One Simple Change - Family Room Update.

I recently changed the curtains in our family room and, wow, was I surprised at the difference changing one thing made. I chose Phyllis Panels in Slate from Decoberry for the family room.

Here's a little reminder of the before. 
  

We are really enjoying the change. More afters:

I posted on Instagram and someone commented that "curtains are like lipstick - the finishing touch." I was very happy with the white curtains and bamboo shades that I had hung when this room was refreshed for the One Room Challenge. But adding these slate blue panels from Decoberry made a big impact. 

After seeing the beautiful change in our family room I decided to hang the same Phyllis panels in our entry way but in jade green. The two rooms are open to each other and this is a great design trick to tie the rooms together but give them a separate look and personality as well. 

Before: I used inexpensive and unlined IKEA panels. The difference with the lined Decoberry panels is remarkable. 

Our entry way is windowless except for the door. Having curtains on the door gives me an opportunity to add fabric, color and pattern but these curtains are functional for us as well. The front of our house gets the hot, Deep South afternoon sun and it heats up the whole house and puts a strain on the AC. being able to pull the panels for a couple of hours in the late afternoon is a huge energy saver and affects our power usage and bill. It's a very old fashioned idea to have drapes over doors and predates central heat and air. In the winter I find pulling it on windy days helps with drafts and the heating bill too. I like the look but I also appreciate the conservation/economic aspect. 

After:

Decoberry kindly gifted the panels to me to try. I am honestly so impressed with the quality and the pricepoint. They sell their panels in pairs which I love. It is discouraging, for me anyway, to find a curtain I like online and then realize I need to double the price. Another thing that really impressed me is that they are so well packaged that there is barely a wrinkle when you unbox them and hang them. Less steaming makes me happy. I think we can all agree on that!

I've been scrolling their website to see what would look good in my library - so many choices!

What about you? Do you like colorful, patterned curtains? I'm definitely a fan after this experience!

Can a Couch Change it's Spots?

 The proverbial saying "that a leopard can't change his spots" is actually scientifically proven but a couch can change it's spots. And mine did!

I personally love a touch of leopard (or animal print, in most cases) in a room. I think it's a classic as proven by the use of leopard, tiger, zebra and more through the decades by many fantastic designers with fabulous taste. There really isn't anything more classic than @schumacher1889 le Tigre,  Lee Radziwill's couch,  or a zebra rug (faux, please!)

I semi-joke that "leopard is a neutral" and that's how I'm viewing my couch transformation. I moved this vintage (and very comfy) couch in to my family room a couple of years ago. I talk about why and what inspired me here.

(The wicker couch before)

Last fall, during my 'Family Room Fluff' One Room Challenge I searched high and low for an affordable, neutral, indoor/outdoor leopard print. It did not exist (for me) because I couldn't find the 'affordable' (for me) part. And needing indoor/outdoor was also key because we allow our beloved Cooper to snuggle with us on the furniture. 

(PS. Tennis balls are not allowed in the house. He is so sneaky!)

But I never gave up hope of finding this dream fabric and I never quit googling it from time to time ... and one day a link popped up and I clicked and there was affordable, neutral, indoor/outdoor leopard fabric for a too-good-to-be-true price!!

 So I ordered a swatch which came in no time.

And then I wandered around with the swatch looking at it in the room, in different light and with my pillows and such. And then I ordered it. 

I made a slipcover for my ottoman too. It was actually a leopard print already but it didn't match the new fabric on the couch. I wanted to preserve the leopard upholstery already on it so a simple cover was the best way to make it work in the room and still have the option of using the original upholstery in another place in the future.

I am not a sew-y person but straight seams are within my limits. I found a great, basic tutorial for recovering cushions waaaay back when I first got this couch and covered the faded cushions with dropcloth fabric. I've used it multiple times. If I had the ability to put in a zipper I would love that but stitching or velcroing has worked well. I've recovered a ton of cushions on thrifted furniture. There are some pieces that are worth having a professional upholsterer recover cushions and such on but some simply are not so this method works well.

