There’s a profound sense of accomplishment and clarity that often accompanies reaching the one-year mark in a new home. It’s a period of natural evolution, a transition from simply existing in a space to truly inhabiting and shaping it. Over the last 357 days – not that we’re meticulously counting, but the passage of nearly a full year brings a significant shift – our home has undergone a remarkable transformation. While a single month might offer little scope for meaningful adjustments, twelve consecutive months provide ample time for deeply considered changes and major overhauls. This includes living with a floor plan long enough to truly understand its nuances and then making bold moves, such as the exhilarating decision to knock out a wall that we had envisioned removing since the very first day we stepped through the door.
Beyond structural changes, this extended period has also allowed us to refine our interior design choices. Our journey began with a mix of items carried over from our previous house and instinctual purchases made in the initial rush of moving in. Over time, we’ve transitioned from making do with what we had to making more thoughtful and intentional decisions about furniture and accessories. As our experience consistently shows, true home evolution and the creation of a deeply personalized space take time. We often recall this earlier reflection on the subject, confirming that patience is indeed a virtue in home decorating. This narrative unfolds the story of a significant “three-fer” upgrade – an epic transformation involving a new rug, ottoman, and accent chair – that has profoundly impacted our living room’s aesthetic and functionality.
The Foundation: Building, Saving, and Strategic Sourcing
Our initial move-in phase involved purchasing essential, foundational pieces: our comfortable sectional sofa, the first area rug that grounded the space, our bed, and a substantial dining room table. These were the immediate necessities that made the house feel like a home. However, once these staples were in place, we consciously shifted our focus for nearly a year. This period became a dedicated “building and DIY kick,” a time where we rolled up our sleeves and invested our energy into creating custom elements and tackling larger renovation projects.
This hands-on approach yielded impressive results and substantial savings. We proudly crafted our $104 console table, a piece that perfectly fit our needs and budget. We then took on the ambitious project of building our $124 wall-to-wall double desk, providing a functional workspace tailored to our lifestyle. Our efforts extended outdoors, where we saved nearly $4,000 by diligently laying our own stone patio. Inside, we navigated numerous estimates to save an additional $3,000 on our kitchen wall-opening project, a structural change that dramatically improved the flow of our main living area. Beyond these major undertakings, our home was also slowly furnished through smart, inexpensive secondhand finds, such as our $35 desk chairs, $25 dining chairs, and a fantastic score of four secondhand kitchen cabinets for our ongoing remodel, all for under $100.
This diligent period of DIY projects, saving, and budget-conscious sourcing wasn’t just about cutting costs; it was about strategically allocating our resources. By doing so much ourselves, we built up a healthy savings account, allowing us the luxury of waiting for specific pieces that we truly loved to come along – pieces that would elevate our space rather than just fill it. The satisfaction of finally being able to purchase these desired items, knowing we had earned them through hard work and smart financial planning, was immense. A significant bonus came in the form of “store credit” we had accumulated with Joss & Main through a side gig curating a sale for them (you can read more about that experience here). Directing this credit towards our living room transformation felt particularly gratifying, especially since it’s undoubtedly one of the most frequently used and cherished rooms in our home. We knew these upgrades would be noticed, appreciated, and enjoyed daily. So, with anticipation, let’s dive into the specifics of what we tweaked and, more importantly, why these changes were essential.
The Rug Revelation: From Shag to Sophistication
For the better part of our first year in the new house, our fluffy green shag rug was a beloved fixture in our living room. It offered unparalleled comfort, creating a soft, inviting surface that was perfect for a wiggly crawling baby and later, a wobbly toddler. Its thick pile was so appealing that many adults also found themselves comfortably sitting or even lounging on the floor. It genuinely felt like a cloud underfoot, contributing to a cozy and relaxed atmosphere. However, as Clara grew and her energy levels soared, a few practical issues began to surface, prompting us to reconsider our choice.
The Shag Rug’s Downfall: Practicality Meets Toddler Life
The first significant challenge with our plush shag rug revolved around its maintenance in a busy household with a young child. Let’s just say that discovering milk dripped and goldfish or Cheerios crushed deep into its luxurious pile was far from pleasing. We embrace a casual, “this-house-is-not-a-museum” vibe, a philosophy we both grew up with and deeply value. This means we don’t enforce a strict “no food in the living room” rule; while messier items like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or bagels with cream cheese are reserved for the kitchen, dry crackers and sippy cups of milk are generally allowed. While vacuuming or a bit of targeted scrubbing (for those inevitable milk spills) usually did the trick – and our observant dog, Burger, was an excellent scout for stray goldfish before we even knew they were missing – the rug’s high-pile nature simply required more upkeep than a lower-pile alternative would. With an energetic toddler constantly on the move, ease of cleaning became a paramount concern.
