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 

Holiday Home Tour 2016

Just like yesterday's Christmas card post, I know this is late, but I wanted to share it anyway. I love being able to go back and look at my old posts to see how my decor and style has changed, so at least I'll have it to look back on. You may have seen some of these if you follow me on Instagram, because I participated in the 12 days of decor, which made me take pics on a daily basis. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

wine bottle vase made by my sister

This little shelf used to hold our DVDs and Blu Rays, but I got sick of looking at them, so I boxed them up and put them in containers in our TV stand. So now I get to decorate all the little shelves and I kind of love it. I also want to paint this thing white at some point...

joy wood sign from Kate's Crafty Heart

tree wood sign from Kate's Crafty Heart

deer hoop made by my mom

I LOVE seeing holiday home tours, so I hope you enjoy this little glance in to our home all decorate for Christmas. This weekend I'll be taking it all down and replacing it with some simple winter decor, which I'm kind of excited about. As much as I love decorating for Christmas, by the time the holidays are over, I'm kind of ready for a little simplicity. Anyone else feel that way?