Home DecorCreating a Family Room November 6, 2018Hey, hey friends! I am so thankful that sharing a space in progress vs. a “perfect-feeling” reveal resonates with y’all so much. It definitely does with me because even though our home feels beautiful, it never feels reveal-ready except when it’s styled to be photographed. And things are in flux, in process, most of the time. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t still lovely! I was curious how not using a couch in a living room would go over with others, but then I had to remind myself that no one lives in our home but us. And what works for us is always the right answer. I don’t share for others approval, but instead to use our journey of figuring out how to make a home to inspire others to make their own! For a long time, I couldn’t get passed the idea that our living room had to have a couch. But then I started to realize I wasn’t thinking clearly about how we use this space and how we want it to function. You may remember that Dax’s sun porch turned nursery was changing once the addition was done. The plan was to move him to the bedroom we moved out of and to convert this little 7 x 11′ area into an office. It came time to move him two weeks ago so that we could finally get the house settled after the reno-chaos and the day we’d planned to move him, we changed our minds on a whim. We didn’t know if it would work…we’re still figuring that out. But we said, “What if we just tried something different?” His room has been one of the sweetest spots in our house and so far, it’s still working fine. There was no reason for us to move him other than the idea that his room is “small” and shouldn’t he have more space since we had an extra bedroom now? But he’s 18 months old, not 15 and for now, this still works really well. I’m continually reminding myself, I’m designing for a season…not forever. It can be changed as soon as it needs to be. (you can see his room reveal here.) While he actually does sit and play in this space some, the kids mainly play out in the house together. So space to play and roam wasn’t a must for his bedroom. So we decided not to move him. And we decided to use the freed up back bedroom (the largest room in our house) for a multi-use space that would serve our family well. I began tossing around the idea of a family room/office. While many work-from-home moms will tell you that you don’t have to have an office, I’ve realized for me personally that I do for sure. Or at least a designated desk area. And ideally in this season with small children, I wanted that “office” area to be in a space where the kids could play alongside me. While I’m working on a good work rhythm and not a ton happens while they’re up, some does. So having a space we can all be together while I work some could be huge. And here she is, friends, our Family Room & Office. Just like yesterday, this is in no way a reveal…AT ALL. We’ve moved furniture in, we’re living with it, we’re deciding what to tweak. But I want to share this process with y’all! Remember the two armoires that were “the closets” when this was our bedroom? We really do not want to get rid of these – they’re so useful and I can imagine many ways we’ll use them in the future. But we have no place to store them here. So we knew they needed to stay in the house if we could make them work. And gosh, they provide so much storage! One is serving as out of season clothes storage (the one by my desk that isn’t as accessible, though you can still get inside it). The other is going to house toys, craft supplies, and other kids’ stuff. We’re treating them sort of like built-ins that a space might have. This room does feel really full and I usually like more breathing space in a room. But this room is about more than just how it looks currently and so far, this is working well! And once we solidify the arrangement, I’ll keep simplifying the design and visual impact of the space. Obviously, I didn’t pick the dark blue couch to go with this paint color, so once we get the layout right, I’m going to make tweaks design-wise. I’ll likely add some light throws and pillows to lighten the couch up. I’ also may take down the curtains so it’s more streamlined (even though I love them), just haven’t gotten there yet. My desk was my grandmother’s and was serving as my vanity in our last bedroom. I plan to paint it and lighten it up, but again, right now we’re living with and figuring out the arrangement first. Already, having this designated space for me to work has made such a huge change! It’s somewhere I want to sit down and spend time and it gives me a spot where I can leave things out and in process without worrying about it as much. This other side of the space is the kids’ area right now. We’ll put in their table and chairs, hang the chalkboard at their height and the armoire right there will be filled with their stuff. Okay, in process, remember? That bookshelf will not be staying (mainly because the kids “re-organize” it ten times a day). But this room gets our TV! I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the TV with what I’ve mentioned. Do we watch it? Does it stay out all the time? And the answer is yes, we do watch it. Though we’re continually trying to cut back more and more on that. I’m trying to move more toward it being a treat vs. a daily thing and I loved the idea of not having it in our main living space. How we started to view these two spaces is that the living room is a place for gathering, conversation, reading, and hanging out. Especially since it’s open to our dining and kitchen space, we wanted it to be a comfortable gathering space. But we do not need a TV for any of those things. Now, we have a designated TV space that is more out of the way, so it bothers me less. We can go in here when we want to watch it, but it isn’t out go-to in our main sitting area. I love having this coffee table in here for games, snack-time, etc. and I love that it doesn’t take up visual space in this full room. I struggled with this move for a second because I kept thinking “This is a bedroom.” But then I reminded myself to break out of that! We thought really creatively about how we want to use our spaces and I made a list for what life I wanted to happen in each. This very well may be a bedroom again, maybe even soon, who knows. But for now, this is working really, really well for us and I am so glad we made this move! So, I want to encourage you guys to look at your spaces and think differently. It doesn’t matter what label a room has, what matters is how it needs to function for your family. And give yourself space to give it a function for a season. This is not a permanent solution for us (though I’m sure it could be if we really wanted it to be and kept tweaking). But it is a perfect solution for right now! Just like moving houses has shown us more and more of what we like and what’s important to us, trying different things space-wise is helping us to figure that out as well.
