For my birthday this past summer, my wonderful hubby let me pick out a new sofa- anything I liked! While we had never really considered ourselves fans of leather furniture before, the practicality and timelessness of leather finally won us over. So I knew leather was the way to go. I also wanted something that was tailored with clean lines, and a fresh but classic look. Out sofa-shopping one day, my hubby suggested we pop into a locally-owned leather furniture store. There in the back, I saw exactly what I wanted! We chose a dark brown Brompton leather. This type of leather is tanned in Italy and is the same leather that Restoration Hardware uses on much of their furniture. Once the sofa arrived, I loved it even more than I did in the store! And what I love about it is that it will become more beautiful with age.

What do you think? Do you like the upgrade? We are very happy with our new addition to the room! Now I have plans up my sleeve to replace the ottoman… so stay tuned!:)

A sad ‘before’ photo:

It may not look too bad in the picture, but the “rug” you see is a too-small, stained carpet remnant that made all our furniture appear to be floating in the room.

I found a great deal on a 9×12 rug at Home Decorators, and after reading the reviews, I knew it would be perfect for us. It’s a faux sisal, so it has the wonderful texture of a naturally-woven rug, but it is so soft! I also needed the 9×12 size for the room and loved the neutral color. It arrived last Friday and I could not be happier!

After:

As you can see, the curtains (or lack there-of) are another situation I am currently working on. Its constantly a work in progress, as I’m sure many of you can relate. :)

Excuse the night shot below… I was playing around with different pillows on the couch.

The boys even approve. :)

They loved playing on the new rug while I was rearranging everything.

So what do you all think of my new rug? Have any of you ordered from Home Decorators before?

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at my new rug!

Linking to Just a Girl and Between Naps on the Porch.

Here is one of the old lamps:

I sold them on Craigslist and bought a pair of these beauties in their place:

There were a few reasons I settled on these lamps. First, the previous lamps were a good size, so the new lamps needed to be of comparable size in order to balance out the sofa. They may  not look that tall in the photo, but there were nearly the tallest lamps in the store! Secondly, I liked their gourd shape. Third, I liked the lamp shade that came with it. And finally, the price was right!

Also, I dressed up the drum shade a bit by adding ribbon trim to the top and bottom and to create more contrast.

After:

Close-up:

I am happy with my new lamps and the subtle change they contribute to my living room! I will probably paint them cream or black one of these days, but for now, I like them.

Come back tomorrow for another change to the living room… this time, it’s a big change! (at least, big to me)

Linking up to: Just a Girl, Between Naps on the Porch, Blue Cricket Designs, The Girl Creative, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Anything Related, Tip Junkie, Savvy Southern Style, Today’s Creative Blog, My Backyard Eden, It’s So Very Cheri, & The Shabby Nest.

One is in my living room and was the perfect color combination for the space. I found it for such a steal, I couldn’t pass it up! I love the contrast of the dark wooden frame with the white leather seat cushion. Perfect with the pillows that I already had on hand.

{You can see that one of the dogs, Rocket, snuck into the picture. Isn’t he cute?}

The other chair my mom found and gave to us when we went home for Christmas. She found it at a garage sale! Don’t you love that distressed leather? She knows our style well. It is living in our office. Such a great find!

Those are my new chairs! I have been working on a lot of other projects around that I can’t wait to show you. More pictures coming soon!

Thanks for dropping by! Be sure and leave a comment, and if you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you!

Let me preface by saying that I did not put up a tree this year. I know, we are so “bah-humbug”, but I really wanted to pare everything down to the basics. It has been very nice to simplify and focus on the true meaning of Christmas– Jesus.

Back to the tour… Our mantle holds fresh boughs of evergreen given to me by my friend Melissa Aulds (Thanks Mel!!). She “knew I would appreciate it”, is what she told me! Ha, she must know me well because I am loving the fresh stuff and might have to go this route every year. I placed the white branches in with the boughs.

Our stockings are hung with care.

The stockings that I ordered for our fur babies came in and I love that we all have matching monogrammed stockings!

Side table #1: glittery mini-wreath hangs from the lamp, silver deer picked up at after-Christmas sale years ago, and silver dish holds silver-y pine cones from my backyard.

Side table #2: another glittery mini-wreath hangs from the lamp, my family’s photo framed in a silver bamboo frame, matching silver deer sits atop Christmas books, and a Barbara Berry candle that smells heavenly.

Our Bar: Silver tray found at Goodwill holds our wedding champagne.

Thanks for visiting!! I hope you enjoyed the tour! Please come back for more Christmas decor photos.

Also, please leave a comment so that I know you visited! I love comments. :)

Linking up to: Just a Girl , Keeping It Simple, Kelly’s Korner, The House in the Roses, & Raising Memories.

I won’t give everything away, but here are my favorites:

How beautiful is this calm yet happy living room by Jolene Ballard and Amanda Malson of Domicile ID? This room is so timeless! My favorite is the accents of light coral found in the drapes, pillows and accessories.

You just can’t go wrong with dark hardwood floors and a light sisal rug! Plus that faux-bamboo end table is a beauty!

Lucite tray= love! More coral and yellow accessories.

Go check out RUE to get more doses of beautiful interiors!

Which leads us to where we are now: Rugless. I’m okay with it for now because our floors are pretty, but the room needs something to warm it up and ground our furniture. So I currently am on the hunt for the perfect rug. I would like something large, neutral colored, soft, easy to clean and maintain, looks expensive, but costs very little. I am debating on a wool jute rug in a smaller weave and lighter color. I love the texture of seagrass/jute/natural fibers, however, I am worried that it will not have the plush feel I am looking for. I have also debated on an oriental rug in a subtle, neutral pattern. This would give the space a timeless look, but I am not sure if I want to go that route (might be too traditional). I also like something fun and contemporary like this:

Or like this:

This I found on Home Decorators.com. The price is very reasonable and since it is an indoor/outdoor rug, it can be hosed down! Sometimes indoor/outdoor rugs are not the softest, but this one appears soft. Which color do you like better?

Which rug would you go with– jute/seagrass, oriental, or something like in the photo?