In April, we switched around three of our main living areas because the layout just wasn’t working for our expanding family. We call it the Big Switcheroo and this post is part three of the series. You can check out the first post here, which gives a little explanation on why we switched the rooms around. The second part focuses on perhaps the most unconventional change, which was converting the main entrance room into our dining room (you can read all about that here). Today, I want to focus on the new living room.

When weighing the pros and cons of the big move, there was only one real con. One of the rooms was our study and it was my most favorite room of the house. Once we moved the rooms around, my study would basically be my blue desk in the corner of our kitchen. I wasn’t sure if all the pros outweighed losing my study. But after our five year old’s birthday party, where it was painfully obvious how cramped things were with a crowd, my sister suggested we go for it.

The study, in all her glory, before the big switcheroo.

But what if…? I started to say.

My husband countered all of those what-if’s by assuring me we could put everything back the way it was after a week, if I really wanted to. So we started to move it all around. And it was amazing how everything just made sense, sorta like putting a puzzle together. I was doing something and looked up to see my husband and sister had already moved the couch and blue ottoman into that old study and I knew it was the right move. It all looked so much cozier.

The study had been beautiful (in my opinion anyway! lol), but it was more like a regal queen than the cozy farmhouse feel that the living room brought to that space. One of the things I loved about photographing the study was the way the blue desk (from Pier 1, in case you’re wondering) just popped. But now it was the teal ottoman that was allowed to pop and looked just as pretty.

I’m not done with this space. I’ve got to figure out what I want to put on either side of the window above the couch, but I truly love the new layout. The one con that I could come up with, turned out not to be a big deal at all! If you have a vision for your home, go for it!