Top

Shine Your Light

/ Our Home Before & Afters

Family Room Makeover | One Room Challenge Reveal!

I’m proud to be partnering with Raymour & Flanigan for the One Room Challenge and share my honest opinion and experience with you!

 

 

The day has finally come my friends! There is nothing quite like the six week One Room Challenge to finally get done what you’ve been dreaming of doing to your home. I can’t tell you how happy I am to pull this room together and make it a space we really love to be in and  am beyond thrilled to partner with Raymour & Flanigan on this makeover!

If you’re new here, a quick recap from week one…

After living in two new, spacious and perfectly lovely houses when our kids were small, we decided to downsize when our oldest was eleven so that we could do less mortgage paying and more living before our munchkins grew up. I desperately wanted a fixer upper that we could make our own through the years – I can’t tell you how many houses on the market I rejected because they were “too nice”, welcome to Mark’s world! – and somehow managed to talk him into a basic 80s-era house with good bones but in need of a lot of updating. It’s been a slow and steady crawl versus a sprint, but we’re getting there one project at a time!

Our family room makeover

I’ve worked on our family room before, and it wasn’t in bad shape, but our furniture has seen three kids grow through the years and weathered our old sweet but slobbery Saint Bernard. The couch frame cracked when someone (“wasn’t me!!!”) catapulted onto it and the DIY fix I attempted wasn’t working too well. I also reupholstered two big club chairs myself and while I gave it my best shot, let’s just say it turns out reupholstering might not be my calling in life. We got our money’s worth from the furniture and art in this room and it was majorly time for an upgrade!!

Here’s what this room looked like when we moved here eight years ago….

When we bought our home the interior was covered in peach paint.

….and most recently I had given the fireplace a facelift and painted the room white, but everything was starting to look and feel tired in here (and I was so exhausted from looking at the same art for 20 years that one day I just took it down and didn’t put anything back up…for months 🙂 ).

 

Overall the color palette of our family room has stayed the same, but wow!! It’s amazing how  better fitting furniture, new moulding and some restyling can make a space feel! Here it is after six weeks of the ORC……

Another recent before……

….and after.

 

If you’ve followed along on this room makeover you know I was beside myself to find the very sofa I had been dreaming of for this space at Raymour & Flanigan! I was all set to go with a neutral sofa when last minute I checked online and discovered this beauty! Oh I love her!! She is everything I hoped she would be, long, lean, durable, and oh so comfortable!

This is the Griffon sofa in navy chenille, so incredibly soft, with plenty of room to stretch out!!

The back is low, and my family was concerned it wasn’t going to be comfortable, but it’s the perfect canvas for comfy throw pillows.

This room is all about subtle texture, which gives a monochromatic color palette a little interest. Velvet, linen, macrame, natural materials, nubby textures, all so good together.

The rug is an ivory braided jute that has tons of color variations and is reversible. Jute is hard wearing and the braided aspect means it won’t show traffic patterns like a boucle looped jute rug does.

I took a poll about sconces and these sunbursts were hands down the favorite!! The only part of this room makeover I did not DIY was installing electrical boxes on this wall and having these  plug in lights hardwired to a dimmer switch.

I mentioned in a previous post that one of my big setbacks was realizing a canvas print I had custom ordered (read:  non-returnable!) was too small for this wall, so I had to scramble to come up with a plan B!

The painting was inspired by this photo I took on our dream trip to Hawaii with our kids a few years ago (you can find the tutorial for a wood mounted photo here!) I’ll share more about this project next week.

I really love to decorate our house with things that are meaningful and remind us of beautiful places we’ve been blessed to see in this world!

I also obviously have a love of coastal, blue and white (going all the way back to the blue and white rose wallpaper my mom let me pick out when I was a kid!), lots of natural elements and a big dose of live green plants. To me this calm and neutral background counterbalances all the CRAZY that is real life 🙂 – and also lends itself to changing things up easily throughout the year!

In the front of the room I have two slipcovered Willowick chairs that are big and insanely cozy for reading a book or watching TV. I got these specifically because this is our family room and the name of the game in here is to make this room a casual, comfortable space that everyone will gravitate to!

This is my new favorite corner in the mornings when the sun streams in!

I like that the arm is similar to the sofa arm but the skirt breaks up all the exposed legs in the room.

These fringed cotton throws are lightweight and perfect for summer!

The view from the foyer is much improved (do you spy the one thing that’s missing?)

