It's Reveal Day for my Family Room "Fluff"
This is my 10th One Room Challenge.
In the whole scheme of One Room Challenges, it is very low key. But I still wanted to participate because the time restriction/deadline is a great motivator for me. And I wanted to share on the ORC platform because I hope this minimal, low cost, low key 'fluff' might be inspirational to someone. We can't always do a major overhaul of a space (and there are some pretty amazing rooms every ORC that do!) but hopefully my room shows you how you can make a room feel better to be in and work best for your family/use of a room without spending a lot of money or changing every single element.
Slight changes can make everything feel fresh. That was the working theory for this room anyway! So I'm going to post a lot of pictures and point out anything I purchased (not much, I promise) or any changes that I made.
Quick before shot (and you can catch up on previous posts here.)
Not awful but time for a refresh!
The first thing I did was rearrange the couches.
(And yes, we have a ceiling fan. It's hot in the South. I took these pictures on November 21st and it was over 70. We use ours almost year round!)
The trio of bamboo cabinets that I thrifted last May stayed in the same place. I edited what was on display inside and replaced a broken glass door (I used a thrifted picture frame for the glass - so much less than getting it from a glass company #thriftytip)
I painted the dark wood chests. I've been wanting to do that forever! The wood tones didn't work well together. I love the lighter look with the brass hardware. All of the blue and white Chinoiserie lamps were thrifted and already in the room. The antique gold mirrors were already hanging in the room but I raised them 3 inches and they look so much better. I swapped out the bamboo chair for this one that I already had and simply recovered the seat in some blue and white fabric I had on hand. The seascape oils are very old and were inherited years ago.
This vintage (and thrifted) bamboo bench hides behind the couch and is where we throw all of our pillows and blankets we use when we "waller" -
you may remember I referenced James Farmer's terminology for the room where we "waller" and watch TV. I love this bench and it doesn't work anywhere else right now so it's being put to use here :)
The
coffee table was already in the room. It is a huge copper tray that I inherited when we closed my parents home this year. I had the bamboo table base on hand so I gave it a quick coat of off-white spray paint and it worked perfectly.
The brass fire screen was inherited at the same time.
The fire screen stays closed most of the time because Cooper is afraid of it!
Now looking back the other direction. The huge blue and white jars were thrifted ( I love it when I find a pair!) and the large finials are solid wood, distressed and chippy and very heavy. I thrifted those as well.
There are a ton of doors and windows in this space.
So, sometimes I just ignore doors.
This door is never, ever used- it leads to the screened in porch and we use the kitchen door for that. I had a chair in front of it before but I decided to make it match the windows on the other side of the fireplace and even though its smaller than the double windows it helps your eye flow across the wall and creates a bit of symmetry. I ordered 2 pairs of these white curtains from Amazon because I couldn't match the set already on the double window. I'll use them elsewhere. They were $35 a pair and the quality is pretty good. Of course, they are nothing like custom but they have the back tabs that help them drape nicely. I put an inexpensive bamboo blind on the French door window just like I had on the other windows. I order my bamboo roll up blinds from Amazon.
The painting that reminds me of the my beloved SC low country was a gift from my parents many years ago. I ordered the picture light from Amazon and we all love it. Why didn't I get one years ago? I've always wanted one! The table belonged to my Charleston grandmother. The oyster wreath came from a shop on Saint Simons Island, the brass and bamboo trays were thrifted and the turtle shell was a gift from some musicians in Honduras that I met on a mission trip. And another "ignored" doorway.
We rarely need access to this little closet/wet bar area and the plants are migrating inside as it gets colder at night. I had this bamboo stand and blue pot. Both were thrifted. The artwork on the walls came from Haiti, Honduras and Columbia (I purchase art from street vendors anywhere I travel for work/mission trips.)
The doorway on the left leads to our foyer and the opening to the right is the hall to the kitchen. Baby gates are here to stay until Cooper's manners improve a little :)
The bamboo end tables were thrifted, we use the blue and white saucers as coasters and the camellias are floating in thrifted blue and white bowls. The top painting was purchased in Turqs and Caicos and the bottom painting was bought on Tybee Island.
We needed some fresh, much fluffier pillows- the better to "waller" with! I purchased the blue and white fabric and the beige pagoda fabric and 2 new pillow inserts at Fabric and Fringe Warehouse (the best fabric store around #notsponsored) I bought the very soft green throw from Target for $10. It's so soft and has tassels so it was a no brainer. And the pagoda pillow above is borrowed form the Library as a "placeholder." I wanted the Zen fabric in a different colorway for in here but it wasn't available right now.
And, yes, there is a TV in this room. A really big one.
It's big and black but TV's are a reality for most of us. I don't think a gallery wall or any other "trick" would help draw they eye away so I've just placed it on a fabulous faux bamboo dresser (thrifted, of course) and so be it ;)
We are really enjoying the "new" look and layout.
I still need to finish painting a couple of the walls (they were already white so you can't tell until you look closely) and the brick hearth.
It feels good to have de-cluttered and freshened things up right before the holidays.
Thank you to Linda for organizing the One Room Challenge. It is a great motivator for me. Be sure to check out all of the other rooms here. Some of these DIYers really pulled out all the stops!!
And I hope you will check back in here or follow along on IG because we are about to start decorating for Christmas - as soon as we figure out where the tree will go in this new layout!
*Please note: Many items in this room were already in the room and had been thrifted, including the wicker couch, over a period of time. I did not find all of them in this 6 week ORC challenge time period! I already had the white paint and the fabric for the chair cushion. The rest of the purchases were minimal and noted. This might be the least expensive ORC ever!
