Living Room Makeover

For the last 11 years, we’ve had the same exact couch….that may not mean anything to you, but for us it meant the same couch our landlords gave us while we were in college….the couch they’d actually acquired off the street, someone else’s trash which was, quite honestly, our treasure. While this couch was awesome and served its purpose well (it was a Thomasville, by the way), it was pretty tired, worn out, and kinda yuck. In fact, it was really bringing our whole living room down. When we decided to get a new couch, I felt like I was betraying our old one. It was like a member of the family. It was time, though. Take a look at our living room before….Now take a look at after.The new couch actually motivated me to declutter and change up our decor a bit. I’ve decorated quite a bit with family pictures, even making a family tree wall before with black & white photos in colorful, painted frames. I broke the wall up just a bit, and the nice thing is that it can always be added to.I plan to paint this stand a light, almost white, blue. I painted the wooden lamp an antique green color. It was a really quick, 10 minute job, so easy.

This picture was in a box of photos that my grandmother had from my great uncles who served in World War II. I’ve always admired the picture, so I blew it up and made it a centerpiece on the wall above our couch. It’s a pair of army boots and women’s dress shoes (I think they’re women’s dress shoes.) It’s a picture with a story behind it, I just know….I only wish I knew the story.

These white curtains were made out of $5 flat twin sheets from Walmart. We hung them up higher to give the appearance of a larger window.We bought a couple of baskets, on clearance, to hold things like magazines and library books.Lastly, the fireplace was decluttered and redecorated just a bit….I used books, old family pics, and then simple things like a vase. We also blew up the picture of my mom when she was a little girl, to hang above the fireplace.For me, decorating with old and new family pics was a no-brainer. For one thing they surround you with loved ones in a space that is meant to be a haven, your home. Secondly, they add a classic touch, especially when black & white photos are placed in colorful frames that match the theme or decor of the room. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference when it comes to home decor.

How do you like to decorate? Do you decorate with family photos?

Giggly Gumdrops Review & Giveaway

Mel’s Thoughts:
One thing that I love doing is finding ways to make our home special or beautiful, kind of a haven from the realities of the world. One thing that I’ve used to make certain areas special is vinyl lettering, and I just found a new company that has all sorts of beautiful sayings and words.

Giggly Gumdrops is full of designs, and the best part is that if you find a picture of something else you’d like to have, Crystal will try to match that picture, so that you have something customized just for you.  I actually chose a saying that she already had on the site, Home- Where Our Story Begins.  I’ve been looking for something I could put above our bed in our bedroom because I also have a frame that I want to fill with pictures of us and our boys to put up there.  This seemed like the perfect thing for that project.  I decided to put it in a frame instead of on the wall, because if we move (since we rent right now), I’d rather be able to easily just take it with me when we go.

The vinyl decals from Giggly Gumdrops are super easy to apply.  Now, I do know that with textured walls (if you’re applying it directly to the wall), it can be a bit more work, but the finished product is so worth it.  Basically, you just make sure your surface is clean.  Then you peel off the backing from your vinyl very slowly.  You then place your vinyl in the location of your choice, and you rub over it with a credit card.  Once you’re sure it’s completely stuck to the wall, you peel off the transfer tape, and voila, you have a beautiful masterpiece.  If you email Crystal a picture of your finished project, she’ll actually give you a $3 store credit.  She is also offering all of our readers free shipping!There are all sorts of sayings and color options available.  From sayings for your living room to sayings for your kids to actual vinyl shapes or pictures (clocks, butterflies, flowers, animals, etc.), there is something for every room of your house.  It’s the perfect way to add uniqueness or a special quality to any room.  Sizes range from 6×6 to 24×12, and prices range from $4.00 to $17.50.  The prices are very reasonable, in my opinion, especially compared to other companies.Melissa J’s Thoughts

When we had to choose a product to review from Giggly Gumdrops, I was at a loss.  There were just so many designs to choose from! I purused over them, wavering between “Daughter of a King” and “Such a big Miracle” designs for my daughter (her name is Miracle) and “Has Anyone Seen my Glass Slipper” for my office. But I kept scrolling and then I saw the one my  home was supposed to have – “Home, where our story begins.” This was just perfect for our family, because we are huge Sacred Romance fans around here!

When the wall decal came, I immediately fell in love with it!

I  was very appreciative of the trial mini-flower that came with it, so I could test out what I was doing on something small before I did the large wall decal. With that perfectly applied, I  began the work on the decal.

Not a problem. I simply removed the top sheet and pressed the remaining sticky sheet, complete with decal, on the wall. After rubbing every last inch of the decal with firm pressure against the wall I began the process of removing the top layer of protective paper. Twice, the letters stuck half to the wall, half to the paper, but because I was going slowly, I was able to stop, lay it back down, re-rub and peel off. The entire process took maybe five minutes and the decal went up perfectly!

In fact, it went up so perfectly, I “redecorated” to match the new look (which really means, I finally found a spot to hang up another picture that I had been unable to decide where to put. lol)

I’m very happy with the process, how easy it was, and the final look.

Now for a giveaway! Giggly Gumdrops is offering one of our readers a $20 gift card to their store!  Woohoo!  Now you can get your own design!  All you have to do is enter in one or more of the following ways; just be sure to leave a separate comment for each way that you enter.  I will draw the winner, using random.org, on Friday, June 18, 2010.   Good luck, and have a wonderful day!

  1. Visit Giggly Gumdrops, and leave Crystal a comment.
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