Family Room Makeover: It Started with a Rug

The time was here, the time was now ... a family room makeover, and it all started with a new rug. Isn't that how home improvement projects begin? You start with one thing -- like a fresh coat of paint or a new couch -- and then things spiral out of control. That one thing makes everything else look dated, or dingy, or just bleh, so before you know it the one thing has multiplied into many things.


So, the rug. We purchased a lovely one which brought some new colors into our room, mainly blues and greys which I found very soothing and fresh. Then, because the rug was smaller and exposed more of the hardwood floor, I suddenly didn't like how the exposed bricks on the fireplace looked anymore. And so I painted them ... farmhouse style.


I was starting to like the brightness of the room and decided to make some additional changes. After deciding what would stay (the couch) and what would not be changed (the wall color since it was painted recently) I reevaluated everything else.


Before long I replaced our brown coffee table and our wooden end tables. Then the window panels, artwork, couch cushions, and even the coffee table accessories.


My favorite purchase was the coffee table. It took some searching because I didn't want anything brand new but rather something with a little character. After visiting antique stores and browsing online, I finally found exactly what I was looking for at Consign Design, a local furniture consignment shop.


And now we have a new, updated family room anchored by a very nice rug which was the genesis for all these changes. I'm still tweaking a few things. I'm not sure about the artwork over the fireplace (I think I want something with a dark frame for the contrast), the reading chair in the opposite corner needs to be replaced, we need some lamps, and I may change out the window panels for something with a bit more color, but give me another week or so and I will have everything done.


In the meantime, here is the result (so far) ...

Family Room: Before

Family Room: After

P.S. In case you're wondering, here is where I got everything (most of it on sale or on clearance!):

rug: Home Depot

curtains: Pier One

coffee table: Consign Design

end tables: Carolina Pottery

artwork: Pier One

couch cushions: Target

Rec Room Reveal

Shortly after moving into our house we decided to build a separate, two car garage at the end of our driveway and convert our old garage into a rec room. The old garage door was replaced by french doors; the industrial gray walls were painted a sunny yellow; the concrete floor was carpeted; and benches were added around one wall. We purchased a beautiful farm table, and accessorized with inspiration from all things Italian Countryside (think Tuscan farmhouse).


EVERYTHING happened in our rec room: dinner parties, slumber parties, gaming marathons, scrapbooking, RC racing, Lego tournaments, school projects, and billiard tournaments.

Our rec room used to be the garage.
(before photo)

But after 13 years it was in desperate need of a makeover. Here's what I wanted to do:

• paint walls, window frames, and doors
• replace lighting over table and add lighting over pool table
• create focal wall
• change the felt color on the pool table
• add seating for gaming and television
• replace café curtains
• replace existing farm table with a trestle farm table 

It was a lot to take on, so after I consulted a friend who gave me some ideas, I created an inspiration board. This really helped me stay on task; however, after I picked the pool table cover I added a robin's egg blue (not pictured) to the color palette.

rec room inspiration board: neutral colors, contrasted with dark woods,
and accents of red and robin's egg blue.

And so I got to work, starting with the walls. Arrivederci yellow, ciao Carrington beige.

Yes, I did all the painting and, yes, I rigged that ladder.
paint: Benjamin Moore's Carrington Beige

Our rec room has 12-foot ceilings, so I got a workout climbing
up and down a ladder for almost a week.

Then we (or rather, my husband) hung two lighting fixtures (purchased at Lowe's) -- one over the farm table and one over the pool table -- and created a focal wall by hanging an antique mantel (which I sanded and stained) and a giant clock from Hobby Lobby.

Two lighting fixtures in a weekend.
My husband is a saint.

Mantel purchased at an antique store; corbels purchased
at Lowe's and stained to match.

I finally found a place for my Piero della Francesca plaques.

After looking at café curtains at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Pier 1 Imports, Ikea, World Market, and Amazon, I finally found what I was looking for (quite by accident) at The Christmas Tree Shop.

café curtains from The Christmas Tree Shop

I also decided to remove the top half of our hutch to create a bar/serving area for entertaining. But don't worry, I moved the top half upstairs to my work area and repurposed it as a bookcase.

Where did the top half of our hutch go?

Repurposed as a bookcase

Slowly but surely, our rec room came together. Here are some "after" photos ...

Ready for entertaining ... or board games ...
or Lego projects



The bottom half of our hutch can now be used as a bar,
sideboard, or serving area for when we entertain.

antique armoire repurposed as a television cabinet

robin's egg blue for a pop of color

Chairs from Costco
(deeply discounted since they were the floor models);
pool table pad changed to a Cape Cod blue
(arrivederci billiards green!);
artwork (w/ added shutters) to hide the fuse box.

So there you have it. I'm still on the quest for a trestle farm table, some artwork to hang between the windows, and a throw rug to bring out my accent colors, but all in good time.

