Thursday, September 4, 2014

[ family room before and after ]

TODAY I thought I'd give you a little peek at my family room. This is the BEFORE when we viewed the house with the seller's furniture...


As you can see, their taste was quite traditional. But it's a great family room addition that they added on and the windows on three sides flood the room with such beautiful light. {It's amazing how big this room looks in these realtor photos ~ those wide angle lenses they use are deceiving!}

I started out by painting over the yellow walls with Benjamin Moore Cloud White CC-40 ~ a warm white that provides just a bit of contrast from the white trim. In some photos, it almost looks the same as the original walls but trust me, that yellow is GONE! My thought was to paint the room more of a pure white, but then we bought this new slipcovered sofa that was a bit more of a warm white so that dictated the colour {it's also the same colour I painted the kitchen}...


I absolutely love this Rowe sofa ~ what a difference from the Laura Ashley fiasco we purchased in Dubai and I didn't have to sew my own slipcover for it! Bonus!

Here is how the room looks now {without a wide angle lens!}...


It's been fun unwrapping our things from storage and combining them with items from Dubai and a few new pieces. Those of you who have been around for a while will recognize bits and pieces. We spend most of our time in this room and so far are loving how cozy it feels, while still feeling fresh.


We picked up two of these gorgeous chairs from Muskoka Living in Port Carling...


I love how they fit in so well without being bulky, still have the slipcovered look and add warmth with the wooden frame. They're down-filled so they're super comfy. Because the sofa is big in this space, I'm glad I didn't choose the matching slipcovered armchairs ~ it would have felt too heavy and crowded.

Now we just need to address the fireplace situation. We decided to put the tv above the fireplace since there really wasn't any other logical spot for it. I think I may want to frame it out somehow so that it doesn't look like a big black rectangle on the wall.

But first, the biggest question is... should I paint out the fireplace in the white trim colour?


I'm leaning a certain way but it's always fun to hear what you think!

lisa

9 comments:

Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...

Sorry too many typos in my last comment. Let me try this again! Your family room looks really beautiful!! Love the pops of aqua/turquoise with all the white!! I would definitely paint the fireplace and book shelves white. Maybe paint the backs of the shelves a soft blue? To make the TV not stand out so much I would look for a rectangular vintage box to place under it. You could place faux succulents or low candles inside and it would be fun to change out seasonally with mini pumpkins, pine cones etc. You could also place something tall on each end of the mantel such as topiary trees or candle sticks or finials. That's my two cents worth!

Carolyn@Sweet Chaos Home said...

Love your beautiful family room! So soothing and relaxing. I'd say paint the fireplace, but then, I'm sitting here with my dark paneled fireplace wall that I haven't been able to bring myself to paint :)

Barbara Matson said...

Yes! Paint that fireplace!!! And love how your house is coming together!

Razmataz said...

I love this room and especially the new chairs. I would paint the fireplace.

Leanne said...

Paint it! :) Love this room...I haven't made it over to Muskoka Living yet. Most of my Rafters co-workers worked there at some point. You must be so happy to be "home" :) xoxo

All things nice... said...

Lisa,

Great to see some photos from your new home, love the living room and those new chairs. I would paint the fireplace and perhaps change the tiles at the back. Here in Ireland we rarely have tile as surrounds on our fireplaces, we have actual inserts which I personally find look more elegant and stylish. I bet whatever you do with it though, it will look well with your good style ideas :)

All things nice...

SmartyJonesSD said...

Me too..I vote to paint it because it conflicts/competes with the color of the wood flooring. But I'm also not on the 'clean white' side of the spectrum when it comes to certain bolder pieces. So I would paint it a contrast color, for kicks. Just my two cents worth..If its not what you want, just paint again..We know how you LOVE to paint...haha...

Anne-Marie @ 10 Rooms said...

Welcome back to cottage country! Such a beautiful space.
I would paint that fireplace, but I throw paint on anything the isn't moving, lol. The big question is, do you like the surround? Because it will really be highlighted if the woodwork is white…
Beautiful home, Lisa - you have such a lovely fresh style. x

Karen Smith said...

Beautiful, Lisa! Yep, paint it out but I see it not solid/immaculate but with sanded edges for a aged/worn/antiqued effect.
Can't wait for further installments on this beautiful house. You are very lucky.

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