The tripod lamp is also still one of my favorite things… I got a new lampshade that has a rougher woven texture that I’m planning on swapping in, but nothing earth shattering.

Standing at the desk and turning around to face the rest of the living room, there is lots of color going on for summer and I love it.  As the weather cools down (or should I say, as it warms up with fall since there has not been one day over 60 degrees in the last several weeks)… whatever… as the seasons change, and we move into fall, I want to swap the art out for something a little more moody, and the pillows will be a bit more subdued as well.

For now, the bright blues and yellows remind me that it’s summer (somewhere outside SF), and of course these just make me happy… even in the fog.

My little terrarium is still plugging away… nothing has died yet!

And now, looking to the left, I just posted about our new little vignette on the wine rack… well I felt that I owed it a few nicer photos, since I relocated the memory card for our DSLR camera.

The mirror will eventually be swapped out for something round or more ornate (like I’d posted about here) but since propping up the gold picture frame on the right, I kind of hate the mirror less… either way it will have to do for now.

Besides, the orchids are so arrestingly beautiful, I hardly notice the generic mirror lurking in the background….

Yep, these plants are loving life – bright, indirect light… all. day. long.

I’d mentioned that I’d gathered the plants together on a small tray… here is said tray.  A little feather shape that I picked up from target on sale a few months back.

Ok, last picture of the wine hutch for now… I swear…

Now we are standing in the archway between the unfinished dining room and living room.  Looking back at the wall of windows, and our sofas.

When we first moved in, I absolutely despised Kris’ modern, black couch… but in the last year or so, I’ve either a) gotten used to it, b) piled enough pillows and throw blankets on it to distract the eye, c) balanced out it’s darkness with other dark colors in the living room, or d) all of the above… I kind of don’t hate it anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, that thing is going on Craigslist as soon as humanly possible, but I don’t think it’s the eyesore I used to…

Here I am, scootching back into the dining room to get a little bit more of the room in to the frame…

… and scootching back a little bit more to get the cowhide rug that I simply adore… I think having different textures in adjacent spaces has also really helped balance the room and make it feel less “big box store” than it really is.

Let’s be honest, everything we have in our living room is either from Ikea (frames, curtain rods, sofas), Target (wine hutch, fabric for throw pillows, baskets under the coffee table, lamps, trays), Bed Bath & Beyond (curtain panels), Craigslist (coffee table with matching side tables, console table), Homegoods (basically every accessory from the glass vases to the candle holders to the faux fruit).

Right?!  The natural fiber gives a healthy dose of “organic” to an otherwise, completely in-organic feeling space… just what it needed if you asked me!

And this coffee table… so bad, but I just had to show you all how badly we need a coffee table with storage when we do replace this thing (which I pray to god is very soon!)

I mean, these three baskets in the forefront are stuffed to the gills with wires, cords, TV remotes, video game controllers (because my boyfriend is secretly a 13 year old boy at heart).  On the other side of the table – closest to the couch – the baskets are filled with blankets for cozying up on the couch, and the surplus of wine that won’t fit in that mini wine hutch!

My point??  Storage is important.

Ok, moving onto the other side of the room… let’s first get distracted by the gorgeous flowers I picked up at the grocery store.  They smell as good as they look, and since I’m not one to hide a good deal, they were only $3 for the bunch!!

I kind of hope they die soon so I can get more while the deal is still going… but they are onto their second full week and going strong!

So here we are, sitting on Kris’ couch and looking across to the other side of the room… ignore the painting propped on the ground by the front door.  That came out of the dining room, and needs to find a new home somewhere else…

The white console table moved our of our hallway a few months back, and I has been hanging out on the far wall ever since.  I’ve had a really hard time trying to think of what should go here.  I’m thinking we may ultimately end up selling this console table (despite it’s fabulous new paint job), and maybe the fiddle leaf fig (FLF) can go there with another slightly smaller potted plant next to it?

Or maybe a white or light grey garden stool with a small plant on top of it, to go next to the FLF?

To be honest, the only reason the FLF is out here in the middle of the living room is because I nearly killed it in the dining room next to the heater.  It’s lost 5 leaves so far after moving it away from the heater, and it’s been a few days since the last leaf dropped… I’ve Googled the topic to death, and while I’m not 100% sure, I think we’re in the clear, and I’m going to work on nursing it back to health.  The bald spot on the plant is facing the wall, but you can see where it’s a little bare near the bottom left…

Anyways, I’m sure you’re all completely bored to tears after that story about my houseplant… long story short, unless I want to sign this plant’s death certificate right now, I need to find a home for it in here, and so it might just be at the sacrifice of the console table…

And that’s it!

More updates to come soon with the new sofa, a new coffee table (possibly?) and new or revamped side tables!!

Can you believe this room started out looking like this??

ME EITHER!!!