Then & Now: The Loft

The loft. This space was not in the original house plans, but we had to opportunity to add it since there would have been a wall up taking up valuable space.

So it began....

Andy, our friend and serious multi-tasker. Juggles beer and under laminate...in the loft.

Last time I showed you the loft it was right after move in and the floors were finished.

fresh after move-in day...still dust everywhere in this photo...

Since our bedroom is on the main floor, we didn't think we would use this space much just yet. I picture this room a perfect spot for built-ins and toy storage.

But, for some reason, I’ve been spotting furniture steals perfect for the loft! And, why in the world would I pass up a bargain?
Let me introduce to you to our bonus space now:

The large vintage map has been on the list of makeovers since I purchased it this summer at Kane County Flea Market. But I just can't decide what to do with it yet, so we hung it for now.

If you've been a reader for awhile the succulents in the Prince Albert tin were a past post on the blog. But have since died, and been replaced with fakes. Shhh.

A view of the staircase

Desk is Target... a few years back.
B&W letter name sign: gift from my bridesmaids.
Banana leaf basket storing Scout's babies is from HomeGoods. 

Chair $5, estate sale

Ottoman $5 (needs a makeover, but works for now) Goodwill

Green desk chair $7 estate sale

Vintage USA map $20 flea market find
Barnwood end table: parents garage
Prince Albert tin: parents garage
Rug...I think Wal-mart

Not too bad huh?

For now, Scout seems to think of the loft as his lookout, since he can see out the windows into the creek, and also out the front door from his perch.

His babies are also stored up here...when they are put away.

Looking down into the open living room.

You might also notice we switched out the living room rug...trying something new...more to come on that!

What do you think of our bonus space?
Would you antique the map or leave it as is?

Tale of 2 tables: a golden deal & a DIY barnwood coffee table

Tables, tables. All kinds of new tables in my living room this week! One is DIY and one is a clearance find.
I showed you our living room and our kick-ace new leather sofa last week, but we were in need of a coffee table. We had an ottoman sitting where a coffee table should be...

So..earlier this month, I had a few friends visit for the weekend. There was plenty of wine, giggling, gossiping, kitchen dancing, and singing.

Adam made himself scarce...
He went out to the garage to do man stuff. You know, like drink beer and listen to Aerosmith. And build stuff.

He emerged two hours later with a barn wood coffee table for me.

It morphed some in the few days it's been in the living room. One of the boards moved a little. But I think it just adds to the rustic charm.
Next time we build something we will haul the wood inside to let it acclimate to the room temperature. But we like this one the way it is.

On the bottom shelf, I added a basket from target to hold more magazines, remotes, and matches for the candles.

He made this out of allllll barnwood. I'm still trying to decide if we want to add some kind of topcoat or finish to the top. It's still a tad rough around the edges, so it could use a little more sanding at the very least. But I'm researching finishes now... maybe a wax topcoat.

Oh you spotted my little gold table? That is the golden deal I was telling you about.

My mom and I spotted it on a Target haul. It was in the clearance section for 29 bucks. It went right in the cart.

I had eyed these tables when they were not on sale. But I hate paying full price for things...

The new golden beauty adds just the right touch of glam to the rustic in the room. $29 is my kind of price.  The ottoman still has a spot in the living room. It moved over to the window with a few pillows. Prime bird watching spot for Scout.

you don't see those puppy paw prints on the floor...do you?

NEXT STEP: Now to find a new (larger) area rug. I'm thinking something more plush with a short shag.
We love the pattern on this rug, but it's actually and indoor/outdoor rug we picked up from Menards, so it isn't very cushy. Plus, we'd like more rug space so we can spread the furniture out.

He built it from scratch, with just a picture in his mind. He remembered that I wanted a coffee table with a bottom shelf. He did not remember to take photos during the process. Bad blogger husband. But I think I can forgive him.

I love both of my tables. I can't wait to complete the room with the right rug. (hah! complete the room, who am I kidding? I never stop changing things around)


Do you think it's ok to mix rustic & glam?  
Do you have any barn wood finish suggestions? I want to keep the look but add a little protection.