Stephanie says November 6, 2018 at 9:37 am I think this looks great- if it works for you, then it’s perfect! 🙂 I have a 3 bedroom house and we opted to turn the biggest bedroom into a movie room/office/library because I have a “no electronics in the living room” rule. Do what works for you! Reply
Robbie Zeller says November 6, 2018 at 9:53 am Lindsay, I love your thinking! Your home continually looks real, cozy and full of precious family. You and Chris are accomplishing your goals purposefully and that must bring a lot of joy to your lives. Thanks for posting a bit more regularly on your blog. You challenge my thinking and imagination of all things home. I appreciate you! Reply
Lindsay says November 7, 2018 at 6:35 am Oh Robbie, thank you so much for your kind words! I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying posting more again. For a season, there just wasn’t time I could find, but oh how I missed it! I feel like God has refreshed my perspective for its’ purpose and is helping me find little pockets of time to put toward it. And I’m finally worrying less about everything being so perfect and gosh that shaves off a ton of my Production time! Reply
Diana Juvinall says November 6, 2018 at 4:18 pm Very nice! I’d like to see how you have done the exterior of your stone cottage. Any pictures of it? Reply
Lindsay says November 7, 2018 at 6:34 am Yes!!! I’m planning to share it soon! Just haven’t gotten there yet with all the addition and settling, but I will haha! I promise 🙂 Reply
AmandaKB says November 6, 2018 at 11:24 pm I love that you’re thinking more about how you can use the rooms the best… instead of worrying about how the rooms “should” be used. We are trying to do the same thing in our small house. For example, we’re in the process of turning our smallest bedroom into a closet. (Our old house is lacking closets.) Our entryway (which is a small room) serves more as a garage (tools, lawn tools, painting supplies, automotive supplies, etc). It’s YOUR house. Do what works for you 🙂 I love your updates. Thanks for sharing! Reply
Lindsay says November 7, 2018 at 6:33 am Yes, such good thoughts, Amanda! So glad to hear someone else is on that track! Reply
Oona says November 7, 2018 at 12:19 am The new family room is a brilliant idea! So good for everyone to have relaxed space where kid games and grown-up projects can simmer rather than be swept up and put away instantly. Kids learn so much from watching their parents, it makes sense in all kinds of ways for them to see you focusing on projects that are especially meaningful to you. Reply
Lindsay says November 7, 2018 at 6:33 am Oh Oona, I LOVE how you said that “a place they can simmer!” That is so good and I am tucking that one away to remember!! Reply
Denise says November 7, 2018 at 6:08 pm Great use of space. While I love the curtains I think taking them down would really open the space up. Reply
Lindsay says November 14, 2018 at 6:28 am I know…It makes me sad in a way because I LOOOOOVE these, but I really do feel like it’s right here. I can always rehang them I guess if I miss them too badly, haha! Reply
Debbie says November 10, 2018 at 7:41 am Great use of both spaces and seems like the perfect solution, functional and comfortable! And it’s great to have some space to stretch out, relax, read or watch TV after kids are asleep, too. I like how the painted brick gives the look of a fireplace, I would play that up! Removing the sofa really opens up the LR and gives you easier space for a Christmas tree. I love cozy spaces. It will be fun to see how you continue tweaking both rooms! Reply
Lindsay says November 14, 2018 at 6:23 am Aww Debbie, thank you for your sweet words!!! YES! All of those reasons you mentioned are making this such a useful space for us! And I love that there’s a “fireplace!” I definitely want to do something more with it! Right now, it has a kids’ fall garland and some pumpkins 🙂 Reply
Sara Goodwin says November 20, 2018 at 1:52 pm I love that you’ve done this!! I grew up in an in home daycare with a dozen other kids (this was 25 years ago) and our babysitter turned her smallest bedroom into a tv room where we could watch a movie during nap/quiet time or on rainy days. The rest of the time we played at the dining room table or outside. I think this is such a “classic” way to separate and simplify your spaces and routine! Reply
Lindsay says November 21, 2018 at 6:01 am Oh I love hearing that perspective, Sara! What an awesome idea!!! Reply
Casarico says November 29, 2018 at 11:43 am Although there’s no much space in these rooms, the designing part has been done perfectly! I love the color combination and things placed at right place! Worth thinking about these designs for small rooms. Reply
Claudia says May 10, 2019 at 11:22 am I just came back to your blog after some time and I love what you have done with the new home. Your style and creativity with design is very inspiring. I especially love the paint color in this room and the chairs in your living room but I am having trouble finding sources. I remember you had all the sources listed for your last home. Where can we find the sources for the new home? Reply