A house takes time and is in constant motion, just like the people in it. Hope you enjoy the tour.
Our first house had traditional dining-living spaces. The table was always full of people. It got too crowded to walk around the table, so we put the dining suite into the adjoining living room. The sofas moved into the dining room to make a cozy sitting area.
Oh oh, that started my creative use of spaces. Here are some of the ways we've lived in our current house. It doesn't stay one way for more than a few months.
When we were first introduced, the room contained 2 dining tables, 7 teak buffets, a water dispenser, a fridge, hundreds of family pictures, a living room, and a sewing nook. I shot a panorama, standing in the kitchen doorway and facing the front door.
"Nothing but potential," I thought. Now it looks more like this (from the kitchen),
or like this (from the front door.) We covered the bare lightbulbs with paper shades from IKEA.
The nice lady who lived and entertained here for 40 years moved to another house with most of her memories. She was a neighbor who chose us as her tenants. She left us a few pieces of aging furniture (below). That was spread around the house or covered porch, depending on the condition. BEFORE: below.
The side room behind the stairs became my office. Its table became a living room coffee table.
AFTER: The old dining table got a new life as a desk in the office. It's sturdy and big enough for a lot of papers, art, or sewing projects, whether used sitting or standing.
One of our first purchases was a round folding table (72"/2 meter). 12 people can squeeze around it when needed. We've done that more than once.
The room moves around - sometimes the dining room sits under the stairs. Other times, we eat near the big windows.
It always takes me a few days to like a new layout.
But once it's set, it's time for company.
A friend gifted us with an IKEA Beddinge sofa when we moved to Bandung. We had a few of those sofas in the USA. The sofa comes in black. Over the years, I'd purchased slipcovers to change the look with the seasons.
We brought our red and purple covers to Indonesia, just for fun. And every time we go into the
IKEA As-Is section, I check for pillow covers on sale. We've found blues, greens, creams, reds, browns, blacks in plain, stripes, and patterns.
Before I move the whole room, I change out the cushion covers. It's easier on my husband that way - and gives a space a mini-renovation before a major change.
The red is brilliant at Christmas.
I also sewed a cream cover from a painter's drop cloth (heavy canvas).
We put an IKEA picture rail around the perimeter to hold a rotation of local and homemade art.
The white laser-cut steel panel was spotted at the back of someone's woodshed. It's one of my favorite pieces (36"X72"/1X2 meters).
Swapping the rugs changes the look, too.
When the living room isn't tucked near the stairs, it's near the porch entry.
We find the black rockers comfy, but the circle-chairs are easy to sit in, too.
There's even a music corner where the old fridge was.
In the opposite corner, Mrs W's sewing nook beside the entry has gone from bare to useful.
We use the long table at movie nights, when 6-10 students pack into its cozy space.
At those 70-person movie nights, the furniture and art makes way for cushions. Dozens of people can lounge on the floor. We eat supper together. Then we turn the chairs around. We can watch the movie projected on the long white wall above the empty picture rail.
The garden provides us with endless flowers.
Let's save some of those for another post.
What do you do to keep your home updated and most useful for who you are in various seasons of life?
