Family Room: Take Two

Are you sick of looking at pictures of my family room?  Wait..Don't answer that!  Because I have a few more to show you.  In my last post, I told you I was contemplating what to do about the behemoth plaid chair and coffee table that were totally outdated and didn't go with the current decor.  And by contemplating, I mean I stewed about it non stop.  I can really smother a project.  It's not like I don't have anything else to worry about.  My kids had to audacity to ask for dinner sometimes...little did they know I was stressing over a big ugly chair.  They are so selfish...



Any who,  over the weekend, the chair went bye-bye!  I found this lovely one at Down East Home and my mom and I hauled it home.  

Next up was the ottoman.  After much soul searching, I decided that I needed to go with a brown leather ottoman instead of the other choices, namely, a red leather one or a burlap looking upholstered number from Target.  I got the new ottoman at Sweet Briar Hollow.  My only concern was the fact that it was a large square instead of a rectangle.  I didn't know if it looked right in the room.  But once we moved the armoire, it looked more centered and balanced.

After having it my home for less than 24 hours, I was convinced I made the right choice.  The kids have been playing King of the Mountain on it.  Sammie has been doing gymnastics all over it and three kids can lay on it to watch tv (which is why I wanted an ottoman instead of a coffee table.) 

The thing looks indestructible and my house is the perfect place to test its durability.

The whole space finally feels DONE.  What a relief.  We had to move the armoire over to the right about a foot so my large family photo had to be moved to the other wall by the hutch.  My dad already helped me hang it.

Now, I sit in the room and marvel at how much better it looks.  Now you all can go ahead and tell me how much better it looks!  I'm waiting....

Paint Reveal and Furniture Quandary

If you remember, I got my main living area painted back in June. The dark tan color has been a huge improvement to the light yellow I had been living with for the last ten years. I had my painter paint my armoire black and a little sofa table black for me as well. And I got some lamps and a little table for next to my green chair. Finally, I got my family pictures made into canvases (thank you Groupon!) and hung some other things on the walls that had been sitting around for ages.

Here is the before of the paint in the kitchen:



And the after:


 

Here is the armoire before it got painted (the wood felt too light with my dark wood floors):

Remember this huge chandelier canvas Ashley bought at TJ Maxx in California and I was so jealous?

Well, An exact copy showed up on my door at Christmas time from a very generous friend.  It finally found a home over my stairs:

Here is what my house looked like in the process...check out the old yellow color.  (Thank you to some very kind men in my ward (David, Tyler, and Jamie) who came over and moved all of my crap to the middle of the room)

Thank you to my dad for hanging everything. He holds himself out as a master hanger. He is a perfectionist and wouldn't rest until he was convinced everything was perfect. He also loves to curse the "Phi Beta Kappas" who put the frames together the wrong way:

The Finished living room (I moved the pictures of my kids to that wall because I added the one of Buster):

Back to the family room.  The question is--What do I do about the big plaid chair and the coffee table?

Neither one goes with my currect decor. Recovering the big chair will cost as much as getting a new one. Is it worth it recovering it because it is huge and two people can sit in it? Or do I spring for a cute one like this:

 

What about the coffee table? My kids lay on it to watch tv. I would love a big, soft ottoman instead. I saw this one on Target.com for about 300 bones. (Don't worry..If I do that chair, I won't do this ottoman.)

 Pretty great deal. Would they thrash it? My friend has a huge square red leather one..would that be a better option?

Talk to me people.

My Window Got the Treatment

Behold the new window treatment in my kitchen:



My kitchen window has looked like this for the last 9 years.



I have always hated how the window stopped about 18 inches from the ceiling (Brian Apsley are you reading this?) Anyway, I found some cute fabric at Joanne's and my amazing friend Heidi whipped it up.

I know you are wondering who this uber talented Heidi is. Remember this wreath from by birthday?



Heidi made that too.

Heidi and I met about 5 years ago when I was YW's president in my ward and she was in the Stake YW's presidency. We became fast friends. Now I am in cub scouts (Heaven help me!) and she is Stake YW's president (Heaven help her more!) I am constantly amazed at her many talents. Not only is she one of the smartest women I know, she is insanely talented in the home decor/craftiness department. In case you don't know me in real life--that gene skipped me.

I forced Heidi to pose in front of the valence for a picture. She is slowly going to make my house cute:



So Heidi not only sewed that valence, she brought her drill over and installed it too. Then I mentioned that I would have to get my blinds down sometime and she climbed back up on the counter and took them down. That is what I love about her. She thinks about doing something and does it. I think about doing something for 9 years and do nothing about it.

I can't stop staring at my window. I love it so much. Heidi also bought some chairs at IKEA and had a lady sew slipcovers for them. So of course, I had to copy her. I special ordered this fabric from Joanne's too.



Sam recovered my kitchen chairs in the same fabric. Here is the before and after:





I had the same lady make me some pillows:



And I bought new plates for my hutch (Heidi also gave me the glass dome on the middle shelf):



Today Heidi brought me over a Family Home Evening kit with this awesome book of easy lessons--perfect for my kids.



And just so I don't put her on too much of a pedestal, I have to remind myself that she was the cause of some major Eater's Remorse a couple years ago.

Don't you all wish Heidi was your friend too?

The Nester Would be Proud

I'm throwing a baby shower on Saturday morning and for the food table, I'm using a red table cloth with white polka dots.


I needed a cream color plate stand to put my polka dot plates on. I found an old metal one in the basement--totally not cute--wish I had a picture. I took it out back and spray painted it cream.


With plates:


When I got done with that, I was so excited I grabbed this picture off my wall. I've always hated the goldish frame.


I sprayed that too. I'm not loving the cream but I think it is an improvement:


Now I'm wandering my house looking for other stuff to spray. Someone stop me.