Interior Styling – Front Room

Last Updated on September 8, 2024

So a long, long, LONG time ago, I photographed my front room and posted it to the blog. This is when I had about 5 visitors a day and you guys probably hadn’t any idea of its existence. So this past weekend, I decided to rephotograph it (since it has changed a bit…does that surprise anyone? Nope. Not one bit.) and repost. Y’all know my love for interior styling, #cantstopwontstop, am I right?

This room in particular is probably one of my most favorite in the house and coincidentally also closest to completion…if there really is such a thing? Yes, I keep moving small items like vases and antlers around, but for the most part, this room has not changed much. Oh, I did add into the mix that pretty little Katy Skelton hairpin end table a couple of months ago. And yes, those are brass hairpin legs! I know we’ve all discussed that calling furniture sexy is super weird, but in this case, well that table is sex on a platter. (Although I must confess. See that brass planter all sad and empty? The one from Schoolhouse Electric? Umm, ya, I know, it’s in dire need of a nice leafy plant or succulent. I just haven’t found the right one as of yet.)

Taking you back to the beginning, this is what the room looked like when we bought the house. Yish! Remember when I said the boy and I were singing, “Little pink houses for you and me” on closing day? Ha! Well, now you know why. Oh boy. Seriously, the entire house was all shades of pink. We almost didn’t look at it because of how atrocious it showed online. Even the shutters were pink…ok, they were mauve / purple, but a shade of pink all the same. Even the old lady’s realtor was like, “Dude, paint your walls! Your house is not selling because it’s pink!” But apparently, she chose to retort, “YOU ARE DEAD TO ME!” and never changed the color. Note to anyone trying to sell their home at this moment in time…if it is pink, repaint it. Please. Trust. Me.

Oy! That’s one fancy room there, eh? I feel like it’s that room no one enters and just stares into, you never walk into that room and the only fancy company is allowed to sit on the furniture…like at your great aunt’s house. Do you think she ever played that piano? Anyhoo, where to begin! Let’s start with what did we change? EVERYTHING! The windows are/were awful. Presently, we are slowly but surely replacing each and every one. Unbeknownst to us, they had zero UV protection and leaked like mad crazy every time it rained. Even a sprinkle. Can you imagine? Running through every room in your house to place towels on every sill and having to change them out every 20 mins until it stopped raining? MADNESS I TELL YOU, MADNESS!

We first noticed the flaws in our crappy windows when the previous owner moved out, there were HUGE sunspots on the carpeting. Eeeek, even her carpet was apparently pink (what a surprise, right?)…but it looked beige to us, but it really was pink. I’m now about to move in and there are big pink blotches all over the floor where there was furniture. Bummer. So, we ripped it all out and replaced it with a nice frieze, and also got rid of that rosy pink paint job faster than you can spell “HIPSTER”. My one regret is the paint color I chose. I so wish I would have gone with white. Just a nice bright white, but instead I went with a kinda meh beige. At the time, I didn’t really know any better. Hopefully, the boy is reading this and now knows what I want. I want white walls dear. Thank you. Let’s make that happen, shall we? He is presently shaking his head asking, can’t you just be happy? Can’t you just say, “Tada! It’s finished!”?

We moved in our old sofa and loveseat from the townhouse as temporary seating, but neither the boy nor I were fans of it. It was old, outdated, and kinda lumpy. Since we had just purchased a new sectional for the TV room, we were a tad bit broke. I mean, we had just bought a house. I set out to score a deal on Craigslist, and what I found was gold. Pure gold I tell ya! A sweet young thing was moving to New York City and her new place could not accommodate her beautiful light grey Gus Modern sofa (BTDubs, I also snagged her Gus Modern chair! Hooray for me!) It’s super comfy and was just the right price…AKA cheap! Here’s another look so you don’t have to scroll up.

The chairs are from South of Urban. When I started looking for seating, I knew I wanted it to be MCM and wooden, but finding a sturdy pair, larger in size, and didn’t cost a fortune was not the easiest of things to find. I also would have to get the seats repairs and cushions reupholstered. At that moment in time, I didn’t have the energy to commit to that sort of search. A decision was made to buy new that looked old. South of Urban really fit the bill. I purchased when the company was new, and since then, the pricing has gone up…significantly. But I have to say, SOU really rocks. They took my order, were given swatches to choose from and they were delivered to my doorstep a couple of months later. A very smooth transaction and Jonathan was a breeze to work with. Normally I would not buy a chair I hadn’t sat in, but wowee luck was on our side. Then you internet gods. THESE ARE THE MOST COMFORTABLE CHAIRS EVER! Just sayin’!

This cabinet was made by the boy’s Opa and shipped here from Germany when his parents relocated some 20 years ago. We have 2 pieces by Opa and although at first, this style was not my taste, I don’t think I could picture my home without it. When I moved in with my husband (then-boyfriend), he had all these beer steins from the Fatherland. Each representing festivals he had attended. I embraced them and chose the steins with the labels I liked the most I asked him which were most special to him and chose to display them proudly.

