Living Room Transformation

When we first moved to Munkkivuori, I hated how cold and boring our living room felt. Everything about it was so blah and colorless somehow. But just the other night as I sat in my favorite armchair finishing up a good book, I glanced around and realized that I really do like the room now. And to achieve this feeling, it really has undergone quite a transformation:

~  Phase One  ~

First, all was chaos and shadows as we moved in.

~  Phase Two  ~

Then, things begin to look more put together,
but didn't look or feel like home.

~  Phase Three  ~

And then, somehow, things began to fall into place and the room 

that felt so empty and uninviting turned into our living room.

This is mainly due to the fact that our new green couch arrived (goodbye, world of beige) and many things were dug up from attics and a few were bid on online. I even caved in and bought Pottery Barn curtains despite their high international taxes, which turned out to be a really good decision. Now we just have to figure out how to get the top part of that antique shelf up on the wall (it's just leaning against the wall right now) and then I'll leave things alone for a while and see how everything settles in. And in the meanwhile, I need to start working on turning Ellen's bedroom from a storage room to an actual living space.