One Room Challenge: Week 1 – The Plan

I’m super excited to be participating in this Fall 2016 edition of the One Room Challenge as a guest participant!  This is my first time taking on the challenge, and  I can’t want to take you along on the journey of transforming my family room.  If you’re new here, glad to have ya!  Feel free to nose around this blog a bit to get to know me and my style better after this post.

The Space

Honestly, it’s a bit difficult for me to share the photos of my family room in it current state.  I really don’t feel it’s the best representation of my current style – but then again I guess that is why I’m doing this, right?!   So, here she in in all her current (not so great) glory.  Take a look:

Ok, so it’s not terrible.  She has good bones – one of the benefits of custom building a house for yourself (#blessed).   Our home is only 10 years old and I was pretty much able to design her from top to bottom, so I’m mostly content with the permanent components of the room (except the carpet, but keep reading for more on that), however the space was never really properly finished.   I’ve made plenty of decor changes throughout our 10 years trying out various styles  – but a few things have remained constants in the space. One being the sofa set that I purchased when I was just out of college (no I won’t tell you how long that’s been – thank you very much for not asking),  and the others being the glass top side table next to the sofa, and the weird palm tree lamp that has been knocked over more times than I can count.  Both of the last two items are from the Mr.’s collection prior to me entering the picture.  These couple items have all been a part of this space from day one in this house – and they most definitely overstayed their welcome.

Just ignore that painters tape on the wall – it’s not part of the decor, but might as well be since its been that way for so long now.   Rather its a layout of a shelving concept – but I’ll go into more detail on that in the next post.

Yes, I probably could have made changes to the furniture and decor sooner upon moving in, but looking back, it felt like we were just babies ourselves at that time in our lives.  And we had a baby on the way then too – and year after year, and another baby later, it always seemed there was something else that took priority on funds.  Like, diapers, daycare, food, a vacation for a drained mom and dad here and there.. you know, the essentials.   So buying pretty things was put on hold.

Now 10 years later and a little extra cash in the pocket book and it is finally time to make some changes. The only problem was that I had to make a decision first.  New furnishings or new carpeting?  Unfortunately, after 10 years of kids, dogs, and a no ‘no shoe; policy (or a ‘yes shoe’ policy rather) our carpeting has seen better days (like probably only on the day we moved in and that was it).  We regularly clean it, so it’s tolerable, but just not as nice as I’d prefer.   So after a long process – 4 months or more long – of debating with the Mr., examining pricing, and building lists of pros and cons I came three revelations- 1) new flooring would eat up a large portion (if not all) of my budget, 2) I still had two young boys and a dog who were certain to destroy new carpeting and 3) I really need to get better at quicker decision making.  Ha!  But seriously, it’s bad – #workingonit.   So, new carpeting was out, and full on overhaul of furnishings (including a large area rug to help cover the carpeting) was in!  Oh, and  insert a 4th revelation here:  the lesson on the ‘yes shoe’ policy is well noted and filed in my brain for future reference, again #workingonit.

The Inspiration

So… its time for a new space for this family room!  Something a bit more grown up (even though my kids still are not – pray for my new furniture, please) and that represents more of my style.  It feels good to be saying good-bye to the traditional feeling of this space that was never really me,  and into something a bit more contemporary, with a mix of  some vintage vibes on a neutral pallet.   It’s hard to find the right words to do it justice, so I’ll stop letting the words do the talking and let your eyes take a walk through my vision:

Here’s the color palette inspiration.  For more detail on what inspired me, you can visit my last post here.

Black, white, grey, and brass will dominate the space, and will be softened a bit with with warm wood tones.  Pops of color will be brought in through greenery, and changeable decor like pillows and accessories .

The Plan

The main changes to the space will be the furnishings – all the main structural components of the room will remain the same.  The only piece currently planned to stay in the space is our media cabinet, which I’m thinking will receive a simple makeover with some fresh stain.  Tons of new lighting and accessories will really be the key to transforming the space and finally making it feel complete.

This is just a small sample of the many, many items that will fill the space when it’s finished.  I don’t have it all completely figured out yet (yikes!)- but I’m looking forward to getting started and seeing where it takes me.   So stick with me (or bear with me, whichever) through this process every Thursday over the next six weeks to see how the space transforms!    I’ll have weekly updates showing changes to the room, tips and tricks to share along the way, DIY projects, and maybe even a typographic print download freebie for you too!  It’s going to be great, thanks for following along with me as I take on this adventure!

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