Am I the only one that has trouble selecting furniture? I swear I spend hours and sometimes days before I commit to buying something new. I suppose mostly because I know I’m going to have to live with my choice for a long time. But mostly because I tend to buy pieces when the need arises so instead of a massive makeover from one design to another, I transition piece by piece. That means some pieces that represent our style from 10 years ago have to live next to my new favorite find.
Going Neutral
We started the living room transition from Tuscan gold and wine, to gray and white, over a year ago. The first thing we did was paint over the deep wine accent walls with the new neutral shade. We didn’t have time to complete all of the painting, so we left the gold until we had more time, which never seemed to materialize. Thankfully most people thought it was a design choice.
I was finally forced to complete the painting project when I received two beautiful gray bookshelves I ordered for another room, but upon seeing them, realized they were just what I needed for the living room, but the gold had to go! So while my husband put together the bookcases, I finished painting the living room and front entry way with the same gray we used initially on the accent walls.
The new color choices are part of my goal is to make our living area a calm and serene place with shades of gray and then add pops of colors in accents. That will allow me to make modest changes in an overall neutral palette more often and not feel stuck with an outdated color pallet.
Sauder Woodworking Co: So Many Style Choices
The bookshelves are from Sauder Furniture, and I had originally planned to use them in my craft room. I spent hours trying to decide which color and style to choose from the many that they offer and several times I switched from tall column bookcases with doors to shorter and wider open shelves. There were so many choices; I found myself drifting into bedroom furniture, bathroom, and more. The Sauder Furniture website makes it easy because you can shop by room, collection, or products.
The Sauder Cottage Road collection is my favorite, but they currently only have two pieces – a side table and entertainment credenza – and sadly neither of them fit my needs. But the style is the perfect for my tastes.
I finally landed on the Sauder Original Cottage Collection which fit my style with the exception that the pieces are not available in antique white, my preferred color. They do come in three fabulous color choices which pushed me to make a choice outside of my usual comfort zone.
I chose the Sauder Original Cottage Collection Bookcase in Cobblestone, and while I adore the color, I’m a wishing now I’d gone with the Rainwater. It’s a fresh powdery sea glass green that I just wasn’t willing to commit to, but now that I see the finish on the Cobblestone (which thankfully is exactly the soft gray I was hoping for), I realize the Rainwater and even the Melon Yellow color choices would have been fabulous and added a soft touch of pastel to the room. That said, I couldn’t be happier with the Cobblestone, and I’ll stick with my original plan which is to use all gray neutrals and add subtle color with accessories.
Sauder Woodworking Co: Ready-to-Assemble Furniture made in the USA
The Sauder Original Cottage Collection also has beautiful, and reasonably prices ladder back, x-back, and slat back chairs, plus a small square dining table, entertainment credenza, writing desk, and kitchen island. The Original Cottage Collection is one of 30 ready-to-assemble furniture collections produced by the family-owned Sauder (pronounced Sow-der) company.
What makes Sauder unique is that over 90% of Sauder® furniture is MADE IN THE USA! Their furniture arrives flat packed and just takes a hammer, screwdriver, and a little time to assemble.
Assembling the Ready-to-Assemble Bookcases
I left the assembly up to my husband while I painted. He sorted out the bits and pieces and checked them against the instructions before starting the construction process. Once he verified that everything was present, he gathered the simple tools required for assembling the furniture.
It took about an hour for each bookcase, and though he did make a mistake on the second one by attaching the backboard on backward. It was easy to fix by removing it, turning it over and reattaching it. Thankfully his little faux pas didn’t create any flaws or damage.
Bringing it All Together
The two bookcases are exactly what I hoped for, though they’re not where I thought they’d be when I selected them, they’re perfect where they are. I lightly spray painted some storage baskets I had with antique white and added them for some enclosed storage of DVDs and Blu-rays, and then filled in with soft plants and other decorative items. I went with a blue, aqua, and green color pallet with a nod to the beach with broken sea glass, shells, and galvanized pots.
I tried not to get too theme specific and went a more eclectic mix adding some of my favorite antique pottery along with Disney treasures the kids picked up over the years. I also added some photos of the boys from summers long ago and am looking forward to adding more. I love that I can update the contents and colors to change it out for the season, and I can’t wait to fill them with our Christmas Villages during the holidays.
I still need to hang the curtains and am shopping for lighting, but we’re getting there. I’d love the have an area rug, but that’s not possible with our two dogs, so we’ll be adding an upholstered ottoman soon to replace the glass table, and goodness knows I realize that fireplace is ugly. I remember when we bought the house in 1988 it was one of the things we loved. We’ve looked at replacing the fireplace door, but it’s a custom size that starts at about $1500 which makes it easier to overlook its horrible color and style.
It seems updating our living room is an ongoing process. Are you a do it all and get it done type of person or a more casual “collector” like me when it comes to home décor?
Connect with Sauder Woodworking Co:
- Shop www.sauder.com
- Need help with assembly? Use the live chat option on Sauder.com or call 1-800-523-3987 between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sauder. The opinions and text are all mine.
