I have a really special art project for you tomorrow, that anyone can do, even without artistic flair. I’m partnering with Cutting Edge Stencils for the project and my kids helped make it.  It’s not perfect, but we love it and can’t wait to show you…tomorrow ;).

Over the weekend I started using Excel to write up a source list and budget for my living room project and reality hit me full in the face.  I have enough money saved right now to pay my workmen, and not much more.  That means the coffered ceiling and my rug will have to wait. I’m listing some stuff on ebay and craigslist to see if I can earn enough for the wood for the built-ins.

I made a little video for you to show my process of setting a budget for a room:

The lack of cash doesn’t stop me from dreaming though!  I like to have the ideas decided on, so when the cash comes available and the DEALS roll in, I’m prepared to take advantage of them.  There’s nothing worse than a panic of “It’s on sale, but I don’t know which one I want!”  I don’t like to be pressured into a too quick decision on something I might have to live with for years.

I’m looking for a new area rug for the living room since the old one has found a new home in my office. My first area rug was 100% wool.  I chose wool, because it was natural and thick and plush.  Plus my husband’s grandmother bought wool carpet for her home 60 years ago and it still doesn’t have paths worn in it like synthetic carpeting would.  What I didn’t count on, was the SHEDDING.  It’s like we have 5 cats and the fibers make dust bunnies all over the house.  On top of that food coloring is permanent wool dye.  So when the toddler came wandering in the room with an orange popsicle dripping behind him, there wasn’t anything I could do about the stain it left behind.

I’m shopping for a syntheic rug this time.  I love the bold colors in the Albina Ritzy Retro Rug, but am not sure how long I will love it.  I tend to get tired of bold patterns really quickly, but this one is tempting. It’s on sale for Memoral Day for just $245 for a 9×13.  That’s a really great price for a huge rug.

My other favorite is the Aerial Decorative Plumes Rug.  It’s a little pricier at $320 for a 9×12. But the more subdued color pattern might be a longer lasting favorite for me.  There’s not much rug to show in this view of the living room, but here it is with the blue rug:

and with the colorful one:

I’ll see about making a different view of the room where more of the rug shows.  I don’t think there’s enough here to make a decision about.  BUT I love how the multi-colors work with the books on the shelves.  And I equally love how calm the blue rug is in the room.

I found a tutorial at ana-white.com for bulding my built-ins!  The original is 73 inches wide, and I need each of my units to be 48″ wide. I’ll only need to adjust the lengths of the horizonal boards and will use 2 doors instead of 4.  Also, I’ll construct the cabinets as stand alone furniture like the plans suggest, but I’ll wait to add any trim or crown molding until it’s in place in the room.  That way the baseboards and crown for the room can continue seamless around.

Here’s another version painted white with gray glaze.  I plan to do mine crisp white.

Do you have a preference for which rug I choose?  Is there another Rug that you think might work even better?

This week’s frugal Friday has been pre-empted by the need to finalize a room plan before the electrician comes next week!

I need to commit to a design so I know where to place the lights, and I’m hoping you’ll look at this and help me see the flaws before it is too late.

Here’s a 36 second video showing the changes.

For those who don’t like video, here’s the before photo again.  You’ll notice there are vents and electrical to work with. I plan to use this tutorial.

and here’s what it would look like with the flooring paint, coffered ceiling and built ins:

For those who prefer video, I made a little longer one with verbal explanations. The piece behind the sofa is our little piano .  It’s about 3 feet in front of the window seat to soak up all the light from the window and make a little sitting area on that side of the room. That should center the larger seating area across from the wide entrance into the room from the foyer.  The few here is as if we were standing in the dining room/kitchen looking in.

Darren said if I go with the built ins, I need to make them so they will be removeable with minimal damage and be useful as furniture in another area.  My research told me to place recessed lights 3 feet from the corners and then 4-5 feet apart after that…..so would that be from the room corner so if I remove the built ins it still looks ok, or from the corner of the built ins after they are finished?  What would you do with the lights?

My electrician is coming early next week to install recessed lighting in the room.  Before he comes I need to make some decisions about the direction the room will go, so I know where to put the lights.  Currently this is our music room/formal living room.  It’s where I take grown up company when we want to be able to hear each other over the noise of the children.  It’s also where my children practice the violin and piano, and where I teach voice lessons.   I could see it turned into a formal dining room at some point.

The room is approximately 20 x 15 with 8 foot ceilings and 2 small windows.  The smallest window looks out onto the covered front porch and never gets direct sunlight.

The only architechtural interest in the house is a beautiful curved staircase. There isn’t any crown molding, or interesting wood in the rest of the house.  I’d like to fix that.

Here’s what I’m starting with. It looks nice and bright because I used a tripod and a really slow shutter speed to grab as much light as possible.

I’m definitely putting crown modling in the room, but am wondering if I should add a little more interest with a faux coffered ceiling?  I can use 1x4s to add texture without lowering the ceiling very far.  I’ve seen tutorials that just use the 1x4s but I like how This Old House adds small molding to the inside edges for a really finished look.

http://photos.hgtv.com/photos/viewer/coffered-ceiling-/coffered-ceiling-in-airy-white-kitchen 

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/step/0,,20745179,00.html 

I’m thinking about building in bookcases on either side of the larger window with a window seat between them.  They would be floor to ceiling in white.

http://sandandsisal.com/2014/11/playroom-storage-ideas.html

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2014/12/gift-ideas-guys-guy.html

But with a deeper bench seat like this:

http://www.homedit.com/62-home-library-inspiring-design-ideas/

http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/remodeling/before-and-after/ranch-house-remodel/#page=9

Like this but white.

Here are my 2 delimmas with the built ins….I have ducting and electrical on the wall (but I think I could pop those out to the front of the built ins pretty easily with a solid platform) AND they would limit my tall and wide dramatic curtain options.  I think I would have to go with a simple bamboo shade hung just under the crown molding….I’m ok with that right now.  But will I be ok with it long term?  Built ins are not a temporary whim.

So why even consider the built ins?  Here’s my reasons for them:

1. Storage (most of our books are still in the attic from when we moved 4 years ago)

2. Architectural interest

3. Cozy up the room (it’s really big and I think this would make it seem more welcome) It would also give me a reason to pull the sofa away from that wall to bring the conversation area closer together.

What do you think?  Would you do the faux coffered ceiling?  Would you put in built ins?