Thursday, December 30, 2010

22 A Fresh Start to 2011

So the title might lead you to believe that I am going to chat about making resolutions and starting off on the right organized foot as the new year rolls in....

Nope.  Not at all actually.  That's for another post.  This year, I decided to ring in the new year by doing some last minute updates around the casa to freshen things up a bit.  Christmas decorations down.  Check.  You can see the method I used to pack them away here.

Once the decorations were gone, it was time to rethink the arrangement of our living room.  It was feeling a bit crowded.  Probably because we are still living with an over-sized sectional since our basement flooded.  Here is a quick reminder of our current living room situation:




It was nothing that a couple of free updates couldn't remedy.  First, I started out by painting up the console table, popping in a chair and calling it a desk!


This change alone was huge in brightening the space and giving it a fresh feeling.  I blame it on painting the white table.  White paint just feels fresh.

But I didn't stop there.  I was determined to make the living room feel bigger.  The next step was to switch out the giant lamp I had sitting on my new desk.  It was right in your face when you walk through the door, obstructing views, therefore, making the room feel crowded.  Plus, with one lamp on each end of the room, lighting at night wasn't always perfect.

So this little lamp sitting on our buffet table had no chance....


A quick coat of silver spray paint to match some of the metallic accents in the living room, was the perfect solution for the new desk.


Now lets talk about the desk top for a second shall we?  The top was just a typical piece of frosted piece of glass.  And because when I painted the outside, I opted not to paint the drawer inside....


The colors of the drawer contents {external hard-drive, photo books and miscellaneous computer supplies} along with the drawer color itself, would mildly show through to the top.

So I snagged a roll of wrapping paper and traced the frosted glass piece of the console table.


A little cutting and spray adhesive later... left the top of the desk a dream.




It was just incredible to me how something so quick and easy and effortless could create such a dramatic new feeling to the space I work at.  Eliminating that view through the top, made it all feel so clean and clutter free and pretty to boot!

So now I got to pop the extra lamp back to the other side of the room.  But we also made two large changes to the living room to make it feel larger.

We moved the TV stand/bin unit to our oldest sons room and brought in a smaller version that we had in our lower level for holding all of our games in our game room.

This gave us much more space and less eye clutter.


And last but not least, what I think was the biggest room opening change, was switching out the leather ottoman coffee table.  Just because it came with the sectional, didn't mean that it had to stay that way.  Bringing in our glass coffee table and placing the giant over sized leather ottoman into storage, made the room feel instantly ten times larger!



Do I switch things around a lot?  If at first I don't succeed, I try try again!  And when I finally get it just right, it sticks.  I love to play around with what we have to continue to give the house a new and fresh feeling, especially as seasons and holidays come and go.  And especially because I spend most of my waking hours at home and insist my surroundings suite me.

Before:
After:

Before:
 After:

Before:
After:

Giving my home a fresh feeling as the new year rolls in, is just what I need to keep me motivated all year long!  And I did it all with things I have... which equals a dramatic change for us, for F R E E!  Now that's worth celebrating about!

Anyone else doing some last minute freshening up around the house before the new year rolls in?  A fresh coat of paint, spray paint, wallpaper or re-arranging?

22 comments:

  1. Can I just tell you how much I LOVE how big you made that shot of the fam? By far my favorite shot from that day! <3

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  2. Love your changes; you've inspired me to do a few refreshes around mi casa too. But not until after the Christmas decorations are down.

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  3. I just started reading your blog and I love it! I am huge on organizing and look forward to getting inspiration from you blog. I love the how the small changes you made in your living room made such a huge difference. It looks beautiful!

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  4. OMG, after seeing the lamp you spray painted (I have the same ones in my living room, and thought they needed updating) I may never stop spray painting things!!!!!!!!!!!

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  5. I love the transformations! I have a very long bucket of list of things I need to do but it looks like they will have to wait for next year!!!

    Happy New Year!

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  6. hi! May I ask you what size are the square photograph prints that are oh so lovely that hang there upon your family room wall? And if you know, how big is the matte around the pictures :) Love that! my email is cassiemae82@yahoo.com I know you are super busy but maybe I'll get lucky and hear back from you! :)

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  7. Jen I love that! Where did you get the console table/desk? I'm looking for a little desk like that for my laptop/billpaying.

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  8. You switch things around more than anyone I know -- and it's AWESOME! What a great way to keep things interesting AND organized =)

    I move so often I have no choice but to redesign every few months... I can't wait til I can do this just b/c I want to and not because I have to move to a new city/state. oh marine corps... haha

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

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  9. Love the desk update!! Looks great!

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  10. Happy Holidays to you and your family! Love the changes and I especially love the photos of the kids. Now comes the dumb question. What size are those frames and the photos? Did you blow them up yourself? i'm always afraid my photos won't look as good once I make them bigger. Guess I won't know until I try. But kudos to you for making them look beautiful!!!

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  11. Jen, the changes look great! Where did you find that faux bois rug?

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  12. I love the more wide open space! I feel like I need to do something around here, but not sure what. My home office doesn't suit me and I think my living room and dining room could use some help. Think, Amy, think!

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  13. Jen, what color of spray paint did you use? Is it silver or some sort of pewter color? It's beautiful!

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  14. Very nice! What is the name of that green paint? I bought one of those lace baskets, I love it!
    xo,
    kelly

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  15. I love it! And I think I have finally found someone who moves things around as much as I do! My husband laughs because he regularly comes home to our living room rearranged, furniture from one room suddenly in another, and ocassionally a room an entirely different color! I love your blog! Thanks for all the inspiration!

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  16. Hi Heather! I found the desk eons ago at Target.com. It was laminate, and I used an oil based primer paired with two coats of a white all in one paint/primer combo paint. Lightly sanding with ultra fine sandpaper in-between coats.

    Hi Goya, Here is a link to the frame which included the matting in the purchase: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30109782

    I printed the posters through snapfish.com, I ordered the posters just larger than the opening in the matting and centered the kiddos the best I could.

    Hi Amanda,
    The rug was actually from Home Depot.

    Dear Anonymous, the spray paint is Krylon Fusion Nickel Shimmer, and it only took one coat! :)

    MrsKBJ, the green paint is Behr's Grape Leaves. Love the white baskets as well, I move them all over the house, they match everything!

    xoxo,
    Jen

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  17. Such beautiful results from just a few changes! Love the white desk, including the ingenious paper idea!!
    And your wall of photos is stunning. Everything is awesome.

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  18. I just found your blog - love it! Can I ask you where you got your upholstered chair that you have at your desk? LOVE it!
    Thanks, Sara.

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  19. I absolutely love your blog, your home is just inspiring! I have a couple of questions, I've been thinking of adding some wrapping paper to my desk with some spray adhesive but I've been reluctant to because of the removal process when I decide to change it. How do you remove the paper and adhesive? Also, I was wondering if you could tell me where you find your glass pieces for your desk tops. I would love to get one sized for my desk! Thanks!

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    1. Great question - I am thinking of changing the paper soon, but have yet to try it out yet so I am unsure how it will all turn out in the end.

      I purchase the plexi from a local Ace Home Improvement store, I just bring in my measurements and they cut it to size for me.

      If you are nervous about the spay adhesive, you could potentially try to adhere fabric or paper in other ways, maybe even little pieces of double stick tape?

      xoxo,
      Jen

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  20. I just started reading your blog and I LOVE your ideas! Your house is absolutely inspiring. I did want to ask you where you got the white baskets?

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