And just like that…I changed the design for my coffee table.

You see, that tends to happen. Sometimes I fly by the seat of my pants, but the results are SO worth it!

As I was reading last year’s issue of Scandi Living At Home magazine ( I like to save my favorites and pass them on/recycle the rest) and my eye caught a glimpse of a thin taper candle stand. Can you guess what happened next?

I think I can make that!

To add to the cozy factor of the living room, I opted to replace our previous curtain rod with a more sturdy model. During play, my kids sometimes pull on the curtains and one of the brackets of the previous one has been pulled on hard enough to bend one of the brackets. Not a big deal, I was able to bend the bracket piece back into shape, but that solidified my plan to replace the rod for the living room and repurpose the other for the dining room. Installing a new curtain rod also enabled me to raise the height a bit to give the illusion of taller ceilings and a larger room.

Since my office is also in the dining room, it doesn’t get near as much traffic as the living room which is basically a play area most of the time.

As for the curtains, I found some pure white ones that I liked at Target. I had originally planned to get a set from IKEA (I’m a big IKEA fan for a number of reasons), but all three of the styles that I had my eye on were out of stock and were not expected to return until late November. I ordered them for drive-up and picked them up along with some allergy medicine as Fall allergies hit us pretty hard.

The next morning, I removed them from the packaging and threw them in the wash with some detergent and a little washing soda for good measure. While I don’t normally wash curtains as soon as I buy them, these had a smell to them that I was not feeling – after washing, they smelled wonderful and I hung them directly up on the curtain clips to dry. I wasn’t looking for a smooth finish because I like a little bit of texture, so I didn’t mind that they dried with a little bit of crinkle. They look beautiful and filter the light wonderfully.

Now, to return to the cozy factor: Hygge.

If you’re not familiar with the term,  it’s all about creating an inviting and welcoming atmosphere of warmth and coziness. It’s a journey for the senses that allows you to unwind and take time to appreciate the simpler things in life – like a warm cup of coffee, and a homemade sweet treat.

To create this in our living room, I chose some additional pillows for our current sofa in a warm olive color. The added softness and texture from the velvet-like covers is that little extra cozy feeling that is so well-balanced with a plush down insert. It gives a sink-in feeling to the couch that I’m looking for, at way less than replacing the couch entirely,

I’m hoping that the dry erase marker will come out of the couch, too. I took the above photo before the marker was very artistically added

The main project this week was the making of the coffee table. After finding another model that I absolutely loved, I decided that I need to make that one as well – but that will come later. For this one, I changed the design a bit and altered the height as well as the base slightly.

Here’s a shot of my revised model here:

I wanted a simplistic design but something that would be sturdy and can be finished well. If you’ve ever seen me around lumber, I’m always touching it! Haha – all jokes aside, I like a clean finish that can easily be touched up when it’s undoubtedly necessary after another marker mishap or pencil doodle. I chose some birch plywood and laminated them together to give the illusion of more depth. To hide the ply edges, edge banding is added and is easily trimmed with a razor knife.

We’ve been wanting to try a new finish for a while now, and this project seemed the best fit to give it a try. This one is Maker Brand Simple Finish. We’ve been longtime listeners to the Modern Maker podcast (shout out) and I love the low VOC and plant-based composition.

Also on the radar, is a place to store homeschool supplies. While I never would have dreamed that I would intend to homeschool my kids, it’s become the reality. My children light up when they’re learning and I want a space to store the educational tools to keep our home from feeling cluttered and overtaken by – well, everything.

I would store the items in the front corner of the living room to ensure it still functions well with the flow of the room, while considering future renovations for the kitchen. I really want to tear down a wall, and being the planner that I am, I want to think ahead of what will be needed, just as I do for my design clients!

That sums up this week! I still have much to do, but I’m withholding some aspects for the full reveal. Stay tuned to my Instagram for sneak peeks!

Here’s my reel from Week 3 with a peek at the whole room so far

Here’s what’s on my running checklist:

✅Order curtain rod & install

✅Ordered wall clock, pillow covers and inserts from IKEA DONE

✅Wall color DONE

✅Window trim DONE

✅ IKEA Satsuma plant stand (it came back in stock!)

✅ Make and install DIY blanket ladder

✅ Get pillow inserts and covers to add some Hygge to existing sofa

✅ Install wall clock

✅ DIY Coffee table plans

✅ New curtains in white installed on clip rings

⬜ Make coffee table

⬜ New rug? Possibly use existing Ruggable cover

⬜ Decorate shelves

⬜ Caulk and paint baseboards

⬜ Install stools and new storage baskets (saving for the reveal)

⬜ Add soft & cozy lighting for the shelving wall

✅ Up the cozy and Hygge with new pillows and throws

You rebel you, thanks for reading this far! Here’s a virtual peek at what the table will look like in our living room

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Catherine

founder, Peacock + Dahlia Interiors