It’s crazy to think we’ve been in South Carolina a full month now! We are slowly getting settled. I tell ya, it’s exhausting packing everything up, unpacking and organizing, only to do it all over again. This second round of unpacking is daunting. We were on such a roll the first week or so and then once we had most major stuff figured out, it’s like everything else came to a hault. One of the tasks we’d put off for a while was figuring out what to do with the living room. Today, Darrell helped me rearrange a bit and make things feel a little more cozy.

Rug Talk

For starters, we had the movers put the rug used in our NYC bedroom in the SC living room on moving truck day because the rug we used in the NYC living room was too small. I’d like to also add, the rug from our NYC living room just isn’t what I was hoping for. The colors seem darker and the blues are kind of too teal? I guess that’s what my issue is, it’s hard to put my finger on it but the colors are just off and I thought it would look lighter. In our dark NYC apartment, it was definitely too dark. Here in SC, it’s still too dark even with tons of natural light. But this 8x10 rugs from Rugs USA is the perfect size and I’m very pleased with the quality.

I’m having a hard time envisioning what this new living room should look like and part of that is the bigger rug’s colors. I love the design and warm colors, it just worked way better with the bedroom decor, in my opinion. Why not put it in the bedroom again? Well the bedroom is carpeted and I think rugs can easily look weird on top of carpet, especially when heavy items sit in the middle of the rug (like our very heavy bed base). Plus, I really wanted to make use of the rugs (rugs aren’t cheap) but it’s taking me a while to come around about so much “warmth” in the coloring of this rug in the living room.

When the movers moved everything in, they placed the rug we now use for the living room running long ways, which worked well for the size of the space but looked awkward considering the width of the couch. They also put the couch at the end of the rug. We never intended for it to stay that way for long, but the couch is heavy and I wasn’t exactly sure how to make the rug and couch work so we waited to move them until today. This was also a great opportunity to finally center the TV stand too lol!

Making Things Work

There are a lot of things about the furniture and decor (much like the rugs) we bought for NYC that are causing me to get creative with my problem solving skills to make as much as possible work in our larger, newer space. The old charm of the building where we resided in in NYC just hits different than the sleek and modern light grey that fills our new home. It’s funny, I’m not sure I prefer one over the other, they’re both very beautiful in their own way.

With such an open concept, the TV and TV stand look a wee bit small for the space. The wall where the TV is placed is also the largest/longest “blank space” in the entire apartment so I wonder if bookshelves or a larger TV & TV stand would help with height and balance things out? Again, it just sucks because we literally just bought the TV stand I think it’s really pretty. I love the look of built-ins but that’s not an option for apartment living. If you have suggestions or ideas for beautiful white bookshelves, I’m all ears.

I recently ordered a couple of blue and white vases and for now I think they look good on the TV stand..? Still deciding. They need some sprigs of baby’s breath or some other tiny flower. I also found a tiny pair of adorable blue and white Delft Holland porcelain shoes at a nearby antique store for $5! They remind me of a similar pair of shoes my Nannah has among her little shelf of trinkets, although her’s are wooden and large enough to fit my feet as a small child! (So of course I was enamored back then and haven’t forgotten!)

What I’m Considering

Bookshelves? A faux mantle/fireplace? All of which would help with the wall, like I was discussing before. My other idea is to make a quilted wall hanging to cover the dumb outlet halfway up the wall. (Yes, I realize it’s actually not dumb at all, it’s kinda genius considering the cords on TVs, and that most people have a larger TV than us.) But I feel like our TV is adequate in meeting our needs so it seems silly to buy a bigger TV just to cover the outlet, especially when ours isn’t even that old. But I’ve already begun sewing the wall hanging and I think it is going to be such a nice touch, even it ends up going somewhere else lol.

Tables

A side table would be so nice between the arm of the couch and the window sill. I’ve been scoping out items at antique malls and on Facebook Marketplace. We wanted one in NYC but there wasn’t room lol. There also wasn’t room for a coffee table in NYC and that’s a shame because we got rid of Darrell’s amazing coffee table prior to the first move. I’m also starting to second guess my decision to go for so much white furniture and wonder if it is okay to start adding in some more traditional dark wood pieces. I know I am so my father’s daughter because I am very drawn to Queen Anne furniture. I think a slender dark wood end table would look nice with the direction I seem to be taking with the decor.

Pillows

I’ve also been eyeing some navy pillow cases with a white greek key border for the throw pillows. The great thing about pillow cases is that I can always go back to my cute gingham pillows. Plus, covers/cases are generally so much cheaper.

Curtains

Inspired by Kelly in the City, I’ve been eyeing these toile print curtains, and I think I could see it coming together in a traditional / grandmillennial style with the rug and other items, but I’m on the fence because there are so many windows in this open concept main space of the apartment. Here’s a run down of all my questions surrounding the topic of curtains in this space (for your entertainment but also like maybe can someone help me figure this out?? LOL)

Do I get one long rod to run along the 3 windows in the “living room” area?
Does each window get one panel or two or am I completely off on how many panels are needed?
And is there such thing as too much of a pattern like toile when considering how many windows would be decked in their gorgeousness?
Also is it a thing to do curtains for the 3 “living room” windows and different curtains for the 3 windows in the adjacent/connecting space??

You see, I have so many questions!

Here’s a round up of the items found in our living room:

Here are some of the items I am considering:

To conclude, I think it’s finally coming together!! It’s feeling more like a cozy living room than a wide open space already. It’s funny, I sat down on the couch this afternoon and said “this feels so weird” … crazy how moving a couch a few feet and moving a few other items around can make a space feel totally new and different!

Living Room Update