Some Changes in the Family Room

~ Yay!!! ~

I am blogging again!

I can't believe I've been away for this long!

I always miss you when I take my little blogging breaks.

You all have become my dear friends!

:) :) :)

I've been busy feathering my nest for fall and working on giving my family room a small facelift...

I have not shown a whole lot of our family room on this blog.

There is a reason for that.

It's ugly!!!

Haha...

It has always been my least favorite room in our house!

Over the years the kids have sort of taken it over as their hang-out, and it's always been cluttered with junk.

I let the room go and just focused on other areas of the house instead. But as time went on I developed a deep hatred for this room! I hardly ever went in there! It was just a place for Micah to watch TV, and for the kids to trash with their toys.

(Before...)

See what I mean?

I never did anything about it because I think my attitude about the room had become, If I can't have it exactly how I want it, I'm not doing anything about it at all!

So, I was holding out... 

I was waiting for the right financial situation, and the right moment in time for Micah and I to gut the room and start completely over.

(My dream is to have a family room that looks like this...

PERFECT! Isn't it?!)

So, that was my plan. I was waiting... and dreaming... and ignoring the reality of the room.

It was a good plan, except for one teeny tiny thing...

Somehow 8 years flew by and we were still living with this family room! 

We still had the gold paint on the walls from the previous owners, and Micah's furniture from when he was a bachelor! To make matters worse, Elsa recently had taken a black Sharpie marker and scribbled all over the couch!

Ugh!!!

A few weeks ago some friends popped in for an impromptu visit after supper. 

I was chatting with my girlfriend as we walked past the family room, and I noticed when I glanced over that her husband had sat down on our 30-year old, Sharpie-covered couch to chat with Micah, and I felt embarrassed!!!

That was it.

The final straw.

Why are we living like this?! I wondered...

Well... We currently are in NO position to rip up carpet, tear out the fireplace, and start completely over... But, why can't I do something?!

Why can't I take a few baby steps in the right direction to make me feel better about this room?!

And that's how the project began.

I asked myself, What can I do in here quickly and inexpensively? 

SO... A couple of weekends ago Nola and I painted...

It sure felt GREAT to see that gold disappear!

Good-bye glaring, obnoxious gold! You will not be missed...

 I also found a used (and extremely inexpensive) couch on FB Marketplace...

Nothing glamorous, and a far cry from what I would someday want, BUT, a huge improvement from what we had! So, I am thankful!

Finally, after a toy and broken furniture purge, and just a little TLC, the family room looks like this...

I hung these bird prints...

And just today I made and hung these simple, muslin curtains...

This is mainly where the kids play, so my goal was not to make the room fancy, just comfortable and freshened up!

I feel better already!!!

(before/during...)

And after!...

SO, my question to you, dear reader, is this... 

Do you have an area of your home that you hate? A room that you've yet to tackle because like me, you are holding out for just the right time and budget to make it perfect? Only... that time and budget never arrives?

(Or am I the only one who has done this?)

Maybe the thought of getting to work on it feels overwhelming! And you don't know where to start!

Just take the first baby step.

You'll find that taking that step will motivate you to take another, and then another will naturally come after that!

This family room project has taught me that even small, easy changes can make a difference! It doesn't always have to be all or nothing! Someday I'll get my magazine-inspired family room, but for now I am doing what I can to make it nice and deciding to be thankful!

I'm thinking of it as more 'in the meantime' changes, until I can get what I really want! 

So, don't be surprised if you see us tearing into this room again in the future!

Haha...

Friends... by taking the first baby step, (and deciding to be thankful!) what project will YOU get started on?

I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

xo,

~ Courtney ~