Bob: This was our first decorating in the living room. We included new mini-blinds, an iron plant hook, red scarf drapes and a filigree curtain panel at the bottom of the window (effectively hides the too-short blinds). The tall windows on the first floor have 77-1/2" openings (over six feet!), much too long for nearly any cheap mini-blinds out there. These window skirts do a good job of camouflaging our inexpensive means.
Nan: When we first got the walls and woodwork painted, we needed something to bolster our
spirits, and to help us realize that some day this would all be a finished home. It really
gave us inspiration to be able to add this "touch of home" to our living room.
Bob: The front window gets a similar treatment. These early pictures show our plants at a uniformly immature state of growth. As you shall see, they increased dramatically.
(05/2010) Nan: Bob called this the "Plant Window" waaaaaaaaaaaay back when. Now, two years later,
it is more like "Jungle Window"! Those marble queen ivies hanging here have many
companions and they have nearly overtaken this window. We have several cuttings from them
growing in water, just waiting to be hung outside. Lord knows what we'll do with
them after they proliferate all summer.
Bob: The piano is finally back against the wall, with a few simple decorations for now. We held out this corner for it, and, in spite of limited room, well, a piano player just has to have a piano, don't 'cha know. We had those furnace people raise the thermostat to accomodate the piano (sure seems like a long time ago).
Nan: Hand it to him? Does he know what he is asking me? I'd much rather help him build
the media rack that we're planning for the wall over the piano. It's supposed to be designed
along the order of the TV stand we have on the opposite side of the room. You'll see, eventually.
Bob: Pictured is the living room ceiling fan, before I got after it. Several years in an unheated house left it droopy and dirty. Don't let anybody kid you: it takes many hours of detail work to bring an old house back to life and on line, expecially when nature is left to its own devices. This house was, indeed, not all that bad: the majority of the work we've done is aesthetic in nature. Mostly, we have been fleshing out missing details, and reactivating dormant systems.
Nan: Hour after hour, after hour, after hour - well, you get the idea. Restoring a house
from near death is a long and arduous task. I sure wish we could find something in this old
house that would get us our 15 minutes of fame on If Walls Could Talk.
Bob: This fine piece of American-made furniture appeared on the side of the road over on East Street back in April. At the time, I had no need for a coffee or living room table, but I grabbed it anyway, thinking it was a far better thing than to allow it to go into the landfill. How right I was, but it was Nan who came up with the idea of how to use it!
Nan: I loved this table for it's sturdiness and that it is oak. Not needing a coffee table,
but also, like Bob, not wanting to toss it, I thought about cutting it up and making a plant
stand out of it. Bob objected to that. He thought it would be far more useful utilized some
other way. A few weeks later we were scavenging (the sides of the streets, Goodwill, and other
places) for a TV stand. Bingo! I suggested cutting this table. I had to convince Bob
it was perfect, but when he finally came around he realized it was a Good Thing. And Viola!
TV Stand it became.
Bob: Lo and behold, a nicely made table can be just as good when you saw it into unequal halves and stack them up. I created new rear legs and a new bottom shelf from various scrap wood in the garage. Perfect for our entertainment center, holds all the various components quite nicely.
Nan: It's really great seeing a vision come to life. We saw another table exactly like
this (like it was, anyway) at a garage sale last summer. But it was not for sale. The woman
was using it to display her garage-sale stuff. We tried, we really did! Alas,
she would not sell. But, I'd be willing to bet we're the only ones in town with a TV stand
like ours.
Bob: I just can't seem to figure out what time it is. Is there a clock around here someplace? I can never find one when I need it...
This turned out to be the perfect touch for this corner. It came in a kit (with a 40% discount coupon!) from Hobby Lobby. The kit included works, numbers (both Arabic and Roman) and a template and instructions.
Nan: We liked this one so much that we bought another one for our upstairs bedroom. We figure no matter how dim our eyesight becomes as we age (moi? age??) we'll always be able to know what time it is.
Uhhh, does anyone have the time?
Bob: Just check my forty-inch watch, Nan!