The abstract art in the bookcase is by Amira Rahim, an amazing artist whose colorful, joyful work I first saw on Instagram. This piece could not be more perfect for my room!

So here we are at the missing piece – the cabinet doors on the bookcases next to the fireplace! They are all ready to be installed, but I bought the wrong hinges, and ran out of time to install them with the correct ones. I’ll update this post today once they are on – this is seriously one of my favorite parts of the room makeover!

While the marble tile on the surround has lots of the same hues as the rug, the herringbone tile on the hearth is slightly more grey, but I like texture and variation of neutral tones.

If you’re interested in doing your fireplace over, read about how I tiled over our brick surround and raised brick hearth.

On the windows I stayed with my favorite white linen curtains but doubled them up for fullness,  using two panels on one side of each window to frame out the chairs.

I love how unlined linen filters the natural light.

Across from the windows is the half wall that separates the family room from the entrance from our garage. I have to install one last piece of crown up there,

The Emelio Settee is so perfect on this wall!! The entrance into the room is on an angle and with the long sofa, I needed something that wasn’t bulky.

I had seen this cute little armless loveseat in a Lonny photo and thought it was so charming!

Besides replacing the furniture, rug and art, and adding the doors to the built in bookcases, the other major component to this room makeover was giving this space some character with mouldings.

I replaced the standard old baseboards with 5″ board with cove moulding, added full wall battens around the room, and topped it all off with crown moulding.

I had already installed crown around the top of the built-ins and fireplace when I did this all over a couple years ago, and this time around I added it to the rest of the room.

This pilaster (a column attached to the wall) mimics the column of the half wall and also separates the family room from the garage entrance; a natural transition to ending the full wall battens.

Excuse these grainy hallway photos – the light from the bathroom and the slider make this a tricky area to photograph! – but here you can see a couple of the pictures from our family travels that I framed for last year’s One Room Challenge bathroom makeover. I traded them with the nautical maps and love the bit of color on this wall!

The view when you walk in from the garage.

Thank you so much for following along on this six week adventure with me!! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the comments and feedback through this challenge, and it was so fun to share the process with you!

Special thanks to Linda Weinstein, creator and organizer of the One Room Challenge with media partner House Beautiful, who does so much to organize this bi-annual event, communicate with participants and help us all to keep the process running smoothly!

MY ONE ROOM CHALLENGE SPONSOR

Raymour & Flanigan has been such a champion of Bloggers Heart Habitat and I am truly grateful and proud to partner with a company that is so incredibly supportive of the local community. I LOVE their products and great price points – there is something for everyone in their stores as evidenced by my navy chesterfield dream come true! – and the entire staff I’ve had the pleasure of working with from sales to customer service to delivery has been fantastic. I can’t recommend this company enough! Thank you Raymour & Flanigan!

Also, a huge shout out to EMCO Electric who installed my family room lights and a myriad of other electrical projects in this outdated 80s abode. They are incredibly responsive, honest, tidy and are pros! Check out their website or find them on Facebook if you’re in the metrowest Boston area.

 

You can find the sources for everything in this room right here!

 

Cheers to all my ORC comrades who finished rooms this round – we made it to the end of this marathon! Congrats to all!

 

Check out all the room reveals here, there are so many amazing spaces and talented people out there! Have a great weekend ahead and thanks again for your support and kindness!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  2. Sheila says

    Lisa, the room looks absolutely gorgeous! It is so fresh – it was pretty before – but this is like a facelift! And I love all the blue and white – it seems so you!

    Congrats on an amazing job sweet friend!

    Sheila
    xo

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you Sheila! It’s so nice to have a whole room done at once (for the most part) isn’t it?? I normally would have dragged this out forever! Hope you’re enjoying your beautiful new office!

      Reply

  3. Kate Smith says

    It looks gorgeous Lisa! I love how it all came together! The navy sofa is to die for, and the sconces look perfect next to your new artwork! Congratulations!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you so much Kate! It was fun doing this alongside you and seeing your progress each week! Hope you’re enjoying your new bedroom!

      Reply

  6. Jessica Devlin says

    Jaw dropping litterally. That before and after is amazing! Love the trimwork detail too!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you Jessica! The woodworking is my favorite part – I wish I had an endless budget for lumber so I could install it everywhere! Hope you are enjoying your beautiful new space!

