On changing tastes and figuring it out

One of the biggest differences between hiring a professional and doing something yourself is surely the amount of time it takes to complete a project. Case in point: our living room. This room has changed a lot over the years. I've experimented with trends, my style has changed, and I've just generally struggled to find a balance between what looks good and what functions for our (changing) needs.

The picture above is what the back wall of our living room looks like today, but funnily enough, it started out as a gallery wall way back in 2011:

Um yes, that room had A LOT going on. Eventually, I got rid of some things, figured out a better layout for the room, and took the gallery wall down:

Since then, I've had to admit that rugs aren't safe around our dog, that our shelves are better off holding books (and my magazine collection, woo hoo!), and that as ugly as they (and their components) may be, record players are worth making space for (now if only ours was working properly!).

The gallery wall, however, is back, albeit on a much smaller scale.

The rest of the room is pretty neutral, so this is our crazy wall of colour (and, I guess, clutter). I like that we're personally connected to all of these pieces in some way, and I've found myself sitting on the couch, or in our new leather chair, gazing up at this wall and smiling on more than one occasion, which must be a good sign, right?

You may have also noticed that I removed the trim from my Billy bookcase hack. I was just tired of the look and wanted something a little less traditional. Eventually I'd love to have proper shelves made for this room. You know, the kind that won't sag under the weight of a few good books? Some day!