The Evolution of a Living Room - Part IV

The home tour continues with a little back story information in The Evolution of a Living Room - Part IV.

If you are just joining us for the tour, check out these previous visits with the renovation and evolution of our living room.

The Evolution of a Living Room - Part I

The Evolution of a Living Room - Part II

The Evolution of a Living Room - Part III (1 of 2)

The Evolution of a Living Room - Part III (2 of 2)

Let's continue. That wall of windows that lines one side of our living room in the photo above? It didn't always look like that. When we moved in to our 1971 flat-roof home, it looked like this:

 

It was a wall of windows over a wall of old radiators (behind that lower wall) and a wall of flourescent lights (under that upper wall). So, after our much needed kitchen remodel - which we'll tour soon - we set to work on the living room walls 1 1/2 years ago. There are some DIY projects that we are happy to tackle ourselves, and there are others, like huge walls of windows that support a home's roof, where we humbly bow to skilled contractors. We waited a few months for our 3-pane Swedish energy efficient windows to be manufactured and had to find another source for the wide sliding doors we wanted - and then in they came. First step was to ensure the entire roof of the house didn't come tumbling in.

 

There's something a little freaky about having an entire wall of your house missing.

You know it's serious when they bring in the heavy equipment!

 

And well worth it in the end.

 

You'd be surprised at how much you have to rethink or adapt your decor when you flood a room with light. My dark wood and heavy-on-the-accessories style just wasn't going to work in this space. So I had to figure out how to find a balance between using accessories that defined who I was and where I came from - and paring things down to let the view outside also share in the glory. 

Join me tomorrow when I tell you how to build your own ottoman. We wanted an oversized ottoman that was going to serve as table-extra seating-gymnastics equipment for the kids, and we got 3 out of 3 by DIYing it ourselves. 

Still to come as we finish up our living room tour:

The Evolution of a Living Room - Part V:  How to build your own ottoman

The Evolution of a Living Room - Part VI:  How we upcycled our sofa

Until next time...

Mike