      Reply

  7. Emy says

    Lisa, you did such a great job in here! I hope you’re sitting in there relaxing, admiring your work. 😉 I have major sofa envy now! And sconce envy too. Such a gorgeous room!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Emy thank you so much! We are enjoying it – so nice to have it all done! (Well almost, I still have to finish my cabinet doors!) Love how your fun kitchen came out, and those countertops!! Amazing.

      Reply

  8. Susie says

    Beautiful and comfortable! Love your vision and all of the details. I still have the scones bookmarked for later. They are fab with your artwork. I hope your family gathers in this room and makes great memories. There’s nothing better than the kids coming home from college on holidays. It will be amazing in this room! Congrats on an awesome makeover. ~~ Susie from The Chelsea Project

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you for all your encouragement and kind words Susie! It is definitely the room we all hang out in the most and it’s nice to have a lot of seating in here!

      Reply

  9. Julia@Cuckoo4Design says

    It is so so pretty Lisa! I’m so in love with that sofa. You really outdid yourself.

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thanks Monica! Calm and soothing counterbalances all the chaos of this kooky family! 🙂 I loved your room too, sooooo beautiful!

      Reply

  11. Sarah says

    Oh Lisa this is absolutely beautiful! Major blue and white crush here. This might be my favorite of your ORCs rooms yet! The wood molding, new furniture & that painting pull the room together! Way to go my friend! Xoxo, Sarah

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you so much Sarah! You are too kind! We are enjoying this refreshed space, it was a long time coming. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! xo

      Reply

  12. Debbie - MountainMama says

    I’M IN LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh Lisa the room came together so perfectly and THOSE SCONCES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, drooling all over my keyboard here!!!! What a perfect room, you must be absolutely thrilled with the results!!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Debbie your comment made my day!! Thank you so much!! We are so happy to have it all done and really love our new furniture – it so much more cozy and not falling apart like our former pieces! The sconces are fun – I’m glad I went with them after all! Have a great weekend sweet friend! xx

      Reply

  14. Jennifer Griffin says

    Lisa, you did it!! I absolutely love how your room all came together. I bet that gorgeous sofa is everyone’s favorite new spot! Everything from your wall detail to the textiles to the artwork to the furniture selection is just gorgeous. Well done friend, kick your feet up and enjoy your space!!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thanks Jennifer! We are loving the sofa, even more than anticipated! It’s super comfy with throw pillows and yes – a great place to kick my feet up! Congrats to you as well, Emily’s room came out so beautifully!! Lucky little lady!

      Reply

    • Lisa says

      Lauren thank you as always for your kind comment!! So glad this room is done! Now I can get back to life! Hope you have a great weekend.

      Reply

  19. Carli says

    Lisa!!!!!! This looks amazing!!! Oh my goodness! I am in love!!!! So many beautiful details! Will definitely be pinning for inspiration!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you Rachael!! I’m so glad it’s done (or almost done!) Congrats to you too – can’t wait to see your new sweetie!

      Reply

  22. Vel says

    This room is definitely DONE now Lisa!!!! Love it! I love that it feels relaxed and comfy, but still so pretty! The painting with the sconces and that griffin sofa are all the perfect trifecta on that wall!!! I am sure this room will be filled even more with many more happy memories! Congrats my dear! ?

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thanks so much Shelley! I really do enjoy the woodworking aspect of it, none of my work is perfect but it gets a little better with each project I do! Hope you are enjoying your beautiful new room!

      Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you so much Laura! I’m so glad to have it all done instead of my usual dragging out of a room makeover forever!

      Reply

  25. Michelle @ Eamonn & Jack says

    Wow – Your room is incredible!! I came together so beautifully! I’m super impressed with your skills – I think I’m too afraid to DIY moulding – math and angles aren’t my friends! Major kudos to you for doing it yourself!

    I love the colours you chose and your art is stunning!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Michelle math and angles aren’t my friends either!! It’s kind of funny that I ended up with this love of woodworking and I still struggle so much with wrapping my brain around how to cut certain pieces. It all takes me probably 10x as long as a professional but I’ve learned a bit here and there and with each project I do it gets easier. If I can do that so can you! Board and batten is a great into DIY carpentry project because it’s all straight cuts – once you get a feel for it you’d be addicted too! Give it a try sometime, it’s truly so gratifying when it’s done like you must feel about your kitchen tile! It looks amazing, you did such a great job!

      Reply

  26. Julie S says

    It looks soooo wonderful! I totally did not see that art as a DIY and I usually can, nice going. I’m in love with your stylish navy sofa and those sconces (as is just about everyone, I gather)! All that moulding you added must have eaten up the hours but man is it worth it. Super work, what a project.

