A Family Room make-over (the reveal)

Ok, I have to admit, I’ve been a terrible blogger this past summer.  Basically, I haven’t blogged at all.  I wish I could say it was because I was off on long and luxurious vacations, but I wasn’t.  I did have a wonderful family trip to Punta Cana in the beginning of summer, and a couple of beautiful camping trips within our state, but over all, I was just lazy.  That and we were down to one computer and getting time on the computer meant fighting off the kids, especially with so many rainy days.  My one big accomplishment this summer was the long awaited redecorating of my family room.  It was one of the last rooms I had left to do, and I really don’t know what made me wait so long.  I hated the green carpeting and broken blinds from the day we moved in, but as things tend to do, it always slipped down the list.  This spring we set aside some money for new carpeting and blinds, and started planning the redo.   Those were the two big expenses, and I planned on keeping my furniture.  So here’s what the room looked like before I started.  It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but the walls were a really light mint green.  And look at that dog!  I swear she has a way of sneaking into so many of my pictures!

Family room before VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The first thing I did was paint the walls Great Plains Gold by Benjamin Moore. Well I take that back. The first thing I did was agonize over a color.  I saw so many people painting their rooms very light colors, and they looked so clean and yet cozy.  So I painted the room Owl Grey by BM.  I love yellow and grey together and I thought I’d work with that.  After several days of staring at the room, I decided it just wasn’t for me.  The carpet (which was still green) was throwing a green cast on the walls, and it looked way too similar to the previous color, just cleaner and fresher.  The final straw came when I got a call from Lowes saying the carpet color I ordered (a grey) was no longer available.  I took this as a sign that this room was not meant to be this color.  I went back to the drawing board, and started all over again.  First, I chose the carpet color I liked.  After all, paint comes in many more colors than carpet!  Then I went to visit my neighborhood Benjamin Moore color specialist.  I love getting an expert opinion on my color choices, and after one fail, I just wasn’t looking forward to repainting a third time.  Jill, the color specialist, was a great help and we worked together to come up with a great color.  You can find Jill at her Facebook page – ColorRedesign, even if you don’t live near me, she has lots of great information on her site. 

After painting, the carpet was installed and the new blinds came in.  I went with a looped roman shade and panels for the doorwall.  This gave the room a much more modern feel.  I am sorry there are no great pictures of the blinds.  I tried and tried to get a picture, but alas, my amateur photography skills proved how difficult it is to take pictures into the light.  Maybe some day. . .

Well by this time, you must be thinking – show us some after photos!  So thanks for reading along this far.  I know I’ve been a little long and windy, but after such a long break, I guess I have a lot to say!

So here are the after pictures ~ Enjoy!

I am so much happier with the warm color.  I learned a big lesson about listening to my heart, instead of following what others are doing.  I feel like the colors go together with the existing furniture so nicely.  The room has a lot of harmony, and the new furniture lay-out makes the room feel so much larger.  We also extended the hardwood flooring from the kitchen into the laundry room.  The carpet in that little hallway was always so filthy.  The wood is much easier to care for.  Many of my accessories were repainted or brought in from other rooms.  I didn’t really buy anything new, although my new lamp shades were found at Target for $4.60/each.  Couldn’t pass up that deal!
Here’s a quick peek inside the curio cabinet.  This was my summer vignette.  I just spent the last 2 days rearranging this room for fall.  I hope to have those pictures up soon. 

Thank you so much for stopping by to see my family room.  I hope you liked it!

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