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Do you ever feel like you’re holding off on loving something because it’s not 100% perfect? That’s me and our family room. We’ve done SO MUCH to the space, but it’s hard for me to even be excited about it when there is so much left to be done – namely, the fireplace. (I really despise this fireplace, and feel like it dates and detracts from everything else going in in the room). But, the other day I walked in from the kitchen and saw my 7 month old baby cheerily crawling towards the (now baby-friendly) shelves, and it really hit me how far this space has come.
Read on to learn how we turned a dark and dated formal living room into a functional and beautiful family room for our growing family. It might not be perfect yet – but I think for now, I’m going to love it.
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The most obvious change we made in this space is the facelift we gave our fireplace. We bought paint to take that dark espresso woodwork to the light side, PPG Delicate White in a glossy acrylic finish to match the trim. This room has a LOT of trim. If you’re ever going to paint a substantial built-in like this yourself and don’t want to spring to rent a sprayer, I recommend using an orbital sander attachment on a power tool to rough the surface up before you paint. We also used a roller to get a smooth finish. This bad boy took 3 coats! For the stone, we used Rustoleum Chalk Paint in a light grey (they have a ton of colors). We diluted ours with a little water so you can still see the movement of the stone beneath the paint, and applied with sponge brushes. Bye bye stonework from 2003! Look, I stand by what I said earlier. I still detest this fireplace and can’t wait to replace it with something cool. But I have to admit that the white paint really brings out the beauty and detail of all of the trim and paneling. The room felt INSTANTLY brighter the moment we painted this massive hunk of woodwork. White paint solves all!
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We went through a few transition periods with furniture in this room, and it sat almost empty (minus our 10 year old couch, which is – spoiler alert! – still in there). But once we had Hart I knew I had a clear direction of where I wanted to take the room; classic pieces that were cozy and kid-friendly – but still beautiful. I mean, this is the first room you see when you walk in our house! I didn’t want it to turn into a jungle gym. I sourced a tufted ottoman, a curved acrylic console table, low-profile comfy chairs and added a TON of storage to solve my furniture dilemma. Storage baskets hide allllll the baby gear (and toys) when they aren’t in use. Plus, they look cute. I can let Hart roam around this space and know he can’t hurt himself on any sharp edges, yet the pieces still reflect my aesthetic. When function and beauty come together, it’s always a good thing!
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I always used to get so mad when my brother-in-law would roll his eyes at my decor, pre-baby. “Just wait Kenzie.” he would say. “All of this is going to be totally empty.” Of course I strongly objected. Well, Mike, if you’re reading this – we were both wrong. Yes, my styling has changed, but it is still there! My new mantra is: style with items down low that aren’t breakable, and can’t break a baby. I actually originally got this idea from Chris Loves Julia. Julia has a beautifully styled home, and 3 young daughters. She recommends sticking with wood and books down low, and says she will put back the same item 100x until her baby tires of moving it. Well, i’m game. The bookshelves and coffee table are styled with items that can be moved and messed with until Hart tires of them, and nothing can hurt him. I really do appreciate NICE textiles, but there is way too much unexpected vomit in our lives right now to justify the price. So, I styled with affordable textiles from Target – the curtains, throw blanket and 2 throw pillows were all under $100 total. This room is ready for the worst, looking its best!
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Ever since Hart has been mobile, I have been mortified by our floors. I found myself vacuuming every single day. Well I’m a busy work from home mama and CEO of the Craven Household, and this just wasn’t an effective use of my time. My husband did allllll the research here, folks – and we ended up caving and splurging on the (ahem): eufy [BoostIQ] RoboVac 11S (Slim), Super-Thin, 1300Pa Strong Suction, Quiet, Self-Charging Robotic Vacuum Cleaner. We went with this one OVER the Roomba because it is ½ the price for almost the same cleaning power. It doesn’t run on wifi (ours is super spotty) and you don’t need an app to use it – you simply press the button, and robo-vacuum zooms around the house and does it’s thing. My life is forever changed. We run this throughout the whole downstairs of our house every evening after we go to bed, and every morning we wake up to clean floors while our vacuum rests on it’s charger.
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Our splurge, The Frame by Samsung! We never had a TV in this room before (we never even really USED this room before…). I’m not a TV-over-the-mantle kind of gal, and the only plausible wall for hanging a TV is literally the first thing you see when you walk into our house. So I knew we had to do it right. Now, my husband has a ton of Best Buy points from his work credit card and we caught it on a sale, but I have to say The Frame is worth every penny to me. (PS – the 55” is on major sale on Amazon Prime right now). I love that it displays our special family portraits when the TV is sleeping, and that you can adjust the back light. A lot of people didn’t even know it was a TV, it’s that good. And functionally, it has one of the best smart systems of any smart TV we have ever owned. Having a TV in this family space has really made it somewhere we like to hang out and spend time by the fire.
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Not my exact one – this one is a little smaller than mine (from CB2) but WAY more cost effective
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Mine were from Anthropologie but sold out. These are similar in shape
[/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Tufted Ottoman” button_text=”Shop Now” button_link=”https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Knightsbridge-Round-Tufted-Cocktail-Ottoman-with-Casters-by-iNSPIRE-Q-Artisan/9576234/product.html?recset=5fa015be-a926-4076-9cf0-89afe149a5dc&refccid=5W6U57CEV7DIGZSFBTZYP2XT2Y&searchidx=0&recalg=63&recidx=0″ image=”https://cravenhaven.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Knightsbridge-Round-Tufted-Cocktail-Ottoman-with-Casters-by-iNSPIRE-Q-Artisan-25b42eac-1e52-48b6-9458-1f861de8d7fe-Copy.jpg” _builder_version=”3.15″][/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Robo-Vacuum” button_text=”Shop Now” button_link=”https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DF9GVK9/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cravenhaven-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07DF9GVK9&linkId=e9748ecadb747f597b2fbfc2c2bcce5c” image=”https://cravenhaven.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/41Q7uDCOvL-Copy.jpg” _builder_version=”3.15″][/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Wooden Plant Holder” button_text=”Shop Now” button_link=”https://www2.hm.com/en_us/productpage.0269444008.html” image=”https://cravenhaven.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/hmgoepprod-3.jpg” _builder_version=”3.15″][/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Decorative Wood Beads” button_text=”Shop Now” button_link=”https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FG1S3NN/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cravenhaven-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07FG1S3NN&linkId=527432001cc77e5deee4c58f81039736″ image=”https://cravenhaven.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Wood-Beads.jpg” _builder_version=”3.15″][/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide button_link=”https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077NF4CKP/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cravenhaven-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B077NF4CKP&linkId=68743231539ea294efb4dfa3c52e18c2″ heading=”Storage Basket” button_text=”Shop Now” _builder_version=”3.15″ image=”https://cravenhaven.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/untitled.png”]
My baskets were from H&M and sold out. This option in XL would be perfect for toys and baby gear.
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