I need to know if I’m alone in this or maybe missing something.

It always bothers me when people say Tim’s childhood was so much worse than Jason’s, or even says they’re the same kinda thing. Am I the only one in this?? (More specifically when they compare them) Like it feels like they’re minimizing Jason’s story to nothing, when it makes his character up as much as his death does. (I’ve even seen people compare Tim’s childhood to Jason’s death, which is. A choice.)

Granted, I’m not a big Tim fan (he’s a cool character, just not the one I focus on) so maybe I’ve missed some part of his canonical backstory or ive subconsciously got something against his character idk.

But from my understanding, Tim is a rich kid who was taken care of (as in, he always had what he needed), just his parents were neglectful? Or away? (Not to say this isn’t bad, of course wouldn’t wish that on a kid either)

But Jason’s lived surrounded by crime and poverty, hell we see panels where he’s hurt and generally not havin a great time.

And I’m fine with people making angst worse because like, favourite character. I’m sure I’m guilty of doing the same to Jason (fave character bias and whatnot) it’s just something that strikes me as odd. But hey, maybe I just don’t know about some canon panel that shows Tim’s childhood as a tragedy where he almost died countless times (another thing I’ve seen fans use)

So yeah. Generally, what do you think about this? I am not too great with character analysis & whatever else, but I like the stuff you’ve said in regards to characters. I know you’re a Jason fan, unsure about how you feel about Tim/how much you know, but curious about your opinion anyway. Thanks.

You are not alone, anon.

You’re also not missing anything in canon, Tim’s childhood was not a tragedy (his parents traveled a lot and he spent his time in boarding school). Were his parents on the neglectful side? Yes. Does that equate to being parentless and living on the street before the age of 12? No. I answered an Ask about Tim a little while ago explaining why I don’t really care much for Tim in the comics or a lot of fanfics. And I only ranted a little about how projecting Jason’s trauma onto Tim is Not. Cool. So maybe check that out.

As for my opinion on this … *takes a deep breath* Let me start by saying that everyone should like what they like, read what they want, write what they want, etc. No judgement or shame intended at all.

But … my opinion is that the enemy-to-caretaker trope is to blame for the over abundance of this dynamic in the fandom.

It seems like this trope grew out of/is a Gen take on enemies-to-lovers. I have absolutely no problem with this trope in general. In fact, I quite enjoy it in certain settings. But the thing is, lovers can be equals. But a caretaker, that has an inherent power imbalance to the relationship. A caretaker takes care of a person who is in some way weaker or less able than them.

So, to make Jason a caretaker for Tim, you somehow have to make Tim weaker, and with time and repetition that’s gotten amplified to much weaker.

The easiest way to do this is to jack up the angst and trauma of Tim’s origin story and increase his overall vulnerability. Because in reality, the inherent power imbalance between Jason and Tim is not that significant. Jason is only two years older than Tim. They’re both supposed to be badass vigilantes who can fight and solve crimes. Tim’s home life was loads more stable and supportive.

Play a few games of fanfic telephone, and all of a sudden you have a baseline of touch-starved Timmy who was made to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs as a wee little niblet and then Lazarus-mad Jason came along and tried to murder him repeatedly (nope), slit his throat (‘twas but a scratch), and generally traumatized him beyond repair (Tim is Robin, pretty sure he’s been beaten up before). 🤦‍♀️

That’s my opinion, anon! Thanks for the ask! 💙

Food Survey (#1)

