Lifestyle ~ From Carpet to Hardwood Floors to New Furniture

For the last 28yrs I've always had carpet in my living room and I have been in desperate need of a change.  I've been wanting new furniture for awhile and I couldn't see myself bringing in new furniture without changing out the carpet.  While I was contemplating a new carpet color, I was also thinking about hardwood floor  So after consulting with our Contractor (the one who does amazing things to our home) he was all for it.

He picked me up and took me to this place called S&S Hardwood Flooring Supply Co, where he usually get's a great Contractor's discount, to look at all the choices.  I was fascinated because there was so much to look at.  The color I chose was Maple because it matched my front door which I had put in a few years back.

I desperately needed to start with a clean slate.  The first thing I did was had the Salvation Army come and pick up all my old furniture including my Birch (light oak) china cabinet and dining room table.  I actually possess 5 sets of china and I've always had a china cabinet where I displayed and stored them.  

The photo above is the only photo that I have which shows what Birch (light oak) looks like. I'm featuring my Christmas china which I always decorate the table with during the holidays.  I had the Salvation Army pick this up along with all my living room furniture.

Above is my new Mahogany china cabinet and dining table.  The table is actually quite large, it came with 8 chairs and 2 sleeves.  I'm only displaying 6 chairs and 1 sleeve.  I had custom cushions made for my chairs to match the window valances, the table runner and the pillows shown above. I had to switch out the cushions from the Birch set before they picked it up.  Since the cushions are all a standard size, this was very easy to do... just un-crew them and switch them over.  So for a few days, I actually possessed two china cabinets and two dining room tables!

Now, as you an see the living room potions of my living/dining room combination is very bare.  That's because I haven't bought any new furniture yet.  I'm actually waiting until after the holidays to see if any of my favorite sets will go on sale.

I AM IN LOVE WITH TRADITIONAL FURNITURE!
THE AICO AMINI COLLECTION DESIGNED BY MICHAEL AMINI IS MY FAVORITE!
Below are some photos from his collection:

There's still pages more but i'm tired! You can get quite the idea of my taste in furniture.  Stay tuned because one of these beautiful sets will end up in my home and you'll be the first to know!