Flea Market Find: 1940's Radio

When I introduced my lovely long awaited couch last week, I also gave you a peek at my flea market steal of the century: a PhilCo Radio from 1941.

I picked this beauty up the Spoon River Drive flea market in October. I saw it, I loved it. I was with my favorite flea market partner---my mom. 

Philco Radio Model 41-287x

We played the guess that price game.

My mom covered the price tag and told me to guess. Realizing that everything in this booth was already reasonably priced...

Me: 75 bucks.

Mom: Too high.

Me: 50? 40?

Mom: Lower...

Me: Oh let me see!!

$15. It was only $15 dollars. I wanted it when I thought it was $75, but for $15 dollars how could I pass this up? 
I had seen people on the internets rip out the old insides that didn’t work in these dated radios and install devices to play their ipods through the old speakers. How fun right? I thought it would be good project to try this winter. For 15 bucks what the heck!

So, I walked over to the dealer and bought that radio. I paid, the dealer and I walked over to carry it to my car--and someone else was looking at it...
He told the man it was sold. 
I smiled. 
The man glared at me. Cranky man then told the dealer he would have paid him 3 times what I paid him.

Me: “Sorry, I bought it.” I got another crabby-pants stare.

I knew I had gotten a deal. He knew I had gotten a deal. He was unhappy. I was extra happy.

Oh, and when the dealer was helping me load it into my car, he told me it still turned on! Now I was thrilled!

all original knobs and dials.

I was able to do a little research after we found the model number. It's a Philco Rado Model 41-287x.
Made in 1941 and sold originally for $85 bucks. They made about 8,000 of this model. Philco is now a brand of Philips.
I did some googling and some Ebay searching and found this model listed a few times...every time they even turn on--and were listed for several hundred bucks. Several hundred. 

Unfortunately, we haven’t had time to really fiddle with it enough to figure out why it isn’t playing music. We don’t really know much, (actually anything) about old radios. We are afraid to mess with it too much. I'm on the hunt to find someone that still works on them, who might be able to take a look and turn it into shipshopshape and make it play music again. I think it’s worth paying a few bucks to get it working, when it seems there are few out there in this condition…and the ones that are, are not selling for 15 dollars…

The great furniture debate. It REALLY is over this time. Really

It’s here. This is real life. It’s finally in my living room. And we love it.

The couch! The couch is here. Third time really is a charm!

We purchased a Lynch leather couch from England furniture. It is exactly what we wanted. Oversized, round arms, round bun feet, and best of all comfortable.  The leather color we chose was Salvador Copper. The color seems darker when it comes in a whole couch and not a tiny swatch. But I am ok with that. I picked out 2 different sets of throw pillows to accent the couch from about 300 different swatches the store had on hand.

It arrived last week, but I haven’t had time to take photos since the wonderful time change doesn’t allow for decent photos after work. I considered blogging about it when I placed the order..but I figured that could jinx me. And we already had some terrible couch shopping experiences.

Want to know the best part? It came in LESS THAN 3 WEEKS! Because it’s made in Tennessee and not China--like most leather couches--it was here 3 days ahead of the 3 week time frame they gave me from my order date. This was a serious plus.

Since my local store (or any others I could find within driving distance) didn’t carry this particular couch, it was a scary choice to order without sitting on it first. I read about 800 reviews before I wrote the check. But it all worked out in the end. (I'm not exaggerating when I say 800 reviews)

So far, it seems to be good quality. Soft, smooth leather and the cushions are firm but squishy enough so you don’t sink in too much. I will keep you updated on the quality over time. Hopefully (for sanity sake, and our bank account) this couch will last us several years.

Next on the list:
Replace the current rug we have with a soft and cushy one, and much bigger.
Build/ DIY a coffee table (I dream it, Adam builds it)

Here are a few living room shots for you as well since I suppose you really haven’t seen our living room very much with furniture.

not happy about photo taking during nap time.

Scout insisted on being in just about every single photo. He was in no mood for me to move his bed. I think he’s mad at us because we haven’t been letting him on this couch. Oops.

A view from the catwalk/loft.

the fireplace is still the real beauty of the room...

