living room inspiration

 
 My first foray into the Polyvore world...

It would be easy to say I hate our rental house... it is so ugly. 

There is no storage, no nice architectural features, it is tired and old and still had the original (and very threadbare) carpet, wall treatments, curtains and light fittings from when the house was built in the 1960s... but without any sign of the cool retro style prevalent from that period... just U.G.L.Y. 

The spaces are awkward, there is no logic or cohesion in the space.

Ever since we moved in over four years ago, I have struggled to make it a welcoming and comfortable home.  Having an extremely limited budget has been a large factor, lack of inspiration has also been a big contributor. 

Hours upon hours of trawling the internet, especially my beloved <3 Pinterest, has helped me to recognise some common elements that I want to incorporate into my space.  

I decided to have a go at using Polyvore to create a mood board and it has turned out quite well, I think.  My style is not as polished as the board I have created, I am a make-do and mend kinda girl. But it will give me a guide to keep me on track.

I have a lot of the Items I need, but just need to pull it all together, to give it some flow.  

Some painting is required, some sewing and hot-gluing, too.  

But I think this may just be achievable!

Now for some before photos... (eek!)
(Disclaimer- I did not clean or tidy before taking these photos...Don't judge me!! lol)

This is what is first seen when you walk through the front door...

 pampered pooch:

looking forwards to the study/library area:

 dining area on the right:

This one is taken from the hallway towards the dining area...

 the front door is to the right:

And these ones are taken from the dining area...

from the study towards the front door:

a disappearing dog towards the hallway: