New House Tour: Family Room

This room has probably had the least "love" in the house, but I still wanted to share what we've done so far. This room is in the back of our house and has sliders that lead to our deck and backyard. It also has a wood burning fireplace (that we haven't used yet). To start, here's what it looked like when we bought the house (these are listing photos, so it's the previous owner's furniture/decor):

Because of the entryway from the dining room, sliders, and fireplace, there aren't a lot of options for furniture. We don't use this room a ton right now, but I can see us using it for playing games, doing puzzles, etc. We had our Christmas tree in here since it had more room that our living room. Here's what it currently looks like:

Here's what we've done so far:

+ hired contractor to rip out carpet and put in new floors

+ painted walls, trim, and crown molding

+ spray painted fireplace surround to get rid of the gold

+ hung curtain rod, curtains, added some decor

Like I said, we haven't done a whole lot in here, but it's definitely an improvement from where it was. I still have several things I want to do:

+ paint built-ins white

+ whitewash brick 

+ add more/different decor

+ make little bar cart area in corner (where ottoman is currently)

I would also LOVE to make the opening between this room and the dining room bigger. Removing that entire wall would be ideal, so it could be one big open space from the family room to dining room to kitchen. Kevin's not in to that idea (I think he's just ready to be done with projects for a while), so I need to work on him a little.

And because I love before + afters so much, here are some side-by-sides:

Sources:

+ paint: Dolphin Fin by Behr

+ floors: LifeProof Vinyl Plank in Tupelo Oak from Home Depot

+ end tables: Ikea hack makeover

+ curtains: Target 

New House Tour: Living Room

Long time no see! I share a lot on Instagram, but I miss blogging and sharing more details here. I thought I'd start 2020 blog posts with a house update. I shared what our house looked like when we bought it back in August (we moved in September). We've done a TON of work since then. Still have more to do, but it's getting there. I love house projects, so I don't think it will ever really be "done." (I know Kevin will LOVE hearing that haha). I'm going to try to share one room every week or two on here. What it looked like before, what we've done, and what we still have left to do. 

Let's start with the living room. Here's what it looked like when we bought it:

This is our front living room, and the room we spend the most time in. It has our TV and our "comfy" furniture. We also have a family room, but that's used less often. (I'll share that room soon.) This living room isn't big, and it's also where our front door is, so I wanted to make a little entry area, which was challenging with a small space. Finley also has her little chair and lots of toys and books in this room, so we had to make it work for all of us. 

Here's what we did:

+ Hired flooring contractor to remove old floors and install vinyl plank flooring.

+ Painted all of the walls and trim (with help from family).

+ My dad replaced all of the outlets and light switches (they were all painted over).

+ New furniture (all sources listed at the end of this post).
+ New double curtain rod and curtains (and raised it).

goodbye ugly brown wall!

You can really see how not white the trim is in this picture.

The trim was painted the same color as the walls. Took several coats of white to cover that dark trim!

Goodbye carpet, hello new floors!

And here's what it currently looks like:

This room is so much brighter with the new paint on the walls and trim! I love it. It's small, but cozy, and perfect for us.

Since we don't have a coat closet by the front door, I added a runner rug and some coat hooks. I wanted guests to have a place to leave their shoes and hang coats or bags. We enter through the garage, so this is basically used when people come over.

Here's what I still want to do in this room:

+ Spray paint the vent covers so they match the trim color - I plan to do this in the spring so I can do it outside.

+ Add more to the gallery wall. 

+ New pillow covers. These are the pillows that came with our couch. They are fine, but don't really fit my style. I like the idea of new pillow covers so I can take them off and wash them (because a toddler + a dog = messes).
+ New TV stand
+ I'd love to add some board & batten to the front entry wall and do some more coat hooks
+ paint front door
+ get another lamp

I love seeing before & afters, so just for fun, here's a couple of side-by-side comparisons:

Sources:
+ floors: LifeProof Vinyl Plank in Tupelo Oak from Home Depot

+ wall color: Dolphin Fin Grey by Behr (same color I had in our old house)

+ couch and recliner: Art Van

+ end tables: Amazon - one holds Finley's toys in the bottom and one holds our magazines

+ living rug: Target I have the 7'x10' size

+ entry jute runner rug: Wayfair

+ coat hook: Marshalls

+ curtains: Amazon (sheer curtains + tan curtains)

+ double curtain rod: Bed, Bath, & Beyond

+ tv stand: old from Walmart 

Our First House: Before & After

It's been quite a while since I've posted on this blog. But life has been busy. Having a nine month old that's on the move is a full-time job. On top of that, we decided to sell our house and move. We're staying in the area, but looking for something with a little more space and a better layout. Since we're saying goodbye to this house in a couple of months, I thought I'd share a little before and after of when we bought it, to when we sold it. Everyone loves a good before and after, right?

 It will be bittersweet to leave this house. We spent seven great years here. It's the place we brought our baby girl home to. But I'm also excited to start the next chapter of our lives in a new house that we can make our home....wherever that ends up being. (That's right, we still haven't found a house - keep your fingers crossed for us!)