Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Family Room: Painting Progress

When we first moved in to our new house, I knew that I wanted our main living area (i.e.: family room) to be bright.  We have 3 floor-to-ceiling windows and 1 french door and I wanted to take advantage of this sun-filled room (despite it being north facing).  I thought what a great opportunity to paint it Benjamin Moore White Dove.  This is my all-time favorite 'white' and I have used it in our last two houses.

If you remember here, I complained about the mango colored family room.  Below is a "Before" picture from the realtor's listing.

Before (Realtor's Picture)


And, here is what it looks like today (still tons of progress to be made), but you can see the difference of what a little paint (BM White Dove) can do.  **We only painted the walls and not the built ins**

After (Progress)


From the time we moved in, I have been so excited about the potential of this room.  It's obvious strengths are the fireplace flanked by the built-ins and, of course, the natural lighting.  My initial plan was to purchase all new furniture (sofa, club chairs, etc.), so much so, that I had picked out the pieces and fabrics.  But, with more thought I decided to hold off on the purchases;  with a two year old and six year old doing laps around our house, perhaps waiting a year or two is not a bad idea.

To date, the only things I have purchased for this room are the pillows to tie in the blue from sofa, linen from the slipper chairs and the red from the brick fireplace.


Oh, and I also purchased the round black mirror from target.


It is obvious that this room is far from complete - we want to renovate the fireplace (traditional with white molding), get window treatments, new furniture, install new lighting, etc., but we're making progress.   Despite this room being far from complete, I am really enjoying the process and just really happy with what a little paint and new pillows can do to a room!!

Sources: Sofa Pillows, Chair Pillows and Mirror.


15 comments:

  1. What a fresh and bright room! You are smart to hold off on purchasing new furniture--not that I have children--because having been a child myself I know furniture takes a beating with little kids. Nothing wrong with taking a little time!

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  2. This looks beautiful! I love how you styled the bookcases and fireplace, what a difference! Have you considered arranging the furniture so that the couch faces the fireplace with the chairs flanking the fireplace? Nice job.

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  3. The paint job has already made such a difference. And I love that you decided to hold off on the new furniture purchases. Taking your time always pays off.

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  4. It looks great. The paint made a huge difference. The room is much more crisp now. I actually think with the new paint the fireplace looks great as is. Looking forward to seeing what window treatments you select.

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  5. Natural light is awesome, isn't it? That's one thing that I totally love about my house...so much light! It looks so much fresher/cleaner in there with the white on the walls. Great job thus far. Can't wait to see this room's transformation! I have those same Target chairs. Sitting in one right now. :)

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  6. Looks great, Fran!! Love that black mirror from Tar-jay!

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  7. Hi Fran,
    Found you via your comment on Nine&Sixteen. Your family room looks so pretty and fresh with the new coat of paint. I love it. I am almost finished painting my dark kitchen cabinets in White Dove and I can't believe how much prettier they look with that one simple change...and how much it elevates my spirits to be in there now. Looking forward to seeing your progress. You have really great taste!

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  8. What a huge difference that white paint made! Along with some lovely styling and my favorite round mirror. (Love the fern and brass candlesticks on the fireplace too!)

    And boy do I ever understand the need to wait for the furniture. We finally just reupholstered an arm chair in the living room with super durable navy fabric. And I still do a hand check before I let my kids sit on it! We also just got a new white slipcovered sofa, and I've been pretty happy with how it washes up. But I don't think I could have lived with one when my girls were toddlers...

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  9. Great call on the white paint. I was so afraid to paint our family room white but with a big south facing window the light is amazing in there all day, which is great because the rest of the house is pretty dark.

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  10. Love what some paint can do! The room feels so fresh wrapped in white, and your styling is great with the bold mirror (and I like that wooden tray on the built-ins too). I hear you on waiting for nicer furniture. Hard to wait but probably smart in a house with a toddler!

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  11. Looks so fresh and I love how your room is coming together.
    pve

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  13. Fran,
    Just wanted to let you know I sent off your package yesterday.
    Should arrive by the end of the week,
    pve

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  14. Just found your blog this morning from Cottage & Vine and I LOVE your style! I also noticed I have the same lamps from this post next to your couch. I just bought two for our master bedroom. xo

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