Rustic European Inspired Family Room Design Plan

Recently I completed a family room design plan for a client how described her style as "European Primitive." 

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what that would look like. 

So after lots of research and online shopping, this is the plan I came up with...

 The client already owned the leather sofa,  

Chunky Wool and Natural rug (Pottery Barn), 

and industrial style end tables (Home Decorators) 

and I added in all the rest to bring the whole room together.

1. Ponderosa Lumbar Designer Decorative Pillow (Etsy)

Navy Blue Trellis Geometric Pillow (Etsy)

Textured Linen Pillow Cover in Flan (Pottery Barn)

Cable Knit Throw (Pottery Barn)

2. Pair of Armless Slipper Chairs in Abstract Blue Floral (Target)

3. Kenroy Home Stacked Rock Table Lamp (Lighting Direct)

4. Button Tufted Upholstered Ottoman in French Yellow (Target)

5. Wooden Dough Bowl (Etsy)

6. Quinn Tripod Round End Table (Target)

7. Margo Medallion Drapes (Pottery Barn)

8. Sutter Adjustable Table Lamps (Pottery Barn)

9. flat stone fireplace surround with chunky wood mantel

10. Charleston Club Chairs (Overstock)

To give you a visual of how all of this furniture would be laid out, 

here is the floor plan I created for the client... 

 I was absolutely thrilled when the client told me that she loved the plan. 

This design plan really stretched me as a decorator, so to hear that I created something that the client was excited about really gave me a major confidence booster.

While the client loved the overall plan, I learned that she wasn't crazy about the color navy blue, so I came up with a few alternate plans for her, swapping out the navy blues with other options.

Interested in creating Rustic European Style in your home?

Here are some pointers:

Incorporate simple, natural elements, such as wood and stone.

Choose furnishings that reflect the wear that comes with age (i.e. weathered farm tables, distressed side tables, metals with patina).

Accessorize with baskets, pottery, and utilitarian objects. 

Furniture should be relatively simple and able to stand up to hard wear.

Stick to a color palette that is mostly inspired by earth tones; marigold yellows, sage green, merlot red, soil browns and ochre. That doesn't mean you can't add in pops of complimentary colors, though!

The Reality of Chalkboard Walls

On a whim last week, I painted a small wall in our kitchen with black chalkboard paint.

The kids absolutely loved it.

 

I mean, how cool is it when your mom lets you color on the wall!?

And I liked it too...

at first.

Then reality set in.

If you're a type A personality like me and like things just so,

you'll see what I mean...

After the kids were done with their 'art' and the wall was scrubbed clean,

it never really looked clean.

I'm not sure if it's because the wall is textured or what, 

but it just ended up looking messy no matter how much I cleaned it.

It drove me nuts.

And see the baseboard?

Here's a closer look...

Chalk dust all over the baseboard and floor.

After living with the wall like this for a week, I decided I'd had enough.

I mean, do I really need one more thing to keep clean?

So today I painted back over it,

and now we're back to a plain ol' vanilla wall 

(which will hopefully be getting some color soon!).

It's really a shame because chalk board walls can be so dang cute!

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Stenciled Curtain Panel Results

I thought I had finally found the perfect solution for curtains for our kitchen/breakfast nook area and family room (read about it here), 

and after spending several days stenciling curtain panels,

I do love how they turned out. 

I just don't love them in this space.

 After finishing one set for the sliding door, I hung them up real quick next to our old curtains just to see how they would look.

They are super cute, so I'm not entirely sure why I don't love them.

Maybe there's just too much white.

Or maybe it's the pattern.

I'm just glad I didn't do all 4 panels before deciding they aren't going to work!

Anyways, I will be hanging them in another room 

and moving on to Curtain Plan D 

(since these will be the fourth pair of curtains I've tried in this space!)

Here's a sneak peak at my next plan of attack...

Fingers crossed that the fourth time's the charm!

Kitchen Chalk Board Wall

I am a project-aholic. 

I almost always have a few irons in the fire and if I don't have some sort of project going, I get anxious.

Today was one of those days where I was totally itching to do something. 

Change something. 

Create something.

So while the kids were taking a little nap, 

I whipped out a can of chalkboard paint that had been sitting in the garage and gave a wall in the kitchen a couple coats of black. 

I was in such a rush to 'do something' that I forgot to take a before picture.

The wall that I painted used to be cream, so it's a bit of a shock to walk in to the kitchen and see black!

But I think I'm liking it.

To break up some of the black, I hung a metal perpetual calendar (Joyworks), 

which I think happens to be pretty dang cute.

And I love that I now have a place to write the weekly dinner menu.

The kids are pretty crazy about getting to draw on a wall too :)

Oh, and just an FYI, chalk pens do not work well on chalk board paint on walls. 

It doesn't wipe off! I learn that lesson the hard way :(

Good old fashioned sticks of chalk seem to work best!

Linking up to:

Happy Hour Friday at Craftberry Bush

The Accessorized Hemnes Entertainment Center

After finally convincing my hubby to let me buy the Ikea Hemnes Entertainment Center, 

it took me quite a while to accessorize it. 

I didn't just want to fill it up for the sake of just filling it up. 

I wanted it to look pretty, but also contain items that are meaningful to us as a family.

I also didn't want to spend much money.

So I shopped around our house for most of the items 

and filled in the rest of the bookcases with a few other minor purchases.

basket with balls (Michael's)

white square Ribba frame (Ikea) with keys from our past homes

faux plant (TJMaxx)

silver Ribba frame (Ikea) with sepia picture of the kiddos

old toolbox (Antiques Warehouse in Shonomish, WA)

blue jars (M&M Antiques in Monroe, WA)
wooden spools (M&M Antiques in Monroe, WA)

books covered in brown paper

artificial plant and Fridfull planter (Ikea)

blue jar  (Ruffles and Rust in Snohomish, WA)

Kvarnvik photo box (Ikea)

blue wood box (Goodwill, painted with Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue)

white Ribba frame (Ikea) with picture I took in Seabrook, WA

hourglass (TJMaxx)

vintage books (Goodwill)

brown Ribba frame (Ikea) with picture of my daughter's hand

knick-knacks collected from various vacations

gray Byholma baskets (Ikea)
white fish plate (TJMaxx)
silver frame (Target on clearance last year) with picture of the kiddos
round glass vase (World Market) filled with sand collected from past vacation spots

wire "locker" basket (Fred Meyer)
shell prints above entertainment center (Art.com) in Ribba frames (Ikea)

It may have taken me a while to fill up, 
but I absolutely love how the unit has the 'collected over time' look
and that most of the items were things I already had around the house.