Jennifer's Family Room - Virtual Makeover

After I posted about the virtual living room makeover I did for my friend, Christina, a reader by the name of Jennifer left me a sweet comment complimenting my work and challenging me to makeover her "designer's nightmare" family room. 

Since I can't resist a good challenge and I was curious to see this "designer's nightmare",
I decided to take on her challenge.

After Jennifer sent me some pictures of her family room
and explained to me that her stairway is a mere 3 feet wide,
I realized this really would be a challenge for me! 

With this being a rental house, I knew I had to come up with something that Jennifer and her fiance would be able to eventually take with them when they decided to purchase their first home.
Another challenge.

So anyways, after a lot of playing around, here is what I finally came up with...

(hover your mouse back and forth over the images to see the before and after)

The paint color on the walls, the white mantle and cream brick of the fireplace already looked great. 

I thought Jennifer and her husband could use some storage though to display some of their favorite things. 

My original thought was to have them build some built-in bookcases on either side of the fireplace, 

but I really hated to have them spend their money on something they would have to leave behind when they move out.

So I found these Hampton Bay bookcases from Home Decorators 

at a pretty reasonable price.

I think the glass door are super cute and are a great way to show off collectibles 

and house some of the TV equipment (like the DVD player).

Each bookcase also has a drawer to hide things not pretty enough to display.

I know Jennifer told me that her current futon had to stay because it was the only thing that would fit up her 3 foot wide staircase, but I did a lot of searching and I found a cute comfy looking couch that is only 33 inches tall. 

So I think that if you turn the sofa on its back, it would fit up the stairs with 3 inches to spare.

Positioning the sofa in the alcove of the bay windows would also help open up the room so that it does not feel so crowded. If the sofa won't fit up the stairs, moving the futon into this spot would work too :)

The couch is called the Horizon Sleeper Sofa in Natural Twill and is from Home Decorators.

 The Melrose Area Rug in Beige is also from Home Decorators.

 A dark wood colored coffee table, like this Cheswick Coffee Table from Pottery Barn, 

would be a nice contrast against the beige rug.

To bring some color into the room, 

I added two Jute Braid Pillows from Pottery Barn (in Mineral Green) to the couch.

 

Since I put bookcases next to the fireplace where Jennifer and her fiance housed their computer, 

I knew I needed to give them a new place for work. 

I wanted to find a solution though that looked pretty and would hide all of 

their computer and desk "stuff". 

After doing a lot of searching for the right piece of furniture, 

I eventually came across  

this beauty that not only looks great, it has a ton of storage that can all be concealed behind closed doors.

And to make it even better, it's only $599 at Office Depot!! 

A pretty good price for such a large, good-looking computer armoire!

And last, but not least, I found a narrow chair and ottoman that can hopefully fit up the narrow stairwell.

It's the Martin Arm Chair in Beige Basket Weave from Home Decorators 

and is only 35" H x 32" W.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I kept everything in the room pretty neutral so that it didn't clash with the green carpet 

and also to lighten up the room a bit.

I wanted  Jennifer and her fiance to have some classic, neutral pieces that will last them for years. 

As their styles and personalities change over the years, the basic pieces of furniture can be accessorized with colorful accents and changed without breaking the bank.

I hope this gives you some ideas, Jennifer, 

and helps you make your "designer's nightmare" a little more homey.