My first Craigslist purchase

So we've been working on the house a bit.  And I previously mentioned that in this process I had a little side project to refinish a chest of drawers I found on Craigslist.  We needed something new to put the TV on in the new "hearth room" area.  I wanted something taller than your run-of-the-mill TV console table so you could see the TV from the kitchen island.

I found this hand made item on Craigslist for what I considered a pretty good deal.  The seller found it at an estate sale (something I hope to do myself someday - love estate sales, especially in the big homes around here).  He sanded it completely down to the original wood - a plus for me because I don't have the time or energy to clean up all that dust. 

It is a mid-century modern style, with a little curvy twist.  Our house was built in the early 60's, but it has a slightly French style to the details.  We are trying to stay true to the era while keeping a classic spin on things, to allow continuity with the old trimmings in the home.  Honestly though, I really don't know what I'm doing.

Here is the piece before 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of paint.  Some people would kill me for painting this wood.  Oh well.

Don't mind the baby swings in the back, not an accessory I plan to use.

I picked a color that is within the same tone of our walls, but a different hue.  I wanted the two colors to blend but still add a bit of life to the room so I could play the hue up in accessories such as pillows, rugs and art.  I'm going with blues and yellows in this very neutral grey space.  Part of me wishes I'd been a bit more bold and painted it two different contrasting colors, or one very bright pop color.  My fear was I would ruin the piece altogether, so I played it safe.

The Ugly Dolls do enjoy a good episode of Mad Men.

The only true accessories we currently have are a pair of pillows on my new leather chairs.  These sit exactly opposite of the chest, all flanking my black fireplace.  I love the chair and pillows, but they aren't enough just yet to make the room pop.  Clearly we need some art on the walls and probably a rug with some crazy color.

It needs some color oomph.

The only walls we have figured out are the two here, from the dining space looking into the entryway, or the kitchen off to the left.  This photo is not great, but you get the idea.

And here is a pic of my entryway (this photo is also terrible) from the front living room, which is currently known as "the octagon of doom." It is the kid space for now and last on the list for decorating. I carried this blue from the hallway into the kitchen.  It will be our main accent color.  But I also plan to use the other blue you see here and a lot of yellow.

It is all still a work in progress, and I will have more updates later, but things are coming along and this place is starting to feel like our home, not just some one's house that we moved into.