Hi Friends,

Remember before Christmas when I posted the before pics of our family room? No? I’ll give you a minute to look them over again here.

You’re back? Okay. I just want to apologize for keeping you in suspense for SO long. I wrote the before post almost two months ago now, thinking I would have our space up and running in no time at all. I blinked, and it’s February! Since I’m hosting my sister’s baby shower here in a couple weeks I’ve been trying to tie up all my loose ended projects before the crowd ascends upon our home. The family room was on that list and I’ve finally checked it off and am ready to share it with you!

I started off with the basics: some new wider white trim boards, white paint for the trim I wasn’t replacing and a nice coat of the universally accepted color Collanade Gray by Sherwin Williams. Between the gray paint, the white trim and the black couch, I had a nice blank slate to work with. But because of this for awhile it felt really cold down there design wise. (It’s still really cold down there temperature wise – those blankets aren’t just for show people!)

I brought in some wood accents and some blues and greens to make it feel a little more homey and warm. If you’re wondering where I got any of this stuff, 99 percent of the time, it’s Target.

I bought three white frames (TJ Maxx, actually) and filled them with some black and white photos I’ve taken on various trips. I like how they balance out the window on the other side of the wall.

Nothing makes me feel more like an adult than how I excited I was when I wall mounted the tv and figured out how to hide the cords! This is my FAVORITE part of the whole family room reno! Not even kidding. Our media console is from Target (shocker, I know). I added the hairpin legs to the bottom instead of the peg legs it came with though because I wanted it to be taller so I could put baskets underneath for more storage.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever tried to paint trim on carpeted stairs! 🤚🏻 I’m not going to lie to you; it’s not the most fun thing in the world. Although, I did find this Pinterest hack involving press and seal wrap that made it a little bit easier. The railing also got a coat of paint, along with the doors and door trims and banister. Wow, I did a LOT of work. 😂 Quick pause to be impressed with myself….and we’re back. I also replaced the light fixtures with these dome lights that also got a coat of paint because affordable, simple matte black light fixtures do not exist; I checked. The smoke alarm is new too because the old one was gross.

This empty space is where all my workout stuff usually lives but I hid it all in the closet for this picture because I didn’t think you’d want to see it. If for some reason you do want a photo of my kettlebells and plates and stuff I could probably make that happen.

If the hidden tv cords are my favorite, this area is a close second. There was literally NOTHING in this half of the family room. It was like the worst awkward silence for your eyes. We fixed it by adding this beautiful dry bar! It has a cute little glass door fridge for all your beverage needs and cabinets for snacks. We bought the cabinets prefinished at Lowe’s and I added the hardware myself. The quartz countertop we got at Menard’s in the clearance section. We scored this slab, which was a discontinued sample, for less than ten dollars a square foot!

The shelves I made myself. Mostly. This nice guy working at Lowe’s dug through like forty lengths of cedar for me until he found a piece that was super straight and then offered to cut it down for me. But I totally sanded, stained and hung them myself. Team effort? The shelf brackets are from Amazon.

The buffalo check ottoman is actually DIY. Anyone interested in learning how to make one? I’m so excited to have this part of our house done and looking good! It’s ten times more functional down here now too! What do you guys think? Could you hang out here?

Thanks for reading,