I am absolutely thrilled with my fresh new (leopard) look. I've had white slipcovered couches for over 25 years and I still love them (and have one on the other side of the room) but this is a fun change for me!

Here are some really fabulous leopard couches in designer rooms to inspire you further.

First, the leopard couch at James Farmer's NC cabin is amazing.

I love the orange glazed walls with Aerin Lauder's huge leopard couch.

How do you feel about a leopard couch? Could you do it?

Bamboo Cabinets

 The trio of bamboo cabinets at the back of my family room have gotten quite a few comments on Instagram over the last few weeks (plus I just changed up a few of the items inside!) so I thought I might as well blog about them ;) 

This picture is from my One Room Challenge family Room "Fluff" reveal post.

They are a very lucky thrifting find from Goodwill. It had probably been a year  (I kid you not) since I had found anything at that location. But I was over that way and it is the GW where I found the amazing bamboo dining table and chairs I use in my kitchen so I figured I might as well pop in. 

And there they were - all lined up in a row!

They were in amazing condition and two of them were under $20.00 each and one was priced at $15.00 because the glass in the door was missing (easy fix.) 

They had all of their glass shelves as well. 

I couldn't grab those tags fast enough. 

I wasn't sure if I could use all 3 but I figured that someone would be interested in them if I couldn't. I was right - I had offers as soon as I posted a pic on IG.

We had (at the time) a very cool cabinet on the back wall of our family room. We had thrifted it when Mollie was in elementary school and it came out of an old school library.  You can see more about that here.

I decided to move that cabinet to our Library 

and use the trio of bamboo cabinets in our family room.

I took a few pictures of them with the interior lights on. I don't turn them on often but I do love the glow at night when we do!

Cooper remains unimpressed with the cabinets or the photo shoot!

I recently rearranged a few things and added three 

of my prized Sweet Grass baskets from Charleston!

The center light house is Morris Island Light off of Folly beach and a favorite childhood site!

The shells have come home with me from travels and the stack of primitive clay bowls were a gift from the mother and grandmother of a little girl we delivered a wheelchair to in a remote mountain village in Honduras. I carried those bowls all the way home to be sure they made it intact! The photo in the shell frame is of Mollie sand dollar hunting on Tybee Island many years ago. 

It's fun to have the display space and to change things around from time to time but I try not to get them too 'busy' visually because of the way they are situated in the room.

So even though I don't find things at that particular thrift store often it has definitely been the store where I have found some of my biggest finds! 

Do you have a "lucky" thrifting spot?

Post Holiday Refresh

There's always a LOT of discussion on social media about when it's OK to put up Christmas decorations and just as much discussion about when everyone takes it down!

We generally don't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving and the take down is usually dictated by travel and weather! If I have a nice day right after Christmas I get the outside decorations down right then.

 I'm a little slower inside ( I tell myself I'm organizing and purging - whatever!! )

I always miss the 'green' of my Christmas greenery but since I use a lot of fresh magnolia and such it gets pretty crispy and just can't stay long after the big day!

So I just replace it with different types of "green" 

- I always crave fresh houseplants after the new year.

(After the Christmas decorations come down I want to fast forward to Spring!!)

This corner of the Family Room was the first spot to get a new plant and I shopped the house to switch up the table top vignette a bit. This room didn't need much because it just got a 

One Room Challenge makeover right before Thanksgiving!

The other thing I crave as an antidote to the early darkness in January is a replacement for all the twinkle lights of December. I mentioned the picture light above on my Instagram. It's so nice to have a little glow in this corner and the light has a remote and a timer so it's easy to use.

This is the picture light I ordered.

I read a review that the gold/brass finishes did not match perfectly. I thought I might need to use Rub and Buff to make it cohesive but honestly I can't tell - it's almost at the ceiling. I may make it a rainy day project one of these days but I went ahead and put it up.

It comes with the easiest hanging hardware ever - it has a built in level!!

Here it is at night - it was the only light on in the room when I took this picture!

 I plan to get another picture light for the Library. I'll be sure to show you when it arrives!

And I'm sure I'll be adding some more green plants too! 
Do you crave houseplants in January? Do you miss the twinkle lights?