{Home Improvements} Family Room Built-in

We're at it again -- making home improvements and trying to create smart storage solutions and upgrades that will help sell our little house one day in the future {we're not going anywhere anytime soon though!}. Most recently, we added ceiling fans in our family room and three upstairs bedrooms {not pictured} to give us a little more air flow at night. They are making a huge difference.

We also had another built-in added in our family room. The family room doubles as a place where we all crash on the couch and watch television at the end of the day and also as a playroom for my little guy. We do have a basement, but it's not able to be finished, so this is it. It's challenging at times, but we try to make it work. Last year we got rid of our couch, loveseat and chair/ottoman and replaced them with a space-saving sectional and built-in bench for more seating. This new corner built-in allowed us to move the television up and away from little hands, gave me two nice shelves above the television for pictures or whatever, and some storage behind the doors underneath for games, books, toys, etc.

**Still on my Summer To-Do List:
1. Big boy room {bed is painted, rug has been delivered, mini-blinds up, etc. Now we are working on moving my craft area and office to the third floor, so we can move "the big boy" into his new digs}.
2. Painting the kitchen island {I've been talking about doing this for over a year and totally dragging my feet on it but it's now or never b/c once baby #2 comes, I doubt it'll ever get done!}.
3. Simple photo wall in upstairs hallway {this was on the summer to-do list last year too...hmmm. I had a plan to do an elaborate photo collage, but it was overwhelming me a little, so I'm going simple. I like simple the best anyway ;-}
4. A few nursery updates: we do not know the sex of the baby, so this will be tough. Stay tuned.
5. Lots of organizing and cleaning of the closets, basement and garage.
**I'm probably NEVER going to finish all of this, but at least I have goals, right?! -- HAHA!

{Home Improvements} Kitchen Message Center

Good Morning! We finally finished our kitchen message center -- phew! A few months ago, we had the built-in desk and single seat bench added to the kitchen. Then, we added the floating black shelves, cushion, and pillow to the bench seat. I recently found the black framed cork board at HomeGoods and snatched it up for above the desk.


I've had my eye on the PB hanging wall organizers for quite a while and finally took the plunge. I caught a sale and ordered away. Big improvement from the messy hanging chalkboard I had there previously, which I junked up with everything imaginable.

Since I am the bill/budget person in our home, I convinced my hubby that I needed the wall organizers to help me keep track of the incoming and outgoing bills. It's the truth -- keeping tabs on all that is like a second job!


I recently added some springy greens to my shelves since I'm craving spring weather in the worst way. Looking forward to getting outside with my little guy for some fresh air, long walks, and playground fun. March is just around the corner, so it shouldn't be long :-}

**Have a GREAT week!
**Home with my boyfriend today. After struggling through the last days with a terrible cough, Mama thought it was best to hang home and nurse this little man back to health. Ironically, we have his 2 year old appointment scheduled for this afternoon anyway. I feel so bad for my baby :-{

{Home Improvements} Family Room = Complete

My husband and I finished up our family room a few days before our son's first birthday party in February. The plan was a simple makeover -- fresh, airy, light and most importantly, we wanted to create more space for our growing family. I know these pics aren't the greatest, {they are "action" shots from Dean's party} but you can get the general idea of the look of the room.

Above is the storage bench we added in place of our old love seat. This is my favorite part of our updated space. I love how it opens up the entire area, let's in tons of afternoon light, provides a great seating area when we entertain, and Bo loves relaxing there on weekends when Dean is napping. And how could I forget Ginger?! She's our little watch dog that sits on guard and stares out those windows for any glimpse of a squirrel she can get ;-]

I had my go-to girl, Cheryldine, make me a fabric cushion with piping for the bench. She does excellent work and is fairly reasonable. I also liked how I was able to choose the fabric and didn't have to purchase something pre-made. She also made me a Christmas tree skirt from my wedding aisle runner and Dean's dedication outfit from my wedding gown.


