Rather than keeping our home decorating process a secret, I’ve decided to show the journey. Our living room has quite a way to go (paint, rug, couch and art especially), but I just had to share our most recent update!
It’s been a trying week, for sure. Our days have been packed with failed attempts to dry out our home, lengthy visits from contractors, confusing conversations with repair and insurance companies, and a whole lot of worry. (Turns out the situation is way worse than we thought, but that’s a story for another day.) Needless to say, when a package arrived on our front doorstep with my dream coffee table inside it–the coffee table I wrote about here–I was ever so grateful. Thank you so, so much, Wayfair!
Before I start talking about our coffee table update, though, I have some more people to thank. :) First of all, you guys. Because your sweet emails and comments have been very helpful pick-me-ups. I know this situation is not the end of the world, but to new homeowners, it’s been pretty nightmarish. And the fact that so many people–many of whom I’ve never met in person–would reach out with kind words means a lot. And, of course, a huge thank you goes out to our parents, who keep telling us their own personal horror stories from their early years of homeownership, and that everything is going to be okay. Their advice has been invaluable to us, and we know it’s going to guide us through the restoration (eek!) process. Also, they’ve fielded some tearful phone calls. So… yeah. Aren’t parents the best? Finally, there are our friends, who’ve sent countless messages and have even gone so far as delivering cards, Chardonnay and six packs of “Little Somethin’ Somethin’.” (My favorite Chicago beer, which I’m too afraid to order at bars because I think it makes me sound like I’m hitting on the bartender. I’ll have a… little somethin’ somethin’ please. UM, NO.) Jess and Neal, we love you. ;)
SO:
I am obsessed with the new update. Before, we had a little black coffee table. It was great before we bought the house, as our apartments had always been ridiculously tiny. But once we got it into our new home, we realized how silly it looked. Much too small, and not our style anymore. We wanted something that had a bit more character, and that combined traditional, preppy and industrial styles. I’d long been in love with parquet floors from my days in Manhattan and Hoboken, and thought a parquet coffee table would be the perfect way to mix in the feel without dropping thousands and thousands of dollars. ;) But I couldn’t get over how expensive they were! Sheesh. Until I stumbled upon Wayfair, and found two great options: the Cabrone and the Halle.
If I’ve learned anything about Wayfair since that discovery, it’s that the brand has everything I’m looking for. Want an adorable ceramic pineapple? Here! (This is the one I have.) Looking for a preppy rug? Here! Looking for Chippendale chairs? (Ha. It’s sick how often I talk about those things.) Here! And more here! Cute topiaries? Here! (This is the one I have.) The perfect leather couches? Here!
Seriously, it’s amazing.
I’m also incredibly impressed with the quality. The coffee table is clearly well-built and sturdy, and so big. I never knew how wonderful it is to have a large coffee table. No more moving things around or glasses tipping over. So much space! And I can’t get over how much it does for the room. Before, everything looked weirdly small. Now, though, we seem to be filling out the area more.
And once I pick out a rug, purchase a larger couch and love seat, scatter some baskets around, and have the walls painted (which will make for much nicer photos!), I really think things are going to come together. I’m also considering getting a different end table and moving the white one next to an oversized chair in the office. OH. And we’re renovating the fireplace. Eeee! Which is super exciting. (Not pictured because it’s a little fug right now. You can see the home tour here.)
It seems that I’m going to be spending a lot of time on Wayfair!
Have you ever tried Wayfair?! (If not, warning: you’re going to spend hours on the site!) What do you think the room needs next?
Oh, and one other thing: I used a wide-angle lens to take these photos. (Thanks for letting me borrow it, Blair!) My 50mm lens is far too “zoomed in” to capture our living room, so I needed to go with something wider. That said, wide-angled lenses tend to yield slightly distorted and vignette-y images in certain situations. So no, our home is not this big, haha. And no, it doesn’t feel this empty. (Though it does feel kind of empty. Working on that!)
