If there were a rule on the number of blog posts written on a single topic, I would have, without a doubt, already broken that rule a thousand times! Haha… So at the risk of sounding like a broken record, if you don’t mind seeing and reading about our family room again, I have a few updates to share with you that I’m super excited about!
A little background for those of you who are new to Café Design: We live in a small college town in Western Massachusetts with my husband and our 9-year-old daughter and we bought our Cape Cod style cottage back in June 2019. The house was built in the 1960s and had been beautifully preserved but never updated by previous owners, and every nook and cranny needed some serious refreshing to better suit a modern-day lifestyle and aesthetic.
Since our “moving in” day three years ago we’ve been slowly chipping away at projects, doing the majority of work ourselves but also hiring out jobs whenever possible. It’s been a fun ride so far – although we’re nowhere near the finish line (we have enough projects to keep us busy for a lifetime) – but one room in particular (and the main focus of my decorating pursuits until now) is closer to completion and I wanted to share glimpses of it with you.
Initially the room was a small bedroom on the first floor of our house, a space we rarely used and that soon became a bizarre combination of a guest room / storage unit and laundry room (the washer & dryer were behind the closet doors). At a little over 1,200 square feet, our house needed to function like a well-oiled machine and since we couldn’t afford losing a major room to storage (and to hosting the occasional guest), I started thinking of ways to modify the floor plan and turn that spare bedroom into a multi-functional living space.
The solution that most appealed to us was to turn the former bedroom into a family room / TV room / home library / occasional guest bedroom and home office (a tall order for an 11’ x 11’ room, I know :)))) ). To make it happen, we closed off the original doorway and had a pair of French doors installed, connecting the former bedroom with the living room (image above), and allowing the two spaces to flow into each other.
Whenever possible I like to create a sense of symmetry on wall elevations and in the family room we removed the old window, which was drafty and off-center, and had a pair of smaller windows installed in its place, centered right above where the sofa would go.
Eventually, our handyman helped us build floor-to-ceiling bookshelves for our growing collection of books and board games. (It also took him ten months and hundreds of phone calls, but we won’t talk about that. )
Selecting the right color was a daunting process, especially because I was torn between conflicting design ideas for the space and I had trouble deciding which one I loved more: a crisp, calm, white paneling and the warm patina of aged wood or a saturated color with a fun personality? Both scenarios appealed to me but after living with white walls for a while, I realized I craved more color in this room. After a lot of painting and repainting, I finally landed on a color I loved (a warm creamy yellow from Farrow & Ball), but it wasn’t until we found the perfect sofa for the room that everything fell into place – a beautiful English style sofa in a blue and white floral fabric with specks of yellow in the flowers.
Once the major structural work was done, the room just sat there while I agonized over paint colors for the better part of last year. Blues, greens, grays, whites, pinks – I sampled them all in search of the perfect color.
But very quickly (even before painting was finalized) what used to be a room we never really spent any time in, became the coziest and most hard-working space in our house. And the best part is that this month we get to finally share our home with out-of-town visitors and overnight guests, and I can’t wait to see our family room multi-task as a guest bedroom! (I’ll let you know how that goes! 🙂 )
Here is the room all painted… The Farrow & Ball color I had initially selected for the room had a distinct pink undertone which only showed up in the afternoon, so I looked for a substitute with a bit more green in it and found it in a Benjamin Moore paint we absolutely love!
There’s still some work left in styling the shelves and bringing in artwork, the part which I always dread because I tend to love rooms clean and bare, and I may need some advice on how to style the shelves, but that’s a topic for another blog post. In the near future we have plans to extend the living room beams into the family room, and to install a pair of exterior French doors that will open onto the garden.
Anyway, after almost three years of work, this is where we are with the family room. Although it feels like it’s taking us forever to finish this project, we also feel incredibly grateful to have this space and this house to take care of, and be creative in (especially during a global pandemic), and we do not want to wish the time away. As for the design, there were a few things I wish I had done differently, little details that would have made our lives a little bit easier (like moving the light switches onto the side of the bookcases for easier access at night, or moving the electrical outlets onto the base of the bookcases for easy access when we charge our phones or laptops) but overall, I am very happy with how this room has turned out!
I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into our cottage style family room makeover. If you’d like to read about our other projects, you can do so through the following stories:
Our Home | The Evolution of Our Cottage Style Dining Room
Our Home | A Cottage Style Fireplace Makeover
Our Home | Bookshelves in Our family Room
Our Home | What We’ve Been Up To
Our Home | Living Room Progress
Our Home | Staircase Inspiration
Thanks for stopping by! Take care!
It’s looking beautiful Eva. Great use of space.
Author
Thank you very much, Maureen!!
xo, Eva
I love this transformation, Eva. You’ve created such a cozy and inviting space. I’m curious to know if it functioned Luke you hoped for your guests. I bet they loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Author
Thanks so much, Sheena! Glad to hear it!
