This post & room makeover is brought to you by Hunters Alley.
One of my resolutions this year was to finish decorating every space in our house, to a point where they each felt finished. I do have plans for future renovations, but since we’re beginning our landscaping adventure this year, actual house renos will have to wait a few years. And while my husband thinks the house is fully decorated, there’s this nagging feeling I get when I walk by certain rooms that are unfinished that I want to finish, but that I have had little reason to do so.
Our Reading Room, one of the little rooms off of our long slanted hallway sitting area, was just that kind of a space. I had deemed it good enough, and in the back of my mind, left it open for a possible nursery for our “someday baby”. Until Hunters Alley approached me and asked if they could help me finish up and makeover a neglected space in my home, I would have just left it like it was for probably years to come.
Now that it is finished though, I am so grateful Hunters Alley gave me a reason and purpose to finish it because I just adore it. I walk upstairs intentionally just to enjoy it and I love the way the sun filters through the curtains in the afternoon.
A few years ago I commissioned artist Nicole Newsted to do a custom portrait of our dogs Bebop and LeRoy, which I adored, and so it became the focal point of this room from the beginning. Whether it was to be a nursery or reading room, this piece was going to be front and center.
I used this playful piece as the color palette inspo as well as design inspo and whipped up a cute DIY Eames Inspired Bohemian Pendant Lamp to cover the existing ugly ceiling fixture.
Take a peek at the before space, what our “Reading Room” looked like last week… A total mess, with holiday wrapping paper still spread out on the floor and random items strewn about, a place where everything without a place ended up. And now, below, an overload of photos of our finished Reading Room, and my new favorite place to relax.
In the first condo the husband and I moved into, our living room was accented with greens and lime green, so I used old pillows and elements to tie in with the dog portraits. Also see the vintage quilt from Hunters Alley on the back of the chair… I was going to use it on the sofa, but the pillows were bold enough.
If you check out my before post, you’ll see that I pulled three items from my curated collection at Hunters Alley, the Vintage Quilt – 189 {seen on the back of the orange/red oto chair}, the fun orange Pair of Popsicle Pillows {seen on the sofa}, and the Black Midcentury Magazine Rack {seen at the edge of the sofa next to the black shelves}. I love all the pieces, but am still kicking myself for not getting the Turtle Stool as well because it’s SO CUTE!
The only other item I purchased for the space was the cute little retro/modern futon sofa. It was the perfect size and the perfect price and easily flattens out into a little bed for a visiting kiddo. I had purchased the white faux fur rug ages ago {you can see it crumpled on the floor in the before photos}, have had the nesting tables and tiffany blue lamp for ages, which were just sitting unused in the garage. I love that they worked perfectly in this space!
I was also able to use our Peter Karpf Oto chair, DIY tassel curtains from my old office, DIY studded shelves from our old dining room, and the tall greenish shelves which were in our old den. Even though it was a space where all items that didn’t fit anywhere else ended up, they all complemented each other so well I thought.
I used vintage books that once belonged to my grandma as decor, along with fun little animal statues to continue the playful vibe created with the colorful dog portrait and furniture. The DeLoss McGraw “Cake” painting above the Oto chair used to hang in our old kitchen and I’m glad to have a spot for it again because I love it.
I found this retro lamp at a thrift store ages ago, then painted it tiffany blue to match our bedroom in the condo we moved into in 2004. It hasn’t have a home forever, but instead has been in the garage covered in dust, so I was super happy to be able to use it again. Vintage books with vintage brass birds and peace, love, hand statues.
Tree wall decal {was a pain in the butt to install, but worth it!} comes with different color leaves to change every season. I used a few of the green ones for now, but also have orange, pink, and gray to use if I like. They are removable and restikable.
View from the hallway…
I have only a few children’s books, and they are the funny ones… Delilah makes me read her The Gas We Pass every time she visits!
I thought it was appropriate to combine with the Frenchie book, considering LeRoy could literally clear a room.
Since I had used up all my yarn creating the pendant lamp, I used the shoe poufs from my DIY Tinker Bell costume, then strung beads on three yarn threads, with a loop at the top, created this cute garland to tie in the lamp and lighten up the side of the shelving unit.
See it hanging in the full shot below…
The Little Lords ran right up to the Frenchie bank statue I placed under the nesting tables…
From fabulous vintage furniture finds, and unique home decor accents, to cool kitchen and barware items, and even stunning one-of-a-kind art and jewelry keepsakes, Hunters Alley is a new kind of resale marketplace packed full of pre-owned and handmade pieces, from vintage to contemporary, that connects shoppers to sellers with similar taste, style, and interests. I’ve been checking out their sales every day since they launched because they have so many unique items that you can’t find anywhere else!
A big Thank You to Hunters Alley for giving this room purpose!
This post & room makeover is brought to you by Hunters Alley… all opinions are my own!
