The Evolution of a Family Room

So, this week our goal was to have the painters start painting and the carpenters start...er, hammering, but that is likely not to start until next Monday. Boo!

I did have to meet someone over at HouseFour today to have a little job done, and while he was completing that, my hubby had the kids, so what's a girl to do but SHOP! I headed off to Pier1 (anyone who's ever tried to navigate through this store with a stroller or anyone under the age of 15 knows this to be a nightmare so I definitely took advantage of my "alone time") to take a look at some goodies, and I found some indeed! 

Truly though I have been wanting to get started on our family room (well as much as one can do without taking her husbands beloved bigscreen from him, not to mention his sofa and ottoman right out from literally under his feet!).  The family room and kitchen area is pretty well the only areas in the house that we are not painting (yet) so I figured it was safe to get a move on here.

This is how the family room area looked the day we closed on HouseFour...

Yes, I am loving all those built-ins and, no I am not entirely sure what size of television is supposed to fill that humungous, gigantic hole.

Here are a few family room inspiration photos I have gathered from Pinterest...

We currently own this sofa (and matching loveseat and ottoman) from Bassett Furniture...

What I was looking for at Pier1 was this (or two of them actually)...

They only had one in stock and so she came home with me, along with a cushion on clearance...once I got her back to HouseFour though I was not loving my clearance cushion and decided to take it back...until I (finally!) received my fabric samples from Dwell.

I tried some these out over top of the cushion to see if any would be suitable for covers (and this is where I could use some advice if anyone out there is reading).  Here are my options...with the fabric close-up below each (iPhone pics...sorry)...

1)

2)

3)

Or I could just return the cushion for the natural color one and add the fabrics as throw pillows...hmmm.

Also, you may have noticed a few other goodies in those pics.  A few weeks ago I scored this rug brand new from eBay...

In my chair photos above it's layered over a gold rug that will be replaced by this jute one from Overstock soon (I believe I ordered the beige option)...

Also, this table that I assembled today from Kirklands may find a home in the family room also...

These drapes are coming with me from our current home over to HouseFour's family room...

And this console table is also on its way from overstock...

Add a few goodies onto all those shelves and we should be good to go!

So tell me, what should I do about those fabric options?

Entry Way

As much as I've been obsessing over our new guest space, I've also been thinking a lot about our entryway...afterall, it is the first impression of our home that others see.

Unfortunately I don't have a good photo of our entry space in its current state but just to give you a visual...you walk through double front doors and look directly into the living room, with the entry being a very horizontal space...not much of a foyer if you will, but more of a side-to-side area.

Here's some images I've collected from Pinterest that inspire me with my quest to decorate the entry...

This one I love for it's simplicity...I love the oversize mirror, simple lines on the table and small bench. I also have a thing for orchids so once I see one in a space I'm all over it

 This one I love for the mirror placement with the photos arranged around it.  The stools under the table caught my eye also

 I love the idea of the large mirror (again), the simple but elegant slipper chair and the low console table. Such pretty colors chosen for this space as well!

 This entry is the opposite of the way mine is designed (long and narrow as opposed to wide and narrow) but I love the colors and the chair and the bench in this space

 This one caught my eye for the gallery wall and the contrasting black lamp against all the white

 Lastly, I love the wallpaper here, the gold and black tones and the traditional console. The mirror is gorgeous also.

I'm excited to get my hands on this space as well...hopefully it comes together easily and quickly!

Welcoming Your Guests

Since our new Guestroom is first on my list of decorating priorities I've been putting a lot of thought into what makes a comfortable, cozy, welcoming space.

I would think the bed itself should receive lots of attention...if nothing else, lets give our guests a good nights sleep!

Here's what I came up with for a comfy bed...

Next up, we all need a spot next to us in bed to set a glass of water, lay our book down and see what time it is...so of course we need a nightstand next to that ultra-comfy bed...here a few items that would fit the bill when we're talking nightstands...

Of course we can't forget about bathroom amenities...I like to leave my guests with toothpaste, a toothbrush (I know 9 times out of 10 I forget my own!), soap, shampoo, nice fresh towels, and lots of toilet tissue...and a hairdryer doesn't hurt either...

