The Long and the Skinny of It

Sometimes life just collides all around you. It can be an inner, grueling, turmoil kind of thing (which is all sad and depressing, and who would blog about that?), OR life can literally collide. Like, I saw it happen. In my living room. 

Here is the short of it:

We had this little B-Day party last Saturday for the eldest. Great time. Fabulous cake. Things were good. Then there was the balloon incident (yet to be blogged about, but I will let the anticipation soak a bit), which left me with three enormous balloons still in my life. Oh, and then my couches disappeared! Literally, one moment there, the next gone (alright, I sold them. But disappearing sounds way better). Then, today, the girls retrieved several bins of toys that held, what else, but marbles, a farmland Uno game (a kazillion pieces), two boxes of train tracks and trains, and a deck of playing cards. Without the couches I could here ever little cling, clang, roll, and knock like a thousand mini instruments blaring in my ears! Where was I, you may be asking? I was making breakfast. Yeah, it was 8:30am. Life was colliding in my bare living room, and those darn balloons looked all too cheery at that moment.

As I stood there, staring in amazement at the giggling girls, I really missed my enormous, mess-hiding, child-constraining couches. The girls are practically giddy with all the freedom this new empty space provides.

I am already dreaming of what could be in this room, nix the snarky balloons, and the littered mess! For the first time since we moved in, I am seeing how long and skinny it really is. 

Today, the mister informed me that he would like to take a stab at making some of our own couches and built-ins when he returns home. Part of me shrieked with terror, since couches tend to define most living rooms. But the other, cooler part of me was excited to give it a go! The fireplace, the piano, and the built-in bookshelf take up the two long walls. Which leaves the long, skinny, center area to work with. So, maybe DIY is the best way to go. We like mid-century, and/or industrial, and/or bazaar. Besides, my mister can make ANYTHING look totally amazing (funky coffee table, case in point). 

Encouraged, I found quite a few really fantastic tutorials on-line about DIY sofas. Here are some of my favs:

via pinterest

via apartment therapy

via apartment therapy