…and soon after made a quick design board, which really was just a visual Ikea shopping list. Andie had recently paged through an Ikea catalog and knew she wanted to do most of her shopping there. She loved the Alvina Flora pillow, so we used that as our color palette inspiration.

Once the room started coming together and we were making more decisions about things, I made a pretty design board and realized how much fun it is to do this. I’d like to make it a feature of the blog. Ross has already asked me when we’ll have a design board for the basement. I have so many ideas for that space, so it would be great to start pulling it together. (I’m already in that I-can’t-wait-until-the-basement-is-finished mind-set. Having a visual will only make it worse, I’m sure!)

So, anyway, here is the design board that was inspired by the work done in the family room (usually it will be the other way around…):

1. Ikea Lenda Curtains | 2. Ikea Ektorp Sofa | 3. Ikea Byholma Chair | 4. Ikea Hemnes TV Unit | 5. Ikea Hemnes Side Table | 6. Ikea Hemnes Shoe Cabinet | 7. Ikea Hemnes Mirror | 8. West Elm Andalusia Rug | 9. Joshua 24:15 Wood Slat Sign | 10. Live Laugh Love | 11. Side Ruffles Pillow | 12. Ikea Alvine Flora Pillow | 13. Potted Plant | 14. Ikea Tindra Mys Candles | 15. Target Candle Wall Sconce | 16. Ikea Ribba Frame

And here is the family room now:

Would you believe that the house sold the very first day it was on the market!?

A few notes:

• Although the family purchased a lot of new furniture with plans to use it in their new house, the main goal here was to make a good impression to potential buyers. So, instead of buying a new couch for this space, they decided to use a couch from another room in the house and wait to purchase a new couch once they know what they’ll need for their new house.
• A rug would have really tied this room together nicely, but again, it wasn’t worth the cost given that they were trying to sell this house. I just LOVE this rug from West Elm, though! I think it would have tied the solid mustard pillows, the napkins on the side tables, and and yellow from the floral pillow in nicely. Really though, who cares?…the house sold in ONE day!
• There was a thought of painting the coffee table as seen here, but there just wasn’t enough time to get it done before the house was listed.
• We repainted the living room and hallway in Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige. It was a color that was already in a few other areas of the house and I’ll almost always advise to minimize the number of paint colors in a house. The consistency helps the decor to flow throughout the home better. (Thanks Bev Chasey as well as John and Sherry for that bit of insight! If you recall, I’ve already taken some of my own medicine.)
• Potted plants can make a huge difference in any room. I do not have a green thumb at all, but I’ve managed to keep our green plants alive and kicking around the house. The pop of green is refreshing, especially against a fairly neutral palette.
• Ikea’s LENDA curtains are my absolute favorite curtain to use in our house and recommend to others. I’ve used them as curtains as well as fabric for pillows and a crib bumper. At $14.99 per pack of two…it’s just a great deal for a lot of fabric.
• Andie had few brushed nickel floor lamps that were in good condition and could be re-used in the space, so we didn’t have to buy new ones. We did, however, replace one of the lampshades with a crisp white drum shade. Other brushed nickel accents around the room would have looked great, too.
• The “Live Laugh Love” print was something I created on the whim to put into one of the frames. It’s now available in my Etsy shop and can be customized to say anything! :)

This weekend we had two extra sets of hands to help with the first of many projects to come with our new house. Thanks to Mommy and Daddy O, we got so much done (here are some before and after pictures):

• Freshly painted ceilings in the living and dining room
• Primer in the living and dining room (the living room has a few sections left since we ran out)
• Kitchen “degreased” (I worked on the stove and microwave while my mom scrubbed the walls and ceiling – all ready for paint now!)
• Carpet removed upstairs (almost done with that one!)

• Crown molding in two rooms (nursery and guest room/office)
• Wainscoting and chair rail installed in the nursery (still need to prime and paint)

Thanks for your help, Mom and Dad! (How do you like my mask? Just keeping Missy Miss safe!)

I’m tired. And thankful.