There is nothing like a Challenge to kick one’s butt into gear.
I may be an interior designer, helping other people create beautiful rooms, but I have a couple of places in my home that are seriously lacking some love! If you aren’t familiar with One Room Challenge, it is a six week Challenge sponsored by Calling It Home that follows the process of twenty design bloggers as they transform a room over six weeks. Designers from home can also play along as Guest Participants…which is what I’m doing! And it gives me the perfect excuse (and time limit) to finally kick some design butt!
If we’re just meeting for the first time, then welcome to Postbox Designs! I’m a busy mama of three kids and I’ve been an interior designer for the last 13 years. But two years ago I decided to quit my traditional interior design job so I could work my job around my kiddos, not the other way around. Instead I solely focus on E-Design: I custom design your room for you, then package it all up, and mail your room-in-a-box right to you. Order your entire room in an hour, over a cup of coffee (in your PJs). Yah, it really IS as fun as it sounds! I love yoga, flip flops & usually have Sanders dark chocolate caramels by my side as I work. Oh, the simple pleasures.
This is my third One Room Challenge, so which one to pick this time?
This round, I’m tackling my functional, but boring Family Room that has been decorated 100% in hand-me downs…until now. We spend oodles of time in that room, doing puzzles, watching Cake Wars marathons, and reading, but it doesn’t feel, well, like home.
But before I introduce my new space…let’s take a trip down memory lane!
Wanna check out my past One Room Challenges?
My first challenge was transforming my rarely used Hallway into a triple Homework Station for my three sweetie pies. The whole project is super budget-friendly and do-able, check out the whole transformation (along with lots of DIY projects) HERE
For my second Challenge I tackled my seriously ugly bathroom, check out the whole transformation HERE! I kept my existing vanity and transformed it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and added in some polish with a quartz top, marble hex tile & new plumbing fixtures:
But now, drumroll please…the “Before” of my Family Room!
Um…blah. White carpet, brass fireplace, track lighting, and boring, boring, boring.
If you’ve met my family of five (my hubby, three cutie pies ages 5,7, and 9 and the infamous “Beast”-our Labradoodle Jasper, you will know we are LOUD & CRAZY. This all white room doesn’t even come close to fit our style.
Before the One Room Challenge started, we did change out the stained white carpet for some handscraped, wide plank hickory floors (so flooring is already out of the way!) And for my birthday present I asked for a reclaimed wood mantle (my then three-year-old and I walked around in the rain until we found the perfect hunk of wood= best day ever)
So…how do you start from scratch? It can be a little overwhelming, I know.
Start by grabbing some photos that inspire you. I have all of my clients make a Pinterest board when starting a project with me. You can find ALL of my inspirational photos for this Family Room Makeover HERE, but here were a few of my favs:
Style at Home
Better Homes & Gardens
Kristina Crestin
But for the next five weeks I’m going to walk you through the process I take and break it into mini projects, so YOU can tackle your Family Room too. In the next few weeks, here’s the breakdown for my plan:
DIY Painted Media Cabinet Tutorial (Use Paint To Update an Existing Piece, for like $8!)
How to Style a Sofa + Killer Pillow Combos
Creative Wall Treatments (Starting at $10!)
Create a Kid Space (When You Don’t Have a Playroom)
How Style A Coffee Table
But I also want to do something special for y’all….I want to save you the dozens of hours of scouring, choosing, and whittling down a million products to find these items that made up my final look. Throughout the next six weeks I created tons of FREE Guides, Shopping Lists & How To’s JUST FOR YOU GUYS! I put them all into easy-to-use PDFs so you can just click and buy. Or save for now and use when you are ready. Here is the first one I created: “Shop This Room: The 1 Click Shopping List”
Just click HERE and get it sent straight to your inbox: FOR FREE!
But back to this makeover….
I know I wanted to give my Family Room a Cheery Farmhouse Makeover, but how to start? The same place I do for every one of my Postbox Designs clients! I created a Mood Board with all of my furnishings and materials to get a sense of what it will all look like pulled together!
Want to see more Inspirational Mood Boards? Get your creative juices flowing HERE (for just about every room in your house)
Here’s my Mood Board for this Family Room Makeover:
Every day I talk to my kids about their “Must Dos” for the day. So Mama plays that game too…here are my “Must Dos” for this room:
ONE: All of my main pieces will be neutral and traditional so they will last a loooong time
TWO: I want to add some fun pops of color and texture with accessories like pillows & artwork (which are easy to swap out for a whole new look down the line if I want)
THREE: It HAS to hold up to family movie nights, so having durable, easy-to-clean pieces are K-E-Y!
FOUR: I never want to shed tears if something I own gets a stain or ding, so I’m shopping for affordable pieces that look like a million bucks: Each piece had to be Budget Friendly + Family Friendly
FIVE: Since my brood are now grade-school age we decided to make the switch from a toy-centric area and instead add a table for crafts, snacks, and our beloved Daddy-Daughter puzzle time.
Here’s my Mood Board for Our Kid’s Corner:
For all of you who (like me) don’t have a room dedicated solely for a Playroom, I’m going to share my ideas and tips for incorporating all that kid STUFF into a Family Room without it taking over your room. (How do kids DO that?!) For this Mood Board I chose durable, distressed, and really-good-at-hiding-stains items! I’m even going to tackle a $2 DIY project with my oldest daughter (that’s a win-win!) If you like this area, get the Shopping List FREEBIE by signing up at the end of this blog post!
Woo. Those are some big plans. Can I do it in the next five weeks?….let’s go!
In the meantime, you can follow the process with me! Find extra bonus ideas on Facebook & see Sneak Peeks over on Instagram
But if you want to see it all, come pin away with me on my One Room Challenge: Family Room Makeover Board, I already have loads of inspirational images pinned that I used to come up with my own Plan…check it out and steal my ideas 🙂
And this one too!
Can’t wait to hang with you for the next five weeks!
Don’t want to remember when the next post is coming up? Sit back, relax and let all of the ideas come straight to you (PLUS get my awesome freebies that only my readers have access to!) Sign up HERE and let’s be friends!
Brittany Goldwyn says
Love the rug on your second mood board…and your homework station for your kids is adorable!!
PostboxDesigns says
Thanks so much! I actually had found that rug for a client then loved it so much I bought it for my own house (the pitfalls of the job-looking at cute home stuff ALL DAY LONG!) 🙂
Nancy @ Slightly Coastal says
Kristen! I can’t wait to see this space come together. I’ve decided to embark on the journey again this time…call me crazy. I love your mood boards and shopping lists. I’m sure this is going to be a great space for your family.
Nancy
PostboxDesigns says
Yah! I love seeing my ORC friends back in action…what room are YOU tackling?! When we moved in, we had to fill this room with all hand-me downs…now I’m finally making it OURS! 🙂
Tiffany says
Wow this is a great size living room. Excited to see the final results!
PostboxDesigns says
Thanks, me too! It IS huge, and I guess “boring” is a lot better than some other things….I’ll whip it into shape 🙂