Other room details: “L” Pillow (Gift from mother-in-law; so many great options!) / Light Blue Pillow (Old, wedding shower gift — PB — How cute is this one, though?!) / Lobster Pillow c/o / Couch / End Table / Lamp (Wedding shower gift — PB — But how about the base of this one?!) / Blue & White Jars c/o / Gold Elephant c/o (So much Jonathan Adler on Wayfair, too!)
wayfiar is awesome but like any place you have to know your pricing before buying from them. Also they change the prices on certain items – often and it can be a lot. I bought a desk and waiting since we were going on vacation it came down a few hundred $$ over the course of a few weeks. Some barstools I bought never changed in pricing … so I finally bought them. We bought our bar from them for our basement!
Susan,
Thank you! I’ve been doing a lot of price comparisons, and it seems like Wayfair usually has the best offerings on the products I’m interested in, and I LOVE that products are occasionally marked down! Waiting on–and watching– an item is definitely a smart move. So glad to hear you love the bar stools! What did you choose?! I love the Parisian-inspired bistro ones, but I sadly don’t have a bar or kitchen island haha. :)
REALLY cute pic! Almost 18 months later and I still haven’t figured out what kind of coffee table should replace our apartment one. =
Thank you! Hopefully there will be another update soon. :) I’ve got plans!!
RIGHT?! It’s so hard. Lately I’ve been telling myself to look around for a month or two, and if at the end of that time period I’m still thinking about one product–pull the trigger. Otherwise I’m nervous the place will sit unfurnished for years, haha.
But yes. The struggle is real. :)
Your coffee table is gorgeous. Your house looks so cute!
I’m so sorry that you’re still dealing with the water damage. This too shall pass!
Alyssa | Glitter and Grey
Thank you so much, Alyssa! You are the best, and your message means a lot to me!
The coffee table is really cute :) And if you run out of home owner horror stories and need a few more, let me know – I feel like I have a lifetime worth of them already, sadly.
Thank you!! Oh man. I’m so sorry to hear that. Do you still think being a homeowner is worth it? Mitch and I talked about it last night, and we both agreed that we’re still REALLY happy we bought the house. This is (hopefully) just a bump!
It is definitely still worth it! I would never go back to renting. :-) Just hit a few snags along the way. We’re in the process of trying to sell our second home and buy the third – hopefully the next one will have less surprises ha Good luck with everything! Finding good contractors and handy men is a big help in the long run.
Oh my GOODNESS! Your third home?! I told Mitch that this is it for us because I could never again go through the mortgage and closing process. The stress nearly killed me. ;)
We think we found a really great contractor — We’re hoping it all goes well! Updates soon :)
Ha, I said the same thing when we bought this house, but then some things changed and hopefully our next place will be it for awhile! Moving is such a pain! And it’s great that you found a good contractor! Good luck!
Love the coffee table. We still have the black Ikea coffee table from my law school apartment — hopefully we can upgrade soon!
-Meg
http://www.smalltownsisters.blogspot.com
Yes–ours was from Target, and we had it for seven years, haha. But definitely look around on Wayfair. SO MANY GREAT OPTIONS, and a ton of them compete with Ikea’s prices!
Kelly! I love that lamp on your end table. Is that from Wayfair too? Obsessed!!
And I just got a corner bookshelf from Wayfair thanks to you! Turns out, my mom has gotten a lot of rugs from Wayfair as well as knick-knacks (is that even spelled right?) around the house! Great place for everything :-)
THANK YOU! You’re the sweetest, Carly. No, the lamp was a gift from my grandma for our bridal shower — It’s an old Pottery Barn lamp. I LOVE IT! But I link to a similar lamp from Wayfair at the bottom of the post. :)
I love Wayfair I’ve furnished a lot my current place && love it! Your picks are great! Would love for you to read my latest!
xo, Jessica || The Petite Diaries
AH! Really? Do you have any great products to share? I’d love to hear what you picked out!
So I have a table that is no longer available but it is stainless-steel with a blue tint and has rod iron legs! The bf picked it out and I love it so much because it is such a statement piece! I have some pillows as well and a few accessories as well. My desk that I used to work on is from there and I had to send it back just because it didn’t last as long as it said! The shipping is great and the service was amazing minus when a chair got lost in the mail :)