Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Updates To Our Living Room

Hi everyone!  I want to share some recent updates we've made in our living room.  I showed some pictures of our living room back in February, with a few snowmen here and there. The snowmen are packed away for another year, and I've replaced them with some rabbits.  I have a fondness for rabbits -- you can tell I don't have a vegetable garden.  :)

The bigger changes I wanted to share are what we've done around our piano, including new window treatments.  For years, I displayed about four or five accessories on top of our piano.  A treasured plate from my sister, a baby picture of our son, a Royal Doulton vase, and a few other items adorned that spot. 

I don't have a picture of the piano as it was at that time.  There was nothing wrong with the way it was, but at some point, I just wanted a change.  I decided the room needed a touch of silver.  I had lots of good black and white family photos, and so I set about getting silver frames for them to be displayed on the piano.

In addition, I wanted to hang something different on the wall above the piano.  This is what I had there for 16 years.  This picture was taken at Christmas, so I had ceramic Christmas carolers on the piano, but you can see the swag that hung on the wall at the time.



My mom made the Christmas carolers, by the way.  We had them in our house when I was growing up, and I always loved them.  The swag over the piano was made for us by my husband's grandmother when we lived in our house in Greensboro.  It's still beautiful, and I'm one of those people who has a hard time getting rid of things, so I'll keep it and perhaps put it in our guest bedroom one day.


This picture shows you the curtains we had in the living room previously.  My mother-in-law made these for the living room in our Greensboro home.  The room had four good-sized windows, and she made four valances for us.  I've always loved that pretty chintz pattern.  I think this may have even been a Waverly fabric; I'm not positive.  She chose it to coordinate with our sofa and chair.  Here's a picture of the sofa from this past winter --


Anyway, my mom-in-law did a great job on these curtains.  When I told her I was getting new curtains (these are about 20 years old) she told me I had gotten the goody out of these and to just throw them away.  Huh?!  These curtains are still in excellent condition, and this little pack rat won't be throwing them away.  Besides that, I'm sentimental about things that people make for me.  :)

So here is our new look...


What do you think?  I got our drapes from Country Curtains, and I'm really pleased with them.  They're a linen/cotton blend, and they're lined so they have a nice weight.  I really would have loved to have one of their beautiful floral patterns, but since our sofa has a chintz floral pattern, I had to go with a solid curtain panel.  No problem -- I've wanted floor-length drapes for ages, so I couldn't be happier.


This is a close-up of the curtain panel.  It was hard to capture the color exactly in these pictures; the color looks different in each one.  I like the small embroidered sunburst pattern.  It looks like dots from a distance -- just enough pattern to add interest.


You can see I replaced the swag over the piano with an antique painting that belonged to my maternal grandparents. The portrait is of Jenny Lind, the Swedish opera singer.  This is the piano I practiced on growing up in my parents' house, and this same painting hung over the piano in my parents' living room.  When we put this up after Christmas, my mom said it looks like it belongs here.  We used to have it hanging over our bed, but we got a taller bed, and the picture wouldn't fit there anymore.  I really like it here in our living room.

The other recent addition to this room is the piano bench.  My husband's grandmother made the cover for her piano bench years ago, and when she went into a retirement home, she gave most of her treasured items to family members.  She gave her piano to her church, and we just switched piano benches.  I gave her my bench to go with her piano, and I think her bench goes beautifully with our piano.



Isn't this beautiful needlework?  I'm so proud to have this -- it's a real treasure!



My husband's grandmother also made this footstool, which she gave us many years ago.




Our black and white family photos...



...and my sweet rabbits that I found at a local gift shop.  They're from the Bearington Collection.  My mom crocheted the afghan on the back of the chair for us.


So that's our little living room metamorphosis.







Thanks so much for your visit; I love your visits and comments!  I'm joining:

Susan for Metamorphosis Monday
Cindy for Amaze Me Monday
Marti for Inspire Me Tuesday
Patti and Paula for What's It Wednesday
Kim for Wow Us Wednesdays
Katherine for Thursday Favorite Things
Kathy for Home and Garden Thursday
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday

Denise

21 comments:

  1. Your living room looks so comfortable and cozy. Love the piano bench! Your new drapes are very pretty!

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  2. Your new drapes are very pretty Denise and the piano bench is just beautiful-enjoy:@)

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  3. Gorgeous Denise! Your new curtains are so pretty. I absolutely love your bench, stool and pillow...all the beautiful needlepoint! So many special treasured family pieces, Love grandmothers swag and would put it in the guest room for sure!
    Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  4. Everything looks great and I love the floor length panels and the black and white photos!