And yes, I hope our guests enjoy the room as well! (So far, no complaints 🙂 )
xo, Eva
This room you have created is looking so lovely, warm and inviting. The bookcases are my favorite addition and think they add loads of character. Ive enjoyed reading about how things are developing so glad you’ve given us an update.
Author
Thank you so much, Jamie! Happy to hear it!
xo, Eva
What BM color did you use- I love it.
Author
Hi Betsy,
The color is called Wythe Tan, from Benjamin Moore’s Williamsburg Collection.
xo, Eva
Lovely, well thought out renovation. Enjoy many years with your family in this space.
Author
Thank you so much, Margaret!
xo, Eva
Very nice indeed! Nice use of color, pattern and texture! Taking your time and enjoying the journey. When it’s right it’s right!
Author
Thank you, Susan!!!
xo, Eva
Eva.
When you have a moment, could you share the source of your wooden blinds.? Just what I am looking for in our sun porch room.
Enjoy this beautiful day Eva.
Fondly,
Susan in MT
It looks amazing! Love that sofa in that space, tucked in between the bookshelves. You’ve made some great choices!
Author
Thank you so much, Linda!!
xo, Eva
From blah to eye candy!! It’s amazing how much the built in bookshelves changed the feel of the room!!! I love the little “snug” you created for the beautiful sofa! Adore the lamps, too!
Author
Thank you so much, Amanda!
xo, Eva
It’s beautiful and so inviting! I can just imagine curling up on that fantastic sofa with a good book or gazing out the window to see what’s blooming in the garden. It’s splendid!
Author
Thank you so much, Mary! That’s exactly what I do… We have a bird feeder and some New Dawn roses right outside the window and I am constantly drawn to their show…
xo, Eva
Wow, what a transformation!
So lovely!
Author
Thank you so much, Liza!
xo, Eva
Wow, it came out so nice! I love the bookcases and your lamps, but I especially am drawn to the sofa. The fabric is so pretty and happy–may I ask where you got it? And yes, I’d love to know the paint color also. The wood shades are a great touch, adding a beautiful organic texture to the room.
Can’t wait to see what you tackle next!
Author
Thank you so much, Diana!
The fabric is vintage and unfortunately I could not track down the name/manufacturer. The paint color is Wythe Tan by Benjamin Moore, from their Williamsburg Collection.
xo, Eva
There can never be too many posts/updates on your own home projects. They are my absolute favorite! This room looks great. I also live in a cozy house (just under 1400 SQ ft) so I know what you mean about every room having to work extra hard.
I’m trying to figure out the last picture with the bed set-up. Do you have a separate bed in the space or is the loveseat a pull out bed? Would love to see more pulled back pictures for context.
My house came with built in bookshelves in our spare bedroom. I have found styling them to be tricky because if I display my regular books the colors feel too jarring. I do collect vintage girls series books from the 1910-1930s so I ended up displaying those. I use plastic to protect the book jackets which doesn’t look as nice as if I left the plastic off or displayed them without the jackets — but when you pay extra for those it’s good to protect your investment!
Can’t wait to see the continued evolution of this room. 🙂
Author
Thank you so much, Lauren!!! The initial plan was to have a sofa bed in here but because I couldn’t find one I liked we came up with a compromise: for the few times a year we have out-of-town guests we bring in a twin bed and place it on the wall opposite the French doors. So far it has worked out very well!
Thank you for following along (and paying such close attention to the furniture layout 🙂 )
Have a great weekend!
xo, Eva
The room is coming together beautifully. Love your site overall.
Author
Thank you so much, Loretta! I’m happy to hear it!
xo, Eva
Eva,
I love the warm feel to the room. An English library in a country home comes to mind. I admire that you displayed such patience during the process. I need to take a page from you! :). I’m in my final and forever cottage and would like to have a wand to wave that would instantly take care of all the needs of this little place, but that wouldn’t be nearly as much fun as it is to work hard on a space and see the end result.
Karen B.
Author
Thank you so much, Karen! I know exactly what you mean about being torn between wanting it all right away or waiting patiently for the right things. But like you said, the fun is in the journey. Figuring out what your house needs (and what your soul wants) is the best part of decorating, IMO.
xo, Eva
I love how inviting and cozy your new room is, and it looks like it’s worth every bit of time and effort that you put into the design. I think large rooms are overrated, and it has come to my attention when I have the chance to be with other people in a larger home, that everyone seems drawn to the smaller and cozier spaces anyway!
Author
Thank you very much, Paula!!
xo, Eva
Hi Eva.
Would you be willing to share the source of your woven blinds in your family room.? I have never found any that mount like these. Casual but classy look.
Thank you!
Susan in MT
Author
Hi Susan!
Thank you so much for your patience, I’ve been meaning to trace the source for a few days now. I can’t remember exactly where I got them from (it’s been almost a year) but I’ll look through my records and get back to you!
xo, Eva