I love that the kitchen and dining are so open to the rest of the home.

My current mantle.

ignore the dirty soot...we use this baby every day.

My probably flea market best steal of the century. A PhilCo radio from 1941. THAT STILL TURNS ON. Guess how much I paid for it? Just guess...

I still love my chairs...even more that they have a pretty couch as their mate.

My old estate sale desk/table currently as a console table. I'm looking for something more solid like a dresser or old buffet. But for now, I like this.

Next to it sits my antiqued globe.

So there is my lovely couch. Finally. And my current living room. Did you ever think you would see the day? I didn't for awhile.

If you missed out other furniture shopping saga:
The beginning.
The middle that I thought was really the end at first.
I thought it was over.
The time I almost gave up and we would sit on lawn chairs forever.

The Great Furniture Debate: Is NOT over. Crap.

Hey guys remember this post when I was SOSO excited I ordered a couch and I was in love with it and couldn’t wait to get the gorgeous furniture delivered…

WELL you are not even going to believe this…the furniture gods were like LOLNO. 
Because I got a call that my couch is no longer being manufactured!

Me right now...

I'm not kidding--this is how my conversation with the furniture store went:

Furniture salesman: Sorry to tell you this Trina, but the couch you ordered is not being manufactured by Lane anymore. Lane canceled the order we placed.

Me: *Puts the phone on mute, screams...unmute* Are you serious? Why?

Salesman: Well Lane has laid-off a lot of employees. They are downsizing quite a bit.

Me: Well, ok…what else can you suggest that is similar to this style that I can look at tomorrow?

Salesman: Hm well, we get new stuff in all the time! Check back in a few months!

Um hello? I have money to spend on a very nice couch. I even have cash. You have couches. Can you sell me a couch please?…that they still manufacture. Preferably.

Seriously. Back to square one…for the third time. I am on the couch hunt. Again. 
This is getting exhausting.

Read more about this furniture shopping series (REALLY! This has become a series)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Have you ever heard someone have such bad couch karma? 
Someone sell me a couch! 

The Great Furniture Debate: IS OVER.

It happened. It finally happened. I walked into one of the local furniture stores..which I had visited only 800 times in the past 3 months. And what do you know…the (almost) perfect couch was sitting there right in front of me.

I tested it with a plop onto the couch. And the results were a win!
It was comfy...
It was oversized...
My extra tall husband could comfortably relax on this couch, with me on it too...
It wasn’t overly casual...
It had traditional arms...
Bonus: Bun feet and nailhead trim to match our fabulous chairs...
Double triple bonus: It was in our price range!

I have two of these beauties just waiting for a couch companion!

The only thing I didn’t love about it was the fabric on the showroom floor. Luckily for me, there were over 500 fabrics to choose from.

I asked about cushions and springs and everything in between and on top. I asked them no less than a dozen questions about each fabric, such as durability, wear over time…what happens when we spill a diet coke on it? Or Scout thinks no one is looking at jumps up to look out the window or play king of the castle....

Scout is king.

 Or just take a snooze...

Cat dog?

After all my questions were answered and fabric samples were brought home to compare, I decided on a color and fabric choice…(hint: not leather! Which is what I originally wanted!)  
Done. Now the waiting game. Special orders take approximately 4 weeks. Which now seems like forever to wait for my dreamy couch.

Swatch comparing...

There is the only photo I am sharing today. Now you know what the arms look like and what brand I chose. No more details or even final fabric choice pictures until it comes in. You get to wait the dreadful 4ish weeks with me. Cue evil laugh…*MUAHAHAHA*
But, that will give me time to shop for a few other things from the living room wish list!


Living Room Wish List:
Area rug: I’m thinking something with shag!
Coffee table: Maybe a craigslist or thrift shop one to redo, or maybe even a DIY build!
Extra-long buffet or dresser: to go behind the couch.

I doubt I will be able to get all of those things on my wish list in the next 4 weeks. But one of them would sure be nice!


Does your dog have catlike behaviors?
Do you stress over things like spilling diet cokes and couch surfing pets when you make big furniture purchases?