Breakfast It’s the most important meal of the day! Do you even eat breakfast? I do eat breakfast every day. But if I eat it too early, my stomach gets upset and angry with me. What time do you typically eat breakfast? Lately, it’s been sometime around 8:00 AM, but once I head back to work, it’s going to switch back to 6:00 AM-ish, so my stomach is not going to be very happy with me. Would you say that breakfast is typically your largest meal of the day or your smallest meal of the day? Usually it’s my smallest meal of the day, unless I’m going out over the weekend to some big breakfast or brunch place. Do you like going out for a sit-down breakfast? I don’t typically go out to eat for breakfast, but Denny’s is probably the most well-known breakfast place around here - either that, or IHOP. Do you visit a coffee shop (ie: Tim Hortons, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts) and place an order every morning? If so, what do you typically get? No, I’m too poor for that. I typically just eat or drink whatever it is that I have at home. How many different ways will you eat your eggs? I’ll eat them scrambled, hard-boiled, deviled, or over-medium. But I do need to take a Tums first, otherwise my stomach will get all messed up. How do you prefer your bacon to be cooked? I don’t want to still eat it raw, but I don’t want the extra-crispy version either. Have you ever had Canadian bacon before? Which do you like better? I prefer “American” regular bacon. Lol.  Do you prefer sausage links or sausage patties? I’ll eat either. I’m not that picky. What do you prefer your sausage to be made out of? (chicken, pork, etc) Or do you not like sausage at all? I typically can’t tell the difference. Or maybe I can, but none of the ones that I’ve tried have tasted gross to me. Would you rather have a breakfast bowl, a breakfast sandwich, or a breakfast burrito, and why? These are all delicious options, I think it just depends on what I’m in the mood for. The two things I won’t eat are Breakfast Toaster Scramblers or  Breakfast Hot Pockets, though. Blech. Do you prefer French toast, pancakes, or waffles, and why? Again, I’ll eat any of these three options, it really just all depends upon what I’m in the mood for at the time. Do you ever eat bagels for breakfast? If so, what type do you typically like, and what do you put on it? I’m boring and I only like butter on my bagels - I’m not a fan of cream cheese spreads. I either have plain or onion bagels.  Do you ever make banana bread? With or without walnuts? How about pumpkin bread? With or without chocolate chips? I like making either of those, and I always throw in some chocolate chips. I don’t really like nuts in any of my foods, really.  Do you prefer cereal bars or granola bars? Which flavors? I used to eat cereal bars all the time as a kid, but now I’m definitely all about the granola bars instead. I prefer them with peanut butter or chocolate chips. Do you ever eat cereal for breakfast? Or do you ever munch on it as a snack instead? What’s your favorite kind? I prefer French Toast Crunch or Waffle Crisp, but the latter doesn’t exist anymore, sadly. Do you put milk in your cereal, or do you eat it dry? If it’s a cereal like Cheerios or something, I’ll just eat it dry, since I have to take a Tums if I’m putting straight milk into my system without it being baked into something. Have you ever had biscuits and gravy? How about chicken and waffles? No, I’ve never tried either of those before, to be honest. Do you ever have steak or chicken fried steak with your eggs? No, I’ve had chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli before, and I’ve had steak with roasted potatoes, but neither of those meats with breakfast before. Do you ever eat cinnamon buns for breakfast? Yes, I’ve had some with regular icing, and I’ve had some with pumpkin spice icing before. Do you enjoy eating coffee cake for breakfast? It’s not one of my go-to breakfasts, but I have had it for this meal before. Do you like doughnuts? What is your favorite kind to eat? I like a lot of the cream-filled ones, for sure. Or those that are glazed. I hate the red jelly in my doughnuts, though. Blech. Have you ever had a crepe before? I do like crepes with strawberries, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Yum. Would you rather have a croissant or a scone, and why? I think I’d rather have a flaky croissant. It would make a bigger mess, but scones have always seemed hard to me, and I’m not about that life. Do you have a preferred flavor of muffin to eat? I enjoy chocolate chip, blueberry, peach, and pumpkin muffins. Also double-chocolate muffins as well. When’s the last time that you had a toaster strudel? Which kind would you prefer? It’s been quite some time now. I do enjoy strawberry or raspberry ones. When’s the last time you had a Pop-Tart? Do you have any particular favorite flavors? It’s been a long time since I’ve had one of these as well. There are a few flavors that I can handle, such as S’mores, Hot Fudge Sundae, Wild Berry, and Cookie Dough, to name a few. Has anyone ever made Eggs Benedict for you before? Did you enjoy it? No, but it doesn’t look that appealing to me, so that’s okay. Have you ever been served breakfast in bed? What was the special occasion? No, but I used to do it as a kid for my mother for Mother’s Day. That much, I remember. When’s the last time you had an English muffin? Would you rather have this or a bagel instead? It’s probably been about a month. The only thing that I put on it for breakfast is butter. Otherwise I’ve done pizza bagels as well as pizza English muffins before. Do you ever have fruit  salads for breakfast? What do you prefer to put in them? I’ve made them before - one I usually do is strawberries, green grapes, and mango chunks. The other one is raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Would you rather have hash browns or home fries, and why? Probably home fries or a hash brown patty, because it’s hard to get all those little pieces onto your fork in a civilized manner. Lol. What would you put into your omelette? I wouldn’t put anything in there. I think it’s a texture thing. I feel like I’m chewing on a sponge. Have you ever had a quiche for breakfast before? Yes, I love quiches! How do you like your toast, and what do you put on it? I like it lightly toasted, with butter and jelly or jam. Do you like to eat oatmeal? Do you prefer it to be warm or cold? What flavors do you enjoy? I don’t like to eat oatmeal at all. The smell itself is so off-putting that I’ve never actually tried to consume it before. Have you ever had a popover before? Do you like them? I’ve never had a popover before, so I can’t give an accurate answer about this. Do you know anyone who puts peanut butter on their toast? How about avocado? I’ve put peanut butter on my toast before, but I’ve never tried avocado on there before. It just doesn’t look appetizing to me. Do you have a favorite-flavored danish that you like to eat? No, I’m not a fan of those types of pastries, really. Do you ever eat yogurt for breakfast? Do you prefer it plain, or flavored? Yes or no to the fruit chunks? How about granola or chocolate flakes/candies in there? I can do flavored yogurts, with our without fruit chunks. I don’t like plain/vanilla yogurt. I don’t like granola in my yogurt, but I have had M&M’s or chocolate flakes in certain flavors before. Do you ever eat anything for breakfast that isn’t typically classified as a “breakfast food”? No, I always eat something breakfast-related for breakfast. What do you typically drink with your breakfast in the morning? (coffee, tea, juice, milk) I typically drink some mixed fruit juices that have been created by the Dole brand. Sometimes during the wintertime, I’ll have some hot chocolate. Very rarely will I have a specialized iced coffee drink, usually on a seasonal basis. I only drink hot tea when I’m feeling sick. [a-zebra-is-a-striped-horse]

Nicknames Part 3

Lovelle is back... with more nickames :))

66) My new child, Adriel - Fruit Loops

Empty inside, but still trying to be a nice and cheerful person.

67) @eightysixty - Birdy: Pomegranate (or Pommy!)

A hard shell to keep people away; an outer layer that's difficult to shed. They may fall apart sometimes when that happens. And yet they're truly sweet, unique and complex inside.

68) @frozenabattoir - Cerise: Gummy Bears

Soft and squishy, and a little empty inside. A quiet presence that will never hurt a soul, with the burst of colors paying homage to a reckless streak.

69) @crowsister - Kyra: Chipotle

A little shrivelled and tired from life circumstances, yet still distinctive and mildly spicy. A distinctive personality with a sweet side that does not always shine - but a side that is ever present all the same

70) @sith-shenanigans - Loren: Nutmeg

Versatile; able to sing several different tunes at once. Different in different situations - yet in each case, they still retaina distinctive flair. @V-

71) @asaxaphony - Maximus: Peppercorn

Intense, sharp and overwhelming. He comes in like a storm to raise hellfire for those who deserve it.

72) @matrioshkka - Nadine: Peaches

Soft and sweet with a strong core. Bright and cute shades to reflect their humourous personality.

73) @ladyshivs - Rohid: Nougat

Soft and sweet. The cool and plain shades of nougat a nod to their calm disposition. Seemingly strong and stable, and able to hold their life together reasonably well. 

74) @starrypawz - Ronan: Cheerios

A cheery name that mirrors his snarky and playful exterior. Yet, they are truly soft inside. And just like how Cheerios is usually taken with milk, they too feel more 'useful' when helping others - but not so much when they are alone.

75) @sunnydazc - Sun: Dumpling

Soft inside and out, with a sweet core. Tired and wobbly, and not quite put together - but will always still try to be better

76) @barelydwarven - Tim: Ferrero Rocher

An expensive one for a lad with expensive tastes. Attractive to most, with a hard exterior that hides a soft and gooey inside.

77) @acuriouscorvid - Ves: Macademia

Soft on the inside and out. Someone you would not want to mess with. Yet, amongst the right company, they can bring out the best in him - and he in them. A perfect match that brings out the sweetness in him.

78) @sorceressassassin - Vittoria: Cashew

Quiet but subtly fragrant. Hardened by circumstances but still a good person inside.

Some Days I’m Headed in the Right Direction, and Some Days I Ain’t Even Close

@fishfingersandjellybabies wanted Superbat and I’ve wanted to write this for months now so thanks for the inspiration

Note: In this AU, Bruce adopted Dick and Jason as toddlers, while he and Clark were dating. After they got married, they did a surrogacy thing and surprise, got twins Conner and Tim (Tim obviously takes after the mother for height, also they’re super attached to each other), adopted Cass, had Damian and Jon via surrogates, and recently adopted Duke. Ages are Dick-18, Jason-17, Tim and Conner-14, Cass-13, Duke-12, Damian-8, Jon-6. 

