Last week I jumped in on the One Room Challenge- and showed you our unfinished loft– complete with a pile of random furniture. This week it was all about the planks, paint and trim! I’ll be creating a cozy Cottage Family Room- as a place to hang out and play games. This week I spent some time dreaming about the aesthetic of the room, and had fun putting together a pretty style board. I also have more trim done, and my work cut out for me in the painting department. I love painting…. I love it. At least thats what I keep telling myself.
In my little dream world of pretty things, there is white, neutrals and a few ruffles. I’ve had a bit of buyers remorse ever since buying our living room sofas, and am scheming to repurpose one of them in the loft- and then purchase a second smaller love seat for the living room. They are comfortable, and the fabric wears amazingly well with 3 kids and a cat- but I am dreaming of something a little less blue and not so modern. So- I have a crazy idea to try my hand at slipcovering one- but there are quite a few projects on the list, so I am not sure if I will get to it before the big reveal 😉
I’ve put together a style board with a different style than our couch, but similar color to give you and idea of how that will feel too.
It definitely makes things a little more coastal feeling- and puts those ruffles a bit out of place. So- we will see where it all lands!
Lets talk about that big ugly cabinet. Don’t worry, I have a plan!
The wardrobe itself is from IKEA for $129- and is a fair size. I plan to add additional shelves, build a platform for the base with additional crate storage, trim it out, and work my magic on the doors. If all goes according to plan it will look nothing like a big ol’ box when I am finished, and be filled with character. Ikea is an hour away, so I am hoping it doesn’t look like a pile of cardboard in real life. We custom built cabinets in our mudroom– boxes and doors- but I just don’t have the time to do that right now. This on the other hand seems a little more doable.
Speaking of IKEA- I have a few chairs I will be reupholstering and am planning to use this ticking “fabric” I bought on clearance for $5. It is part of a sofa slip cover, and was in the as is… so I’ll be deconstructing it. It’s heavy weight and should work well for what I have in mind.
One of the chairs I am working on is in an ugly duckling stage. It will be getting ticking on the seat or back panel- I haven’t decided yet. I have 1 more like it, and 2 others without arms to pull out of my shed and start work on. AH! I’ll be using them for the game/puzzle table.
This chair has been giving me all kinds of trouble. I originally used MMS Ironstone on it- but it was way too flaky. So, I’ve been wrestling with it- and am planning another coat of white, perhaps milk paint with the bonding agent, or chalk paint. I tried sanding it down in the parts where the stain really flaked off, then going over it with gel stain in a darker color to tone down the red stain that was showing through- so that once I paint it again, the distressed bits won’t look red.
At this point, let’s not talk about it.
more planks, paint and trim
The door to the boys room is trimmed and ready for a header… the outside corner is also trimmed, and we are a little further along on baseboards.
We got the skylights trimmed out this summer- and the trim along the roof line is all done too! One thing about pine is that there is a lot of trim needed to make everything feel finished. The portion you see above is actually a wall- where the dormer in the roof happens, so it will be getting painted white. While not the prettiest, the ceiling fan is simple and practical for hot days, and for moving heat from our fireplace in the winter. It feels so good to have it up and the speakers installed.
This beauty is hanging above our living room, so it makes up for the lacklustre ceiling fan.
I hope these photos make a little bit of sense to you- but if not you can always check out last weeks post to get a feel for the floor plan. This family room space is in our upstairs, and is an open loft that looks down into our living room. I can’t wait to have it up and functional- but there is a lot to do before the big reveal. Wish me luck!!
-Miss Ash
i’m looking forward to seeing the finished product, a lot of work, nothing like a deadline to get it finished …?