Our living room is the one room in our home that has seen the most change.

This is surprising – even to me.

Why?

While we were in the middle of construction, we planned how this space would function meticulously.

Large stone living room with unfinished hardwood floors during construction - J Dub By Design™
The living room towards the end of construction.
During the latter part of construction, the living room was used to prep and stain pieces for other areas.
View of living room ceiling from kitchen - J Dub By Design™
A View of living room ceiling from kitchen.

In fact, we sketched it out with detailed measurements for every piece we planned to use – even the ones we had not purchased.

We measured for future seating, the best place to put our piano, and even the ideal spot for our Christmas tree.

As move in time approached, I decided that the first pieces we needed to invest in were custom sofas.

After contemplating the perfect color, style, and length for months, I went with two oh so perfect bespoke Chesterfield sofas.

These gorgeous bespoke leather pieces are HUGE at nearly 12 feet in length.

I just knew that the living room space would be downright close to perfect, give or take a couple of chairs, once those two massive pieces arrived.

“Easy peasy”!

Everything else in the room would magically fall into place.

LOL……It did not.

In July 2017, when we finally made the move, I stood in this room for hours every single day.

large stone living room with two custom black Chesterfield sofas - J Dub By Design™
In the beginning………

David and I would carry pieces in…..and, then I would move them right back out.

Over and over and over and over.

I struggled with finding the balance between David’s love of artifacts and the vastly different styles of our antique pieces.

On top of that, I was also overwhelmed with some serious self doubt. “Are you good enough to style this room the way it deserves to be styled?”

It was obvious we still needed a considerable amount of soft furnishings to make this room feel warm and inviting.

We also knew it would take time to budget for these pieces.

Of course, I was fine with saving our pennies. We wanted to get the room right.

But, I was beyond frustrated that I could not figure out how to make the space work while we were waiting.

Ultimately I had to let go of the need to get it right – right out of the gate.

And, I had to learn (the hard way, as it always seems to be with me)……

to love the process of finding that balance.

Over the years, my oh so perfect sofas have shared space with some not so perfect place holder pieces.

I had to fight the urge to buy some trendy piece on impulse just to make it work more quickly.

It has taken time.

A few years after we moved in, we added the blue chairs.

Large living room with bespoke leather Chesterfield sofas and ottoman - J Dub By Design™
The addition of the blue chairs and the leather ottoman as our coffee table.

By this time, I made the decision to start my blog.

Then, I learned (the hard way) to accept that social media opinions run far and wide regardless of whether you asked for that opinion or not.

“Don’t you own a houseplant?”.

“Why blue? I would have gone with white”.

“Get a rug.”

“Not a book in sight.”

And, countless more…..

A few year later, I switched out the leather ottoman for an antique coffee table cart.

The Christmas tree and the piano in their prime location.

Why did I wait so long?

David hid it from me.

I’m just kidding.

When I stopped fighting with our living room, my ideas started flowing.

Certain pieces worked. Others, most certainly did not.

No big deal. I embraced the process.

I still fought the rug opinion.

That is the last thing I wanted to purchase………EVER.

Then, a few weeks ago, while David and I were switching out tables in the breakfast room, I found something in storage I had forgotten about.

My rug………

“There’s no way it is big enough.”

“It is probably full of holes.”

“It is absolutely, disgustingly filthy.”

“The colors are not going to work.”

“The pattern is too small.”

“Everyone will hate it.”

“David will hate it.”

“I will hate it.”

After a full day of self doubt, mis-measuring, and scrubbing, David and I carried it into its forever home.

I could have sworn my oh so perfect sofas were singing that evening.

“She finally did the right thing for us. I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE REALLY, REALLY DID IT.”

large stone living room with bespoke furnishings and Turkish rug - J Dub By Design™
The rug I forgot I owned in its forever home.
Black leather Distinctive Chesterfield sofa with leopard pillows - J Dub By Design™
One of Our Oh So Perfect sofas

As for our ever evolving living room, I doubt I will ever stop tweaking it.

I will always be adding and taking away layers – pillows, decor, throws, books, and yes, plants.

They will all come and go as the seasons change.

As for my oh so perfect bespoke sofas….

They were made for this space.

I love them, probably more so today – 5 glorious years later.

Through dogs, cats, kids, and even a feral hog.

HOME is a process. HOME takes time.