Dream Family (Room)

Nope.  No exciting announcements.  (As if the blog is the place we’d first announce a dream in the oven?!)

Just another little Then & Now action for you… the Dream Family room.  As we’ve mentioned before, the family room is an extension of our kitchen – a lovely feature that was on our “must” list while Dream shopping.  We’ve already told you how we had a design challenge on our hands with our color schemes and how we’ve tied the rooms together with some A-list-Pottery-Barn-esque fabric.  So, here is what we were working with…

then

now

Everything is different, except for the flooring.  Which wasn’t hard because the house was empty and the walls were white!  The hubs did a great job installing a new ceiling fan that actually matches our decor…

you can see the box valances found their way into this room as well...

ah, yes, the cork collection grows. but do you notice anything different?

We opted to switch out the white frames you previously saw for brown so these photos tie in better with…

this collection of photos from our France trip that flank our tv

All of these frames are from Ikea — steals for $5 (5×7) and $10 (8×10).  We’re sticklers for cohesiveness and flow… while these may not be the best quality, nobody’s going to get too close… they perfectly serve their purpose for now.

And now for the rest of the highlights:

There’s still a lot to do…

• Clearly, we’re in need of a “real” coffee table!
• We’d love to put an area rug under said coffee table – but two smelly, drooly Bulldogs make that seem unlikely
• Eventually, we’ll replace the off-white leather (hand-me-downs-of-which-we-are-so-grateful) furniture with brown leather — easier to keep clean and will better match our aesthetic tastes
• Next up: painting the ceilings the same color as the walls (Colonial Buff by Sherwin Williams) and adding CROWN MOLDING!  Can’t wait!  We think that’s going to take the room to a whole new level.

We did not pay full price for ONE thing in this room (YAY!). Most of it we had before and moved with us into the Dream, but here’s a rundown so you can see where we spend our time NOT paying full price:

• Couch, love seat, chair, ottoman – hand-me-downs from the parents
• Media cabinet – consignment store (My Sister’s Attic)
• TV – gift
• Bar – Craig’s List
• Lamps by couch – from a woman who is dealer for a big-furniture-chain – she advertised on Craig’s List and now we’re on her “list” (!)  More exciting finds to come from that… 🙂
• Lamp behind chair – we’ve had the stand forever, but scored a new shade at a charity auction for $5
• C&B Wicker side table – charity auction (retails for $90, we got it for $12)
• Tile side table – My Sister’s Attic
• Frames – Ikea
• Photos in frames – taken ourselves on our trip to France
• Clock – Holland Boone, using a gift certificate from our wedding
• Globe – Marshall’s/Home Goods
• Black vases – Costco (with a coupon)
• Throw – TJ Maxx
• Pillow – self-made
• Valance – self-made
• Blinds – Home Depot (with coupon)
• Curtains and rod – Ikea

Oh yeah, we feel g-o-o-d about that!