If you follow me on Facebook, you probably already know about the recent home reno project but, for those of you watching at home, let me bring you up to speed.
My house sucked and it looked like shit.
Ok, now that we’re all caught up…
Like most of the world, I’ve been cooped up in my house with my family since March. Now, I am a stay at home author, so yeah, I’m usually home — no big difference there — except I was forced to give up the sweet AF office where I spent 90% of my day to my homeschooling children. A large loft encased in windows with a crisp white desk & matching snowdrift bookcases dappled with pops of pink and perfect rose gold. Bah!!
Ok, it’s really not that bad, and I didn’t actually mind repurposing the space so my kids have a place to do their work. But it wasn’t until I was forced to spend hours on end in rooms that were, might I say, a little less chic, that I started to realize how unbelievably craptastic my house was. By month five I was starting to resent these rooms BIG TIME. It was time to take action.
My upgrade started off small. New curtains for my family room. You see, I’d purchased two sets of curtains from Bed Bath and Beyond a bunch of years ago and didn’t realize until I got home that it was only ONE panel. So, there I was, with two windows and two panels. I threw them up — one on each window — and told myself I’d go back to Bed Bath and Beyond to buy another set.
I’m a bold-faced liar.
I lived life with one curtain on each window for more years than I care to admit. I’m a slacker extraordinaire who tunnels into something and ceases to even see the shit around her.
That is, until I have to.
But I digress … new curtains. Thus the journey started.
I couldn’t find a set that I liked it. Nothing matched, nothing looked right, the whole thing seemed hopeless. Then a friend opened my eyes to the reality of the situation. I had an army green couch and yellow walls.
YELLOW WALLS!
WTF was I thinking, you ask?
I was thinking that when I replaced the original couch that matched these walls four years ago that I was too lazy to repaint. So I threw the couch in here and lived with it.
Obligatory before image. Bear with me, it gets better.
I suck at taking pictures AND decorating, but here’s a before pic. Notice the single curtain. Sigh.
This is the ONLY room in my house (besides the dreamy office) that gets nice, natural light, and I was hiding it behind these gross linen shades (that’s right — linen shades, a green couch, AND yellow walls. Whhhhy??)
In fact, my whole house is just drenched in darkness. I’d practically boarded up all my windows in shades and attempted to hide my lack of decorating skills by buying everything in black. My TV stand, all my frames, all my shelves, EVERYTHING on my ground floor contained more black furniture than a twenty-something bachelor pad. It’s pathetic.
I decided then and there that I was going to work on brightening up my home. I’d bought my dream home, I’d worked tirelessly to get it in some sort of livable state for my family to inhabit (I won’t bore you with those details but, if you’re feeling saucy, you can read all about it here) and then filled it with dorm room decor. I want a beautiful home, one that I can feel proud of, and that second-hand TV stand wasn’t cutting it.
My home has an open floor plan. When you walk in the front door, the formal living room is on the left (I laugh at this statement because the room at the moment is empty. Literally … I never furnished it lol), the dining room on the right, and the kitchen along the back (these rooms are hitting the chopping block next!). Off to the right side of that, is my family room.
The main part of my house is painted this beautiful greige color, which then led into — you guessed it — a yellow family room. Because of that, I decided to paint this room a neutral, cool-toned off-white.
My little helper standing on the old curtains I used as drop cloths. Two birds, one stone.
Choosing a white is more difficult than it sounds. Not all whites are created equal. I wanted something that wasn’t bright white but also didn’t pull yellow into the room. Call it PTSD, but I was over yellow. I decided on Snowbound by Sherwin Williams. It’s a pretty mix between a warm and cool white that pulls a slight gray color, and it was absolutely perfect. I did the walls and the ceiling in the same shade for a seamless look.
Afterward, my author friend Nicole French helped me decide on a color palette with deep blues, grays, and wood tones. Something that would feel rich and natural, yet still go with my army green couch and current bamboo floors.
I also decided I wanted to go with a mid-century modern feel for the space. Something funky and cool, yet still cozy and functional at the same time.
Thanks, Nic!
Isn’t this TV stand amazingly Brady Bunch?? I got this at TARGET if you can believe it!
Then I found the most excellent curtain panels on sale at Wayfair. The little leaves bring in the navy and dusty blue colors, as well as the grays and beiges. After taking down the shades, I decided to leave the window’s bare so I bought enough panels to cover them completely when closed while still maintaining a full look. Aren’t they rad?
These panels were only 17 bucks! I am still reeling over what a good buy this was! They’re a little short, but we’ll pretend we don’t know that.
Finding a rug was the hardest part. My room is skinny and long (which is why no coffee table, sadly) and, as I soon found out, rugs are stupid expensive. I wanted something natural and flatweave — jute or cotton — something that would hold up well in a high traffic area, yet still look beautiful and neutral. Since the couch is such a bold shade and the curtains are so funky, neutral was the word of the day. Turns out, that’s a tall order price wise. I was facing some major sticker shock on this one. I ordered and returned four different rugs before finding one I love, and I’m so glad I didn’t settle!
Don’t look at my patio. OMG why didn’t I clean that up before taking this photo??
The last thing on my list was a reading corner. I initially bought this couch because of this section. They call it “The Cuddler” and it’s aptly named, my friends. This plushy, oversized seat is MADE for reading. As you can see it has sort of a weird shape. It juts out from the wall and wraps around so it almost hugs your body. I thought little space between couch and wall would be a perfect place for a floor lamp, and the electric stove in the corner adds the perfect amount of romantic ambiance needed to snuggle up with all my book boyfriends.
My own personal reading corner. Don’t be jelly.
This lamp was a total splurge. I probably paid way too much money for a wooden lamp, but isn’t it fun? I still need a picture to hang on this bare wall, but I’m still waiting to find something I NEED to have instead of just something that fits.
This lovely rack provides much needed storage, as well as a place to house my succulent collection. In addition to that, I found this incredible wall hanging at Walmart. The navy blue metal just pops, and the succulents growing in the cups add such a natural feel.
Since one of my main goals was opening up the space, I pushed the ottoman that no one ever used to the side. It fills up the empty space under the window and provides extra seating. My daughter loves to sit in this space and read, and I love how the throw pillows add texture to the room.
Overall, I’m beyond in love with the change. It’s fun, it’s functional, it’s cozy … it’s everything a family room should be, plus it’s light and bright which makes me so happy.
That’s it for my family room make over. As mentioned above, I still need a few decorative pieces to hang but, until I find something I love, I’m living with bare walls. I’d love some suggestions! Drop a comment below if you think of anything that would look awesome!
One room down, three to go. Join me next time when I take my powder room from Bordello of Blood to Farmhouse Fresh, #RonaReno Phase 2.