Bruce wasn’t sure what his children were doing, but he was pretty fed up with whatever it was.

First he had gone to talk to Dick about something that morning, only to find his son in the process of sneaking back in after a night out, bruises all over his neck and not the crime fighting type bruises. That lead to two important conversations because he was only 18 and the last thing Bruce wanted was to be a grandfather at 33.

Then he went downstairs while Dick took a shower and got some sleep, since he was grounded as much as Bruce could ground him, and saw Jason arguing with Tim, and Kon arguing with Jon, and Damian feeding the dogs from the table, and Duke was trying to pull Tim and Jason apart, and Cass was sitting at the kitchen island quietly scrolling through her phone.

And Clark wasn’t going to be back until dinner time.

Bruce sighed.

“What is going on here?” He asked, his voice booming through the kitchen and effectively silencing his children, all of them pausing to stare at him. All except Cass, who hopped off of her chair, walked by Bruce, stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek, and continued down the hall.

“Alright, you two, what’s the problem?” Bruce asked, pointing to Jason and Tim where they were standing by the pantry. Duke stayed between them, the new addition wary of the two, who were regularly fighting.

The two angrily glared at each other, neither saying anything. Whatever it was, Bruce would get to the bottom of it later.

“And you two?” He asked, nodding to Kon and Jon sitting at the table.

“Daddy, Kon took the last of the lucky charms,” Jon said, the smallest’s face scrunched up in anger.

“There’s so many other cereals,” Kon said, motioning back towards the pantry. “I was up first.”

Bruce sighed. Kon and Jon struggled with their relationship sometimes too.

“You two, go to your room,” He said, motioning to Tim and Kon. The shorter scowled, leading the way as his twin followed. Bruce could hear them mumbling to each other on their way up. “And you, go find Alfred and help with the chores,” He pointed to Jason, who sighed dramatically before heading towards the dining room.

“They were fighting when I got up, Bruce,” Duke said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Don’t worry about them, they fight a lot,” Bruce said. “Go ahead and take your breakfast into the dining room, I’ll take care of things in here.”

Duke nodded and grabbed his plate, scrambled eggs, before heading in Jason’s direction.

“Damian, don’t feed the dogs from the table,” Bruce said, and the eight year old huffed, picking up a piece of toast for himself. “Jon, Honey, why don’t I get you something else for breakfast? What do you want?”

Bruce scooped his youngest up, resting him on his hip so he could see everything in the pantry.

“Cheerios,” Jon said, pointing. Bruce grabbed the box and handed it to him as he set him down. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome,” Bruce sighed, glad the little one still thanked him. “You two, go.” He waved the dogs off, and they bounded out of the room, running into the rest of the manor.

He made sure his two youngest were settled and eating peacefully before going to find his twins. They both seemed the most upset, it was probably best to handle them first.

Bruce knocked on their door, and opened it when he heard a quiet ‘yeah?’

Kon was lounging on his bed, folding what looked like homework into a paper airplane but one thing at a time. Tim was at their shared desk, scribbling something down with a pen.

“What’s going on with you two this morning?” Bruce asked, going to sit on Tim’s bed.

“Jason kept taking my stuff and holding it up high where I couldn’t reach it,” Tim said, setting his pen down and closing his eyes. “He wouldn’t give me back my phone, he keeps sending stupid texts to Stephanie.”

“I’ll talk to him about that,” Bruce nodded, not looking forward to that. Since Jason was 13 he seemed to just like tormenting his little brothers. It wasn’t until Conner hit his growth spurt that he focused his efforts solely on Tim. “And I understand breakfast wasn’t your fault, but please try to be gentler with Jon. He’s still little.”

Kon grunted, tossing his airplane so it would land on the desk in front of Tim. The shorter of the two opened it, saw ‘I’m Bored’ scribbled on the back of a worksheet.

“Okay, but you can’t just copy my homework,” Tim said, flipping it over to reveal a blank sheet. “So do it.”

“Ugh,” Kon groaned, getting up to grab the paper and go back to his bed.

“You boys finish that before you go out today,” Bruce said, saw Kon pulling his phone out. “And I’m sure Cassie doesn’t mind waiting until you homework is done to talk to you.”

Kon rolled his eyes, but still put his phone away.

Bruce smiled and got up to leave his twins to their homework. He headed down the hall until he heard music coming from Cass’s room. The door was opened, so he leaned his head in to see what she was up to.

She looked up from her phone and smiled, giving him a wave.

“Doing alright, Angel?”

“Okay,” She said, giving him a thumbs up.

Bruce smiled at her as he closed the door and started down the stairs again, intending to find Jason. When he did, he was back in the kitchen, drying the dishes Alfred was washing.

“Can I have Tim’s phone, please?” Bruce asked, holding a hand out. Jason sighed, reaching into his front pocket and pulling out the phone to hand him. Bruce checked the back to check that it was Tim’s, and that was confirmed by the superboy logo sticker on the back. “Must you bother him all the time?”

“I was just teasing him a little,” Jason rolled his eyes. Difficult boy, he was.

“Well, Tim doesn’t like to be teased, Jason,” Bruce said, stuffing the phone in his own pocket. He’d give it back later when Tim was done with his homework. “He’s sensitive.”

“He needs to grow a pair,” Jason scoffed, and Bruce held his tongue. Telling Jason to keep it PG would only make him more difficult.

“Just apologize, please? I don’t want to hear that you’re teasing him anymore,” Bruce instructed, and Jason heaved a dramatic sigh as he put a plate away. “Don’t you huff at me, young man.”

“Bruce, come on, he’s my brother, I’m just giving him a hard time,” Jason said, and Alfred shoved a plate at his chest with some anger. Obviously Alfred agreed with Bruce.

“Well if you have to give someone a hard time, maybe pick your battles,” Bruce said. “I’m sure you can find better targets. Or, better yet, go for a drive and work off whatever is bothering you that makes you want to torment him.”

“Whatever,” Jason said, putting another plate in the cabinet.

“When you’re done here, I want you to apologize,” Bruce said, firm as he left the room. Alfred would talk to him, they always seemed to work out problems together better than Jason and Bruce.

He was just getting back out into the hall when the dogs came bounding past him to the foyer, barking up a storm as the front door opened.