The new sectional is perfect for this room. It's not huge, but it's plenty big for us. I picked up the light turquoisey blue in the window bench cushion by adding pillows in the same color. Most of this room is neutral, so the subtle pop of color is a welcome addition.

I intended to add shelving above the couch and do leaning photos but IKEA stopped selling their longest RIBBA shelf, so I nixed the idea and just used the frames. They're simple and I love how they each holds a close-up pic of my baby boy from his first birthday photo shoot with Karen Carpenter Photography. There is also a fourth pic that is not shown in this picture.

**The poor guys were a little caught off guard when I snapped this picture -- that's why they all have the deer-in-headlights look going on - ha!


Lastly, we purchased a four cubby shelving unit to hide some of Dean's puzzles, books, etc. I couldn't hide all the toys though -- you can see the start of a long row of toys along one wall in my family room. Oh well -- those are the breaks when you have a one-year-old and live in a modest home. It's all about being practical and creating a space that is functional these days!

**We definitely made this room over on a budget. We sold all of our old furniture, tv cabinet, end tables, lamps, etc on Craigs list, so that helped balance out the new purchases.

SHOPPING GUIDE:
Built-in Bench -- Made by my father-in-law
Custom cushion -- Cheryldine Cantagallo
Cushion fabric -- Joann Fabric
Sectional couch -- Raymour & Flanigan
Pillows -- Kohls
Leather ottoman -- Overstock
4 cubby shelving unit & 12x12 wall frames -- IKEA
Lamps -- TJ Maxx
Curtains -- Bed, Bath & Beyond
Rug -- Pottery Barn outlet
Corner cabinet tv stand {not pictured} -- Costco
Pedestal end table {not pictured} -- Target

{Home Improvements} Fun Fabric

Well, I really stink because I still don't have any pictures of my family room to share...getting closer though :-} Oh how I wish on some days I could just snap my fingers like Mary Poppins and poof - room DONE!

Although I'm still working on the room, I did get as far as picking fabric for the window bench cushion {and convincing my hubby to hang some frames for me}. What do you think? It is not at all what I expected to choose, but I was in a daring mood the other night at the fabric store. My space is very neutral, so I figured I could afford to add some fun color on the bench.

I usually tend to lean in the direction of green as an accent color, but I think gray/turquoise/yellow will be a nice change. I just need to go with it. It's only a bench cushion for cryin' outloud!

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TGIF! After our baby boy is fast asleep, I have a city date tonight with my husband at Vintage, a wine bar where we are grabbing a quick dinner before meeting friends for birthday drinks. Review coming your way soon!

Dean is going to have his first birthday pics taken by my friend Karen of Karen Carpenter Photography on Saturday. Excited! Hopefully I can post a few proofs on the blog when Karen finishes them.

Swanky superbowl party on Sunday at Bo's bosses home. Is it appropriate to wear a jersey or do I need to get all dolled up for some football???!!!

No slowin' down for this girl...and I NEED to slow down in a BIG way. Next weekend?

{Home Improvements} Built-in Storage Bench

We are continuing to make progress on the family room. The window alcove has been empty for a few weeks now {pic above}. There is a ton of natural light that shines through those four windows every afternoon, and I know my Gingy girl misses her spot on the old loveseat there. So, she was really happy on Sunday when...


...her Daddy brought home the new storage bench! Bo is still in the process of adding some trim around the bottom {you can see it's not completely finished in the pic}. We've also started shopping for some fabric for the cushion top we'll be adding soon {still have yet to find the right one}.

My father-in-law {with a little help from my husband} built this bench. He used an inspiration picture that I shared in another post as a model. The top lifts open to give us a nice storage area for blankets, toys, whatever. ***It's not really "built-in" because of the radiator that sits behind it. We figured if we ever needed to get back there for any reason, it might be smarter to give the appearance of a "built-in" by adding trim, but not actually nail it into the wall and floor.***

We decided to paint the bench the same gray color as the rest of the trim throughout the downstairs. This color was chosen by the previous owners and I like it okay, but would one day LOVE to paint it all a cream color and add a light, neutral color to the walls to warm up the entire space.