The second, and equally crucial, issue was the rug’s size. In our previous, smaller home, both our living room and den rugs were a modest 5×8 feet, perfectly scaled for those more compact spaces. When furnishing our new living room, which spans a generous 25 feet, an 8×11-foot rug initially sounded substantial enough. However, despite our best efforts to “adjust” to it and strategically arrange our furniture, it consistently felt a little too small, almost adrift in the expansive room. We were definitely still navigating the learning curve of decorating a significantly larger space. Our giant sectional sofa, for instance, felt like it was only just barely contained within the boundaries of the rug, lacking the solid, anchored feeling a truly proportional rug provides.
Discovering the Perfect Anchor: A Grand Rug Solution
It was amidst this ongoing rug dilemma that inspiration struck. While browsing Joss & Main, I stumbled upon a truly giant 10×14-foot, 100% wool rug priced at an astonishing $599, reduced from its original $798. My immediate reaction was a mix of excitement and apprehension. A purchase of that magnitude isn’t insignificant for us, but the sheer size of the rug and its high-quality material made the price seem almost unbelievable. Rugs of that scale and quality, especially those that align with our style, typically retail for anywhere between $1,000 and $2,000 – a fact that had previously led to some “fake ugly-crying” on at least three occasions when faced with such price tags. It had almost felt impossible to find an extra-large, low-pile rug that suited our aesthetic without adding three zeros to the price. Suddenly, $599 began to sound incredibly appealing, certainly good enough to warrant serious contemplation.
After mulling it over for several hours, weighing the pros and cons, I decided to present the idea to John to get his take. Our approach to significant purchases is always based on mutual agreement; we never buy anything unless we both genuinely love it. This ensures that if he dismissed the idea, I could simply close the browser window and put it out of my mind. However, when I finally went to show him the rug, a remarkable coincidence unfolded: he already had the same rug displayed on his own screen! It turned out he also receives Joss & Main alerts and had clicked on that very rug, leaving it open on his computer with the intention of discussing it with me later. It was a crazy, almost serendipitous moment; we had both been secretly contemplating the exact same rug. It felt undeniably meant to be. With a mixture of excitement and a touch of nervous anticipation, we gritted our teeth and placed our order. We won’t pretend our palms weren’t a little sweaty, but we went for it, confident that this was the right decision to anchor our expanded living space.
Elevating Functionality: The Storage Ottoman Upgrade
With the rug dilemma resolved, our attention turned to another functional gap in our living room: the ottoman. For some time, we had been using a placeholder – a small, round ottoman that originally served as a side table in our first bedroom. While it filled the space temporarily, it was clearly undersized for our large sectional and, crucially, lacked any internal storage. This meant that remote controls, blankets, and miscellaneous items often ended up cluttering the visible surfaces, diminishing the sense of order we craved. We soon found ourselves actively pining after a truly substantial piece that could meet both our aesthetic and practical needs, leading us to discover a magnificent tufted leather storage ottoman.
Beyond Aesthetics: The Power of Hidden Storage
This ottoman was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a cheap addition to the room. However, its numerous benefits far outweighed the cost. The most compelling feature was the nearly fourteen cubic feet of additional, hidden storage it offered. Measuring approximately 3x3x1.5 feet with an easy-open hinged top, it provided an incredibly generous space to tuck away clutter, from toys to throw blankets, instantly transforming the tidiness of our living room. Beyond its storage prowess, we greatly appreciated that it was a correctly sized counterpart to our giant sectional, creating a cohesive and balanced look rather than appearing like a “too-small donut hole” in the center of the room. Its soft, tufted leather surface also offered a safe landing for little toddler heads, a significant consideration in a family home, while still being perfectly functional for serving food and drinks with the simple addition of a nice, large tray. This piece was truly versatile, ticking every box on our wish list. We likely never would have justified its original price of around $900, but with a discount of over $500, it became an irresistible investment in both style and practicality.
A Touch of Comfort: Revamping the Seating
Just as we were finalizing the plans for our rug and ottoman, another opportunity arose to enhance our living room’s comfort and style. It seemed as though this elegant chair, with its inviting presence and attractive lines, practically winked at us from the screen and said, “How you doin’?”
