This is part of our 100 Things in 2014 challenge. Here’s the full list.

Our living room needed a makeover. It was crowded with hand-me-down furniture, and… well, we didn’t even think to take a before picture. It was pretty dreary.

But then we picked up these cheerful yellow chairs at Ikea.

And when we spotted this lovely coffee table at the local estate store, it all sort of fell together.

This room gets used now. The dogs obviously like, well, everything, but the kids love to just grab a book off the shelf and curl up on the couch.

Plus, after our remodel, it’s connected all the way through to the kitchen, so it feels like one big living space that we’re all in together.

Of course, this was mostly Becky’s doing. She had a vague sense that something was wrong, and I was all shrug. But now I’m convinced; our house is significantly better than it was before.