Because Superman Can't Wait!

So, we've been working on a few projects since Superman came home for Christmas break.  Since his return to work, he's been clamouring for pictures of our progress.  While we're not completely finished, I can't make him wait any longer.

Today's pre-reveal is the transformation of the room formerly known as the "Macaroni & Cheese" room.  Now that the kids are older, we don't need a "kid" room anymore, so Superman and I picked out a new "grown-up" wall color. 

To remind you, here is the before:

Bye-Bye, Macaroni & Cheese!

And here is the after:


Hello, Celery Sprig!

The view from the other side of the room...this is where I do all my sewing
and crafting and blogging...notice the bright white ceiling...it looks fabulous.



This is where the kids sit to watch television.



I still need to cover the ironing board in new fabric and we still need our new baseboards, but doesn't it look fabulous?   It is a much more relaxed space, that I, for one, am really enjoying.  I am so pleased with how it is coming along. 
Did you notice that we only changed paint?  Isn't it amazing how much of a difference a new wall color and freshened ceilings can make?

So, Superman, are you pleased?  Doesn't it look good?  Thanks for supporting my desire to change up this space.


 

WIP Wednesday - Family Room Update

Well, if you remember from this post, we've been working on our family room since I came home from a camping trip in June inspired and energized. We quickly figured out it was a bigger job than we'd anticipated and so, here we are in September, still not quite done, but getting really close. Painting the room orange led the way, but getting all the furniture rearranged helped us see how we could use the room better.

Since then, I've been purging school supplies and craft supplies that I'm no longer using, as well as rehanging pictures and generally working to get the room feeling open. We still need to put in the flooring, but that can be done when outside work can't be done. We've also decided to remove the backing from the shelves so the orange walls will show through.

Still on list, but truly undecided, is new slipcovers for my Ikea couch and chair. JCaroline Home just introduced slipcovers for this chair and the Poang chair and is working on the Klippan slipcover, so I could definitely go with something bold. I really can't decide if I should go with something bold or if I should just get new, fresh (translation: cleaner) slipcovers in the same colors. I told you about some bold fabrics I bought to make pillows, but I think I'm going more modern than that (at least it is emerging that way). I really can't decide.

Here is the view from the door, looking into the room. The two big windows help keep this room full of natural light all day, but in winter, we close up those red blinds almost all the way, seal the windows with plastic, and get all cozy.

Here is the view from my desk, looking at the opposite corner and the kids desk. (They're cute little WIPs, too, aren't they?) The mirror over their desk is bold, but also helps keep light bouncing around the room. (See the backyard reflected in the television? That illustrates how much we feel like we're in a garden in this room.)


Finally, this is the view of my desk from the bookshelf side of the room. As you can see, I've set it up so I have a sewing side and computer side. I think it is working out really well, but we'll see how I make it through the Christmas season--fingers crossed. You can't really see them, but that is a picture I picked out myself when I was very little and some art that Superman made for me as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. I love them all. Oh, and the shiny thing? That is our personalized license plate from California. It says: NAGLE5.


So, imagine the room with the tile completed (and after the great flood of last December, we'll be keeping tile...it is impervious!) and the backs off the shelves and tell me, what would you do?

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?)