My Childhood Home, Furnished by Craigslist: The Living Room

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Since we moved into my childhood home on Halloween, I've been busy furnishing, decorating and then re-furnishing and re-decorating as we replaced the old with the new-to-us. I made about $1,000 selling furniture and random items in the move, but have only invested a very small portion of that into the new house. I am finally getting to the point where the house is just about done.

I love many things about this house, and having a living room and a family room is at the top of that list.

Growing up in this house in 90s, the living room was the formal room. A floral sofa, matching wingback chair, curio cabinet filled with mom's collectibles, a beautiful old piano and lace curtains filled the space.

Entering that front room, you wouldn't even know two kids lived there. You wouldn't see a teenager parked in front of the TV, video game controller in hand, soda bottles scattered around him. That mess was hidden in the family room.

And while I don't have a teenager or any kids beyond the four-legged variety, I have a husband. So, taking a play from my mom's book, husband gets the family room as his video game/music room. And I have my nice living room. That's not to say the living room doesn't get messier than I'd like: the polka-dot rug is usually littered with dog toys, but I never have to trip over controller cords, and that makes me happy.



My one-of-a-kind, mid-century entertainment center (free from Craigslist) is the focal point of the room. The decor style is my own take on mid-century modern.

A Christmas Story Leg Lamp ... Where else? Craigslist.

Specifically for this room, I purchased the $30 Craigslist couch, three rugs (Ikea and Anna's Linens), four curtain rods, red clock, Elvis canvas + frame and Grease poster + frame. The Marilyn canvases are also new to the house, freebies from Craigslist. I spent about $150 on these items


Right before I moved, I picked up the antique school chair for free off Craigslist and the mid-century end table for $10 off Craigslist.

The two media shelves (which we spray painted) were $20 total on Craigslist. The narrow media shelf (also spray painted) was left behind by the tenants.

Scented, battery-operated candles ... yup, free off Craigslist.

The TV trays used for side and entry tables were free from Craigslist a couple years back. I received the antique hope chest when I was 16. The red Target curtains and white polka dot Ikea curtains hung in my old house. The white curtains were either free or almost free from Craigslist.

The TV is also new, as we got rid of our heavy old-school TVs and joined the modern world.

The details:

Even the white picture frames came new-in-box, free off Craigslist.


Engraved goblets from our wedding, Hearst Castle snow globe from our Honeymoon.

Aaron's mom's beloved old books.
Haven't had a land line in years, but the phone was too cool to part with.

My retro-inspired Barbies.

And why I really love that big entertainment center: Inside it holds a working turntable and hides a whole lot of stuff.



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My Childhood Home, Furnished by Craigslist: The Family Room

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