This is the newest furnished {far from finished} corner of our house.

Actually, it might be the only somewhat furnished corner in the Underdog. ‘Taking our time’ is our motto. We’re living it to the fullest!

I bought our couch {Is it okay if I go with ‘couch’ for this post? I’m not feeling much like a ‘sofa’ person today.} online without seeing it in person beforehand. Some might call that risky but I did a lot of virtual window shopping {I like to refer to it as research} before ordering this one. We are so happy with it! It’s almost like my favorite saddle leather belt reincarnated as a couch. It’s the soho leather sofa from Elements Fine Home Furnishings if you want to google for the best price.

We chose to buy a high quality, long-lasting leather couch knowing that it would most likely outlive three cotton couches in its lifetime. {A white slipcovered couch was my second choice.} It’s constructed of top grain leather which is a step up from the bonded sectional we had in our previous house. If you didn’t know it already, there are different grades of leather…bonded/bi-cast, genuine, top grain and full grain. Top grain is more durable than bonded, bi-cast and genuine but not as strong as full grain leather. Also, top grain won’t age naturally like full grain leather will but it will patina with ‘scars.’ If you can afford full grain, it’s the way to go. We couldn’t afford a couch made of full grain leather. We bought the best our money could buy.

The top grain is much more supple and way less vinyl-ish than than our old sectional. I keep telling HH it’s smooth like butter. I wasn’t expecting such a big difference. I think so many items nowadays are made from split and polyurethaned leathers that I’ve become accustomed to thinking that leather is supposed to resemble vinyl. It’s not! I read somewhere recently that bi-cast is to natural leather what particle board is to hardwood.

And I’m sorry if you are anti-leather. I fully understand your position and opinion. You are entitled to them as I am to mine. We can agree to disagree. You are free to leave informative, non-hateful comments below. Now, moving on.

The matching bolster pillows came with the couch. I love the look of them. My boys pretend they are bazookas or pugil sticks. They are rarely ever on the couch and that drives me insane. But they look just as good as the day we received them and are holding up well to the kid version of American Gladiators.

The couch itself is super comfy. With deep seats, it’s prime real estate for watching a movie, reading or napping…not that those things are happening all that often here. It’s definitely a curl-up-on couch.

I finally put together the tripod lamp I bought from Target. Basically, it consisted of screwing the three legs together {each leg is made up of three sections} then plopping the shade on top. It was so easy a four-year-old could do it. Literally. Everett helped me screw the legs in.

I’m really surprised by the quality for the $50 I spent on it. It’s not crooked and the shade is a generous size. The electric cord is snaked through one leg so that it comes out near the floor instead of a black tampon-esque string hanging from the lamp. {Did I just say that?! Yes. Yes, I did. Forgive me. It was the best description I could come up with.} I kept the box in case it ended up being too flimsy for our rowdy house but, so far, I don’t see any reason to return it. Most of the other tripod floor lamps I had been eyeing were at least $200, so I’m glad to have found a less expensive option. If I want to dress it up, I can always cover the shade with another fabric or switch it out all together.

It’s really nice having a single reading light to turn on in the evenings. Before this floor lamp came to live with us, I was turning on the track lighting that runs along the ridge beam in the vaulted great room just to look at a magazine or read a book. The floor lamp also has a 3-way dimmer switch so I can adjust the intensity of the light.

Another new item is the alpaca throw. Love everything about this petite blanket. The heather gray/ivory color scheme is right up my alley and the half geometric/half adorable duck print is lovely. I use it on the couch to break up all the leather.

I found this woven basket at Target a few months ago on sale. I’m thinking it was around $20?? For now, I’ve placed it beside the couch a la end table style. I tossed all the Wii paraphernalia in it. Video games have never looked so posh at our house.

The family room seating area floats within the great room {we’ve got the whole room within a room thing going on} and is grounded by a durable sisal rug. It’s light in color and heavy on texture. I absolutely love it. The backside is latex so there’s no need for a pad underneath. While we have no problem walking around barefoot on it, it’s definitely not suitable for dad vs. son wrestling matches. HH and the boys take their wrestling matches to the boys’ room where there’s a softer rug to play on. I’d say its feel is similar to that of a seagrass rug. I want to channel my inner Lauren Liess and layer a softer, smaller rug on top of the sisal in front of the couch. It would give Mabrey somewhere soft to roll and crawl around plus I’ve always liked the look of layered rugs.

So that’s a peek at a corner of my home. It’s by no means done and it probably won’t stay like this forever but it’s cozy and functional. It’s a start in the more masculine direction I’ve been wanting to take. You may have noticed the white cabinet behind the floor lamp. It’s actually a shoe organizer for when we are able to use our front door on a regular basis. We still have some door jamb issues to address there. And the speaker on the wall? Well, that’s a topic for an entirely different post.