Share You, Share Your Design

Today I was invited to participate in a "share you, share your design" extravaganza, complete with Diet Cokes and tons of decorating ideas. Here is our family's favorite spot where everything fun happens: slumber parties, Lego contests, Nerf gun wars, parties for all occasions, and huge family dinners.

Favorite Spot

Once upon a time a husband and wife decided to convert their two-car garage into a rec/entertaining room. The garage door was replaced by french doors; the industrial gray walls were painted a sunny yellow; the concrete floor was carpeted; and built in benches were added around one wall. They purchased a beautiful farm table, and the wife proceeded to decorate the room in an eclectic style, inspired by all things Italian Country.

Favorite Object

One day the wife was browsing through an antique store and came across this beautiful hutch. She fell in love with it, but decided not to get it since the garage renovation was still going on. One month later, and two days after our new room was complete, the antique store called the wife and said that the vendor was leaving the area and was selling everything at half price. Half Price! The wife paid next to nothing for this beautiful hutch...which was just fine with the husband. The sign over the hutch is also a favorite. It is the actual wooden sign that used to hang outside the grocery store of the husband's great-grandfather in Pennsylvania.

Favorite Idea

On one wall the wife decided to have a vacation wall, highlighting photos of family vacations. Right now, photos of their two week vacation in Tuscany is still being highlighted.

But all decorating aside...

The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Salute! Cheers!

The Story of a Work Nook

Two years ago we totally redesigned our master bedroom with hardwood flooring, freshly painted walls, new bedroom furniture, and this ...

This cute little French writing desk is for sale.
I plan on turning this work nook into a sitting area.

a cozy nook where I could work, write, and create.


The idea was that I could go upstairs, close the bedroom door, and seclude myself from any and all distractions; that sitting at that cute little French writing desk with my pretty notebooks and pencils all the writing muses would descend en masse and inspire me to write cleverly crafted paragraphs and spin gold with words.


Except, every time I had to stir the pot of minestrone bubbling on the stove or throw in a pile of laundry I had to go all the way downstairs. Most inconvenient.


Except, working upstairs was boring. Very, very boring.


Except, the desk was too small. When I write I have handwritten notes, transcribed notes, and research notes so I need surface area the size of a barn door.


Now, I don't have a barn door (although the idea of taking a barn door, placing it on a pair of trestles, and using it as a desk sends my heart all a-flutter). What I do have, however, is a dining room table ...

Bia's work nook:
the eye of the storm

which, as you can see, gives me room to spread out. Everything is within reach: laptop, day planner, recipe books with notes of recipes I want to try, legal pads, a pewter mug containing all manner of writing utensils, and a stack of passport applications (a story for another day).


And best of all, if I want to stir the minestrone I just need take three giant steps and I'm in the kitchen.

Burning Question

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Brown or orange candle?

The Big Reveal ... in 7 quick takes

~1~ People said we were crazy, but we planned it this way on purpose. During a period of seven days we had the following done in our house:


removed all the upstairs carpeting
added brand new carpeting in three bedrooms
added hardwood floor to the master bedroom and hallway
added a Corian sink and a brand new faucet in the kitchen
replaced the sliding shower door in the master bath with a rubbed oil bronze one


Seven days, people. We had workers bumping into each other on the stairs, angling for a parking spot in our driveway, and sharing each other's tools. For a time we had neither a shower in the master bathroom nor a sink in our kitchen. For seven days our front door remained unlocked, and people came and went at will.


Seven days of total upheaval then meant seven days of massive cleaning. I mean there was dust everywhere. I wiped down walls, washed curtains, mopped floors, and laundered bedding.


Here it is the end of January, and my spring cleaning is done. Finito.

~2~ Master Bedroom: Before

~3~ Master Bedroom: After

~4~ Timothy's Room: Before

~5~ Timothy's Room: After

~6~ Kitchen: Before

~7~ Kitchen: After

new sink = new dish soap and hand lotion
(grazie, Jill!)


*no go visit Jen at Conversion Diary, host of these Friday quick takes

One Down, Five to Go

Shortly after moving into this house we built a separate, two car garage at the end of our driveway and converted the original garage into a rec room. When it was finished, I bought a large farm table but no chairs; I already had an assortment of chairs and a friend gave me some old ones she didn't want anymore. I went for the ecclectic look which worked great.

Until now. Since the chairs were old to begin with, over the years they have become even older which means now, when we sit, we risk life and limb.

Yesterday Joe brought down from the attic a set of six old kitchen chairs that we had been saving for the boys' first apartment -- nice chairs, except they were white and the paint was chipped and flaking.

So, on this cold, Sunday morning I am sanding and painting six chairs.

The color? Cracked Pepper (Valspar signature color from Lowes). One down, five to go.