So this is a little project I worked on for a friend of mine to kickstart our HomeRefresh features!
I’ve long been a fan of Inspiration Boards for room makeovers, like the time we combined the kid’s room or created a nursery for Brayden and for Skylar… and for this, my friend Carly had a room that needed some, well, inspiration. She asked me for ideas, and in her own words… “Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it, give me a list of what to buy and I’ll buy it.” (How fun is that?!) And so the Inspiration Board for her Cheery and Fresh family room space was born.
Carly has two little girls, who just happen to be the same ages as my two kids, and she’s got another on the way! When I saw her space, it was pretty much a blank slate. Their only requests were to keep the existing furniture, which consisted of a love seat, a TV and console, to make the space inviting for kids and a place to use their affinity towards arts, crafts and drawing. For colors, she was consistently drawn to lime greens and teal blues. They didn’t need a huge transformation and weren’t up for a remodel, just a refresh with some new items to transform the space into something ready for daily use and much more functional.
Oh and yes, the puppy was added as a last minute gift to round out the family… and their space (only kidding). Hi Rudy!
Below is the Inspiration Board that I sent her, along with links of where to purchase and a few instructions, like painting the wall behind the sofa with chalkboard paint. To my delight, she was totally on board with it and all in!
1. Curtains and rod from Ikea and dolls from Blablakids 2 +13. Lack Shelves and side table from Ikea 3. Wire clip from Ikea 4. Baskets from Ikea 5. Chalkboard wall paint from HomeDepot 6. White shelves from Ikea 7. Dark brown picture frames for the girl’s artwork from Ikea 8. Chalk label storage jars from Amazon 9. Kids table and chairs from Ikea (Then I had her spray paint the chairs teal.) 10. Floor lamp she owned, but can find similar at Ikea 11. Pillows from Ikea and Crate and Barrel 12. Tray tables from CB2 14. Braided jute rug from Overstock.com
Again, one more look at before…
And after…
The shelves are full of the family’s art supplies, where everything has it’s place… and to fill the space above the shelves is a clip wire so that they can display all of their daily creations.
For this matching table and chairs set from Ikea, we chose to paint the chairs (just use a spray paint with a primer in it for an easy DIY job), to add in another dose of color.
Here, the girls added their own artwork to complete this nook, but the look is cohesive and streamlined with matching frames.
Thank you, Carly, for being so totally awesome to work with, and for letting us have so much fun with your space! I love how much brighter and happy the room feels, while still being super family friendly and functional. And it definitely makes me smile when I can help someone say, “I’m so obsessed with this room now, we love it!”
What about you, what do you think? Thoughts? Feelings?
Room designed, styled and art directed by me for our new HomeRefresh segment, if you’re interested in a personalized inspiration board for your own room makeover, email us at freshmommy (at) me (dot) com. Photos by Briony and I.
Sarah Halstead says
I love it. Looks great. Can you come help me next??
Susi says
I love the chalk board paint and I’m so dying to do that to one of our walls. 🙂
Gerri says
So fun and refreshing! I have been lovin’ IKEA to spruce up our new pad!! xxO
Tell lil Ms. Sunshine I miss her already. 🙂
Adrienne says
Nice! I love the mustard and blue color pops – my daughter did something similar with throws and pillows recently. I think my favorite is the little table and chairs.
Michelle Levine says
It is amazing how much brighter and inviting it is now ! even the simplest things like the curtains make a HUGE impact 🙂