Next room tackled... though not a triumph just yet...

Our next project was the playroom/study at the farmhouse. What prompted me to get this room up to snuff was when we received the incredible victorian pendant fixture, that you see in the photo below, from my parents. (They're in the process of purging everything that isn't tied down, and as you may have noticed, I've been on the receiving end of many of their "donations". It's been pretty hard, let me tell you...) 

So-- when we got this beautiful brass-and-glass fixture, I really thought, "Okay. I hate this room. If I'm going to put up this fantastic new light fixture, what else can I do to hate this room less?" The primary culprit is the completely-falling-apart floral sleeper sofa which occupies one end of the room in a particularly awful way... But I'm not in the market for a new sleeper sofa (specifically, I'm not interested in paying for one) so I'm just going to have to make do with that behemoth for another season... However, wall color, lighting, pillows, and throws I can produce with almost no expense (I have a stash of pillows, accent lights, and throws in my attic that rivals the Home Goods collection, so that's no prob.)

I hemmed and hawed about the paint, and ended up picking Benjamin Moore's "Bennington Gray", which is a lovely nutty-taupe-y color, without looking too much like human flesh or purple-- which is a delicate balance when it comes to nutty-taupey. It taps into the discolored mattings of my Wallace Nutting Hand Tinted Photograph collection, and also ties nicely into the beige-y tones of the vintage oriental rug that's on the floor.  

Wallace Nutting cluster! This is only the tip of the iceberg... 

The dreaded sleeper sofa. Improved, but not saved by throw pillows and a cashmere blanket, but let's be honest. She's a beast. She needs reupholstering like nobody's business. 

The end results are... good. Not "Ah-mazing!" or "Come-PLETELY transformed!!!" but it's a step in the right direction. And if nothing else, I can safely say, "I hate this room a little less" which was the original goal...

At least I totally love that light fixture.