Clark came in, smiling at the dogs and letting Krypto jump on him even though he wasn’t supposed to. He set his bag down and kicked off his shoes, getting down to their level to pet them so they would stop barking.

“Clark,” Bruce breathed, feeling the tension leave his shoulders. Eight children on his own was too much no matter how old they got. It was hard enough when it was just the two before he and Clark even got married. He wished he could go back and tell his younger self that it was good practice because he’d get more than a handful more children.

“Hey, handsome,” Clark said, standing up straight and grabbing the back of Bruce’s neck to pull him in for a kiss. “What’s the matter?”

“The kids are driving me nuts, Clark,” Bruce sighed, stepping into his husband’s embrace and resting a head on his shoulder. “Jason is teasing Tim and Dick snuck out and Conner ate all the lucky charms.”

“Okay, one of those things is not like the other,” Clark furrowed his brows, trying to see Bruce’s face. He didn’t get the chance to though, since he heard small feet bounding through the manor and he only had a few moments to brace himself before.

“Papa!”

Jon came running down the stairs, right into Clark’s outstretched arms. He lifted his son up so he was between the two of them, and Bruce gave the boy a tired smile and a kiss on the temple.

“I missed you, Papa,” Jon said, and Clark beamed.

“I missed you too, Sweetheart,” He held his youngest son close, rocking him gently like he used to when Jon was a baby. “Were you good for Daddy while I was gone?”

“Uh huh,” Jon nodded, and Bruce nodded behind his back.

“That’s my little guy,” Clark ruffled his hair, and moved to set him down. “Do me a favor, okay? Go let everyone know I’m home.”

“Okay!” Jon yelled as he ran back for the stairs, stumbling as he tried to go faster than his legs allowed.

“That’ll buy us at least a few minutes,” Clark said, rolling his eyes. “Let’s go sneak out before they get back.”

Bruce led the way up the stairs to the master bedroom, avoiding any children they almost encountered along the way. Jon was bouncing into everyone’s rooms, telling them that Papa was home. Bruce heard a pillow being thrown and someone groaning, but chose to ignore it in favor of five minutes alone with his husband.

“So how are Ma and Pa?” Bruce asked as he shut the door to their room.

“They’re perfectly fine,” Clark smiled as he started undoing his flannel shirt, revealing a plain white t-shirt underneath. “Miss you and the kids.”

“I’m sure the kids miss them too,” Bruce nodded. “I know Conner really wanted to go with you.”

“He can come with me and miss school when his grades are up,” Clark tossed his shirt towards the hamper.

“I think they’re working on that now,” Bruce explained. “But they can tell you all about that later.” He headed over to their bed and flopped face-down onto the mattress, still unmade and comfy from when he had woken that morning. He felt Clark on top of him, straddling his hips and sitting on his ass.

“They too much for you?” Clark asked, running a his hands over Bruce’s back.

“No,” Bruce said, and they never were. They might be difficult and make him crazy, but never too much. “Not sure what got into them today.”

“Forget all about them,” Clark said, massaging near the base of Bruce’s spine. Bruce smirked into the bedding before bucking his hips back a little so Clark would rise enough that he could roll over. He smiled up at his husband as he settled for sitting on his pelvis. “Let me help.”

Clark leaned over to give him a small peck on the lips, which became two pecks, then three.

“Door’s not locked, Clark,” Bruce whispered, smirking.

“Don’t care,” Clark whispered back, leaning in for another kiss.

But then the door opened and eight children and a butler were spilling into the room.

“Oh, gross,” Jason grimaced, standing in the doorway with Dick.

“Come on, guys,” Dick said, and Clark chuckled as he got off of Bruce to greet his kids.

“Relax, you two,” Clark rolled his eyes, helping Jon up onto the bed and into his lap. Damian scrambled up as well, snuggling under one of Clark’s arms without a word. “What’s this I hear about everyone fighting this morning?”

Four kids started talking at once, silenced only by Bruce holding up a hand.

“Can’t you all get along without me here?” Clark asked, raising a brow.

“Not the same without you here, Pop,” Conner said, taking the lead and sitting at the end of the bed. Tim flopped down beside him, the two still attached at the hip.

“Missed you boys too,” Clark handed off the youngest to Bruce and leaned forward to pull them both into a hug, one under each arm. Cass came forward next, giving Clark a kiss on the cheek and signing ‘I love you’ to him, which he returned. Duke also stepped forward, giving Clark a small smile, still not totally comfortable with his Kansas affection yet. “And you two?”

Clark raised a brow at the oldest still in the doorway. He got up to meet Dick halfway in a hug, taking note of the lose scarf Dick had on.

“What’s this I hear about you sneaking out?” Clark whispered, and Dick puffed out a breath. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Okay,” Dick nodded, stepping back so Jason could have a turn.

“Welcome back, old man,” Jason said, letting Clark embrace him.

“I do suggest we let your father get unpacked,” Alfred said, and Clark stopped himself from breathing a sigh of relief. He did miss his kids a ton, but sleeping alone was never great and he could use some time with his husband.

Before they could leave however, the dogs came bounding in and jumped onto the bed. Jon let out a laugh, Damian squealed, Tim and Conner sputtered as the dogs stepped on them. Even Bruce, who normally had a strict no dogs on the bed rule, just sighed and gave Clark a tired smile.

It was good to be home with his family again.

Food Survey (#1) Breakfast

It’s the most important meal of the day! Do you even eat breakfast? Not usually. Well, unless you want to get technical, in which case I do since breakfast is the first meal you eat after you break fast. I’m guessing that’s not what you mean, however, so my original answer stands.

What time do you typically eat breakfast? If I do eat breakfast, it’s more like a late lunch or dinner cause I don’t even get up until like 3-330PM, sometimes 4. 

Would you say that breakfast is typically your largest meal of the day or your smallest meal of the day? My breakfast generally just consists of some scrambled or a couple sunny side up eggs. 

Do you like going out for a sit-down breakfast? Yeah, once in awhile. Haven’t been able to do that in awhile, though.

Do you visit a coffee shop (ie: Tim Hortons, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts) and place an order every morning? If so, what do you typically get? I kinda wish I could get my coffee from somewhere everyday, ideally handed to me when I get up everyday haha, but no I generally just have my coffee at home from my Keurig that I drag myself outta bed to make myself. Sigh. haha. When I do get coffee from somewhere I usually get a regular coffee with cream and sugar or sometimes a flavored mocha or latte, depending on where I go.

How many different ways will you eat your eggs? Scrambled, sunny side up, over-easy, hard boiled, deviled, or an egg sandwich.

How do you prefer your bacon to be cooked? I don’t like bacon. 

