Family Room | | Page 2

This weekend’s project was a win-win situation for both me and Mr. H— I got an item removed that was totally clashing with my design plans and Mr. H got to smash things! What item did he destroy you ask? The oversized built-in in our family room which I’m happy to report is now a distant memory.

When we toured the house for the first time, we both knew that this was a piece that was way too large and taking up way too much space in the room. It was one of the first things we wanted to change to make the room feel more open. Just as a reminder, here’s what the unit looked like originally (photo taken from the real estate listing):

Too much for the small corner!

So Mr. H went to work and bought the holy trinity of manly demolition tools:

1)Power Drill

2)Sledge Hammer

3)Crow Bar

(Enter Tim “the tool man” Taylor grunt here)

He came home with his chest puffed out and a bit more swagger with manly tools in hand ready to do some damage. After prepping the area (and by prepping the area I mean making sure his 55 inch tv was safely out of harm’s way) he took his first swing using the sledge-hammer. Now on HGTV, this is where a cabinet come crashing down or dry wall crumbles and someone triumphantly walks through their newly created hole. But in our case, NOTHING HAPPENED! The wood did not move. So my determined husband gave it another swing. Still nothing.

According to our neighbors, the unit was built by the original owners who were quite the DIYers. (They also hand-built the fireplace and landscaped the backyard, pond and waterfall.) These people must have intended for this piece to survive the apocalypse because whatever they used to build it was not making it easy to tear down.

Mr. H then decided that maybe this method wasn’t working and brought out the power drill to remove the shelves piece by piece which ended up being a much better plan.

Once the shelves were removed, he started in working on the frame with the crow bar prying it away from the wall, put in a bit more elbow grease, and then…. It was gone!

Here are a few before and after shots:

Before….

After!

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Now we just need to re-dry wall a few places and patch some spots.

So proud of my honey for tackling this! Well done Babe!

I am so excited to let you all know that we’ve bought our first house!! (Which is also why I’ve been MIA for the past few weeks…whoops!) So far we’ve been here for two weeks and could not have been happier with our home. I am also excited that I can now start getting my hands dirty with all the design ideas I’ve been pinning for the last year! Most of the house is still empty as we now have many more rooms to fill than we did in our 1 bedroom apartment, but I still wanted to share a few photos of our new digs.

For today’s post, I’ll share the Family Room/Kitchen area. By no means is this room done (we have several projects ahead of us including new floors, paint, window treatments, new sofa…etc), but this is the room that we spend most of our time in by far.

When we started house hunting, we knew we wanted a place that we could entertain. We love to have our closest friends and family over and wanted a home that would allow everyone to mingle and converse easily. We LOVE how this open floor plan allows us to do just that!

This rooms get sooo much light– it’s amazing. Cooper loves lounging here too!

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The breakfast bar is perfect for additional seating and for grabbing a quick bite in the morning. Plus it allows me to still feel a part of the action while I’m cooking!

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Next to the kitchen are 3 additional spaces: the Laundry Room (left), the Powder Room (straight) and the Garage (right). Hanging in the right corner, you’ll see my monogrammed Key Holder I made when we first got married. Placing it right next to the garage is both attractive and convenient as we are able to hang our keys right when we get home. I also love that the previous owners added a buffet for additional storage. It’s a great place to set up a bar during parties!

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To the left of the buffet are our sliding glass doors leading out to our back yard. (More on the yard in another post.) These curtains were the first thing I purchased for this room. I wanted something to soften the doors, but still allow light to shine through. These finds were from Bed Bath and Beyond and are the perfect addition to the space. I LOVE them!

The gas burning fireplace and mantle were hand crafted by the original owners. I love how its rustic lines play against some of the more modern elements in the room. And with fall just around the corner, I can’t wait to snuggle up next to this baby!

We’ve definitely got a list of things to do in the space to really make it our own, but with a few photos on the wall and some of our familiar pieces, it’s already starting to feel like home!