Yes, we used to have a beautiful red family room. After several coats of primer and paint and some new leather furniture, I found out I was pregnant (this was 10 years ago) and suddenly the room smelled so terrible to me that I didn’t get to use it for several weeks! It took so much effort to get our room red that we swore we wouldn’t be repainting it for a while…but one decade is my cutoff for living with the same wall colour.
Today I’m sharing my newly-redecorated family room, as well as a few tidbits about decorating choices and accessories. First off, the paint is Charcoal Slate by Dulux, and I love it. The carpet is a fresh Berber, similar to what we had before, but with more of a dark-flecked pattern to it. (I know, I know – my husband told me when we built the house 12 years ago that I wouldn’t want a light carpet, but I insisted!)
Here’s a shot of the main part of the room (and no, it’s not even staged for your benefit – I have issues with clutter).

If you look off to the right, you can see the my very favourite accessory: our new canvas from Posterjack. I’ve received promotions from them in the past, but the timing was never quite right to feature them on the blog. When looking for something personalized for our new room, I realized a photo on canvas would be the perfect thing! Posterjack was kind enough to provide me with a code for a 20 x 28 canvas, so I went to their site, uploaded my photo, chose the edging (there are three different options), and that was it! It takes a few days to process and a few more to ship, and then our new piece of art was at our door:

Isn’t it beautiful? My husband took this shot of the girls on his phone Thanksgiving weekend 2013 when we took them for a walk on a trail near our home. It was totally spontaneous, and we thought it was so sweet the way they had their arms around each other as they walked (with my childhood Cabbage Patch Doll peeking out from Frannie’s arms – hello, Marcelle Iona…or, more accurately, Marcelle Iona Robin Amelia Tracy Theresa Anne Jennifer Leona Leahy. I didn’t want to leave anyone out!)

I was very impressed with Posterjack’s service and the quality of the canvas…and I think it’s super special to have such a personalized piece of art on the wall. (It doesn’t hurt that it’s right beside the treadmill, for extra inspiration.)

My Uncle Bernard drew this picture of my late Grandpa Leahy, based on a photograph. I thought it was a neat mix to put it on the same shelf as these punctuation symbols from Bouclair.

I’m going through a grey-and-yellow-accents thing (as you know, if you saw my bathroom reno) 
and these cushions from Bouclair fit the bill perfectly.

A few shots of yellow, like these candle holders from Bouclair, brighten up the very neutral space.

I love this piece of art (Bouclair) not only because it’s different, but also because it shares lines of scripture from one of the readings we had at our wedding.

My favourite place to be, in the whole house, is sitting in front of the fireplace. We kept the mirror we had above the mantel, as well as the candle holders and silver “stick stuff” (proper term, anyone?), and subbed in some more pops of yellow.

We always end up watching TV under the blankets, so it was my goal to find some to match the new colour scheme, so I wouldn’t feel the obsessive need to fold them up and hide them away after every use. I got these two for $26 at JYSK – you get what you pay for, and the stitching isn’t going to last forever, but they go with the new look, and birds are very in right now.

Have I ever told you how much I love my treadmill desk? I do so much blogging, social media work and reading while walking, and as a productivity-junkie, it really motivates me to be able to get things done while I’m exercising. (The treadmill also directly faces the TV – I get caught up on my PVR while I walk as well.) You can see Maggie down in the corner of this photo – under orders to tidy up the play corner so it could be photographed!

I finally found the perfect table tray at Home Outfitters. “Some people” can’t understand why the remotes and tissue box can’t just sit directly on the table, but it seems a lot more streamlined to me when they’re corralled inside one accessory! And yes, I did write “yellow Kleenex box” on the grocery list.

Another pop of yellow at the bottom of the stairs (canvas from Bouclair)

Previously, the girls had a huge number of toy bins in the back half of the room. After the renovation, we decided that they could keep one thing out at a time, and right now it’s the dolls, and they have a cute little corner set up for playing. (I find that Maggie is very into Barbies these days, and she’s also at an age where she loves to be near me, so this is perfect, nice and close to the treadmill.) It seems like only yesterday she was strapped into her baby swing, watching me walk!

A few parting shots:

Disclosure: I was provided with the photo canvas from Posterjack for review purposes. Everything else was purchased with cold, hard cash. Okay, fine, Visa. Opinions are, as always, my own.





by | 5 Comments

5 comments on “Our Basement Family Room – The Big Reveal!”

  3. Just wanted to let you know we have entered the Posterjack summer kidtographer contest that you mentioned here a few weeks ago. Little Miss is quite exited about it.

    Reply

  5. wow your new room looks gorgeous. I love the modern, clean look and the pattern on the throws and cushions. I'm sure its a space that the whole family will enjoy using. I also like how you have photos of your family on canvases that will help you all to remember good memories that you had together. nice work!

    Peter @ Colourlock

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *