Coming Together

I think I'll never be caught up.


But it's ok.


For now I'm so excited our family room is coming together.

The dream to remove the bar, my husband's ginormous speakers & funky holes in the wall for the 1950's tv (that my make shift curtain is hiding) finally happened.


We've been in our house for 12 years.  Wow. Crazy.


For a time we thought we'd sell.  And honestly I don't think it would have been practical to do this with crawling babies in the house.  So I guess it wouldn't have been possible to do this sooner.


In our early years in this house we both worked such long hours.  I left at 7:30 and usually got home around 8:30 at night.  I had an hour and a half commute each way to work.  It didn't bother me at all at the time.  I loved what I did.  But I don't think I could ever do that again.


Anyway, I guess I'm explaining why it took 12 years to get to this point.


I'm only giving you a sneak peak today.  But let me just say this has been a process of bringing a dream to reality.  I always wanted to tear out the bar and put in a built in for the tv with shelves and cabinets.

I haven't written about it much, but the tearing down and building up

took longer than expected, but it usually does, doesn't it.


I'll skip the many in between pictures of the building (which was a process of many decisions.. I couldn't even explain the process.  We did this with a wood worker and our own ideas from pictures and just gut feeling of space and sizing and the limitations of the room.  And sometimes it was a bit stressful.  But I'm not complaining.  I feel so blessed to even have a chance to do this.

Here it is primed.  The ceiling fan light will soon go.  I'm searching for just the right chandelier.  Just have to make sure the husband approves. :)


Here is a sneak peak of the finished product.  The built in entertainment center and library.  Those shelves on top are the library... and I must give credit where credit is due.  The library with the ladder was all my husband's idea.  And I love it.  Those chords will be for a small strip of lights that will be hidden behind the moulding.  He has a dimmer switch for them so there will be a low light.  I have to admit I actually like it.  I fought it at first, but it's brilliant.

I'm super happy with the paint colors.  Choosing them was a labor of love.  I'm a sample girl and I go crazy putting swatches and ideas up on the wall.  It probably isn't photographing fully right, but truly I'm happy with the airy, light, and vintage feeling the colors have created.

I'm still playing around with things we already own to put on the shelves and definitely will carefully select things to add to them.  That part is fun.


The couch is a diversion from what I normally go for, but we had the white slip covered sofa for awhile and I quite honestly was getting tired of washing it all the time.

So I went darker and more simple and tailored, less frilly than I normally would want to.  I must say it is amazing to have enough seating in this room now.  We never have.

My plan with the darker couch is to go ultra light with the paint and to soften it up with some light linen pillows and curtains.  I'm saving all kinds of tutorials lately.  I just need more time! :)


By the way, if anyone is curious, the walls are called dove wing from Benjamin Moore.  The ceiling and trim is snowfall white.  Also by Benjamin Moore.  And the cabinet is a Sydney Harbor paint called Pumice.  Only it's not by Sydney Harbor.  I had it color matched by valspar.  I honestly think it wasn't color matched correctly.  But I loved what they came up with the most.  Only I recently painted my little office space in valspar paint and am not super happy with how rough it is and how easily it scratches.  So I took the paint sample to Catalina and had them match it with their paint.  I chose a pearl finish.  It's not super shiny, but is enough so it can stand the wear and tear that book shelves will get.  If anyone is interested feel free to email me and I can send a picture of the combination they created.  It truly is a custom color that took me two trips at a couple of hours each for the paint guy to perfectly match.  He started light and added little by little.  The first time around I had my kids with me.  The second, I decided to use a babysitter.  When I say this was a labor of love, I really mean it! :)


All in all, I have a vision.  It's not there yet, but it's coming together.


That little ottoman there is part of a chair in the other room.  But I placed it there because I'm leaning towards getting a tufted ottoman for a coffee table and wanted to get an idea of how it would look.


Just thought I'd share a little sneak peak.


We're still putting the library together  and the cabinet doors are still being made so the full reveal will probably take a bit.


But today I thought I'd post part of what has been taking up so much of my little free time.


Plus, my mom mentioned I haven't blogged much lately.


I know, and I apologize.


I feel like I'm never caught up lately 


and I'm trying to be ok with that.




My parents came up and we celebrated Mother's Day


together and went to one of my all time


favorite restaurants, The Coral Tree Cafe.




Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!


May you treasure this role and the gift to be


raising God's precious ones to know and love Him.


May you be given an extra dose of patience and


perseverance for all the challenges we face, both


big and small and may you know that He delights


in you and all you do for your family.


xoxo,
Jackie

p.s. I'm linking up to Life Made Lovely for the first time today!
Follow the link for many lovely inspirations.