living room redesign

Do you ever have one of those nights where you just can't sleep because your mind is racing? I am having one tonight...the coke slurpee I drank while watching the olympics probably didn't help! Tonight I am thinking about the fact that we have lived in this house for 6 months and we have done little more than move in the furniture (I have a big excuse that I have been using that starts with the letter T). After spending a little while on paper, and some time on the internet, here is my initial idea.

This painting is my inspiration, I found during my week visiting my parents in Phoenix while going through one of my old boxes. I love the way it captures the feeling of the desert, the light and immense sky. I want to paint something similar, but on a much larger scale to go above our couch.

Here's a sketch of the rest of the room, as it appears in my imagination.

I think this indoor/outdoor fabric Jenny mentioned on her blog would be great for curtains & would compliment the colors in the painting.


Pillows in this pattern in one of these two colors.

Finally, on the wall opposite the windows I really want to put up a collection of old family photos, parents, grandparents, this is one of my favorites, my mom in Iran.

Well, that's my idea for the time being. I would love to hear what anyone thinks. I am considering hiring a designer for help, but only hesitate because I have such a small budget that I'm afraid if I do that, I won't have anything left at the end for the actual decorating.