This was perfectly fine (when it was kept clean and orderly):

(March 2007)

Of course, it wasn’t kept clean and orderly. Three months after I moved in was the peak of cleanliness and organization for the bungalow. A lifetime propensity towards disorder and a little kidney failure will present some home maintenance challenges.

I eventually rearranged stuff, particularly when I got a Wii and a Wii Fit that I thought necessitated some more open floor space in front of the television. Unfortunately, after a few months of Wii Fit playing, I had an arm surgery or two and never got back in the habit. I eventually sold the Wii.

I decided I was tired of my bulky coffee table and had always wanted an ottoman, so I bought a nice leather storage bench from Costco.

(March 2010)

Then my Russian neighbor split town and insisted that I take/buy (it’s complicated) her black leather couch, which clashes with the brown leather ottoman.

(April 2010)

I sold the old couch and loveseat for a bargain price to someone on Craigslist.

A few months ago, I added an IKEA chair and footrest. I could have chosen one of many wood and cushion combinations, but I chose a chair and footrest with black wood frames and brown leather cushions, as an attempt to bridge the brown and black I had in my living room. It kinda worked.

But then I was back at IKEA last week, and I decided I was done with the ottoman experiment. I found a black coffee table. And a matching black bookcase. And a matching black sofa table. And I will incorporate all of those into the latest living room revision, ideally, this weekend.

The brown ottoman and the coffee table are now on Craigslist.

But, really, how everything looked 3 ½ years ago was perfectly fine.