Friday, May 29, 2009

My 'blue flower' family room

I have been away for a couple of days from my desk since I re-did my family room and gave it an absolut low budget makeover.
Here a view into our room before.



The first thing on my agenda was to repaint this old dresser, which I had picked up a couple of years ago on the curb somewhere in the neighborhood and planned on doing something with it. Well, it spend a long time in my basement assisting with the laundry...
My husband had asked serveral times when he could get rid of this old piece of junk and finally I decided to jump into action.
After thourough cleaning I spray painted it with a primer and then with antique white, splurged on knobs from 'Anthropologie' and here you see the result. It gives me a chance to put away things usually flying around in our family room, sweets, candles, games, and there is still space!
And I cover the view into my kitchen a bit. I am not a fan of that one and eventually we will tackle that too.





I love those knobs, I took different ones, I liked them all, so I decided to use three different types. The top drawers are smaller, so these mother of pearl knobs fit perfectly, below a bit larger ones.



Work in progress. We tried different turquoise blues and finally decided on Benjamin Moore's 'blue flower'. It is the right amount of blue with a hint of green, just perfect for the different whites in the room. It does not overpower and works with my artwork.



The basket in the photo below is used for cushions which are used outside, but with all the rain lately we had hardly a chance to sit outdoors...



My first fully blooming peonies of the season, aren't they beautiful?



And here the result of three days of hard labor...

I have a confession to make, a couple of weeks ago I visited IKEA and first found nothing good to say about most of the sofas, but Joni from 'Cote de Texas', as well as Maria Killam from 'Color me Happy' both suggested the Ektorp sofa and yes, I followed your advise, bought the thing and I am happy with it. I know, it is white, but washable and my kids, dog and hubby have strict orders...
My budget was $ 500 including the sofa and I managed to get by! Phew, I am very proud of myself...









All work, painting, hammering and the pictures were taken by V. Zlotkowski (and a little help from my darling husband)

12 comments:

  1. omg - this pleases me to no end! it looks sooooo great! I am so glad you listened about that sofa!
    isn't it comfortable???

    another person emailed me and they have had that sofa for five years!!!!!!! they just recently replaced the slipcovers for like $65 I think, something ridiculously cheap. I swear - it's the best deal ever and YES!!! it was made for children and pets. Just wash it and bleach it when it gets dirty. I keep a little throw on my white slipcovers for the dogs to "land on" and that keeps it cleaner longer.

    Congratulations! you did great!!!!

    Joni

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  2. the wall color is really nice too, I have to say. And the oil painting - WOW!!! wonderful!!!!!!!!!

    the room looks totally different. great job.

    I had to come back for a second peek!

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  3. this new blue was a great choice! it makes such a difference. i admire your ability to constantly come up with new ideas AND -besides everything else- to find the energy to put it all into practice!
    an i know how it feels. now with my first apartment.. which i have entirely to myself (no room-mates..) it is very similar. it is such a pleasure to slowly but steadily turn it into an environment that feels like home because there's something of me in it.

    great job, mama! ; )
    you pulled it off once more--

    Yours, Eugen

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  4. The wall color is perfection with the gorgeous painting...and those white slipcovers are beautiful against the blue walls. You did a great job. Thanks for sharing this with us!

    Tricia - Avolli

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  5. Joni from Cote de Texas just sent me the link (when she does stuff like that I just love her as she's such a big blogger, I feel so special when she comes over to my blog to leave a comment :)

    Love the before and after so much!! You did such a beautiful job, and that sofa is fabulous! The art, everything.

    Oh, and of course the colour on the walls, I'm into blue these days, it's a harder colour to choose for the walls than people think.

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  6. You guys make me feel so good, like a kid in her own candy store...thank you!

    True, blue is a tough one too, it has so many possible undertones. But come to think of it, this holds true for all other colors too.
    I am just happy to have found this one rather quickly.

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  7. it looks so nice... i love it. mama, you are amazing =)!enjoy the "new" room.

    talk soon,okay? love you.

    Anatol

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  8. What a beautiful change you have made.... An those peonies, are they really from your garden as they are amazing....

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  9. Yes they are and I am so happy because it's the first year that they are blomming in such abundance...

    :) Victoria

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  10. Beautiful room makeover. And you have such amazing light coming into that room. I think the paint color makes it all the more magical.

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  11. omg, it looks really great!!! What a comfy and fun room to hang out in!

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  12. If my Grandma Elsie was a color, I would say a robin's egg blue color - it was a peaceful oasis and everything had a monochromatic look, in dreamy shades of aqua.
    I love the color, your lamp and that bowl. My eyes are happy. What a great spot to read, to work and to feel proud of! Great job!

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