Have you ever had Canadian bacon before? Which do you like better? Blechhhh, yes. I don’t like the taste, but it’s the texture that really makes me gag.

Do you prefer sausage links or sausage patties? I don’t like sausage either. I’m weird.

What do you prefer your sausage to be made out of? (chicken, pork, etc) Or do you not like sausage at all? Like I said, not a fan.

Would you rather have a breakfast bowl, a breakfast sandwich, or a breakfast burrito, and why? I loveee breakfast burritos. 

Do you prefer French toast, pancakes, or waffles, and why? I’d eat either one, but french toast and waffles are the best. I haven’t had any of those in a long time, though.

Do you ever eat bagels for breakfast? If so, what type do you typically like, and what do you put on it? I haven’t had a bagel in years, but I do like them. I prefer regular or strawberry cream cheese.

Do you ever make banana bread? With or without walnuts? How about pumpkin bread? With or without chocolate chips? I’ve never made either one, but I do loveeee banana bread with no nuts. I’ve never had it with chocolate chips. I don’t like pumpkin flavored anything. 

Do you prefer cereal bars or granola bars? Which flavors? I like both, I used to have them all the time. My favorite cereal bars were Fruity Pebbles, Trix, Lucky Charms, and Honey Nut Cheerios. My favorite granola bars were the Quaker Oats ones like chocolate chip, peanut butter, and s’mores or this other brand, Sunbelt, that made delicious oat and honey granola bars. I don’t know how people like Nature’s Valley granola bars, they’re hard as rocks. Ooh, I like those Nutri-grain bars, too. 

Do you ever eat cereal for breakfast? Or do you ever munch on it as a snack instead? What’s your favorite kind? I’ve had it for breakfast and as a snack. Cereal always hit different late at night. I liked snacking on certain ones by itself without milk, too. My favorite cereals are basically all the sugary ones like Fruity Pebbles, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, French Toast Crunch, Waffle Crisp, Lucky Charms, Trix, Life, Cap’n Crunch Berries, Frosted Flakes, Honey Nut Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios... you get the idea.

Do you put milk in your cereal, or do you eat it dry? I like it both ways.

Have you ever had biscuits and gravy? How about chicken and waffles? Biscuits and gravy are delicious. I’ve never tried chicken and waffles.

Do you ever have steak or chicken fried steak with your eggs? I don’t like either one.

Do you ever eat cinnamon buns for breakfast? I tend to eat those for dessert, but yeah I have had them as a breakfast side to enjoy with my coffee. 

Do you enjoy eating coffee cake for breakfast? I’ve been obsessed with Hostess’ coffee cakes for the past few months, they’re so good. I have one everyday with my coffee. I’ve had coffee cake from Starbucks and Panera Bread, and honestly I much prefer the Hostess’ ones.

Do you like doughnuts? What is your favorite kind to eat? Yesss. I like a good ol’ fashioned glazed donut, maple, and a frosted one now and then. I really like Hostess’ glazed, powdered, and chocolate donuts, too, as well as Entenmmen’s. 

Have you ever had a crepe before? I’ve had the dessert kind, which are delicious. I had one with bananas and chocolate--yum. 

Would you rather have a croissant or a scone, and why? Croissants are delicious.

Do you have a preferred flavor of muffin to eat? Banana without the nut, lemon poppyseed, and blueberry are my favorites.

When’s the last time that you had a toaster strudel? Which kind would you prefer? Wow, it’s been a really long time. Like, possibly not since my late teens or early 20s. Anyway, I’ve had strawberry, cream cheese and strawberry, and raspberry. My only complaint about those are that the little icing packets they provide are not enough icing.

When’s the last time you had a Pop-Tart? Do you have any particular favorite flavors? It’s been a few years, but I used to have ‘em all the time. My favorites are the frosted strawberry and frosted brown sugar cinnamon.

Has anyone ever made Eggs Benedict for you before? Did you enjoy it? Blech, it has Canadian Bacon. 

Have you ever been served breakfast in bed? What was the special occasion? Yeah. There were times it was because I was sick or bed ridden (like after having surgery) in which case all my meals were brought to me in bed, or because my mom made/bought me food just because.

When’s the last time you had an English muffin? Would you rather have this or a bagel instead? Uhhh. Not sure exactly, but it’s been a long time. I like both, just depends what I was in the mood for.

Do you ever have fruit  salads for breakfast? What do you prefer to put in them? I don’t have fruit salads ever.

Would you rather have hash browns or home fries, and why? Mmm, hash browns.

What would you put into your omelette? Cheese, spinach, and green onion. Back in the day I would have added spicy stuff, but I can’t have that anymore :(

Have you ever had a quiche for breakfast before? Not for breakfast, but I’ve had quiche before. 

How do you like your toast, and what do you put on it? I don’t want it burnt, but I want it to be browned with lots of butter. Toast and sunny side up eggs together are really good, too.

Do you like to eat oatmeal? Do you prefer it to be warm or cold? What flavors do you enjoy? Yeah. Most definitely hot. I just have it with condensed milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Have you ever had a popover before? Do you like them? I have not.

Do you know anyone who puts peanut butter on their toast? How about avocado? I put peanut butter sometimes, it’s good. When I was a kid I used to put peanut butter and sprinkled some sugar on top--don’t knock it ‘til ya try it. I’ve actually never had the infamous avocado toast, but I’m sure I’d like it.

Do you have a favorite-flavored danish that you like to eat? Cheese danish. 

Do you ever eat yogurt for breakfast? Do you prefer it plain, or flavored? Yes or no to the fruit chunks? How about granola or chocolate flakes/candies in there? Not a yogurt fan. Although, when I was a kid I used to eat Gogurts and Trix yogurt lol.

Do you ever eat anything for breakfast that isn’t typically classified as a “breakfast food”? Hmm. I think when I have breakfast it’s typical breakfast foods.

What do you typically drink with your breakfast in the morning? (coffee, tea, juice, milk) I drink coffee everyday regardless. 

[a-zebra-is-a-striped-horse]

Easy Makeover: Taking A Neutral Living Room From Plain To Polished http://ift.tt/2o41tth

I love a baller room makeover as much as the next person (Lisa Vanderpump’s closet? I could stare at it for HOURS), but scrapping all of your existing stuff and completely overhauling every nook and cranny of your room isn’t always realistic, especially if you don’t have a Housewives-sized budget. Sometimes using what you have and just getting a few new things to revive the entire room is the sweet spot (have I mentioned how much fun I had staging my friend’s house to sell a few weeks ago?!). So when my best friend asked for some help with her bare bones living room, I immediately started shouting out ideas and scribbling sketches like a lone weirdo playing solo Pictionary.