Some other extra amenities that would make a guest feel so comfortable in your space would definitely include a TV (maybe include a TV guide of channel listings also), a small desk to set a laptop computer, charge cell phones, etc., a chair, wireless internet would be a sure bonus, of course hangers and a laundry hamper for clothing items and everyone always appreciates black-out shades while they try to get a restful sleep...

One really good tip I read while researching how to make the ideal guest space was to spend a night in the room yourself.  You will find out for yourself what's missing and what little added touches will make the room extra-welcoming for your friends and family.

I'm so excited to get started on our Guest Suite...I've started shopping and some of these things are already awaiting a home in our space.  

A Little Living Room Project

I am so excited...some fabric arrived yesterday for a little living room project I'm going to have done!

I have been wanting to have this chair of ours reupholstered for a long time now...

(sorry, it was hard for me to get a decent photo of it with it hidden and trapped behind boxes)

I really wasn't quite sure how exactly I wanted it to look, but with our new home came inspiration for an updated look and color scheme.

The real inspiration hit though when I stumbled up on this blog Live Beautifully .  This entire blog is true eye candy for me and the designer has inspired me to go in a direction with this chair that I think I'm going to love!

She has covered a chair in this fabric for a client and I fell in love with the look

I believe the designer used the darker option and I'm going to stick with the Sol sterling option.
I'm so excited and can't wait to use it in our new space!

Here are a few photos of the room the "new" chair will reside in...

(I will be replacing those draperies)

(those doors slide open and lead into the dining room)

And the hallway off the living and dining rooms...

More to come!

Paint

This week I've been meeting with painters to get bids to put some color on the walls (and take some wallpaper off!)

I am still waiting to hear back from a couple of the gentlemen I met with so in the meantime I made a trip to Sherwin Williams to get some paint swatches.

Here are a few potential candidtates:

For the Master - On The Rocks

 For the boys's rooms and their bathroom - Reflection

Son1 will possibly have this color on the bottom half of his room - Sealskin

For the Playrooms and Pool Bathroom - Snowbound

For the Hallway Bathroom - Foothills

And lastly, 2 options for my daughter's room 

Aquatint

or maybe we'll go a little lighter with Embellished Blue

Hoping I can nail these down by the weekend!

Guest Bedroom Suite

One of the must-have features we specified for our new home was a 5th bedroom. Once our third child was born we lost our "guest bedroom" and have since been re-arranging children and combining grandparents with children and have had suitcases on floors amongst toys and dress-up clothes, and no one really had their "own" space.  And one of the most important things for guests to have is their "own space"...so we were on a quest...and we succeeded.

This home has not only a guest bedroom but a guest bathroom also which is a definite bonus that our guests are sure to enjoy.

With my mom and her husband coming to visit us in the middle of January I've decided to make this space a priority in my list of rooms to decorate.

Above is a photo of how the room looks now...empty,definitley a bland beige on the walls, and the windows are lacking any decorative substance.

Here's is my tentative plan for the room...

Paint the Walls...this color

Sherwin Williams Mineral Deposit - SW 7652

This is the color that is in our current master bedroom and we love it.  It's very soothing and provides a very relaxing ambience at the end of the day...makes me want to curl up in bed and go to sleep.

The Headboard...

Originally I was loving this tufted grey bed from World Market

  

but when I was searching for photos of the bedding I intend on using I kind of fell in love with this headboard from Pottery Barn...

At $400 for a queen size, that seems kind of hefty so I found a less expensive but equally appealing option at Pier1 Imports...

I will try to get something ordered likely this week.

As for bedding, my plan is to use this duvet set from Pottery Barn...

As you can see, it's a nice crisp white that will allow me to accent with different colors and I don't have to be married to one particular color scheme.

Speaking of accent colors, I'm thinking of doing some throw pillows along these lines...

or this...

And maybe these too...

Of course I'll provide a chair for our guests...maybe something like this...

And lots of other amenities for them to enjoy in hopes that they return again and again.

This guest suite should give me a good start to making our house a home.

Stay tuned!