Sneek Peeks of Our New Family Room & Decor

We shot my house last week for the second book (our last shoot) and I wanted to share with you guys the updates we made to the house.  The pro shots will be revealed in the book, but there is lots of goodness to share in the meantime and I know you’ve been anxiously awaiting a little reveal!

Our new family room came out perfect– and has made our house feel SO much bigger, even though it really only added about 175 square feet.  Even the doggies love it so much (as you can see).

Rug: Dash & Albert, Sofa : Kristin Drohan Collection, Ottoman: Custom, Pillows: Custom in Quadrille and Rose Cumming fabric, Sconce: Visual Comfort , Shade: Cruel Mountain

Asa reminder, this was the room pre-renovation- it was a three season porch:

In the first book you saw it styled like this- which I liked, but come colder months we had to close it off.

So we pushed the room out 5 feet, but kept the same width and vaulted the ceiling and WOW, what a difference. My dad’s firm was the architect, and our builders, Haven Builders, were amazing.  This space was ALL about the sectional– so we custom designed one for the space with Kristin Drohan to fit perfectly and really maximize seating.  I wanted it to have a nice swooped track arm and be slipcovered for durability.  It’s SO comfy and just right for the space.

Chandelier: Visual Comfort, Side Table: Antique, Lamp: Bunny Williams

I am really mad I left my lamp on when taking these pictures. Sorry.

There are so many windows which make it an extra happy room to spend time in as a family. And speaking of family, some of Henry’s toys live in this room, so we had to get clever about storage for those.  I bought this storage bench to not only store toys, but also offer some more seating but with a narrow depth.

Bench with storage: Ballard Designs, Cushion: Custom in Robert Allen fabric

My soft goods workroom made a custom cushion for the top, which makes it look special and unique. And side note– this rug is indoor/outdoor and I have spilled a whole glass of red wine on it and sprayed Clorox cleaner on it and it came right out!

We designed tall narrow shelves to the right side of the fireplace which houses more of Henry’s stuff but also some decorative items and books.  This leather basket is awesome for gathering up toys in style. We did a simple box beam mantle (which matches the box mean across the peak of the room I managed to cut out of all my pictures!)

The fireplace was a big expense, as we made it see through so both the living room and family room could enjoy it.  The old wood burning fireplace was not something we used, but the flue was wide enough to accommodate this big gas log set. I’m not thrilled with the inside so I plan on either staining the brick or finding a herringbone veneer to cover the mis-matches situation inside.  I did the surrounds in honed Danby marble, which I’m obsessed with.  The glass doors were custom made in a champagne finish.

Looking into the living room from the family room– my antique chair find ($75!) was recovered in a stripe linen.

And here’s the freshened up living room which I am SO happy with.  I am so glad I went out on a limb from my typical “neutrals only on sofas” rule and did this beautiful blue Schumacher performance velvet. And the commissioned Kayce Hughes painting seriously was the icing on the cake and made the whole room make sense.  Also, we repainted the whole space Benjamin Moore Winds Breath, which has a little more warmth to it than our previous color.

Sofa: Bjork Studio, Coffee Table: Oly Studio, Rugs: Landry & Arcari, Side Tables: New Traditionalists, Chest: Arteriors 

It’s fun to look back and see how my style has evolved– this was our living room in the first EOS book- I think my tastes have certainly matured and gotten a bit softer.

And here’s the fireplace pre-renovation and how it is now, at right:

Walking into this space makes me SO happy.

And the sofa itself was made meticulously by Bjork Studio in Atlanta. What an A++++ experience I had with them– everything came out perfect (they also made our new banquette, which is coming up).  They make tons of different custom furniture pieces so be sure to check them out.

Pillows: Custom in fabrics from Schumacher and Scalamandre.

Such gorgeous detail on the arms and feet– looooooove.

Another view:

In the kitchen area we replaced our grasscloth with a Cowtan & Tout vinyl grasscloth after Henry took some crayons to our old walls. Now I can spray Clorox on the walls to clean up, but still enjoy the texture of grasscloth.  We also needed some more room in this small dining area, so we designed this banquette with Bjork Studio and really thought our materials to be stylish but super durable.

It is SO comfy to sit at, almost like having a sofa in our kitchen!  The back was made out of a striped Perennials fabric with an inset solid Perennials banding. The seat was made of a faux leather vinyl which is BRILLIANT for spills and stain proof.

We made a new rectangle “Gates Table” with Huston & Company to fit the banquette perfectly– the center pedestal makes for ample leg room underneath. The Windsor side chairs and Henry’s highchair coordinate to create a pulled together look.

Chairs: Ethan Allen, High Chair: Stokke

I added some faux roman valances in one of my favorite Schumacher fabrics from Mark Sikes in the kitchen and dining area to finish the space off.

So that means my house is DONE! Like, really DONE. Which means I need to sell it and move onto another fixer upper! :)