That bottom right corner is still flustering me. Nothing works quite right so I just threw a globe and a brass pig in there and called it a day. Don’t judge me. But that folks is why I will forever make Emily Henderson cry. If you are new to the blog, please visit here and here so you know what I’m talkin’ about.

You might be slightly confused about the book selection. See, the boy is into WWII history. Like majorly into WWII history! The boy can look at tank tracks and tell you what model tank it belongs to and which war it was used in and what year it was put into production. I told you. When we moved in together, I moved into his home. I didn’t want to overtake the place, so I needed to figure out ways to incorporate his personality into our home decor. Every Christmas, I gift him cookbooks, (he’s a foodie) so I’ve stacked them and mixed in a few war books as well. The hat was worn by his Opa every day on our last 2 visits to Michelbach. We have many a picture of him wearing it in his apple orchard and every time I see it, it floods my mind with fond memories.

The boy also hunts birds…ducks, geese, pheasant…basically if it has feathers, it’s fair game. Hence the brass duck and goose figures. The small mouse is for little maus and the pig is for my grandparents. It’s little personal touches that give my home personality.  Items in my home are not just bought from the store because they are pretty. Yes, I do have consumerism tendencies, I won’t deny that, but it’s important to me that there are items that represent us and our loved ones in our home decor.

Turn around and you see this hairpin table thrifted on Craigslist. The Caravan Pacific lamp was gifted to me by the boy last Christmas. Yes, he is VERY good to me! And how about that mirror! It was found at Empiric Studios in LA. If you haven’t heard of it, go there now! after you are finished reading this…because I worked really hard on this post and you can’t leave quite yet. Ha! But seriously, it is a great store that the one and only Emily Henderson told me about. Well, technically she didn’t tell me…she visited Empiric on one of the many episodes, Secrets from a Stylist, that reside on my DVR. They will never be deleted…no touchy! I swear I’m not crazy…she just gives really good advice and tells you where to get like every item. And THAT my friend is awesome.

I love to mix old and new, low end and high end. More often than not, when you see something vintage in my home, I probably bought it for like $4 and a hug from a flea market vendor or an estate sale. Yes, I’m prone to be drawn into an antique store here and there, but I really try not to overpay for items unless I know it’s something I HAVE TO HAVE.

Now, you have been probably wondering about those mugshot photos. No, I do not know these people. They are 3 famous graffiti artist dudes that are truly A-MAZING. I found them hanging in a bar downtown owned by a sweet friend of mine. Completely drawn to them, I yearned to have them as my own. I tracked down the photographer, a woman by the name of Lani Lee, called her manager, forked over some cash, had them framed and shipped. Every time I walk past them I smile. I adore these guys. Little Maus calls them daddy. Usually, people either love them or hate them. The haters politely say, “Oh Kyla, they are nice…not in my house, but in yours, they fit perfectly.” Hmmmm, wonder what they mean by that. Oh well, don’t care. In my opinion, these guys are so rad! And besides, I’ll be the first to admit that I have a lot of totally weird things in my home. The side table is the Parsons table.

Here’s another sneak peek at that sofa again…BTDubs…do you guys call it a sofa or a couch? Before I was employed at a furniture store, I called it a couch. I was corrected immediately upon working for said furniture store and told never to refer to it as a couch but rather a sofa. Couches are cheap and we did not sell cheap couches (ummm, yes we did, but that is another story) besides, I had never heard this before. However, from that day forward, I referred to it as a davenport…stick that in your pipe and smoke it Miss VP of Marketing! Suddenly I’m beginning to understand why she was not fond of me. Anyhoo, back to the coffee table…thrifted from a local Etsy dealer. The white label candle is a House of Hipsters special and you can make one for free (well, free if you have the supplies at your home) but you can make one for free if you download the label I made for you here and that part is free. It’s a super easy DIY. Go for it! They also make great gifts!

And I’m sure you guys have been dying to know what I did with all those dominoes I bought at the Elkhorn Flea Market…yep, they are resting right here in this sweet bowl. I think they are super cute.

Whoops, I almost forgot! That tripod lamp is from Pottery Barn as are the gallery wall frames. The snake plant is from Home Depot which I’m happy to report, it doesn’t scream for its life to be spared every time I walk past it. Trust has been gained. You can read more about indoor plants that you probably won’t kill in case you are interested and have a black thumb much like myself.

So that is my front room, you guys! I love it. I love to hang out in it and smile every time I do. It makes me happy. Eventually, I hope to get more rooms photographed, but man these posts take some serious effort! But I promise, promise, promise I’m trying…anyhoo, I really hope you like the small glimpse into my home. Have a great week you guys!