Partial Foyer Makeover and Other Home Improvements

We've lived in our house for 18 months and it still seems like we've barely put a dent in decorating it. It just doesn't seem homey enough, but hopefully that's going to change quickly. For example, I've been wanting to put a small table or bench in our foyer, but am too cheap to buy anything. Today I had an epiphany and decided to take our old coffee table that was being used to store toys in the family room and move it into foyer to use as a bench. Here's the before (I need to repaint, but wallpaper must be taken down for that to happen and I'm not ready to tackle that!):


I had three pillows stored away in the closet that were from our apartment and didn't match our new living room color scheme. After a good dusting off, here's how the foyer looks:


Now there's a place to put shoes on before taking Layla for a walk. A woven basket or two underneath the "bench" for shoes, hats, mittens and such would complete the look, I think, and save me room in the coat closet opposite this wall for other "stuff".

As part of our Black Friday shopping endeavors (no, we did not go out at 4 am. I did go out at 7:30 for an hour and then went out at noon with Alex), we stopped at Lowe's to look, once again, at their area rugs. This has been another project that was 18 months in the making. I bought a rug six months ago and promptly returned it when it began to get worn out after owning it three weeks. Today we found this one:


I hate to say it, but I'm not in love with the olive green color. I'm trying to let it grow on me because I really love the icy blue color so much and the lightest tan color matches our couch perfectly. The picture doesn't capture the exact colors very well. I think the living room is just about complete and is feeling much cozier just in time for winter!

Lastly, we bought a new computer desk for Alex and are going to move his office out of one of the spare bedrooms and into the family room. The plan is for me to paint the trim in the family room next week while we're on vacation so that it matches the rest of the house. His old office will eventually be a nursery, but for now, we are just ready for a change. With his office in a different part of the house, we can be together even if we're both doing separate things. I'm excited to integrate the family room into part of our home instead of it being a pass-through to the backyard and a storage room. Here's a teaser of sorts as to what the family room is going to look like. I'll post pictures when it's a little further along:


And, last but not least, Layla "helping" build the desk, or just looking cute ;) :


Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed time with loved ones! Enjoy the weekend! I know we're going to enjoy a week of "staycation"! Woohoo!