Progress and Beautiful Compromise

Marimekko + AMH feathers + Sneaky cat photobomb

As of the end of this month, we'll have been living in our current apartment for four years. As of just this year, we finally agreed on a decorating scheme for our living room! O hey, let's hear it for progress! We've been trying out some different ideas, but nothing seemed to feel quite right or unite our styles. My taste is very cozy/cabin/carefully curated wunderkammer and his is more modern/minimum/quirky graphic designer so it has been difficult to merge them but important to us to have a room or two that reflected a mutual compromise.

Then we came across that black and white Marimekko fabric in the photo above (the pattern is called Kantaleen Kutsu, based on a Finnish folktale)...FINALLY, something we both loved that united elements from both our styles! It's almost as if we've been figuring out this marriage/compromise bit or something  ;) Once we found that, the whole living room started coming together. The idea of pulling inspiration from a mid-century modern look with touches of bright/cozy/modern woodland was very appealing as we wanted something sleek but comforting to come home to at the end of the day. I didn't want to overdo it on the woodland theme, go too literal, or have etsy owls all over the place. It's not finished and needs a bit more of the "sleek" element, but it's getting there.

That electric fireplace is the best. thing. ever.

The feather block pattern by Anna Maria Horner got me thinking though...I love that they are a bright contrast point to the Marimekko but not overly girly or cute done up in this linen and Denyse Schmidt Chicopee fabric. AND the colors of Chicopee coordinate so well with Anna Maria Horner's Summer Totem print in the grapefruit colorway that I have on the chair on the right (a quirky rocker we found on the cape one summer...it's not yet reupholstered, but someday...). I am learning to embrace mixing up different fabric designers these days. It really does make for more depth in a project but requires me to let go of some of my OCD tendancies. Anyways, I get my bright spots, he gets sparsely placed black and dark wooden masculine furniture. BLAMMO, we all win. It's a start!

Someday, I will recover that puke green couch in a wearable charcoal grey canvas. That or just replace it altogether, I'm not yet sure. J is voting on recovering it because moving it in here almost cost us our relationship, haha. Anyways, when we do get around to those final touches (replacing the rug, upholstery, etc.) I will post a real room tour. In the meantime, I'm just going to focus on what IS done. See, bliss!