Living and Dining Room Tour: Mid-Century Country Style

I’m way overdue for a tour of our living space. How is it that I’ve never shown y’all our living room and dining room? Maybe you have seen bits and pieces (like my gallery wall) of the space, but never the whole thing. Part of the reason for this is that I’m never truly happy with how the space looks. I always doubt my design abilities. It’s something that I truly love and enjoy, but with motherhood, I was feeling uninspired to do anything design. Plus, getting the room ready, decluttered, and toys removed (even though we don’t have many) during nap time is a struggle.

Because, let’s be real here, my living room never looks this good! But, I’ve been bound and determined to make our house feel warm and inviting. I desire for friends and family to feel welcomed, like this is their home away from home. This house is really a mix and match of thrifty and generous wonderfulness from friends and family. So grab a cup of coffee and join me for a little tour of our living room and dining room.

Before we moved into the house, we gave the living and dining room a fresh coat of a soft, blue teal color – Valley Mist from Behr. Then, we added a mix and match of randomness between furniture and decor. The gallery wall has art from myself and friends, ribbons, and mirrors. Recently, you might have seen the end tables get a huge overhaul (you can check out that tutorial here). That couch is my absolute favorite. It was one of our first purchases for this house. It is a Flexsteel that we purchased at our local Furniture King. It has clean lines and mid-century style, but a neutral microfiber fabric. It is topped with some super cheap pillows from Hobby Lobby ($26 for all five covers). The chair is from the garbage, and I recovered it (you can see that transformation here). It will hopefully be getting some new upholstery and a new cushion soon. Baby girl left some lovely pen marks on it. Sorry chair, please forgive her. The curtains ($12 for a set of two) and rug (only $100) are from Ikea, and the coffee table was a scratch and dent find from Furniture King. I am looking at Bazaar Velvet luxury rugs though so that Ikea one might be upgraded soon.

The window seat is from Target (housewarming gift from the hubby’s parents). The guitar was a gift from a friend, and it sits upon estate sale luggage. Our so-called “TV stand” (AKA dresser) was a purchase from the previous owner, and it holds the TV my husband won at work, toys, games, and other goodies. The pictures hung around the window are actually records that I purchased from the previous owner. Do you see a theme here? Lots of gifts from friends and family, and purchases from the previous owner. She had amazing style. Much better than my own. She actually found the mid-century chair, and we set off, hoping our hubbies wouldn’t see us sneak it into her mini van. We got caught. The then-9-year-old told on us.

The living room opens right up to the dining room. Perfect for entertaining and hosting church small group. Our dining room is filled with thrifty finds. Our kitchen table and cheetah chairs (yes, they are cheetah print) are a hand me down from my mom. She purchased the table, three chairs, and a coffee table (which we don’t have) for $35 at an antique store. Granted, the table is broken, but whatevs… it serves it’s purpose. It’s a place to share tasty meals, laughter, and joy with friends and family. I never quite realised just how many antique tables for sale there were, but there are some real bargains out there if you’re looking hard enough. The other four chairs where from another table set that I got for free. The armoire is an antique store find and has an apple painting I did in college on it, paired with my great grandmother’s antique mirror, and a large teal mason jar filled with dried hydrangeas from the yard. The giant pink flower painting is from my before-toddler times in college. My parents purchased the China cabinet and buffet that is kind of broken (shown below) for us from the previous owner. They just fit so perfectly in the space.

Hubby bought me the antique type writer as a Christmas gift a few years ago. The painting was my grandmothers that I snatched from my parents basement, the clock was a wedding gift, and the dried flowers in the antique milk bottle were a gift from the hubby parents for something. Maybe finishing my masters? Can’t remember. But they were fresh, and I just kept them.

Some dead, I mean dried, lavender from the garden in milk bottles from Ikea with a burlap runner randomly found in a cabinet. It’s the simple things collected over time that really make a space. What’s your favorite thrift store finds.

There you have it. A tour of our thrifty and random living room and dining room. Hope you enjoyed!