Making House a Home: Family Room

Last summer, Mike and I found our forever house.  We found the place that we thought would be perfect for raising our girls.  It is a great house with a lot of space for our family.  We have not regretted moving into our current home for one day.  We love every single thing about it (except the shower size)!  Personally, I love walking through it and envisioning each space exactly like I want it to be.  When we moved in, we decided that we were not going to change anything right away.  We wanted to get settled and relax for a little while before making our new house look the way we (I) wanted it to.  Fast-forward six short months later... It was time to do the family room!

When we first looked at the house, I saw a lot of potential in this family room.  It is a cozy space that would get used daily.  The door to the garage is in this room, as well as double doors leading out to an awesome three-season room, and our big backyard.

The family room on the day we first walked through the house.

When we moved in, I put my books on the shelves and hung our family's photos on the wall.  The previous home owners left the furniture for us since we didn't have enough to fill the space.  The room was comfortable!  I enjoyed it, but thought it felt too dark.  I wanted to open the space up even more.  There are no windows (except for the doors) in the family room and it felt a little cave-like.

The family room connects to the kitchen and dining area.  Those areas are a work in progress :o)  In the photo below, you can see the door that goes to the garage (with the scarecrow head on it).  This is the door we go in and out of daily.  We park our cars in the garage, so this door is really our main entrance to our home.

Ah, Marty.  Underneath the key hanger in the photo above, lives our friend Marty the Zebra.  I noticed 'ol Marty the very first week we were in our house.  Do you see him?

 

Poor Marty... I was sad to see him go :o)

I told Mike that this project would only take me a day or two.  Little did I know, I would experience the worst pain of my life... also known as a double ear infection/Vertigo.  But, I trucked on and managed to get my family room done!

I don't know that it will ever be "done," but this is my reveal for now... I give you,

THE FAMILY ROOM!

To do: Add a curtain rod and sheer panels above the doors.  Do something about the ugly brass fireplace doors.  Get a new TV!

See the 2710 on the wall in the photo above? That was our address at our old house. I love having it on our wall in our new home... Sort of a keepsake from our very first home :o)

This is my spot!  It is the perfect place for reading, watching TV, just relaxing!

I painted the garage access door with chalkboard paint.  It's the perfect place to write quick notes and reminders.  

We actually got our furniture from Kroger Marketplace!  It was the strangest thing buying furniture from a grocery store :o)  We were assured that it was great quality!  So far, we love it.  It is super comfy!  I originally wanted a bright white for the furniture, but quickly reconsidered it when I remembered that I would be sharing my space with two kids, a husband, and a cat.  After seeing it in the space, I LOVE the dark chocolate!  I got the pillows at Gordman's.

Here are a few of my favorite details in the room:

I went with a pop of green in the backs of the built-ins.  The neutrals of the room keep it bright, and the green accent makes it young and fun!

 

In the beginning, I confused everyone with my backwards books.  Honestly, I read them all. I don't need to see the spines.  They just added more color and clutter to the space.  Now, the books are used as decorative pieces, too!

This is a vase I made.  The front and back sides are different.  I can turn it around to subtly change the space.

I added some decorative accessories to the shelves along with the books.  This vase is one that I threw on the wheel when I was in high school

I hope you enjoyed this little look into my home!  

The paint colors I used in this re-do are Behr Premium Plus Ultra: Gobi Desert (710C-3) for the top part of the walls, Parchment Paper (710C-1) for the trim and lower half of the walls, and Asparagus (410D-4) for the green accent.  You can buy Behr paints at Home Depot.

Sharing my re-do with Houzz, Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings, Time Travel Thursday at the Brambleberry Cottage, Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House, Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Hookin' Up with HoH, Pin Me Linky Party at Diana Rambles, and The Inspiration Board at Homework.