Bob: Now it's starting to come together. This is the ensemble at the picture window: plants in window, plants on tables, entertainment center, various wall art, and more will follow. The plants are growing profusely. The entertainment center holds our new big-screen TV nicely, don't you think? This TV was bought on the Black Friday sale at Fry's, and to this date (08/01/2009), we haven't seen one to beat the price, for its features.
Nan: I love this corner! The only thing new in this corner is the TV. All the rest is
"roadside finds", Goodwill, or given to us (except the AV equipment). I upholstered the chair
several years ago. It was a roadside find, given to me by my sister, Judith. Reduce, reuse,
repurpose, recycle. We love repurposing. And yes, we recycle everything we possibly can.
Bob: These marble queen ivy plants are really going to town, now. We started leading them up to the scarf rod in May and they just love it.
Nan: This southwest facing window is a perfect haven for plants. I wish I had three more
windows just like it. Oh, wait, I do. And they're filled with plants too. Do you get the
idea that I love plants?
Bob: This is a rather nice shot of one of the African violets on the glass tables in the front of the living room. We really like it. You'll find more nice pictures of various plants on the "Plants" page under "More", if I ever get around to making it, that is! ;-}~
Nan: I've never had African violets grow like these do in this southwest facing window.
All the experts say you should grow African violets in an east or southeast window. Let
me tell you they grow superbly here. When Bob gets my Opera House Wood shelf
built, I'll get at least three more African violets.
Bob: And now, after almost another year, we can finally unveil the finished living room! This is Nan's living room chair, and her corner for watching TV or knitting or reading. I'm glad that humongous clock won't ever fall on her!
Nan: That makes it sound like it's the only place in the house that's mine, doesn't it?
I do love this corner though. It's planned with ME in mind. I bought the chair at Goodwill
for $35 and it is the best chair I've ever had for knitting, reading or just plain snoozing.
Bob: Nan's baker's rack stands to the right of the front door, with lots of wonderful display goodies. The Sansevieria (snake plant, or mother-in-law's tongue) we bought two years ago is on the left, and has grown considerably since then. We named it Sandhabeth, in honor of my sister-in-law, who passed away in the summer of 2008.
Nan: Yes, we name our plants. All the African violets, the marble queen ivies, the
philodendrons, the spider plants...all named. You may even find YOUR name attached to
one of them...
Bob: The front window ivy and spider plant have grown considerably, as well. They do a really nice job of framing this window, don't you think? All the African violets on the glass tables have been blooming their fool heads off since last year. They never seem to stop.
Nan: We really enjoy watching traffic pass via this window. It gives us a snapshot of our town. It lets us know we're not isolated.
Bob: Incidentally, I grew up just a stone's throw from a four-lane freeway and had the
sounds of freeway tires singing in my ears every night. I remember that I heard them the
first two nights (I was five), and after that, they were a very pleasant background sound.
That freeway was the quintessential white noise generator. Wouldn't you know, Interstate
65 is just a half-mile to our west, and once again, I have the distant lull of traffic to rock
me to sleep. Couldn't be better, I say.
Bob: This is a nice shot of the focal point in our living room: Our flowers and our audio/video setup. As you can see, the ivy has gotten really rambunctious, having grown over, under and behind the TV. The afghans on the chair on the right were completed by Nan this year.
Nan: The afghans are two among ten or so that I've finished since our wedding last June. They are gifts for my children.
The spider plant had to be moved upward because it got so long it was touching the floor. Some of the babies have babies now. Does that make Bob and I greatgrandparents? Wait, we are greatgrandparents!
Bob: Maybe greatgrandplanets, Nan...
Bob: And, finally, a last shot of the window dressing on the side window. This spider plant has grown whole bunchies, too (and has grandbabies to boot). We love the amount of light we get through these windows during the day, so much better than Little House, where we used to live (seems like ages ago).
Nan: I dubbed this spider plant Nancy, because it is has so many babies. Just this year
I've had four or five new greatgrandchildren. I think the plant is aptly named.