You can see where we started below shortly after they moved in. Pretty sparse with just a rug, sofa, armchair, and tufted ottoman. It’s their “formal” living room, so the TV and big cozy sectional is elsewhere – but this room still gets lots of use (by the kiddos, for holiday entertaining, for spirited adult game nights, etc). After the move she was feeling so underwhelmed by how her existing stuff looked, she actually had convinced herself everything needed to be craigslisted so she could start over.

In her mind that felt like the only option since she was so tired of the things she had, and she just couldn’t imagine them ending up in a space she truly LOVED. But her current reality = three young kids (and a cat). So after some pretty deep talks about what we coined “that sticky fingers and rogue Cheerio dust life” – all off which will be around for at least five more years – she realized she would much rather wait a few more years to update her sofa and rug with something awesome that her kids would probably be a lot nicer to when they’re a little older.

Enter Captain Optimism stage right (that’s me, btw – my other aliases include Sergeant Enthusiasm and Petty Officer Peppy).  I was all “Woah, woah, woah – this stuff is neutral enough that it can work with anything! Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Then we took a long conversational detour to discuss how weird that whole baby/bathwater expression is, but eventually circled back to the task at hand: me successfully convincing her to Tim Gunn it in there (aka: make it work).

By just moving in some stuff she already owned and purchasing a couple of accent chairs, a pair of super inexpensive bookshelves, and three pieces of art that she adores – we breathed a ton of new life into her old stuff (btw, her neutral sofa and armchair are more tan and less pink in person than they look in these pics). Plus everything we added will not only work with this existing stuff, but should she replace their seating or their rug down the line, well, these new pieces will play nicely with whatever else she chooses.

The main “projects” in the room were the gold display shelves flanking the couch. They were a DIY effort that we tackled together and they only required two $50 Ikea shelves, this gold spray paint (the primer is built-in so it’s just one step, and it’s the best gold color I’ve found), and this marble contact paper. As for the how-to details, after we assembled the frames of each bookshelf (leaving the actual shelves aside), we spray painted both of them with a few thin and even coats of gold spray paint and allowed them to cure outside for two days so they wouldn’t stink up the house or get dinged up when we brought them inside.

Here’s a detail of the bottom shelf (you can see the top shelf in the pic above). All of the middle shelves are glass, but the top and bottom were solid metal – so when we dressed them up with the marbleized contact paper, we only covered the visible side of each one. It was sorta like wrapping a present where you just fold an inch or so of excess around the backside of each one. The contact paper didn’t affect the fit, so they still slid right into place. It was an idea that she found on Pinterest a while back and had always wanted to try – and it could not have been easier.

The other high-impact addition was the art. The large piece on the back wall is this photograph from Minted (in the 40 x 30″ size with the whitewashed herringbone frame – my favorite of theirs). The other two that were added to the mix are Paris View and Day in Paris (both 24 x 18″ with the same whitewashed frame).

The art was definitely the splurge (the total for all three pieces came to around $480 with a discount code that we googled) but thanks to such inexpensive Ikea bookcases, and the fact that they kept their existing sofa/chair/rug/ottoman instead of rebuying any major pieces, the makeover still came in under budget. Best of all the art has become their new favorite thing in the room, especially because of what it represents to them. She and her husband go to France once a year (he goes for business, and she gets to tag along for fun) so they love having a little bit of France in their living room. I know, I’m jealous too. #NeverBeenToEurope

The funny thing is that everyone who walks into the room says “Woah, that’s such a cool picture of your husband!!!” because he wears a bright orange jacket like that all the time. So people literally think the guy in the foreground is him, which leads to some pretty hilarious “I can’t believe you think I can take a picture like that!” revelations from my BFF. Sometimes she’s like “oh, you know, just a little snap I got on my phone...”

Also: this is Kitty Purry (named after Katie Perry’s cat by their oldest child). I like her because she matches the art. Also because she’s a sweet kitty who only occasionally makes my eyes itch thanks to my stellar cat-intolerant genetics.

Let’s bring it back around to the before shot one more time, just to show one last “zone” that we added to fill out the room.

The only other purchases for the room were the two $65 ghost chairs that we added on the exposed edge of the rug, which help the seating area feel more complete and extra functional (now we can squeeze in two more butts on game night). They actually already owned two of these acrylic chairs in their dining room, so I just dragged them in here to test them out. We liked that the clear acrylic lets your eye travel through them (if they were larger or more solid it might feel like a jarring “wall” of chairs in your face). Once they were sold on the look, they just ordered two more so they weren’t short on dining room chairs. And that side table between them? That’s a basket they already had turned upside down. How’s that for using what you have?

We also brought in (and anchored!) a leaning mirror they already owned for one last hit of gold in the room. She got it a few years ago at West Elm, but it’s back in stock in brass (it tends to go in and out, so here’s a similar one on Wayfair). And for the accessories on the shelves, we just used stuff she had around the house – some magazines stacked horizontally, framed photos, boxes, vases, and these perfectly-sized lamps that put out a nice glow at night. Most of their books live on built-ins in the other room, so these shelves got to be more decorative and light.

For anyone else who is faced with bare shelves, or crazy cluttered ones, my best shelf-styling tip would be that a few larger scale items are better than a bunch of little busy or piddly looking ones, and I love decorative boxes, stacks of mags and books, framed photos, and a few vases – perhaps with some cheap grocery store flowers if you’re feeling fancy (we paid $4 total for the two bunches that you see in the after pics).

Here’s a little board full of ideas if you’re looking to fill out your shelves with items other than the books & magazines you already have on hand:

1 / 2 / 3 /4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16

This probably isn’t the last time you’ll see this house (you’ve actually already seen their son’s room, and we’re slowly working with them on a bunch more). But I just couldn’t wait to share this tale of turning a room’s frown upside down with just a few new items. Total time spent: around 5 hours including planning, measuring, assembling, spray painting, marble-papering, ordering things online, and hanging prints. Taking a detail shot for the post just as Kitty Purry saunters by: priceless.

*This post contains affiliate links

The post Easy Makeover: Taking A Neutral Living Room From Plain To Polished appeared first on Young House Love.

Easy Makeover: Taking A Neutral Living Room From Plain To Polished

I love a baller room makeover as much as the next person (Lisa Vanderpump’s closet? I could stare at it for HOURS), but scrapping all of your existing stuff and completely overhauling every nook and cranny of your room isn’t always realistic, especially if you don’t have a Housewives-sized budget. Sometimes using what you have and just getting a few new things to revive the entire room is the sweet spot (have I mentioned how much fun I had staging my friend’s house to sell a few weeks ago?!). So when my best friend asked for some help with her bare bones living room, I immediately started shouting out ideas and scribbling sketches like a lone weirdo playing solo Pictionary.

