a vision. finally.

After months of being unsure about the direction we wanted to take our big expansive living room, everything randomly came together in my head today. Maybe it was the fact that the sun was finally shining that brought on some serious decorating clarity for me. It struck almost all at once and when it did I immediately started typing a list of ideas. Feeling confident in my thoughts, I emailed my ideas to Travis (often referred to as "hubby") and asked "do you love?". His response, yet short and simple, was clear and exactly what I have forever longed to hear when it comes to decor ideas I have, "Actually, I do. I see the vision." He sees the vision?!?! Alas, prayers are indeed answered. :)

Keeping in mind my love of all things white and the sea/beach, and his love of a "warm feeling" in a home and me (of course) here are my ideas...

Seeing as I've already begged asked if he would consider replacing our giant leather sofa with a slipcovered white sectional, with no luck on getting him to agree I have decided that to make it more appealing to my likes I would replace the suede pillow covers with zippered tan and white cabana stripe covers that can be removed and machine washed the next time our little man has a cold, and runs from us when trying to wipe his nose only to dive face first into suede pillows that are almost impossible to clean. You see, pretty aaaannnnndddd practical it shall be.

See lovely cabana stripe pillows in the "master bedroom" photo on a blog I just found and LOVE, Grace Happens.

As for the big expansive wall that has been talked about so many times and stressed over for months. Or years maybe? I have firmly decided to use two long shelves seen here to display an assortment of white, black, and silver/gray frames holding black and white photos, accessories, etc. The inspiration for this final decision came from a woman I couldn't say enough good things about. She's unique and beautiful, a wonderful mother with a great sense of humor about having five children, and just as sweet as the rest of you lovelies. And, today is her birthday so take a moment to go over and wish her a good day! Christina from Full House and this post finalized my decision for our big expansive wall. You have no idea what a relief it is for me to be sure about what I want for this space.

Under the two shelves I've decided my ultimate love would be two slipcovered wingback or small scale armchairs. White, of course, with pleated bottom hems. Similar to these:

which belong to the beautiful Holly of Life In The Fun Lane

or a couple of these beauties from Pottery Barn:

OR, white linen rumpled slipcovers. That's still being decided on. ;)

As for the window that is in an akward area of our living room, we'll raise the curtain rod, add dark matchstick blinds, and use white linen curtains seen here (at a great price, I must say).

The dresser seen here will be replaced with a sofa table OR dropleaf table OR desk along with a vintage chair to accommodate my laptop and growing collection of old books. Above it will hang a large horizontal mirror to reflect some of the light from the window to the other side of the room, OR if I'm very very very lucky and come across some on a beach trip we have planned this summer, driftwood will hang above it. Similar to the photo from Life In The Fun Lane seen above.

And since the room is very open to the staircase the windows there will lose the ugly white blinds and beaded valances and get a big dose of beachy with the same matchstick blinds we'll use on the other window.

*the walls are creamy, not yellow like they seem in the picture*

Don't forget about this lucky Craigslist find that will be painted white and be planted right in front of the sofa.

Throw in some candles, maybe an indoor plant or two (if I can keep them alive *eek*) and assorted accessories around the room and we may actually have a family room with some "style" to it. Our style. Casual. Crisp. Coastal. Comfortable. And, most importantly something we both love.

Lord knows, as well as all of you, that things around here, projects to be exact, take quite some time. But just as soon as the weather, Craigslist searches, time, and budget allow, I will happily share updates and photos of our changes.