Finally happy about the living room

If anybody is still reading this blog, I apologize beforehand for yet another "living room" post. Seems like most of my blogging over the last two years has focused on that particular room. Not that there isn't anything changing in the other areas - on the contrary ! But once I get something in my head, it's apparently very tough to let go off.
And basically that meant that I wouldn't rest - or stop spending (!) - until I wasn't feeling happier about that room. Early this year, I had gotten to the point that I really didn't like anything in here anymore. I stopped spending time in here and, for several months, the living room became the dumping room of my flat. Everything that I didn't want in another room got discarded in here, making matters of course much worse ! For a while, I felt like selling everything off and starting over. But luckily I came to my senses. I mean, imagine if I had actually sold my bookcabinets or my Cadovius shelves or my Nathan sideboard... Ugh, I would soooo regret it now !
But anyway, the basic problem still remainded : there was way too much stuff in here (and not just all the crap that got randomly dumped in here); everything was too retro (never thought I'd say this, but there you have it); all the wood was just too much ... and overall is was all too dark and stuffy ! I think this post from last November gives you a pretty good idea.

Maybe I'm just exagerating and it wasn't all that bad. But I think, in any case, I had outgrown the full-on retro look and was looking for something a bit more adult, fresh, modern and personal. So back in April, I started tuning things down in here. I also spent a long weekend in May painting over the black wall with Farrow and Ball's amazing Stiffkey Blue. Still in May I also brought home an Ikea classic in an attempt to mix things up. And then during my summer holidays things really started to get serious : new sofa, new furniture, new layout... And now the icing on the cake...

Ta-da you guys ! I also bought a new dining table !

I went down the (kind of) contemporary route again in choosing the Hay C44 table. It's a recent production, yes! But it's also a relaunch of a Danish furniture classic designed by Jørgen Baekmark and originally made for FDB, the Danish Consumers’ Co-operative Society. FDB’s furniture production started in the 1940s and their main idea was functionalist and democratic design for the people. Well, I can only thank Hay for this truly wonderful table. It's beautiful, it's sturdy, it's very well made and - in true modernist fashion - it's fairly affordable.

Best of all, it comes with a melamine tabletop that is very easy to clean, generally cat resistant and even reversible. It's black on the other side ! I haven't tried out the black look yet - for the moment I'm craving as much light as I can get - but I'm looking forward to experimenting with it in the coming months.

Ok, ok. I admit. That wasn't my only recent purchase for the living room... Yes, the wicker chair is also new. But I have an excuse. Or at least an explanation for this spending frenzy. Ikea recently relaunched - in a (very) limited edition - some of their incredibly awesome designs from the fifties. I mean, look at them ! Don't you want to buy them all ? I certainly wanted to. So all things considered, I think I stayed incerdibly level-headed in only buying one tiny little chair...

Also, Ikea here in Brussels only had a grand total of 12 of these chairs. So I was told by one of their managers when I was trying to figure out if I could reasonably postpone my purchase (I couldn't, these chairs were selling fast !). A lovely chat it was. Indeed the lady thought I should come work for them, since I'm such a big fan... Ha ! Anyways.

Look at it ! It's soooo cute !

It's the cats favourite chair. And mine !

Sorry can't help myself. Just one more.

With all this gushing, I almost forgot to mention that the new-ish sofa is - albeit in serious danger of being scratched to death by the kitties - holding up very well. As you can see, I switched the sitting area around. I had to make room for the new table format (I went from round to rectangular) - and my new Ikea Gagnet chair ! And the old layout just wasn't appropriate anymore.

I really like this. The room looks much more open now that the sofa isn't sitting in front of the window anymore. And has you can see from a few photos back there's also space enough now to indulgence in a cool little 1970s inspired plant jungle.

So to sum up this already very long post. I guess you've guessed it : I'm finally happy with my living room ! So happy that I love chilling in here in the evenings or having a snooze on the sofa during the weekends. And I'm also really looking forward to hosting some lovely dinner parties with friends and family in here.

One thing's missing though. Don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have a light source (yet) next to the sofa and in the evenings it can get hard to read in here, with the closest light being next to those white vases.

I'm thinking : wall lamp ! Any suggestions ?