We're adding some wall art and shelving this weekend, touching up some paint, getting some pillows for the sectional, and then HOPEFULLY pics of the completed look next week!

{Home Improvements} Family Room Progress...

We're finally starting to make some real progress in the family room...PHEW! Having a bonus day off because of snow really helped because it gave me a little more of that cherished stuff that I don't seem to have much of these days....ya know, TIME! Thank goodness because I'm not so good with the transition phase of home improvement projects ;-} Here's what we've got so far...

We opted for a comfy sectional instead of a couch, loveseat, and chair like we had before. It's a nice spacesaver, and it allows my hubby and I to be on the same piece of furniture when we settle in for the night and watch a little tv. Our sectional is a light stone color {not brown like pictured above}.

We also decided to go with a leather ottoman since our little man is ALL OVER THE PLACE! Dean's already had a few bumps and bruises and this might help "cushion" any future accidents...oh geez! We opted for a square ottoman instead of a rectangular one because space is an issue, and this is not so big that it overtakes the room.


This is an inspiration picture my husband will be using to build a built-in bench with storage in the window alcove where the loveseat previously sat {see a pic here}. This will provide some additional seating when entertaining guests {not to mention I'm sure Ginger"snaps" will overtake that space immediately as she loves looking out those windows}. Once completed, I'll finish it off with a cushion top and probably some soft, fluffy pillows.


Lastly, in addition to some shelving, I'm thinking about doing something similar to the above pic to one of the walls in my family room {pic from How Does She}. I love canvases, but the same look could be accomplished just by using picture frames.

WE'RE GETTIN' THERE! KITCHEN NEXT!

{Home Improvements} Repurposing

One thing I know but never quite seem to remember is that "quick and simple" home improvement projects ALWAYS take longer than originally planned. After all our home improvement trials and tribulations, you think I'd have learned that concept. NOPE....lol! The family room IS making some progress: we have our new couch, the tv cabinet is on it's way, and we just ordered an ottoman. BUT...it will still be a few weeks before the room is complete.

Why a pic of my master bedroom? Well, because I wanted to show how "old" furniture can be repurposed to fit other needs. I'd been wanting a bench at the foot of our bed for some time. I couldn't quite find one I loved. Once Bo and I decided to freshen up the family room a little, we decided that a leather ottoman would be softer and safer for our on-the-go and almost walking boy! I'm not usually sentimental about holding onto furniture, but I didn't want to let go of my old ottoman, which is actually an inexpensive little trunk from Target. I don't know...there is something about it that I just love. So, it became the bench at the foot of our bed. I love when that happens :-}

Have a great Monday, everyone! I'm actually enjoying this cold wintery weather believe it or not. Don't worry, by the end of February I'll be crying the winter blues and dying for a glimpse of spring ;-}

{Home Improvements} And So it Continues...

The home improvement projects have crept from the kitchen into the family room. Ahhh! One of my New Year's resolutions is to simplify, and although it seems like I'm making things more complex, the improvements really are an effort to simplify life {and all our stuff} a little!

Here's a "before" shot of our family room. This was the set I bought for my first apartment. It was simple, neutral, and comfortable, but that set-up provided no space for my boy to play or a storage area for his toys. So, it was time to update things a bit. Thankfully, the old furniture sold and was picked up this afternoon, just in time for the new furniture to arrive tonight. The room is not even close to being done yet, but I've got lots of ideas. Let's just say a trip to Home Goods is already in the works for this coming weekend!

The deadline for completion of all our home improvement projects is mid-February. I'll be hosting my son's first birthday party at the end of that month, and all of this madness needs to be finished by then! I will post "after" shots as we progress.

COMING SOON:
~ New & improved {space-wise} family room
~ Kitchen renovations {new floor & small built-in}
~ Stef & Jason's wedding suite
~ Krissy's new blog header
~ Patty's custom recipe cards
~ Dean's 1st birthday party invitations
...AND MORE!