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  5. I love the needlepoint bench and footstool, D. They are gorgeous. Your living room is lovely. Cute bunnies. I like Country Curtains. xo

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  6. This is funny, Denise as I am working on new window treatments like yours, giving up the valences for panels. Except we switched our living room and dining room. But looking at the long view you show, I'd say we have the same house--or at least this room looks the same! :-) I like the change! Now I'm going to measure if my piano could go where you have yours! Never thought of that.

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  7. Hi Denise, I love the changes you've made to your LR. What really please me is the way you treasure family heirlooms and treasures that people have given or made for you. What a dear soul, sweet soul you are. Thanks for taking us on a tour and the special things you've done. xo

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  8. Your new drapes are beautiful. They really look great. And that piano bench... WOW! Handmade! I'm sure that took some time. That's a treasure to have for sure.
    I've recently got a few things that used to belong to my Mamaw and Papaw. It's fun and challenging to see how and where I can display them.

    That caroler on the left looks so familiar. My mom and grandmother used to make ceramics with a neighbor when I was a kid. I am sure that we had one that they made or one VERY similar.

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  9. Very nice...can't think of anything much more perfect than a portrait of Jenny Lind over the piano. The room looks welcoming, elegant, and classic. Love the new drapes and I can see how you'd not want to get rid of the others. They'll be beautiful in a new location just as they were beautiful there. Change is always nice.

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  10. Oh, Denise. It turned out beautifully. I love the new curtains but I feel the same way about hand made gifts and find it hard to part with them. It so nice to 'freshen' up a space once in awhile. Love the b/w photos in silver on the piano. There was a TV show back in the 80's (I think) called "Family". In the opening credits they had the piano covered with framed photographs. I always remember that and thought it was so pretty. It was a favorite show of mine. That little rabbit is so special with the pony tail ears..Happy Wednesday..Judy

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  11. I love your cozy and pretty home all together, Dennise! The black and white photos in the piano are lovely, such memories! Your drapes are great..love them! Wonderful room, elegant and classic, too. Thank you for your sweet and kind visit. Big hugs,
    FABBY

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  12. Love your warm and inviting home! The new curtains are gorgeous. Like you, I wouldn't dream of throwing the old ones away, there are so many ways that you can re-purpose them. So glad you stopped by. I'm following you and hope you do join in the party, we'd love to have you!
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  13. I love the new look of your living room, Denise. I like the way you so proudly display your family photos and inherited treasures. The piano stool cover is absolutely beautiful! Nice job!

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  14. your home looks lovely and welcoming. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite things hop xo

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  15. Love the new drapes and your piano bench is exquisite!

    Big Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

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  16. The living room is beautiful! All of the family treasure are so special and I know how you treasure these things. Love the curtains too. Can't wait to see them in person. Love you, Mom

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  17. Denise, the curtains look great in your room and that needlepoint piano bench cover is absolutely the most exquisite one that I have ever seen. I have seen many of the them in the past, but I have total needlepoint-envy over this one. You are right - that is an amazing treasure and I am sure that Jenny Lind agrees!!

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  18. Your living room looks so pretty! I love your new curtains and the fabric is lovely. I love lined curtains though I don't have any in my home! :) Your art work over your piano does look so pretty and the needlework piano bench cover is gorgeous. What a treasure!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  19. The drapes look wonderful Denise....and that piano bench is gorgeous!...What a fantastic item to have that is a wonderful treasure from your hubby's grandmother...so very special!

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  20. This looks amazing - love your new curtains, the portrait on the wall and the vintage family photos - all beautiful together! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  21. What a lovely room!!!! I am a musician and would gladly trade my left hind leg for that bench....it is absolutely gorgeous!!! I have a pretty needlework on my bench, but it pales by comparison!
    Blessings to you,
    J

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND COMMENTS. I ENJOY READING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.

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