Family Room

When I first saw our home, I completely fell in love with the family room.  I never thought in my wildest dreams I would live in a house with coffered ceilings or beautiful chair rail moulding.  I saw immediately how I could transform the room to our taste. Initially, the room was painted maroon.  Better yet, there was a maroon carpet that matched.  I don’t mean to knock anyone’s color choices, I too liked deep reds and browns at one point.  After researching decor for about a year, my design palette  completely changed!  I think about what I used to like and buy and I cringe!  I wonder if I will look back to what I currently like and feel the same one day.  Hopefully not for my wallet’s sake! Here is a picture of the family room when we first moved in: I knew when I saw this room it needed to be bright and airy.  We decided that a light blue/gray would really open up the space.  Benjamin Moore’s Pale Smoke was our favorite choice.  As soon we started painting I knew we made the right choice.  Immediately the room opened up!

{Steve painting, one sock on, one sock off!}

Next on the list was to add new flooring. I fell IN LOVE with Du Chateau Lugano flooring then found out the price tag and vomited in my mouth a little.  After doing some research I found a brand called Quick-Step that offered wide plank flooring that looked identical!

Brand: Quick-Step Flooring    Color: Mocha Oak

We really weren’t ready for what was under the carpet.  There was a good 4 inches of solid cement that we (I say we, but Steve) had to break through before we could start.  Using a sledgehammer, this only took all day. Once we removed that, the job was a piece of cake!  The floor clicked in nicely, and the result was worth it:

We had previously ordered our sofas from Crate and Barrel.  Below is the link- they’re AMAZING.  Good investment until I spill something that stains.  Oh well!  They make the sofa in an awesome slate gray color as well if you are not a fan of the light fabric.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/verano-sofa/s594424

Our next big purchase was the coffee table.  We wanted something extremely big.  This one from Restoration Hardware fit the bill:

http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod2480489&categoryId=cat2380021

While at Restoration, Steve insisted on buying chairs for the family room as well.  Hey, why not? They are pretty awesome…

Next, I added a centerpiece to the coffee table with some painted mason jars and hydrangeas.  I love the way it turned out.

I found pretty  drapery from Pottery Barn for the sliding glass door.   You can’t really tell from the picture but they are a pretty yellow color.  I also bought matching throw pillows for the sofas.  On each side of the slider, I used an upcycled frame to roughen up a shabby chic sconce..  For a hint of sparkle, I added 2 crystal droplets to each sconce.  The result was perfect!

I wanted to bring some more color into the room with an area rug and pillows.  I found a fabulous blue Moroccan rug on Joss&Main.  Once it arrived, I started thinking about pillow designs and colors that would compliment it.  I think pillows should make a statement.  Call me crazy, but I spent a long time looking for the right colors and patterns that would mesh well.  I hate matchy-matchy, so I went with 5 different pillows.  I love the color and uniqueness they add to the room.  Such a difference!

The next decision was what to do with the other large empty wall.  I found 2 great pictures in an antique shop that I couldn’t pass up.  I placed antlers adorned with a wreath between the frames and the look was complete.

We ordered plantation shutters for the 2 windows next to the mantle.

I’m obsessed with them.  Not only are they easy to install, they are gorgeous and really practical.

So, that’s where we’re at! We just need 2 lamps for the end tables under the windows, but as of now, they’re fine empty…

AFTER:

The best part of all of this was that Houzz.com posted my reno picture on their facebook page!  I had over 2,600 likes!  There was also a lot of people yelling me for putting the TV above the mantle, but you can’t please them all!  Check out the page below:

Thank you so much for reading!  I hope I inspired you to make some changes you’ve been putting off.  Until next time…Happy Decorating! 🙂