Upstairs Family Room Update

There are no accidents. When we began our home renovations last fall, we discovered an original brick chimney that extended from our kitchen to the upstairs family room. It had to come down to make room for our banquette plans and therefore left a gaping hole in our upstairs family room. You can see the chimney in the photo below, covered in removable brick wallpaper…

If you missed it, we decided to add the brick from our old chimney to a wall in our kitchen. It was meant to be and I love the brick wall! It didn’t really solve the hole in the family room, though. We had a couple options in moving forward: We frame out the same space and perhaps add a built in bookshelf, or we could piece in the flooring and make that wall flat. We decided to fill in the floor and flatten out the wall. I was most excited about this option because it meant we got to reclaim a few feet of space and it opened up the seating and furniture placement options.. This is our family room, it also functions as a guest space so I was excited about the potential to add even more comfortable seating.

Above is what it looked like without the chimney! One of my favorite ways to add character to any space is a wall treatment. We opted for vertical paneling on the wall where we removed the chimney and now it is a focal point! I feel like installing the panels vertically draws your eye up and helps give height to this room with dormer ceilings. (Find details on shiplap HERE).

We briefly considered swapping our sofa for a sectional, but decided against it for a few reasons. This multi-purpose family room is our home office, our kid’s playroom, our movie room and our guest room… all rolled into one! Although I love the seating a sectional provides, I didn’t feel like it would serve the needs of this space. I love these affordable swivel chairs from World Market! The linen-like fabric and down fill is perfect. I couldn’t believe how comfy they are! A swivel chair is always so nice in a room like this so we can have conversational or board games and turn them for television when desired.

We had two chairs that we fit in this space, but they were green and they weren’t great with the green ottomans, so we gave our two sage gray swivel chairs when we helped furnish this home.

The other change to this room was a fun new rug! The pop of mustard plays nicely against the neutral fabrics of the sofa. I love to recommend neutral furniture pieces as they are usually a larger investment. Add in color with a rug, pillows, plants and other accessories.

Big change….something I have wanted to do for awhile, we painted that bookcase black!!! Something just felt off in this room, a reason I haven’t shared it until now. We have had the rug for over a month, which I loved, and the bookcase just felt washed out. The black now balances out the black in the wallpaper.

We (Kevin) painted it with some leftover Tricorn Black in a flat finish (same as our bedroom). It was really fast to paint, about an hour. We left it in the room and put a drop cloth under the bottom. I was considering doing a wax finish over it, but decided I really liked the casual look of the flat finish. The inside of the bookcase was already painted white and it REALLY works well with the black.

So lucky that the gold hardware was already on it! Really pops with the black. Inside the bookcase has bedding for when guests come to stay.

Do you see it?? The black in the wallpaper, ceiling fan and now in the bookcase! BALANCE!!! If you ever feel like something isn’t working it could be the balance of colors is off.

The leaf art I have had in a couple of different spots in our home and love it anywhere I put it! It is a good balance with all the plants in this room! I did the magic light trick in the green sconce over it, just adds another layer and spotlights it!

Added a simple round marble table with gold base. It is really nice quality, I didn’t want anything that could tip over (find the table here and a budget friendly option here). That lamp I have had for years, maybe 8 years?! It was an investment, but I knew I would love it for a long time because of the uniqueness and the color is timeless.

The sleeper sofa we have had for 5 years, when we moved in. We actually had to pay a Sofa Doctor to come and take it apart (it is a solid piece) and then build it in the room! So basically it is staying if we move. Another reason we didn’t change the seating to a sectional! (find a similar sleeper sofa here).

It might look a little packed in here to some, but we try to maximize our space with bigger pieces. A large basket with a plant, larger baskets on top of the bookcase to make it appear taller make an impact.

Hope that gave you some inspiration for your home!! And how to make a few simple changes rather than thinking you need to start all the way over!

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