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thanks so much Julie! Yes I did spend eons on the moulding over several weeks but I do love figuring it all out, so gratifying when it’s done! I appreciate your kind comments through this challenge, many thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  27. betsy says

    You are amazing . I can’t believe all that you did in this short time to create such a beautiful and inviting space — All the while running to baseball, lax, family events and of course working out! Great job – looking forward to sipping some…coffee in the new family room with you soon.

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you so much Jessica! The woodworking is my favorite part of any project, I’m already thinking about what to do next. Hope you are enjoying your gorgeous new studio!

      Reply

  29. Claire Anderson says

    What a beautifully relaxing room…I could really imagine sitting there on a quiet Sunday afternoon. The dappled shade coming through the linen curtains is lovely. Well done!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you so much Claire! I do love that spot by the windows when the sun streams in. And a quiet Sunday afternoon sounds nice after the past six weeks of crazy! 🙂

      Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you so much Vicki and Jenn! I loved your blue and white bathroom too, so pretty and would fit in so well in my house! 🙂

      Reply

  31. Linda says

    Lisa wow! You hit this makeover out of the park!!! I’m in love with all the gorgeous textures and pretty blues! And of course, all the woodwork is fantastic!

    Reply

  32. Kim says

    I just love it – it’s my absolute favorite of all the ORC projects. I am a blue and white fan, too. Can I ask how comfortable the settee is? I’ve been considering it for our office/sewing room, however, I need it to be comfy! Thanks!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Oh my gosh Kim, thank you! That is so nice to say! The settee is comfortable! It has a firmer seat, which is nice if you need a doing a task (I sit there with my laptop for example). The back is like a pillow, really comfy to sit upright (not necessarily the kind of piece you would lay on with a good book anyway). This fabric feels like a chintz, smooth and tight, vs. the twill fabric on the chairs that is brushed. (Does that make any sense? 🙂 ) I really like it and would order it again. It comes in a bunch of other fabrics at Raymour & Flanigan – there is a really pretty cream with blue medallion one I loved too!! Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words!

      Reply

  35. Tee at Beauteeful Living says

    Such a beautiful living room, Lisa! I especially love the artwork, that new sofa, and the fireplace. This looks like such a relaxing space and the decor will definitely stand the test of time. Congrats on a job well done! Xo

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thanks so much Tee! It was definitely a labor of love but we spend so much time in here, it was worth every second. So glad to be done!

      Reply

  36. Cristina says

    Oh yes, give me all the trim work! Lisa, you totally nailed this room… I LOVE it!! The board and batten, the crown, the color palette, the new furniture… The list goes on and on. It’s beautiful! Oh, that view from the garage ?

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you Cristina! It’s a dream to have it all done (almost!) within 6 weeks…..I usually drag room makeovers out over years! 🙂

      Reply

  37. Lisa says

    My bedroom is a dark blue also, and I love it – like you said, so cozy at night! Thank you so much for stopping by to see this reveal and for your kind comment! I appreciate it so much!

    Reply

  38. Jen @ Noting Grace says

    I’m agog! This room is so beautiful! It has been completely transformed into a gorgeous, cozy space and I adore that hue of blue! Congrats on a stunning reveal! It’s a jaw dropper!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      You are so sweet – thanks so much for this kind comment Jen!! We are enjoying it so much, it was a long overdue room refresh! Hope your son is loving his new space!!

      Reply

  39. Dara says

    Lisa you are amazing! I’m blown away by your woodworking skills. And that blue couch is so dreamy! Your art is gorgeous too! This whole room came together so perfectly! A great space for your family! Huge congrats on this room!!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Dara thank you so much! My woodworking is far from perfect but if you close one eye and squint with the other, it’s not too bad! 🙂 I loved your room(s!) too!

      Reply

    • Lisa says

      Oh thank you so much Kim! I agree….sometimes a space just evolves and it’s good to be flexible with the direction it takes!

      Reply

  43. Susanne says

    Lisa your room turned out gorgeous!!! I am in love with that blue sofa and those chairs and that settee!! I love all the texture you added into the space it is so comfy and inviting. Congratulations on a beautiful makeover!!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Susanne thank you so much! The settee has been the big surprise piece that everyone loves for some reason – it’s so comfortable. Hope you are enjoying your refreshed bathroom!

      Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you so much Jenny! It’s so nice to have it all done……I usually drag my feet with a room for a good year or two!

      Reply