Getting back into the swing of things and continuing on the path of renovation has been hard. Our professional lives are busy and in the evenings the chill in the air leads to lots of snuggling on the sofa near the fire and not much physical labor. As I mentioned in my previous post there are plenty of projects in the planning stage and until those get underway I wanted to tie up some loose ends and finally post on those spaces that just needed a few finishing touches to be blog worthy.
Starting this series of buttoned up spaces is the Family Room, the room that sold us on the house. Not because this room was attractive. As you can see from the before photos it was that awful shade of dirty off-white, had a dark fireplace, and odd trim around the doors and windows. Don't even get me started on that terrible audio equipment rack. On the plus side the room had a good square shape , the fireplace is a nice size as well as being flanked by windows, and the most important thing - adjacent to the kitchen.
This is the one room that didn't take major surgery to update. We removed the trim, painted the whole room - including the fireplace, and the rest was decor'. I chose a palette of navy and pale grey (I know you can hardly believe it) The majority of the furnishings came with us from our last home. We added new window treatments, some thrifted finds, and a few inexpensive accessories to work with the new color palette.
This room has turned into a cozy space that feels great to come home to at the end of a long day. I feel like some of the great pieces we had in our last home finally have room to breathe. Having space allows them to shine now.
There are quite a few details in the room I love. My favorite space is the reading corner. Our beloved Eames lounge is hanging out with some of my other favorite pieces. This grouping is quite indicative of my style mid-century - meets industrial - meets metallics and texture. If I had to pick one photo to sum up my design style it would be of this vignette.
Another spot in the room that is such a simple thing however makes me smile every time I see it is our fire tending area. It started out with a vintage milk crate and was rounded out with a two-toned painted basket to hold firestarters and some basic tools hung on bamboo hooks. Having a fireplace is a luxury to me so I have to make the most of it.
Speaking of that luxurious fireplace some would be horrified about the painted brick. I have no qualms over painting brick especially ugly orange 80's brick. Eventually we would like to re-clad it in stone but for now making the brick a lighter tone really brightened up the space. I accessorized the newly painted fireplace with vintage pottery and artwork that features one of my retro loves Mr. Steve McQueen. In this house however he is just Steve. It is hard to see but the piece in front of Steve is an original blueprint of my childhood home. A few years ago my Mom gave me the whole set and someday I hope to frame them all together.
Lastly, I added a bar cart, again something we've had for years I re-purposed. That cart has held printers, tools, and more recently scrap wood while we were working on the kitchen. I would like to have a nicer bar cart so I'll have to add it to my thrifting list. However, for right now this was free and is a nice contrast against the navy backdrop. The husband doesn't mind his precious rum collection being handy either.
I'm glad the wheels are starting to move, albeit slowly. As I mentioned before any step forward is progress. One space checked off the to do list a million more to come! Have a great week!
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