living room "flor" design

As always, what we went in thinking and what we came out with wouldn't have recognized each other on the street.

I went in desperate for neutrals, figuring this was the only way to brighten up our dim living room.

Husband went into a store that sells modular carpet squares (with the pad built in) wanting cushy comfort. Such things aren't to be had in the traditional sense.

Let's backtrack to describe the journey that led us to the Flor store in Soho.

A few years ago, we visited the apartment of our dear friends (who have written this blog about their adventures in home-owning and fighting with old wallpaper) and were admiring their very unique carpet. They told us it was from Flor, and explained how it worked and how they used it to carpet rooms and hallways without the permanence of wall-to-wall carpet.

I was hooked. I went home, ordered the catalog, jumped on the website and started designing a carpet for our bedroom, which was at that time in desperate need of a rug. A Macy's gift card later, we purchased two area rugs that I'm now completely dissatisfied with, but could improve with a good shampoo. (A future project indeed.)

Fast forward to now, when I realized that an area rug to adequately cover a 12x18' room would cost me more than I was willing to spend. I also realized that I hated 95% of the rugs out there, unless they were miles out of my price range. You see, I live in a pre-war apartment in New York, so I have basically no sound insulation between my floor and my neighbors' ceiling. Sound carries. In fact, it amplifies. I really want to cover as much of the floor as humanly possible.

And then I remembered Flor.

project rewind: revamping the kitchen table

Painting our kitchen table was by far the largest and most involved project we've undertaken. Seriously. I was at it for a month. The month of July. In the one room in our apartment without air conditioning.

I am extremely proud of the result, even if I point out every single imperfection in it. It truly brightened up our kitchen and turned a hand me down into something of our own.

I have to thank this fabulous step-by-step guide from the DIY geniuses at Young House Love for their know-how and ability to break things down into digestible pieces. And for providing the names of the exact products they used.

Here's the before and after:

Before (seriously, right before).

After (with cupcake place mats made special for our wedding)!

And now for the process...

the great living room reveal!

So here's what we're working with.

(Please note these pictures were taken in the evening, but since the room doesn't get much light anyway, they pretty accurately reflect how things look in daylight.)

This is Sad Elephant, aka: the couch we are replacing:

I have never been able to accurately describe that color. In fact, I've always called the couch elephant-colored. Only in recent years has it become saggy and sad. It might have served us much longer if a.) it were a more modern shape, b.) the back cushions hadn't started resembling the skin of an 85 year old elephant, c.) it were an actual color, and d.) I believed in slip covers (to instantly change it to an actual color).

As a thousandth reminder, here is the new couch:

CB2.com

I have selected a picture in its natural habitat, a room. Such clean lines! So deep and cozy for tall people! Zero back cushions to sag! Only throw pillows, which are so much more easily fluffed and replaced.

Give me a moment to sigh.

And here is the companion chair. Yes, it doesn't match the style of New Couch at all. We're hoping it doesn't look absolutely awful. Or that no one (including us) notices it because New Couch is so overwhelmingly awesome.

It's a darn comfortable chair. And accent pillow of inspiration looks quite comfortable in it. 

Please pardon the mess in the background. The hallway cannot be contained. That's a different project entirely.

Continue reading to see how freakishly well New Couch matches Comfy Chair.