Living room - work in progress
I've always been working towards posting here, but due to budgetary constraints and lack of inherent sauciness in my previous abodes, I've always felt a bit constrained - I wanted to leave off on posting until things really were up to both my standards and the standards of the community.
Luckily, having moved into a fairly beautiful flat with great bones, I've been able to put together a bit more awesomeness. My house will be ready for a tour soon - I'm still working on the finishing touches for my bedroom and the bathroom - but I had my living room looking almost right, posted some pictures to the Open Sauce thread and got encouragement from silly_narziss to make a separate post.
In that thread I was bemoaning the lack of a coffee table (since that was the #1 thing precluding me from feeling like it was just about right). Today, on wandering into the Salvation Army since I hadn't been thrifting for a while, I found a cute little retro table for $10! So with that boost in mind, I cleaned and organised the living room so I could take a few more shots and make a full post as a preview of things to come.
This is a painting done by my dad - it's the exodus from Egypt, re-rendered into a modern setting. It hangs above our French doors - you can see it in context in the first shot above.
I adore this couch - it was thrifted for a steal since it needed new spring loops on the back and was upholstered in a horrible dirty lime green so I made completely new upholstery for its cushions. The frame still needs a sanding and re-oiling which I plan to do this summer. It's over 2 metres long and folds down into a double bed, though even non-folded it's comfortable for a good stretched-out nap (my cat would like to think she could take over the whole thing, but even trying very hard she can't quite.) I'd still like to add more cushions - I have some Amy Butler fabric waiting in my stash.
These paintings are also by my Dad - he's an artist here in New Zealand. I adore having so much of his art around me since it really settles me into my surroundings and makes it feel more like home. The red/chrome side chair was originally in really bad condition - the vinyl was splitting and leaking stuffing everywhere, so my partner and I recovered them with new red vinyl and padding. Sewing vinyl piping on my non-industrial sewing machine is not something I'd really enjoy doing again, but I suppose it builds character.
All of these vases are thrifted - the jug is English pottery and found for something like $12, but I adore the shape of it and how it reflects the light. The faux Wedgewood vase features Yelling Bird from Questionable Content, which makes me giggle. The yellow mug is a Crown Lynn coronation mug produced in 1953 for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation - it has an embossed portrait on the front and I couldn't resist having it in my collection.
The typography picture was a cover of a year planner I used while living overseas - I enjoyed the design so much I cut off the cover when the year ended and framed it. The Japanese portraits are vintage Kirin beer advertisements and are postcards my host father gave me while I was living in Japan.
The lamp was just a cheap one from NZ chain The Warehouse (similar to Walmart) but the white shade was much starker than the ceramic base so I covered it with some remnant poppy fabric I had in my stash. It's much more interesting now as I love the shape of the base (the red lamp on the opposite side of the room is the same model.) I've used the same fabric to make a curtain for my kitchen window.
I love these cushions; it and the NZ map cushion in other shots were from limitedvintage.co.nz and are made from old woolen blankets. 'Aroha' means 'love' in Maori. The armchairs were also thrifted for $50 for the pair - they're a little shabby, but still comfortable to curl up in, and I kind of like how everything in my house seems a little old but very well-loved and comfortable with each other. The only main things I'm still waiting on for this room are my prints (Binary 2.0 and New Colonies from 826LA) which are still at the framers, and a rug of some kind. Ideally I would have liked a white flokati, but given that we have a black cat who seems to shed more than her body weight in fur, I doubt white is the right choice. We'll likely settle on a chocolate brown sheepskin or shag rug.
If there's anything I haven't mentioned, please feel free to ask about it! I tend to tl;dr in my descriptions so I tried to restrain myself :)