The timing for this new addition was particularly fortuitous. Our existing Parsons chair, a $70 purchase from Target approximately four years prior, had served us well but was showing significant signs of wear and tear from constant use. The faux-leather upholstery on one side had started cracking quite noticeably, revealing its age and diminishing its overall appeal. Replacing this tired piece was becoming a priority, and the discovery of a new, stylish chair available for $169 (down from its original price of $339) presented an ideal solution.
The Unveiling: A Living Room Transformed
Once our decisions were made and orders placed, the waiting game began. We waited patiently by the door, pausing only for life’s essentials: eating, sleeping, changing the baby, working on our ongoing kitchen projects, and, of course, keeping up with the blog. When everything arrived, almost simultaneously, it truly felt like an early Christmas celebration. In fact, we literally declared these new additions to be our combined Christmas gifts to each other for last year, this year, and even next year, a testament to their significance and the joy they brought us. The transformation was immediate and remarkable. As you can see, the rug settled beautifully into its new home, though we still needed to acquire a rug pad to smooth out those initial “rug wiggles.” And for those curious about the art swap, I had meant to blog about that earlier! It’s actually a piece of extra burlap-ish fabric I used instead of the more colorful paper that was there previously. I love how it adds texture and allows our bright pillows and accessories to truly pop without competition.
The Investment and the Philosophy: Decorating with Discernment
Making such significant purchases for a rug and an ottoman was by no means a trivial expense for budget-conscious individuals like us. Even spending $169 on an accent chair isn’t typically our standard operating procedure; we are certainly no strangers to finding fantastic chairs for $20-$35 at thrift stores or on Craigslist. However, the feeling of satisfaction was immense when we tallied up the total savings from these sales: $199 saved on the rug, $521 on the ottoman, and $170 on the chair, amounting to a whopping $890 in discounts! More importantly, because we had dedicated countless hours and hard work to DIYing so many projects over the preceding 11 months, we had managed to save a pretty substantial chunk of change. This meant our bank account was, thankfully, perfectly healthy to accommodate this living room spree. Our guiding financial principle is to never buy anything we can’t immediately pay off, a strategy we’ve detailed further here. This disciplined approach allowed us to make these intentional, larger investments without compromising our financial comfort, making the transformation all the more rewarding.
The Ongoing Journey: Future Plans and Embracing Imperfection
Of course, the journey of home decoration is rarely complete, and we are ardent believers in the “use-what-you-got” philosophy. We fully intend to repurpose the old round ottoman and the previous living room rug in other still-evolving spaces within our home. The beauty of these pieces is their versatility, and we’re excited to find them new roles. We might even try slipcovering the faux-leather chair in a fun, vibrant fabric to give it a fresh look and extend its life in another spot. So, rest assured, we’ll keep you posted on these ongoing “cha-cha-cha-changes” as they unfold.
Our home, like many, is a work in progress, with about a million other “working-with-what-we-have” items still on our radar. This includes the wrong-sized rug in the office that needs addressing, and the current too-small TV and media cabinet in the living room – we envision building a custom media center to perfectly balance our chunky, distressed console table. Then there are the completely missing elements, such as a large buffet or console table with art and a welcoming rug in the entryway off the dining area. And let’s not forget the entire playroom and sunroom, both eagerly awaiting our creative touch, alongside the various bathrooms that are yet to be tackled. But we take comfort in knowing that we’ll get there someday, bit by bit.
Recalling that our first house took us a solid 4.5 years to complete provides immense comfort and perspective. It effectively eliminates the self-imposed pressure to have it “all done now.” True home evolution and the creation of a deeply personal sanctuary simply take time, patience, and a willingness to live through the process. We are, however, feeling incredibly good about our progress just one year in, and you can see a much broader overview of that journey here. This leads us to wonder: How about you? Do you have a “magic number” of months or years after living somewhere when you finally begin to feel truly settled and “evolved,” after that initial period of feeling around in the dark while you get your bearings? It’s fascinating how everyone’s journey of making a house a home unfolds uniquely.
Smart Shopping Insights: Maximizing Your Decor Budget
For anyone inspired to purchase the specific rug, ottoman, or chair we featured, it’s important to understand the nature of flash sales. Joss & Main is renowned for its time-limited events, often lasting only a few days. Consequently, by the time we received these items in the mail, photographed them, and prepared this post, they were no longer available for sale. However, many of Joss & Main’s products can frequently be found on Wayfair.com, though often without the same deep discounts. To ensure you don’t miss out on similar deals, we highly recommend getting on Joss & Main’s mailing list, which you can do instantly by clicking here. This direct invite means you won’t have to wait to access their exclusive sales. We hope this tip helps you discover your own perfect finds!