Now THAT'S Progress!

I made some changes to my living room two weeks ago, and almost 2 weeks in, I'm really liking it. The new lamp and rug are winners for sure (as is my random glass box). The jury is still out on the pillows. Several people who have stopped by think they look great, but Mark and I still feel like they're too white--something more cream would be better.

This is what we started with:

Anyhow, here's where we are now:

Doesn't the rug make a huge difference?

 Several things are placeholders right now:

• The chair was in the dining room. 
• So was the lamp that is now on the mantel
• We still want a new coffee table

The jury is also still out on those pillows:

I know the colors aren't great, and the couch definitely looks good with light-colored pillows. We just think they're too light. It's tough to tell, but the blanket on the chair is cream, and the pillows are white. They are off-white enough that in the store with all their white-pillow friends, I was like "oh, they're cream." But not really.

As for the chair:
We both LOVE it. It was a 16th birthday present for me. [When I moved in we couldn't figure out where to put it, and my mom put in the corner of the dining room by the windows, telling me I could sit there to...look at cookbooks? We all laughed since she was obviously just trying to justify the placement (it's right next to the bookshelf with the cookbooks). But surprise surprise, she's right. We DO sit there and look at cookbooks.] In the living room? It just looks too old-fashioned for me. I'm trying to get away from the look of the coffee table, and the chair isn't helping. I think I found a new chair already, but I'm probably going to wait and ask for it for my birthday.

I'm also on the lookout for a lamp for the mantel; the one that's there right now doesn't really work. But at least now I know I want a lamp there. And it helps fill that 11 feet of space.

Anyhow, what do you think?!?