Moving In Day - A New Family Room

Goodness - this was all started back in Mid-March when we were first home all day. And we finished up right around Easter. And here I am just taking some pictures. I'm not quite sure where this week went. It sure did fly by!

I wish I was one of those good before/after photographers. I'm not. I never remember to take a good 'before' picture. So here's one from sometime before we painted!

Before (around Christmas)



And honestly, I don't have a lot of pictures of our family room lately (the whole room) because I guess I was not feeling joy bells in my heart when I was in there. Most of my home pictures were of the screened in porch or our kitchen.

Before (you can see the dark cream-ish color of the bookcases Scott built in this picture - those are all changed now)



Before (you can see how in the past few years I kept trying to add touches that I liked but it just really wanted a lighter, brighter room)



Before (this was our family room a few summers ago)



I guess I did have a bunch of 'before' pictures. Time to jump into the 'after'. (Well I guess these are really 'during')





We took the built in bookcases off the walls and painted them - that took a long time!



So the ceiling got a new coat of white and the walls were painted the same color as the 'base' color of our house which is called Beach White. It's hard to tell in this photo but it's simply white. Just enough of 'not bright white' so that the bright white molding pops out a bit.



We did a chalk-like finish on the bookcases.









And so after all of that painting (and all that mess) we got the room all cleaned up and I moved in!

Here is (too many) after pictures:



All bright and all white!



We decided to paint the frames too!



It's really hard to get a picture of this wall with the skylights streaming sunshine in!



I am quite certain that my classical books like the blank whiteness of the bookcases so they can stand out!



















I splurged on some new pillows since I want that room to be white with blue. (and dreaming of light blue couches)











I think that having an all white room will be fun for Christmas decorating. A blank palette.







Christmas is never all the way packed away in this house. Not the books at least! I adore Christmas too much for it to all be in bins.



















Blurry but my all time favorite on planet books so I just had to include a picture of them.



Framed birth and adoption announcements make me happy!









I love these antique letter I have put together in the phrase "Home At Last" because that's how we feel when we are all together in that room... except that now we laugh at 'Home At Last'. Maybe it should be 'Home, Still?' Anyway, I do love that painted white mirror!







And that's it! A new happy place for our family to be!