Category Archives: Family Rooms

Cottage Living Room Before and After

Posted on by
9

Remember that cottage living room that I designed with Cassity for HGTV Home/Shaw Floors?

Eclectic, beach cottage, living room

how to get this eclectic beach cottage look

That room inspired reader, Wendy, to change previous owner’s hunting cabin style into a lighter lake cottage style. She apologizes for the cell phone quality pictures but like me, I knew you’d be able to see past that to the “wow!” 

“Trust me when I say the entire cabin, while in good shape structure-wise, was decorated in a super-kitchsy cabin/lodge/hunting style.  Lots of bear and moose decor.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I wanted to steer it in a lighter, lake retreat style.”

before

cottage living room makeover

“Before…every. single. wall.  Hunter green.  Blah.  All this furniture was left by the previous owner, so I used what I could to save money.  The sofa and one of the chairs, which I slip covered.”
 
after
cottage living room makeover
 
“I had a fairly small room to work with, a minuscule budget, and a pretty ugly starting point.  Lots of paint, Craigslist finds, DIY and a few new purchases (thanks Pier One and Home Goods).  My only disappointment was not being able to incorporate that red chandelier of your room…the husband said The Ceiling Fan Must Stay!”
 
cottage living room makeover
 
I love that our eclectic beach cottage design inspired Wendy’s own beautiful lake cottage version…
cottage living room makeover
 
She also dressed up builder basic interior doors using a beadboard wallpaper….
 
before
cottage living room makeover
after
cottage living room makeover
 
Now I may be a little biased but didn’t she do a beautiful job with her version of the room? What do you think?

Family Room Makeover in Progress

Posted on by
106

I have been working on my family room for years. It keeps getting pushed to the back burner. Ever have one of those rooms?

repurposed coffee table

When we first moved in, we removed carpet. Then lived with plywood subfloors for a few years before finally installing bamboo flooring.

calibamboo

I painted the French doors a beautiful Benjamin Moore Pacific Ocean blue with glazing when I created a door pediment from an old headboard…

turquoise french doors.jpg

And the old hunter green striped LaZBoy sofa was great quality but I was thrilled when it got slipcovered…

before

hunter green striped sofa

after

Comfort Works slipcover, living room, beach theme

And then I saved my money to order the Waverly Santa Maria Desert Flower fabric I had to have to make curtains. That fabric sat untouched for a year. I finally got the curtains sewn but not hemmed although you couldn’t tell in photos.

DIYShowOff family room tour.jpg

It’s a room that I tend to decorate here and there, one we rarely use so it gets cluttered up, but it’s never really been finished.

Until now. With the help of Overstock.com, this room is getting “polished”… i.e. “completed”. I also want it to function more as a studio/work space too since it has great lighting. It’s finally happening!

If you’ve ever shopped at Overstock, you know there’s a great selection of all things home related at great prices. And I love shopping the WorldStock section for beautiful handmade home decor and furniture. 60-70% of the purchase price goes back to the artisan and suppliers! 

Here’s a sneak peek at my Overstock order. Definitely eclectic…just the way I like it! Some things will have a bit of a DIY spin.

overstock makeover

 

  1. Will H. Bradley ‘Modern Poster’ Canvas Art
  2. Megan Romo ‘Fair V’ Canvas Art
  3. Fuchsia Mulberry Thai Silk Cushion Cover
  4. Goldtone Blue, Black and Brown Thread Earrings (India)
  5. Iron Wall Mounted Deer Head Figurine (India)
  6. ‘Spring Romance’ Cotton Wall Hanging
  7. Michael Tompsett ‘World Map – Navy’ canvas art
  8. Walnut Espresso Criss Cross Table
  9. TRIBECCA HOME Swindon Rustic Oak Turnbuckle Dining Bench
  10. Casa Cortes Vintage Adjustable Metal Bar Stool
  11. ‘Canyon’ 18-inch Tweed Braided Basket
  12. WallPops Kolkata Stripe Stairs Decal Pack
  13. White and Navy Hotel Shower Curtain
  14. Small Tesy Residence

SEE THE FULL REVEAL HERE. 

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. Update: Winners are MINDY Y. who tweeted about the giveaway and BRANDY with this comment: Something I would add to my wish list is paint for every room in my house, including all the little things like tape, items to remove wallpaper, etc… Wallpaper…..the reason I have not painted before now!

CONGRATULATIONS, LADIES! Please respond to the email I’ve sent to claim your prize within 24 hours (updated due to previous winner not responding/new winner chosen). 

$100 OverStock Gift Card Giveaway

But wait! There’s more! Overstock is generously donating a $100 gift card to TWO DIYShowOff readers! Two ways to enter to win:

FIRST:  Visit OverStock.com. Come back here and leave a comment below sharing what you’d add to your wish list. One comment per visitor. One winner will be chosen at random from the comments on 11/14/13.

THEN:  For more chances to win, stay up-to-date with DIYShowOff and share the giveaway via the entries on the Rafflecopter form:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! 

Disclosure: I was provided OverStock store credit to makeover an area in my home and to host an OverStock giveaway. All opinions are in my own words and my own experience. OverStock has been one of my go-to online shopping sources for years…just one of those places I check out when searching for home decor or gifts. 🙂 

Cheap and Easy DIY Temporary Accent Wall/Wall Art/Gallery Wall Template

Posted on by
6

I’ve been working on creating a “summer carnival mantel” for the “Fun in the Sun” Blog Hop. I wanted a background that was “NO COMMITMENT” and decided foamboard + FrogTape would do the trick. 

foamboard wall art 

Materials:

  • tri-fold {display} foam board
  • FrogTape

*I’m a member of the FrogTape blog squad and this is a sponsored post.

foamboard wall art tutorial

Tutorial:

I simply alternated FrogTape stripes on each of the 3 sections of the tri-fold display foamboard…

foamboard 

foamboard FrogTape wall art

I wrapped the tape around the outer edges and used my thumbnail to secure the tape edge into the fold for a clean line into the inner creases. 

FrogTape Wall Art

All done! FrogTape green worked out to be a great accent color for my colorful and eclectic summer carnival theme (have you seen my multi-color curtains in the family room)?

family room

Best part? Totally re-usable for changing up decor! Try wrapping paper, fabric, vinyl decals…add interest, color, pattern, texture. Great for rentals. So many options! *Note: Paint is not a good option and will warp foamboard.

Hanging:

The thing I loved about using this as a background for my ‘fun house’ mirror wall was that with the foam board laid out on the floor, I arranged the mirrors and frames. Then marked where I wanted things to hang with a pencil.

tracing wall gallery

Since it’s super light weight, hang with Command Strips.

hanging foamboard 

It’s nice that the command strips allow for moving around to be sure the foamboard is level.

Ievel

 

foamboard wall art

Nail through the foam board for placement of mirrors, frames or art.

hanging gallery wall

Then display! Here’s a sneak peek of the ‘summer carnival’ mantel…

DIYShowOff summer carnival mantel

And when I’m ready to change things up like I usually do, I can cover the foam board for a completely different look.

foamboard wall art tutorial

Neat, right?

Why I love this project:

  • Easy.
  • Cheap.
  • Lightweight.
  • Great for gallery wall template.
  • No commitment.
  • So many customizable options.
  • Re-usable.

See the summer carnival themed mantel for more pictures. 

summer carnival mantel

*This post is brought to you by FrogTape. FrogTape provided by Shurtech. The opinions are completely my own based on my own experience. For more FrogTape projects ideas, check out the FrogTape Blog Squad.

 FrogTape Blog Squad