So, Here is the Family Room...

...also known as the Macaroni and Cheese Room for obvious reasons. The redecorating of this room started more than a year ago when we ripped up a hearth that took up all the room that is not tiled (floor to ceiling!)--it was four feet deep and it was all for that little gas-that-looks-like-wood-burning stove. Then Superman had to travel a lot for work and we stopped. I shoved the shelves in place before he got to finish the drywall and it remained that way until very recently. Now, we've added the price of orange paint to our cost, so we're still doing pretty well. Next, we'll add ceramic tile to finish up the floor. (We debated replacing the flooring with something else, but the great flood quickly changed our minds...ceramic tile came through just fine!) After that, I think we'll be done.

This is where we are so far:

This is the view from the doorway and I think I'm pretty pleased (finally) with the furniture layout. To your left is the desk from upstairs and it is my desk. (This kids used to have a desk that ran along the left wall, but we shifted everything to get my desk into this room.) The couch is where the television used to be.


My desk still has piles of stuff on it and around it that I need to a) find a place for or b) get rid of. I'm hoping I'll be able to go with b) get rid of and I've committed to myself that there will be no stashing or stuffing. I must touch the stuff and consciously deal with it.

The television was moved to the corner and placed on the corner unit that lived in our bedroom (even though we no longer had a television in there). As you can see, Superman never painted behind the shelves, so he'll need to finish the drywall and paint the newly exposed wall. While they don't look too bad in this photo, these shelves are cluttered! Seriously cluttered, so I've begun dealing with that. Same thing: a) put it where it belongs or b) get rid of it. I'm hoping to come up with some clever ways to deal with my craft stuff, while keeping it accessible. Fabric is tough! (notice the pile on the floor to the right of the shelf--all my stuff).

Finally, this is now the kids' school desk (the couch used to be on this wall and the television was where the couch is now). I love the way their school books and their computer CPUs fit inside the bathroom vanities (!) we used to hold the melamine desk top up. This desk used to be in Buttercup's room and the desktop needs to be longer for the two of them to share. For now, however, they just need to deal.

So far, I am liking the way this room is evolving. I love that the stove and television are no longer the focal points of the room. I love the way the kids can really truly clean up their school work at the end of each day. I love the way we can all be in the same room doing different things and still feel together.

I know I talked a lot about fabrics, but I decided that really wasn't the problem (which is why I couldn't make myself sew anything...I guess I knew better). Red, black, and white go really well in this macaroni and cheese room. The blinds, which came with the house, set the stage and I like red, as is evidenced by the red rug and the red accessories on the shelves, the red sewing machine covers I've made over the years, and the red throw. Now that the furniture arrangement flows, the colors seem just right. The black adds a bit of drama and the white keeps it crisp. So, what do you think? (Oh, I know many of you could live in a macaroni and cheese room, but how do you think it is coming together?)