Is there a corner of your home that makes you smile? Even if the rest of the house is a disaster.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

I mentioned that I’m participating in Kirkland’s ‘Ace Your Space’ campaign. I’ll be using items purchased from Kirkland’s to decorate Mabrey’s nursery. Before I bought anything, I did some window browsing. Wanna see?

Mabrey was my helper. Since everything’s going in her room, I wanted her to approve.

I’m a sucker for mirrors and Kirkland’s didn’t disappoint. I adored this large mirror with a peacock painted motif on the frame. At $30, it was a steal! It would be perfect in a cottage entry and I can even see it in a white bathroom above a dark stained vanity.

The layered metal frame of this mirror reminded me of fish scales. Who knew metal could be so textural?! This mirror would be great hung above a bed in a master bedroom or above a mantel in a living room. Divine. At $120, it would be a worthy investment.

I thought this mirror looked like it was made from a bunch of giant paper clips. {Don’t mind the rectangular gold mirror behind it.} It’s hard to tell from the picture but it had an ombre effect to it. The center of the mirror frame was dark bronze that progressively lightened up to a brassy gold at the edges. I really wanted to take this mirror home with me but I couldn’t think of a good place to hang it so it stayed high up on its shelf. That mirror is going to make someone happy for $120.

I almost snatched up one of these organizer chests. I think they’d work well in a mudroom or kid’s room. The fabric bins had little tabs on the front to make pulling them out and pushing them in a cinch. At $160, it would be an affordable solution for corralling hats, gloves, scarves, sunglasses, dog leashes, etc. in a mudroom or toys in a child’s room.

I thought the woven baskets of this $150 traditional console gave it a unique, laid back feel. I can see boots and bins camping out on the bottom shelf with slip-on shoes resting underneath the shelf. It’d be a great drop zone for keys and wallets near the front door. It’s slim enough to slip into a hall as well. The black version of this console is stacked on top…that’s not part of the console.

I liked this unique version of a tripod floor lamp. It was $50 and I could see it hanging out in an office or living room.

This seagrass table lamp also caught my eye in the lighting section. I loved the chunky seagrass mixed with the matte black hardware and linen shade. It’d be the perfect textural element in a beachy bedroom or family room.

I was reminded of a Dear Genevieve episode when I spotted this moroccan table lamp. At $30 each, a pair of them on some bedside nightstands could be interesting and budget-friendly in a bedroom boasting a few more nonchalant moroccan themed items. Perhaps a wedding blanket?

Sarah Richardson came to mind when I saw this turquoise and white chevron vase. {Is it me or am I the only one who sees a home decor item and immediately connects it to an HGTV designer?} The picture doesn’t do it justice – it was HUGE! I could see two of them stuffed with raw birch branches flanking a fireplace. Sorry, I didn’t check the price on this vase because I had Mabrey in one arm and was leery of turning over a big fragile vase with the only free hand I had left out of fear of it toppling over into pieces.

Anything with an owl on it is trendy right now. I know. But I thought the glossy white of these owl vases gave them a better chance at standing the test of time. At $10, you wouldn’t be broke if you decided to follow the trend.

Totally wanted to make this textured red bowl my new sugar bowl. It kind of looks like a strawberry but the gold patina that runs throughout gave it a less fruity appearance. And the $7 price tag? Score!

This assortment of labeled wooden boxes was cute. I’m not a tea drinker but that little tea box is practical and stylish enough to be left out on the kitchen countertop. I think the prices here ranged from $2-$10.

I liked the idea of using this lazy susan organizer in a craft room for thread, measuring tape, buttons, etc. Or it could be just as happy living on a desk with paper clips, post-its, rubber bands, your phone, etc. organized in it. It really did spin too for easy access to everything. It was on sale for $17.

I was going to buy this frame with five oval openings {just enough for our family of 5!} for the nursery. However, I slipped out to the car to nurse Mabrey and when I returned it was gone. It was the last one. At $6, it’s easy to see why. Boo. It would have been perfect.

Last but not least were these vintage looking metal arrows. Meant to be hung on the wall {the lights really do light up!}, I thought they were a great industrial accessory for an old warehouse turned loft. I knew my boys would love them for their bedroom but I couldn’t come up with a good place to hang them, so they stayed in store as well. They were $18 each.

So, what d’ya think? I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kirkland’s has evolved and seems to be carrying more modern and less frilly decor. And I just love walking into a store, singling out items and imagining them in vivo. It doesn’t cost a dime. Tune in next week for a related giveaway and find out what did make it into my house.

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I received compensation for my Ace Your Space blog post. Kirkland’s partnered with several bloggers like me to raise    brand awareness in the month of August. All purchases and content are on my own accord and reflect my personal opinion and style. Kirkland’s blogger outreach policies abide by the WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

images: all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking