Monday, February 17, 2014

Family Room Makeover

Dear Em,
When I'm stressed, I take on projects. To most people, that seems kind of dumb. Why take on more when you're already stressed? Well, my life (our lives) has been filled with new uncertainties recently. I've been hearing the phrase "control the controllables" a lot lately. Except that still left really big things in my life that I'd recently totally lost control over. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big darn deal. We're all healthy (that's what is really important. It was just enough stress to, you know, drive me crazy. Some people can just roll with it, but feeling totally out of control does not bode well for me & my Type-A personality.

So, I've developed some coping mechanisms. We do a lot of praying (we're always praying, but we tend to do a lot more focused praying in times like these & ask for prayers from our friends & family). If I can't control things, then we leave them in God's hands. And with the big things in God's hands, that doesn't leave very much in my hands. So, I control the controllables by taking on things I can control, like wedding shower projects for your Aunt Andrea (I can't wait to post more about these soon) & Valentine's projects with you (posted here, here, & here). But when those projects were finished, & I started working on little home improvements.

There are little things that I've been putting off updating forever, but now was the perfect time to get things done. Our first home improvement project of this year was a Family Room makeover. I made a deal with your Daddy. If he put you to bed every night for a week, I would work on the family room by myself. It gave me a project of my own to clear my head with, & ensured you would be taken care of without me having to stop mid project. So, while you giggled & snuggled with Daddy, I put on my design hat & rocked out to music & listened to audio books & tried to get my head straight.

Just for funsies, here is the family room when we first moved in five years ago.

Family Room: Way Before

Isn't it funny to see it that way? I forgot what it looked like back then until I stumbled upon that photo. The mattress on the floor is the spot your Daddy & I first slept in our house for a couple weeks while we worked on painting & putting in new carpet throughout the house. The yellow paint color was one of the first things to go. With a baby on the way, I was thrilled to put my own mark on the Family Room.

Family Room: Before
Family Room: Before
Family Room: Before
Five years ago, we painted the room Valspar Lyndhurst Celadon Green, hung up our recent wedding photos, kept the curtain rods but changed the curtains, & filled the shelves with pictures & books. It's funny for me to see mostly cat toys, because back then we had just found out that I was pregnant & there was no little love to put the family in our Family Room.

I am an experienced house painter. With my Dad being in the Navy, we moved a lot, & that meant a lot of new house painting. What I am not experienced in is painting cabinets or shelving. Which is probably why when we moved into our house five years ago & painted our whole house, I decided the shelving in the family room looked fine without a fresh coat of paint. Really, the cabinets could have used a coat of paint back then, but after five years of family time (& the Family Room being the main space for you & your little friends), they looked disgusting. This one was of the biggest pushes for me to redo this room again, & this is what it looked like as I started out one Monday evening.

Family Room: Mid-Project

This time around, the changes are more subtle. While I repainted the whole room, the colors mostly stayed the same. I've added & changed things over the past couple years (an ottoman here, new curtains there, & some artwork everywhere), & this was the drive to put it all together.

Family Room: After

The whole room needed a fresh coat of paint. We all loved the color, but I wanted to go with more durable paint this time. Little hands & feet can really do a number on the walls. I went with Benjamin Moore paint this time. It's more pricey than our typical Valspar go-to, but I'm hoping it's worth it. I asked them to match the Valspar paint sample I had. The mixed paint came out a little bit lighter than I wanted at first, but after asking them to add some grey, it was perfect.

I got the curtains from West Elm a couple years ago, but finally got around to putting up a new curtain rod. The pillows I bought at Target. The cat, Joey, was our very first baby. That is his favorite spot to sit when you're not in the family room.

Family Room: After

I also wanted to update the artwork. When we first moved into the house, Daddy & I had just gotten married. I included lots of family pictures, but mostly the photos were recent wedding photos. Five years later, the Family Room was starting to feel a little too much like a shrine to our wedding. The Family Rules Canvas (found at One Kings Lane) is perfect for a Family Room. I also updated many of the photographs & frames in the room (frames from Michaels). We went with mostly beach pictures (being the beachbums we are, there was no shortage to choose from) & family photos. 

Family Room: After

Your kitchen set & toys have replaced the cat toys (they have a tiny basket in the living room). I bought a few bins to store toys in at HomeGoods. I couldn't believe how well they matched the Family Room colors. It gives the room a decorative way to store your toys that would otherwise fill our floors.

Family Room: After

I ordered an enlarged print of our Christmas Card photo as the big family photo in the room (although I'm kind of hoping we get a great family beach shot at your Aunt Andrea's wedding that may replace it).

Family Room: After
Family Room: After

Other than the toys, I wanted to a fun way display your mark as well. As we were looking for Valentine ideas, I came across a Valentine Tree that I thought would look perfect in our family room. First I traced the outline of tree foliage (is there another word for bush part of a tree?) in yellow marker on our middle cabinet doors & painted them in the same color as the Family Room walls.

Family Room: Mid-Project
Family Room: Mid-Project

Once the paint dried, it was time for your part. We covered your hands in beige paint we had leftover from some of the other rooms in our house. You put your hand prints in the middle of the tree foliage. I have to say, it was tough to get your hand prints down low & at that angle, but we did it.

Family Room: Mid-Project
Family Room: Mid-Project
Family Room: Mid-Project

While Daddy cleaned you off, I painted the trunks of the trees & did touch-ups where your fingers had wiggled a little too much- & where you accidentally grabbed part of the freshly painted white cabinet with your beige painty hand. We let it dry overnight. The next day, we covered your index fingers in red paint & used your fingerprints to make apples. I painted two hearts, one on each trunk, with your initials & the date & "J+B=E" to add a little more personalization. 

Family Room: After
Family Room: After
I love how your handprint trees came out. To me, it gives the room that little extra feeling of home & family & fun. After watching me work on the room for a week, I think you just loved being able to help with the Family Room makeover.
I also reorganized the shelves, which had started to look a little cluttered, & added new pictures & knickknacks & flowers.

Family Room: After

I can't even explain the sense of peace & accomplishment I feel when I walk into the room now. I know that overall, we just made little changes, but little changes made a big difference for me. Unfortunately for you & Daddy, my need for head-straightening projects didn't end there. Over the next few weeks, I'll be revealing a few other home improvement projects as well.

I love you so,
Mommy

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