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Bringing Change to The Family Room

mantel scape for fall

My last post ended with a wide shot of our family room. A picture I hardly ever take, because truth is, I didn't like how our family room looked for the past several years.

The fireplace is the area that I'm always changing and it's the only spot I like to decorate in this room. Of course, that's all you usually got to see of this room.

But, let me tell you a bit more about this room:

It was a blank space when we moved in many years ago, but I immediately installed wall frames on all the walls and painted the walls a dark green and the inside of the frames a lighter green.
Years later, when the kitchen was updated, I also gave the family room a mini makeover bringing the fireplace all the way up, creating a tv wall and two bookcases I found on Craiglist that were perfect to display and store stuff.
You can see that first makeover right Here.

Well, things haven't changed much all this time, as you can see in the picture below, which is how this room looked two weeks ago.


The thing is, our family room is the space where we love to hang out and I thought that probably was the reason why this room always looked messy.

However, as soon as I sat down to see how to update this room, I noticed that the biggest factor in the overall messy look of this room was the lack of storage, followed closely by not having a cohesive plan with the furnishings.

I had two bookcases, one on each side of the sofa. But, when I found this sideboard, the bookcase went to another room and the sideboard stayed here making the overall look of this side of the room unbalanced. And I'm not even talking about the art on the walls! Whatever is removed from other rooms, ends up in here. :/

the before of a family room transformation

Instead of books, the bookcase held china and ceramic pieces I use to decorate around the house. The collection keeps on growing and I'm running out of space!

dark brown wall behind tv

The tv wall kind of works, but I don't like that the mister never hid the cables, and neither I like having to see the mounting hardware from its side.

THE PLAN
baseboard and trim removed for wall in preparation for built-ins

A wall of built-ins.
Given that the main issue we were having in this room was the lack of storage, I decided to use this left side to accommodate an entire wall of shelves.

As you see, I already removed everything, furnishings, baseboard, moldings...

family room built-ins paper plans - remodelando la casa

And this is the plan I drew for the roughly 17 x 9 feet area.

The tv is gonna take center stage here. The four other shelves are the ones to contain all the vases, ceramic pieces, and all the stuff that kept on lingering around the room.

UPDATE: This project was crossed off the to-do list and here are the links to all the work done to bring that built-in unit to life:
Here are the links to all the work done for this project:
The Fireplace

I don't think I'm going to have time to change it in the small amount of time I have...  I'm giving myself a timeline of about 5 weeks or better yet, I want to finish the built-ins before Christmas! :)
The only thing I'll probably do is give the fireplace a good coat of paint and decorate it for the holidays.

The other side, where the tv used to be, it's going to be the space for the new sofa.

What remains is the decorative part... Wall art, side & coffee tables, rug, curtains, etc. I haven't settled on many of these items. Right now I'm set on finishing the built-ins because that's the biggest and messiest job.

I need to find a good sofa, that's the other necessity in this room. The small love seat we're using was a quick solution when our big sofa got damaged. Ha, we've been living with it for almost a year now!
I would love to hear your suggestions for an 85" long sofa.

Thanks in advance!

Now, back to work. Happy Halloween!


For more Home DIY decor ideas check these out:

how to install board and batten

a dark buffet is transformed with paint

Moldings used to upgrade a builder's grade kitchen



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10 comments :

  1. Wow, this is going to be amazing. I can't wait to see it all come together. Your drawing of the wall unit is wonderful, great storage and display space. You totally amaze me with your talent.

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    1. Thanks so much, Marty! I need lots of space for all those goodies. :D

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  2. There you go again, about to create something amazing!!

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  3. I am super excited about this, as I also want a wall of similar built-ins around a window. I've asked for a Kreg kit for Christmas, so I'll be following closely!

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    Replies
    1. Oh, you're gonna love your Kreg jig! That was the first tool I bought when I had to build a little shelf. :D
      Ha, the rest is history! I'm using my Kreg to put together these built-ins, so it's kind of a similar project.
      Thanks for following up!

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  4. I like your plan for adding a wall of built-ins. I recently bought a new 85" sofa and I love it! I double-checked and the store I bought it from (Jerome's) is only in So Cal so that's not helpful for you.

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  5. Thanks SO much, Nancy!! I checked their page and yes, beautiful sofas and the prices are GREAT! But, they don't deliver here. 😢

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  6. Oh wow! The plans look fabulous. What an amazing family room you'll have for Christmas. So excited for you! ~~

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  7. Last year I purchased a couch online from Interior Define and I was so happy with the whole experience. It did take about 12 weeks since it was a custom order, but they were great at communicating with me and I am so pleased with the quality of the couch. They have free fabric samples that you can order which really helped me see how the fabric choices worked with other colors and things in the room.
    I love your work and can't wait to see what you'll do with your family room!
    Jennie

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