paddling we did this summer). I'm happy with the results, which you can see below.

 

     I especially enjoy the Robert Abbey lamps I found for the endtables. Living in a home built in the 1980s, there are few lighting fixtures in the ceiling. The pillows were a gift from my husband. The aloe plant was a gift from a colleague. The print on the wall was a gift to my husband for his most recent birthday and is by the wonderful New Hampshire print maker, Matt Brown.

 

     I surprised myself by liking the geometric pattern on these chairs, and I enjoyed picking out inexpensive throw pillows from Etsy. My sons love to sit here. Note the iPod charger lurking nearby (above) and the Lego organizer (below).

   
     We found the endtable on clearance at the Company C headquarters in Concord, NH. They had mustard-colored endtables I liked, but this table had a blue bottom, which we repainted to match.

      
     Living near the lake and the loons, I loved this Inuit soapstone carving of loons that I also found on Etsy. It was too small for the fireplace mantle, where I'd hoped to put it, but it's perfect on the coffee/cocktail table.

     Repainted for the umpteenth time, this flimsy cabinet was bought by my parents in the 1950s when they were first married. It now houses our cookbooks, acquired from many years working in publishing, and some glassware on top and the bottom hides the messy art supplies my sons frequently use. I replaced the handles on this cabinet with pieces from Restoration Hardware a few years ago. The right drawer is my favorite. It's lined with metal to be a breadbox.