This awkward wall behind our sofa in the living room has been through many different lives in the last 6-ish years that we’ve lived here. A lot of the time we chose what was going on back here based on how old our kids were, or what was affordable, or whatever idea popped into my head randomly. You know, just like every awkward wall in your home I’m sure. 🙂 When you come across a solution that just makes you a little extra happy every time you see it though, you know you’ve landed on something good. And here’s that something!
This wall is right across from where you come into the living room from the front hall. You can kinda see where it is in the living room behind the couch here.
About a year and a half ago, Chris had gone out to a random local big box store just after Christmas and purchased this little bench as a solution for storing some extra toy trucks. We called it “the garage”. It was cute and it worked, but I never loved it and it made me feel like we were college students just hanging out in some rundown apartment, using whatever hand-me-down furniture we could get our hands on. The lamp on the stool in the corner didn’t help.
I’ve been searching everywhere for the “before” photo that I took but I can’t seem to find it anywhere, so you’ll just have to live with this “artful” drawing I did to help you get an idea of what we were working with.
Here’s how this little space looked before.
OK, I had a little too much fun with that, clearly.
A couple of weeks ago, Chris decided that it was time we get rid of this bench thing because he’d only picked it up that day as something to do to make himself feel productive anyway. Actually, it’s moved into our back hall for now, so it’s still being useful, just not such an eyesore. 🙂
I’ve always loved the look of 6 symmetrical frames so I decided it was time to make all of my wall art dreams come true! I just love how put-together this awkward little area looks now and it makes me feel like I’m also completely put together every time I lay eyes on it. And only good things can come from feeling like that. That’s the power of creating a pretty home that makes you feel happy when you look around! This home decor stuff isn’t just silly fluff, my friends!
We actually used some basic black $12 frames from Walmart, because they were the right shape, readily available in large quantities, and cheap! We spray painted them white to match my vision and then we were all set. Chris actually created the art in these frames, but I’ve also found some great similar art available on etsy if you just want to buy some prints or even just download some art to print off yourself at home. These pictures are different tree slices and I think they make such a great, graphic statement while also being completely natural and fitting for our farmhouse.
We finished up the area by bringing in a couple of lamps for the desk for symmetry. I love me some symmetry! 🙂 I also painted the chalkboard frame out in this matte charcoal grey and picked up a nice comfy little stool for under the desk.
What do you think about the charcoal grey on the frame? Chris isn’t a fan of it, but I think it looks really crisp and tidy and I’m really enjoying it. I also plan on writing something really profound on that chalkboard just as soon as I think of something! 🙂
I’m kind of nomadic right now in terms of where I work in the house, so I like that this area gives me another welcoming little corner to sit down in and type away.
So that’s one little update that we’ve been working on around here! Now this one little corner definitely feels a lot less “college students in a rundown apartment” and a lot more “we actually live here and we even have nice, grown up finished spaces”. 🙂
Do you have any weird, awkward spaces in your home that you’ve been trying to fix up?
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.