Gathering Spaces
Family Room - Before
Grungy carpet and white-on-white paint did nothing to allow the beautiful stone fireplace and built-in bookcases to be a showpiece. Located adjacent to the kitchen and sunroom, the family room had the potential to become a great gathering spot on the main floor. Our goal was to add personality through color and texture, while creating a cohesive style within the open floor plan.
Family Room - Today
The warmth added by replacing the undesirable carpet for consistent hardwood floors was the first step in creating the farmhouse feel. Complimentary neutral paint on the built-in shelves and cabinets surrounding the fireplace made the room a feature for the entire main floor. Light mint green adds a soft background on the remaining walls in the living room and creates an effortless flow between spaces. Collected accessories, loads of texture and harmonious color add personality to the space and can be easily (and frequently!) swapped out. The large-scale furnishings and natural light create a cozy space for our family.
To fill our living room with special pieces of furniture, we looked to vintages finds. The base of an antique pedestal oak dining table passed down through our family was modified to be repurposed as our coffee table (it still has the original wooden casters for easy mobility when entertaining). We sourced the waterfall-style buffet from a local shop and refinished the the piece, adding deeper olive green paint and putting the original hardware back in place. Both pieces add beautiful warm wood tones and plenty of functionality to our living room.
Sunroom - Before
From the first walk-through of our house, the abundant natural light and gorgeous views in the sunroom grabbed our attention. The large size and connection to other gathering spaces got us thinking that this space would make a perfect location for our new dining room! Of course there were a few less-than-attractive elements that we'd have to get rid of first. Terrible carpet, too many view-blocking window grids (whoa, that outdated arched window!), and beige everything.
Dining Room - Today
What is the most important element of a farmhouse dining room? Why, a table with space for everyone, of course! A 10-foot long table - custom-built (thanks to Dad's outstanding carpentry skills) - with polished, yet rustic wood planks set atop chunky turned legs. With nailhead trim and neutral linen-like fabric, the chairs were the perfect bargain find, and allow us to seat up to 14 friends and family! The light fixtures, with their airy, yet space-filling size allow us to see through to the beautiful backyard views. Goodbye to the crazy window layout, hello to large picture windows free of distractions! - boy, that was an enormous task, but well worth it in the end.
Gently puddling curtains and a large patterned rug (which we change for a fresh look) soften the angular elements of our dining space. Rustic wood shelves supported by black metal brackets allow us to display collected items (which are easily changed on a whim). Still on our wishlist for the dining room - ceiling beams to compliment and add another farmhouse element to the room.
Office - Before
Dental moulding and transoms over the doorways gave the office space a more formal traditional feel. The lack of overhead lighting and old billiard table-green carpet (sorry there's no picture to prove it really existed here!) didn't exude the farmhouse character we were after.
Music Room - Mid-Refresh
As our needs changed, we converted the office into our music room by adding a comfy couch and framed concert posters from Nashville. Comfy textured pillows balanced the structured furniture pieces. Our storage cabinets still concealed our necessary office supplies and extra musical instruments.
Adding airy light fixtures (thanks to extending electricity to ceiling boxes) and thrifted french doors allowed this space to first function as an office for our household. Given the room's placement near our entry foyer, having the french doors allowed us to close off the room while still keeping it a bright space for working in. Centered under the pendant lights, a large custom-built desk floated in the room (not pictured). Freshening up the wall paint and layering in textures with an area rug and curtains made the room more cozy. Storage cabinets got a makeover too - going from asian-inspired with woven cane inserts to farmhouse style with a distressed paint treatment, bead-board panel inserts and new rustic hardware.
Play Room - Today
In yet another transformation, our once-office has now been turned into a play room for our youngest child (and plenty of visitors too!). Our favorite cabinets now hide a plethora of Legos, Barbies and other toys. A custom-built doll house (thanks again to Dad's wonderful carpentry skills) balances a child-size desk area on the the opposing wall. The makeup vanity (now desk), passed down through our family, was refreshed with creamy white paint, new hardware, and a vintage chair reupholstered in a sweet fabric. Central in the space is a refreshed dining table cut down to child-height, and is perfect for building projects (not going to lie - this table is covered in Legos 100% of the time!). We swapped the rug and light fixtures and changed the paint color for a fun look. Who knows how long this space will last - luckily we're pretty good at redecorating and refurnishing!
Game Room - Today
You'd never know that this room was once an unfinished storage room, but as we completed other house projects we determined a billiard room was a much needed respite. First we needed to finish out the space with insulation, drywall and flooring. Laying a floating bamboo floor over the poured concrete base and adding light gray-stained pine boards gave us a great backdrop for the room. Green walls, and a rustic-style billiards table with navy felt carried the color scheme from other areas in our house.
For convenience in our game room, we incorporated a penny-top bar counter and mini refrigerator. Dark plumbing pipes, ebony-stained wood trim and around $75 in pennies (yes, they were glued in place one-by-one!) complete the one-of-a-kind counter. Rustic shelving above and the black sink set into our custom-built cabinet add a dose of masculine charm. Leather barstools move around the room for a perfect view of the action, while cotton-woven blankets serve as curtains in our cozy game room.