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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Family Drop Zone - Shelf vs. Table

One of my outstanding projects in the family room is a command center/drop zone.  This was my original inspiration, but that stuff is wayyyy too expensive).  We always come in the house through the garage and there's a small-ish wall just inside the door that I decided would be perfect for a drop area.  There are a few main things I want this space to accomplish:

-place for keys
-place for mail & magazines
-place to display invitations, cards, etc.
-place to store my purse and work bag each day

Right now most of this stuff ends up on the kitchen table or island.  Therefore, our kitchen always looks a mess.

Here's the area I am working with:



I'm pretty clear on what I want to do with the wall space.  This is a little drawing I came up with (to scale, of course ;)):



The shelves/hooks are already there (from Joss and Main), which take care of a "place to hang keys" and other miscellaneous things.  I also bought this bright green magazine pocket from three by three.  I plan to make or modify a cork board for above the magazine pocket to display invitations, etc.  And I already have the basket for my bags.  The one thing I can't decide on is what to do for a counter space.  I originally wanted just a shelf there, so that I would have a lot of room under it to store things.  But then I got to thinking that since I'm so indecisive about this, a movable table may be better.  I really liked something like this:



I was planning to start building something like that, but then I saw this, and thought "Hmmm, it would be nice to have drawers to store stamps and other mail-y things":



I'd be fine with the building the shelf or the first table, but I'm not particularly confident that I could build something with drawers.  (The reason I wanted to build it is because I have very specific dimensions and finishes in mind).  Maybe I can convince Greg to check out some stores with me this weekend :).

So what do you think?  Should I go with a shelf, a simple table, or a table with small drawers?  Is there anything I am missing for this space?

Thanks in advance for your help!

-C

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Family Room Reveal - Part 1

I have been away from blog-world for way too long!  Now that wedding/shower/party season is winding down, I hope be able to do more house stuff and blogging.  Although, the holidays are fast approaching, so I'm sure I'll get busy with holiday parties and planning soon too.  There's needs to be more days in the week... or maybe just less work days! 

The family room is really close to being completely furnished/decorated.  I am going to reveal it in two posts since the room wasn't what you would call "clean" today.  You can't see all of the stuff I have piled in front of the couch from the angles of these photos ;).  This room is still a work in progress, but I'm really happy with what we have done so far. 

Enjoy!

This is a shot of almost the whole room.  The pictures above the couch on the left need to be revised... I'll be asking for your opinions on that in an upcoming post.  The couches and chairs are from Ashley Furniture.  The paint colors are Martha Stewart's Potter's Clay on the side walls and Zinc on the back accent wall.

The console table, bookend and angel wing trays are from Joss and Main.  The candle sticks were my mom's (one is super-glued together because Greg dropped it.. haha).  The basket is from Joann's and usually holds phone chargers and errant shoes and socks.  The photo, "M", frame and vase were all gifts.  The photo is actually a picture of me and Greg (we're on a rock on the left) from a camping trip we took a few years back with my brother.

The TV console is a custom piece from Martin's Furniture in Lancaster.  The guys there do amazing work and can make pretty much anything you can imagine.  The paper mache deer head is from West Elm.  The metal circle-art things are from Kohl's.  The larger candle stick is from Joss and Main.  The basket is from Pier1 and the pillows inside came with two ottomans I got from American Signature Furniture (the ottomans will be shown in the next post).  The two poufs are from Target.  The smaller candle stick, frame, and lantern (it's actually a bird feeder) were gifts.  The burlap curtains are home-made.

 
The stool and gear decor are from Joss and Main.  The books are Greg's... he loves biographies.  :)


The shelf, pillows and clock are from Joss and Main.  The lamp was on sale for $15 at American Signature Furniture.  The end table is from a second hand store near my house called Wacker's Trading Post.  The coasters are home made.

Here's some close-ups of two of my favorite things in the room, the sunglassed buck pillow and the distressed clock.


The next post will show the rest of the room.  I have a mini-bar storage/bookshelf in one corner that's not shown.  And I'll also take some photos from other angles, which show the front of the couches and the coffee table (which I love) and ottomans.  I'll also share what I still have left to do in this room in an upcoming post.  Why does everything house-related take 10 times more time than you think it will??

How is everyone else's decorating going?  I'd love to see pictures of what you all have going on!