German Home Tour: The Living Room

Hello Friends! I am trying something new today. This is the first time I will be participating in a link up with other blogs. Andrea, over at Momfessionals, has assigned different living areas each month to showcase from your home. It's like a virtual Open House! Who doesn't love, secretly or not so secretly, seeing other people's living spaces?

Our readers have shown interest in Husband and my living abroad experiences... so now I would like to welcome you inside our home in Munich, Germany. I hope you like what you see!

Please excuse my exhausted-after-work hair.

Since Husband and I are not sure how long we will live in German, it did not seem practical to spend tons of money in our current home. Some items in our flat came across the ocean, others are hand-me-downs from the local international group, and a handful of things were bought at Ikea. Most of our personal items are currently boxed up in storage back in Texas. 

This is the view into our living room from the entryway. The glass doors lead out onto our patio. The walls are painted an olive green but originally I was hoping for a color with more of a grey undertone. After the green walls, the furniture is all white, light woods, and neutral to match our shedder of a dog, Shelby. Good thing she is cute!

Couch- Ikea "Ektorp"

*Chairs-Target "Marigold"

Coffee Table- FREE

Chest- FREE

*Pillows- Pier 1

Lamp- Ikea

*Canvas- Pier 1

* Items shipped from our home in The States.

Media Stand- Ikea

*TV

Palm Tree- Hand Me Down

Floating Shelves- Ikea

Curtains- Hand Me Down

The floating shelves are relatively new from Ikea. They are still a work in progress. I need a couple more large white and natural wood frames to replace the small metal ones. Most of the pictures are wedding photos. The art print is an urban city drawing from artist Elzemieke. I made the wreath and letter "A".

I have been fascinated with the 1940s and 1950s American vintage styles for nearly a decade now. The bright colors, logos, and designs can be found scattered through out my home. This is a frame I actually found here in Germany for less than 5 Euros. It is displaying a wedding photo from my grandparents who share the same anniversary as Husband and I.

These potato sacks I brought over from The States. I found them antiquing on a back Indiana road during a family road trip during 2010. They were super cheap at $5 a piece folded up in the back of an old building. Currently, I have stuffed them with queen size pillows. They are supposed to act as floor pillows but I have never had a guest use them! Oh well... 

*Mirror- Ross

Bar- FREE (old TV stand revamped by Husband)

*The bar items were wedding gifts.

Ikea Bookshelf- FREE (story here)

Dying Palm tree- Ikea

*Canvas- TJ Maxx

*Misc. items brought from The States

Did you notice more black and white photos?

Shelby Dog!

The reason EVERYTHING is white!

Now to compare and contrast! This is our living room back in Texas. It is fun to look back and see what items were moved here to Germany, what went to the garage sale, and the things that are boxed up in storage.

Looking Back- 2012

We sold the couch at a resale shop in my hometown. The coffee table sold at the garage sale. Currently, the books, rug, and chairs are here in Munich. Husband and I are still debating if we will leave the chairs here someday or ship them back to Texas. 

I love our side table! My best friend and I went to an estate sell back in Texas during the summer of 2011. I bought the table for just 5 bucks. Husband refinished it to match the chair legs.  The vintage girl cavas' were shipped to Germany and currently hang above our couch. I like to think of me as the red head and the blonde as my best friend!

As you can see some things have changed and yet some have stayed the same. When Husband and I move back to Texas we will be right back in this very living room. Our flat in Germany is a temporary living space but Texas is where we call Home.

Make Life Beautiful,