house tour: family room before and after

23 November 2009

Home tour continues:
Our family room before was a dark paneled, nasty carpeted, dreary place. We had the sellers replace the ceiling fan with this one before we moved in because the other one sparked when it was turned on and was a major fire hazard!
Love that golden fireplace! Is there a mantel on that brick??




When we first moved in, I painted the bookshelves white and the backs of them green. That green kind of makes my stomach turn....was not happy with it at all:



*************************************************

And now, here it is today:
I have to disclose that I wasn't 100% happy with this room, but we ran out of time and had to put it on the market. I was going to find a fantastic rug, scrape the ceiling, paint the beams, and wainscoat half of the brick this winter.... yea I had big plans :) It actually turned out to be a good thing, because do you know what the buyer especially loved? The beams and the brick.
It's all good.


I matched the walls (Nester's Tobacco Road) for the back of the bookcases and it was much better:

This is the last week for pumpkins! Had to show you
see this fabulous star??

I found it at Lowe's last year like this (it was actually a rusted black color originally) They sold it to me for $1 and brought her home, gave her a new coat of paintand put her best side forward:

One of my favorite little reminders in my home:

Have a great Monday~I may have a finished dresser to show you tomorrow!! :)

41 comments

  1. I still can't believe all you did to this place! I am so sad I never got to see it in person, but thank heavens for your blog and I got to visit through cyberspace! Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't realize you were moving. Is it a local move or somewhere far? I love what you did with the room!
    Kim

    ReplyDelete
  3. Okay, I'm just LOVING your house! So cute!
    I have kind of a silly questions... where did you get your cute white berry garland? That is on your mantle?
    I've been looking for some EVERYWHERE... and have had no success!
    Thanks!
    Shelley
    casonshelley@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Did you make your little potted boxwoods or did you buy them? I would love some for our living room.

    Ok, it just occured to me that maybe they are real live plants! I hope I didn't offend you if they are real. They look so cute either way!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great job! I love transformations like that. Oh, and I was laughing about the "best face forward" trick. I use that one quite a bit myself. Who's gonna know? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's amazing what a little paint will do to freshen a space. Looking good!

    ReplyDelete
  7. awesome photos! love what you did. i love the beams on the ceiling, too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. How funny about the brick and the beams! I had actually thought about painting or redoing a brick fireplace we have many times, but never followed through. I'm glad we never did anything to it, because now I find I really like it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a nice, big room! And of course, you really prettied it up! I must have missed the part about your house selling already...congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great, great, great job! Love your Blog!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wonderful job!!! LOVE everything!! even the little "star" story! :)
    Many Blessings!
    Jill

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love the paint - is that the actual Duron/SW brand or Nester's Lowe's "recipe?" I've been wanting to try that soon. Is it the same color that's in your kitchen dining area?

    Love it, beautiful home!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Everything looks fabulous, Melissa! You have put so much work into that house I would be so sad to leave it but know that you will make whatever you live in just as lovely. :) Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think the green was a definite improvement from the dark wood bookcases, but the final product is lovely! :) I bet you can't wait to get started on your new home!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Amazing room, I just love your style. It may sound silly but my favorite element of the room is the built-in by the fireplace. I am fasinated with the shelf containing the two photo frames, books and a plant. I love it so much I have added it to my tumbler favorites so I never will forget it. Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Huge improvement...HUGE! You did a great job. Love your Displays and style.

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a nice transfomation! I love before and afters. Would you mind telling me where you got your bookcases? They are exactly what I am looking for for my house. Please email me at alee@southernco.com.
    Thanks! - Angela

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great, great, great job! Love your Blog!


    Web hosting india

    ReplyDelete
  19. thanks for sharing. I always love your style!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love your room. ITS HUGE TOO! I love that star, who cares that it was broken, you totally made it work. Love the white mantel and book shelfs. WAY TO GO!

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a beautiful transformation, Melissa! I have those same beams and brick fireplace and they were the very fisrt things I "took" care of when we bought the house. Funny how different things appeal to different people! It's a good thing you didn't "fix" them to your liking!

    Hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving holiday with your family.

    ~Amanda

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi, this is my first time popping on here to say - your home is BEAUTIFUL! I love your color scheme and all your little touches. Your blog is so much fun!

    ReplyDelete
  23. WOW! That is an amazing transformation! Love the star! What a deal!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Loved the star from Lowes. I laughed when you turned it around and showed us her ugly side:) Good job on the room.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Abby~they are fake! I haven't got a live plant in the place~here's where I showed what I did: http://granvillehouse.blogspot.com/2009/05/frugal-friday-take-2.html

    ReplyDelete
  26. Your room transformation is amazing. Good luck in your move. Can't wait to see what projects you will come up with next.
    JoAnn

    ReplyDelete
  27. It looks great! I love those shelves! And I love a good deal too. Good luck with everything!

    XOXO
    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  28. so smart with turning the star around. Why don't I think of that??? That Nester color is so neutral, warm and yummy. Your family room just looks warm and yummy and most importantly, it looks like there is a lot of love going on in there!:) Love the before and afters...Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  29. I just love before-and-after pictures. These are wonderful.

    Isn't it a blessing that you didn't quite finish that remodeling list for this room? God takes care of his children. :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. such a great job! that star is fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Great job, Melissa!

    I liked the original green but the matching paint color is better, you're right. Love the star too. Those are the kinds of "decor cheats" I like to do. :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. So much better! Happy Thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Ah! The magic of paint. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Love that you matched the wainscoting to the inside of the bookcase! Looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Just found your blog.... LOVIN' it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Beautiful room redo! Love all your changes and that stitched frame is lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Again I love it. I especially love the great room, and the piano too.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Whaaa! That is the exact set up in my new [to me] house! Seeing your transformation gives me such hope for my room :) It's beautiful! I can't wait to get started on Monday! Thanks so much for sharing and inspiring!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave me a note!