Pump Up the Personality

When we first entered this family room, it had no personality. It was a bland hodgepodge of mismatched furniture, poor scale, and clutter. Our mission was to pump up the personality of this room and turn it into an inviting, spacious, and comfortable place to relax.

Our first order of business was, as always, to advise the owners to DECLUTTER. Even though I see it day in and day out, I am still amazed at what a difference clean, clutter-free surfaces make to the appearance of a room.


BEFORE - Slip Covered Sofa Cut Off Flow of Room

Our second order of business was to do something about that bulky, slip-covered love seat. I did a really bad job of before pictures in this room, but you can see part of it in the photo from the kitchen. The owners were using a slipcover to hide a non-matching sofa that was in need of a minor repair. But their camouflage technique actually did just the opposite. It made the odd piece stand out even more. So we had them move the sofa to the basement (sans the slipcover), and add two new coordinating chairs. Doing this opened up the room and instantly made it seem more spacious and inviting.

BEFORE - Clutter Filled Family Room


The next thing we did was focus on the sofa. We did not add or remove a single item from the sofa, we merely fluffed and straightened the pillows. Which reminds me . . . if your style of living is such that you are not going to straighten and fluff pillows several times a day, then steer clear of furniture pieces that may need it. Instead, go for a sofa or chair with fixed cushions that do not require so much attention.

After straightening the sofa and adding new chairs, a rug was brought in that both softened and added interest to the room. We also added a console table under the television to help the balance. From there, it was just a matter of placing a few accessories and art of the proper scale in the room. I think the addition of the sailboat is my favorite accessory. I like its clean lines and simplicity; so different from the typical picture or mirror that you see all the time.

What made finishing this room especially great for us was how the husband reacted to the final design. He said that in a house full of women, he never got to have anything masculine in his home. He loved that we included "guys' stuff". And while this room is not particularly masculine, it illustrates how items like the sailboat and the world map on the wall can be worked into almost any design.

Take a look at how it turned out.

AFTER - Restyled Family Room

 

AFTER - Restyled Family Room

AFTER - Restyled Family Room

 

Stop by again tomorrow to see more Before & After photos from this project