Hearth Area Improvements

For my next project, I decided to tackle my hearth area because we spend  a lot of time in that area (it's part of our kitchen).  When we moved, the only furniture I placed in the area was a couch and chair from our previous home... and it has remained unchanged for several months. (Except I did do a subtle glaze over the white enameled surround...not shown here as this shot was taken before). I have this malfunction of being very indecisive, hesitant and sometimes even paralytic when it comes to making decorating decisions.  I think I am afraid of making a mistake.  Here are some pics of the area.  

One of the hardest things for me to choose are area rugs, so when I found one I liked, it helped me feel more comfortable in regard to making other purchases for the area. I loved the pattern, the colors of the rug and I thought it went well with my floor tile. 

My next purchase was a cocktail table.  I chose this one because it was kind of rustic, a little chunky and went well with the dining set in my kitchen.  I also loved the faux burl top (can't see well in the pic).  

I also purchased a leather chair and ottoman (50 % off)...Yeah!!!! I wasn't sure if the hearth could accomodate the ottoman, but the pieces came as a set.  I think it will be fine.  The chair is super-soft and comfortable. I also loved the nail head trim and the curves.

Finally, my FAV piece is the new sofa.  I think it is GORGEOUS.  It has some seriously beautiful fabrics on the the body, the seat cushion and pillows.  It also has embossed leather arms, nail head trim, twisted rope trim, bamboo carved wood at the base and claw shaped feet....AHHH. 

AND.... the seat cusion is reversible.  Below is a picture of the other seat fabric.  It is almost like having two sofas.  The pillows are reversible also.  The second pillow from the left in the above picture is in the same position below, but I flipped it over.

Here is a shot of the damask fabric that is on the sides and back of the piece.  Like one of the seat cushion fabrics, it is a raised crushed velvet. I am not very talented photographer so the the pictures don't do it justice. (The flash sort of distorts the color, but if I turn off the flash, too much detail is lost).  I am sure this sofa is not for a lot of people, but I am in such serious love, I think I am going to do my next post just on the sofa... bear with me. :)

Here are some other views.  

I still have more to do in the area, but at least this is a start.

Pool Table Re-Do

We have been in our new house for several months now, however, had not moved the pool table over from our old home because we were hoping whoever bought the property would want it.  Not only was it an awful Golden Oak color, but it was in disrepair and  I no longer cared for the shape of the table, especially the legs.  Additionally, moving it would be a pain and expensive.   Here are some pics of the pool table at our old house.

The good news is this past week we closed on the sale of our old home... YEAH! The bad new is the buyers did not want the ugly pool table. Since we were going to have to keep the pool table, I decided a black finish. Initially, I was worried that too much grain would show through, and thought about filling in the grain, but decided to try finishing it without doing that first.  I'm glad I didn't fill because in the end I liked the the subtle grain in the finish.  The pool table needed re-felting and new pockets so I chose a khaki felt and black leather for the pockets, simple and clean.  Below is the pool table in our new home.