Ch-ch-ch-changes

No reflection or big revelations today.  I'm just changing it up here by rearranging...  again.  Well, I will self-disclose this one nugget: My husband thinks I have a strange fascination with changing up the furniture and decor.  Honestly, I think I may.  Aside from little changes in the boys' bedrooms, I've had one room in one house that I was able to rearrange one of two ways... until now!  Honestly, this past year and a half I have really enjoyed rearranging and changing up our home, especially our living room.

{Check out the Arrange-a-Room program at Better Homes and Gardens if you love playing with floor plans too.  That's how I created the four versions of our living room at left.}

Okay, one more bit of self-revelation: Time has changed me.  It doesn't take great effort to change things around a bit.  In the past I wanted to spend money to update and change our home.  However, now I find it a fun challenge to use what he have around the house, borrowing from another room to rearrange and decorate around our home.  

After living in a Bungalow, a Four-Square, and a Cape Cod, I have learned a great lesson: Love the home you have.  

{You really should check out Melissa at her blog The Inspired Room or as guest blogger at Better Homes and Gardens for some decorating inspiration.  She coined the phrase "Love The Home You Have" and has a new book out with that title.}

We have invested some money but mostly time into our home, always with consideration of both form and function.  Also, we want to determine what is right for our family and the character of our house.

The bathroom is a good example of this.  We took six months to consider a variety of ways to add a shower to our one full bathroom that only had a bathtub {great for our boys, but mama likes a shower}.  We finally figured out the best way for us to make the small room more practical and to update the decor within our budget and abilities {as we did it all ourselves}.  

Also, when we buy furniture, we try to buy pieces that serve many functions and that would fit in multiple rooms.  This is wise financially and also beneficial when you like to rearrange.  One blank wall in our kitchen, between the stove and a doorway, is a good example of an area that took some time to find it's purpose. It took a few tries to find the right piece to fit both form and function.

The story goes: I wanted a hoosier cabinet for the longest time.  When I found one that needed some love and I only had to part with $15, I jumped at the chance to have my own.  Unfortunately though I soon realized that it was too old for the style of this house, too deep for that space in the kitchen, and too big a cupboard to function well {as everything was dumped inside the big door or drawers... never to be seen again}.  Fortunately, I only put a good hour or so into cleaning and painting the piece and was able to sell it at a profit.  We borrowed the teal cupboard from the living room to have a place for the cookbooks and bulletin board items, but soon realized that it was just too small for the empty wall space.  So, we've moved a different cupboard from the living room into the kitchen.  Third time is the charm.

Sometimes the way you use a room evolves.  Our living room has been a good example of this.  First, we were blessed to be given a piano.  Then, we decided to move the television from the living room to the family room.  Also, I had already been looking for some period-appropriate {Mid-Century Modern} chairs for the basement family room, because we could only seat two adults.  In the end though, we decided the living room recliners would match and be most comfortable in the family room and that the living room could use smaller chairs.  So, we sold items we were no longer using {like area rugs from the last house and miscellaneous tables} to save the money for two new chairs. It took eighteen months, but we changed the living room to fit how we live in it. 

• Do you play with floor plans, move the actual furniture, or just put everything in a room and leave it?
• How do you love the home you have?
• How have you changed your home better to fit how you live?

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