Small Strokes Big Oaks

We’ve been in our house for a year now. We’re no DIYers, but we have done a lot of work! See all the home before and after posts and pictures here.

You may remember how excited I was to have a library when we moved into this house a year ago. Tim and I both graduated undergrad with our BA’s in English and we met in our MA in English Studies program, so we had a lot of books. More than anything, I wanted a designated space for those books that would showcase them. (Well, if we’re being honest here, more than anything I wanted a Tiffany blue office, but secondly I wanted a space for those books. Bonus if it was purple – which it is!).

I got my purple library. Tim OKed the choice of purple as long as it was an “adult purple.” (Searching for it was seriously like that ACE Hardware “Find Your Soul Paint” commercial: “I don’t want a PURPLE, but more like a PURple, you know what I’m saying?” What the hell does “adult purple” even mean, Tim? Turns out it means not a baby’s nursery or teenager’s room purple, which is actually pretty self-explanatory when you really think about it. We ended up with Behr’s Vintage Grape if you’re curious.) To be honest, anything would have been better than the yellow it was, but I’m glad we ended up with the purple.

No, seriously you guys. It was yellow. It is also where we put all of the boxes, mostly because that’s the first room you see when you walk in the door.

Slowly but surely, it turned into this:

And then we got sick of hitting our heads on the ugly dining room chandelier (did I mention this used to be a dining room?), so we put in a fan.

Ahh. Much better and breezier. But after a while, even though I loved cozying up in my papasan chair and reading a good book, I started to hate the fact that this room looked like we put all the leftover stuff from college in it. Who has a front room with a futon and a papasan chair?! Not 30-year-old homeowners, that’s for sure. I also started to realize that, with one sitting area on the main floor, everyone sat in the kitchen when they came over, and that is awkward and not much fun, so I wanted another sitting area. Thus, the “Lady Cave” was born.

The chairs and coffee table are from Pier 1. The artwork is original – and by original, I mean I cut up a poster and put it in these frames we had bought ages ago from Hobby Lobby (you might recognize them from our Christmas mantle).

I love this room. It’s a little girly (hey, Tim has the entire basement at his disposal, which is still yellow, might I add) but functional, and it still showcases the books while allowing us a place to sit and enjoy a glass of wine with company. I’ll admit it – sometimes I just sit in there and do nothing for a little while, just to enjoy it.

And, don’t worry, my comfy papasan chair has a new cushion and a new home in the living room, just on the other side of the book wall. Bailey currently thinks it’s his bed. Which it is not.