You can see where we started below shortly after they moved in. Pretty sparse with just a rug, sofa, armchair, and tufted ottoman. It’s their “formal” living room, so the TV and big cozy sectional is elsewhere – but this room still gets lots of use (by the kiddos, for holiday entertaining, for spirited adult game nights, etc). After the move she was feeling so underwhelmed by how her existing stuff looked, she actually had convinced herself everything needed to be craigslisted so she could start over.

In her mind that felt like the only option since she was so tired of the things she had, and she just couldn’t imagine them ending up in a space she truly LOVED. But her current reality = three young kids (and a cat). So after some pretty deep talks about what we coined “that sticky fingers and rogue Cheerio dust life” – all off which will be around for at least five more years – she realized she would much rather wait a few more years to update her sofa and rug with something awesome that her kids would probably be a lot nicer to when they’re a little older.

Enter Captain Optimism stage right (that’s me, btw – my other aliases include Sergeant Enthusiasm and Petty Officer Peppy).  I was all “Woah, woah, woah – this stuff is neutral enough that it can work with anything! Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Then we took a long conversational detour to discuss how weird that whole baby/bathwater expression is, but eventually circled back to the task at hand: me successfully convincing her to Tim Gunn it in there (aka: make it work).

By just moving in some stuff she already owned and purchasing a couple of accent chairs, a pair of super inexpensive bookshelves, and three pieces of art that she adores – we breathed a ton of new life into her old stuff (btw, her neutral sofa and armchair are more tan and less pink in person than they look in these pics). Plus everything we added will not only work with this existing stuff, but should she replace their seating or their rug down the line, well, these new pieces will play nicely with whatever else she chooses.

The main “projects” in the room were the gold display shelves flanking the couch. They were a DIY effort that we tackled together and they only required two $50 Ikea shelves, this gold spray paint (the primer is built-in so it’s just one step, and it’s the best gold color I’ve found), and this marble contact paper. As for the how-to details, after we assembled the frames of each bookshelf (leaving the actual shelves aside), we spray painted both of them with a few thin and even coats of gold spray paint and allowed them to cure outside for two days so they wouldn’t stink up the house or get dinged up when we brought them inside.

Here’s a detail of the bottom shelf (you can see the top shelf in the pic above). All of the middle shelves are glass, but the top and bottom were solid metal – so when we dressed them up with the marbleized contact paper, we only covered the visible side of each one. It was sorta like wrapping a present where you just fold an inch or so of excess around the backside of each one. The contact paper didn’t affect the fit, so they still slid right into place. It was an idea that she found on Pinterest a while back and had always wanted to try – and it could not have been easier.

The other high-impact addition was the art. The large piece on the back wall is this photograph from Minted (in the 40 x 30″ size with the whitewashed herringbone frame – my favorite of theirs). The other two that were added to the mix are Paris View and Day in Paris (both 24 x 18″ with the same whitewashed frame).

The art was definitely the splurge (the total for all three pieces came to around $480 with a discount code that we googled) but thanks to such inexpensive Ikea bookcases, and the fact that they kept their existing sofa/chair/rug/ottoman instead of rebuying any major pieces, the makeover still came in under budget. Best of all the art has become their new favorite thing in the room, especially because of what it represents to them. She and her husband go to France once a year (he goes for business, and she gets to tag along for fun) so they love having a little bit of France in their living room. I know, I’m jealous too. #NeverBeenToEurope

The funny thing is that everyone who walks into the room says “Woah, that’s such a cool picture of your husband!!!” because he wears a bright orange jacket like that all the time. So people literally think the guy in the foreground is him, which leads to some pretty hilarious “I can’t believe you think I can take a picture like that!” revelations from my BFF. Sometimes she’s like “oh, you know, just a little snap I got on my phone...”

Also: this is Kitty Purry (named after Katie Perry’s cat by their oldest child). I like her because she matches the art. Also because she’s a sweet kitty who only occasionally makes my eyes itch thanks to my stellar cat-intolerant genetics.

Let’s bring it back around to the before shot one more time, just to show one last “zone” that we added to fill out the room.

The only other purchases for the room were the two $65 ghost chairs that we added on the exposed edge of the rug, which help the seating area feel more complete and extra functional (now we can squeeze in two more butts on game night). They actually already owned two of these acrylic chairs in their dining room, so I just dragged them in here to test them out. We liked that the clear acrylic lets your eye travel through them (if they were larger or more solid it might feel like a jarring “wall” of chairs in your face). Once they were sold on the look, they just ordered two more so they weren’t short on dining room chairs. And that side table between them? That’s a basket they already had turned upside down. How’s that for using what you have?

We also brought in (and anchored!) a leaning mirror they already owned for one last hit of gold in the room. She got it a few years ago at West Elm, but it’s back in stock in brass (it tends to go in and out, so here’s a similar one on Wayfair). And for the accessories on the shelves, we just used stuff she had around the house – some magazines stacked horizontally, framed photos, boxes, vases, and these perfectly-sized lamps that put out a nice glow at night. Most of their books live on built-ins in the other room, so these shelves got to be more decorative and light.

For anyone else who is faced with bare shelves, or crazy cluttered ones, my best shelf-styling tip would be that a few larger scale items are better than a bunch of little busy or piddly looking ones, and I love decorative boxes, stacks of mags and books, framed photos, and a few vases – perhaps with some cheap grocery store flowers if you’re feeling fancy (we paid $4 total for the two bunches that you see in the after pics).

Here’s a little board full of ideas if you’re looking to fill out your shelves with items other than the books & magazines you already have on hand:

1 / 2 / 3 /4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16

This probably isn’t the last time you’ll see this house (you’ve actually already seen their son’s room, and we’re slowly working with them on a bunch more). But I just couldn’t wait to share this tale of turning a room’s frown upside down with just a few new items. Total time spent: around 5 hours including planning, measuring, assembling, spray painting, marble-papering, ordering things online, and hanging prints. Taking a detail shot for the post just as Kitty Purry saunters by: priceless.

*This post contains affiliate links

The post Easy Makeover: Taking A Neutral Living Room From Plain To Polished appeared first on Young House Love.

