More "Free-decorating"

I mentioned earlier this week that I've been keeping myself busy rearranging downstairs, trying to make the house into just what I want without buying anything new. Earlier in the week I finally got the idea to move our oversized contemporary furniture out of the family room, where it never really fit, and move our more traditional formal living room furniture in. I absolutely love the results, and have been happy every day since. That left me with our burdensome rejects in the formal living room, where we began to question the function of that room and whether we even needed that furniture at all. Well, after quite a bit of thinking and deciding I dreaded all the "craigslisting" that would be required to buy and sell things for the room, I panicked and called a friend. Luckily, she's a good friend and has been for years, and also has a business "remixing" people's homes to redecorate at minimal expense. And luckily, we do favors for each other all the time so she was glad to come over and check out my situation, and even brought a friend. I heaved a sigh of relief when she looked at the furniture and said "Oh sure, this can work". We spent the afternoon moving pictures, mirrors, plants and other items from room to room so that the formal living room got what it needed and no room was left lacking. I am able to use the large pieces of furniture, and have a only a coffee table and end tables along with a piece of contemporary art to put on Craigslist. I LOVE the result, and it didn't cost a cent!

We also managed to find time to rework the formal dining room adjacent to the living room. We removed the small mirror that was over the buffet and relocated it to the space above the office desk. We replaced it with a much larger and more dramatic antique mirror that my parents had given me when they moved. I don't have table linens other than holiday, so my friend grabbed one of the long sheer scarves from the window swag and fashioned something out of that, topping it with my breadbasket and some silk ivy that had been on a shelf. We pilfered buffet lamps from my breakfast room (where they never really looked right) and added height with a few books. And for the grand finale, my friend remembered a rug she had stored away unused and offerred it to me, since she was moving and didn't plan to take it with her. It just so happened to coordinate perfectly. Now I love the room!! I"m beginning to feel like I have a new house!