It's Pretty Much Done...Check It Out

The living room is all put together- minus some details that will take days, weeks, months and in some cases years.  It wouldn't be fun if it didn't take time----right?!

Here is the before again:

Here is the main inspiration for this room- I fell in love with these here curtains from PB.  I typically make my own curtains- but I decided to splurge on these bad boys- and I'm glad I did- they changed the whole look of the room!

The round tables are something we got years ago at a hotel liquidation sale.  They are so cool, right?  Probably one of my favorite pieces in the house- but they are VERY heavy!

We need a rug in this new seating area- maybe later in the year...

This is one of my favorite family pictures- it's of Donell's mother as a baby- with her parents and brother.

I love the way my paintings look on the gray walls

The children love the new setup as well- they can chase each other in circles around the chairs!- ahhhh, if they were always this easily entertained- my life would be so much easier!

Not sure what we are doing with the mantle at this point- this is one of those year or more projects.  We really want a whole new mantle- but this one is fine for the time being. 

I decided to paint the whole mantel wall white, along with the brick surround and the wood- makes it a little less awkward (it's currently a floating shelf, with a gap of wall between it and the cheesy molding that was tacked up around a brick fireplace surround.

The artwork on the mantel is all mine- the blue figure sculpture is from a college figure modeling class (I stained it with blue shoe polish:), the piece on the left is a large etching I made in college (it's an abstract representation of a Gauguin painting of a Tahitian woman holding a mango), and the one on the right is a little watercolor I did from a photograph of a mud hill in the painted dessert (D and I stopped there on our way cross country- I spent a semester in Arizona in college).

I would like something large and not made by me for this space- I'm still looking...

Oh- and this little kitty on the wall is a paint drip from the original coat of paint that was done a couple years ago- my dad (professional painter) came in the day after the amatures and noticed the drip- and popped it off with his putty knife- well it came off in this exact shape- I HAD TO LEAVE IT!

This is me and D's little "shrine".  It's my favorite wedding picture taken by my girl Kel- and the little blue vase has purple sand from the beach where D proposed to me, and pieces of coral from our honeymoon in Aruba that we smuggled back.

You might have noticed all of the french doors (which I LOVE), but the trim is really shabby- which I DO NOT LOVE- since I am the only painter in the house.  VERY tedious work- but I will get it done!

and- I'll leave you with a picture of my little drama-queen.  Sad because Mosie took a bite of her fruit leather- gotta love little brothers:) How I wish she still napped- days like this she could really use one!

What do you think of the new space???  I'd love to hear your thoughts!