Easy Makeover: Taking A Neutral Living Room From Plain To Polished

I love a baller room makeover as much as the next person (Lisa Vanderpump’s closet? I could stare at it for HOURS), but scrapping all of your existing stuff and completely overhauling every nook and cranny of your room isn’t always realistic, especially if you don’t have a Housewives-sized budget. Sometimes using what you have and just getting a few new things to revive the entire room is the sweet spot (have I mentioned how much fun I had staging my friend’s house to sell a few weeks ago?!). So when my best friend asked for some help with her bare bones living room, I immediately started shouting out ideas and scribbling sketches like a lone weirdo playing solo Pictionary.

You can see where we started below shortly after they moved in. Pretty sparse with just a rug, sofa, armchair, and tufted ottoman. It’s their “formal” living room, so the TV and big cozy sectional is elsewhere – but this room still gets lots of use (by the kiddos, for holiday entertaining, for spirited adult game nights, etc). After the move she was feeling so underwhelmed by how her existing stuff looked, she actually had convinced herself everything needed to be craigslisted so she could start over.

In her mind that felt like the only option since she was so tired of the things she had, and she just couldn’t imagine them ending up in a space she truly LOVED. But her current reality = three young kids (and a cat). So after some pretty deep talks about what we coined “that sticky fingers and rogue Cheerio dust life” – all off which will be around for at least five more years – she realized she would much rather wait a few more years to update her sofa and rug with something awesome that her kids would probably be a lot nicer to when they’re a little older.

Enter Captain Optimism stage right (that’s me, btw – my other aliases include Sergeant Enthusiasm and Petty Officer Peppy).  I was all “Woah, woah, woah – this stuff is neutral enough that it can work with anything! Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Then we took a long conversational detour to discuss how weird that whole baby/bathwater expression is, but eventually circled back to the task at hand: me successfully convincing her to Tim Gunn it in there (aka: make it work).

By just moving in some stuff she already owned and purchasing a couple of accent chairs, a pair of super inexpensive bookshelves, and three pieces of art that she adores – we breathed a ton of new life into her old stuff (btw, her neutral sofa and armchair are more tan and less pink in person than they look in these pics). Plus everything we added will not only work with this existing stuff, but should she replace their seating or their rug down the line, well, these new pieces will play nicely with whatever else she chooses.

The main “projects” in the room were the gold display shelves flanking the couch. They were a DIY effort that we tackled together and they only required two $50 Ikea shelves, this gold spray paint (the primer is built-in so it’s just one step, and it’s the best gold color I’ve found), and this marble contact paper. As for the how-to details, after we assembled the frames of each bookshelf (leaving the actual shelves aside), we spray painted both of them with a few thin and even coats of gold spray paint and allowed them to cure outside for two days so they wouldn’t stink up the house or get dinged up when we brought them inside.

Here’s a detail of the bottom shelf (you can see the top shelf in the pic above). All of the middle shelves are glass, but the top and bottom were solid metal – so when we dressed them up with the marbleized contact paper, we only covered the visible side of each one. It was sorta like wrapping a present where you just fold an inch or so of excess around the backside of each one. The contact paper didn’t affect the fit, so they still slid right into place. It was an idea that she found on Pinterest a while back and had always wanted to try – and it could not have been easier.

The other high-impact addition was the art. The large piece on the back wall is this photograph from Minted (in the 40 x 30″ size with the whitewashed herringbone frame – my favorite of theirs). The other two that were added to the mix are Paris View and Day in Paris (both 24 x 18″ with the same whitewashed frame).

The art was definitely the splurge (the total for all three pieces came to around $480 with a discount code that we googled) but thanks to such inexpensive Ikea bookcases, and the fact that they kept their existing sofa/chair/rug/ottoman instead of rebuying any major pieces, the makeover still came in under budget. Best of all the art has become their new favorite thing in the room, especially because of what it represents to them. She and her husband go to France once a year (he goes for business, and she gets to tag along for fun) so they love having a little bit of France in their living room. I know, I’m jealous too. #NeverBeenToEurope

The funny thing is that everyone who walks into the room says “Woah, that’s such a cool picture of your husband!!!” because he wears a bright orange jacket like that all the time. So people literally think the guy in the foreground is him, which leads to some pretty hilarious “I can’t believe you think I can take a picture like that!” revelations from my BFF. Sometimes she’s like “oh, you know, just a little snap I got on my phone...”

Also: this is Kitty Purry (named after Katie Perry’s cat by their oldest child). I like her because she matches the art. Also because she’s a sweet kitty who only occasionally makes my eyes itch thanks to my stellar cat-intolerant genetics.

Let’s bring it back around to the before shot one more time, just to show one last “zone” that we added to fill out the room.

The only other purchases for the room were the two $65 ghost chairs that we added on the exposed edge of the rug, which help the seating area feel more complete and extra functional (now we can squeeze in two more butts on game night). They actually already owned two of these acrylic chairs in their dining room, so I just dragged them in here to test them out. We liked that the clear acrylic lets your eye travel through them (if they were larger or more solid it might feel like a jarring “wall” of chairs in your face). Once they were sold on the look, they just ordered two more so they weren’t short on dining room chairs. And that side table between them? That’s a basket they already had turned upside down. How’s that for using what you have?

We also brought in (and anchored!) a leaning mirror they already owned for one last hit of gold in the room. She got it a few years ago at West Elm, but it’s back in stock in brass (it tends to go in and out, so here’s a similar one on Wayfair). And for the accessories on the shelves, we just used stuff she had around the house – some magazines stacked horizontally, framed photos, boxes, vases, and these perfectly-sized lamps that put out a nice glow at night. Most of their books live on built-ins in the other room, so these shelves got to be more decorative and light.

For anyone else who is faced with bare shelves, or crazy cluttered ones, my best shelf-styling tip would be that a few larger scale items are better than a bunch of little busy or piddly looking ones, and I love decorative boxes, stacks of mags and books, framed photos, and a few vases – perhaps with some cheap grocery store flowers if you’re feeling fancy (we paid $4 total for the two bunches that you see in the after pics).

Here’s a little board full of ideas if you’re looking to fill out your shelves with items other than the books & magazines you already have on hand:

1 / 2 / 3 /4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16

This probably isn’t the last time you’ll see this house (you’ve actually already seen their son’s room, and we’re slowly working with them on a bunch more). But I just couldn’t wait to share this tale of turning a room’s frown upside down with just a few new items. Total time spent: around 5 hours including planning, measuring, assembling, spray painting, marble-papering, ordering things online, and hanging prints. Taking a detail shot for the post just as Kitty Purry saunters by: priceless.

*This post contains affiliate links

The post Easy Makeover: Taking A Neutral Living Room From Plain To Polished appeared first on Young House Love.