Yay! It’s room reveal day! 😀 Here’s a quick look back at Kathy’s (extra) upstairs closet before I started transforming it into a cozy, little hang out space…
…and here’s what it looks like now:
(Note: There are no windows in this space, so the actual colors may be off a little in these photos.)
This “room” was originally built to serve as an extra closet/playroom for the previous owners young children, but since Kathy and Eddie’s children are older, she decided we should turn it into a little “den getaway” for them when they’re visiting instead. The walls went from a dusty pear color, to Wool Skein by Sherwin-Williams, and the credenza-turned-TV stand is painted with Annie Sloan’s French Linen chalk paint. I sealed it with Miss Mustard Seed’s (clear) furniture wax, and I just love how it turned out!
I aged the original drawer pulls by giving them a few sloppy coats of paint. First, some leftover white paint, then some more French Linen chalk paint- then when each coat was dry, I roughed them up with a sanding block and rubbed on a little more furniture wax to seal them.
Brian the Carpenter created a couple of shelves for Kathy’s electronic equipment in the center of the TV stand, and I had fun filling up the other shelves with things from around her house.
She’s got tons and tons of those painted books, and I am absolutely wild about them! They were the inspiration behind the little painted book I blogged about the other day. They’re just coated in off-white paint and they’ve been aged with what looks like watered-down brown paint or stain. Some of them have blue and green paint on them too, so they blended in with all the other colors in the room just beautifully.
I decorated the top with fresh flowers and a few other things I found in other rooms:
“Shopping the house” is definitely one of my favorite parts of any room makeover. I love watching the people’s faces as they re-fall in love with items they already owned. Some folks forget they even had certain things- which makes the process even more fun! 😀
On the wall next to the TV stand, I surprised Kathy with a large wall hanging I made. Creating handmade pieces or original art & photography is another favorite of mine when it comes to any room makeover. This one is just a thin sheet of plywood and some rustic 1″ x 2″s:
The quote reads: “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.” -Roald Dahl
I had planned to blog about how I made it, but all the step by step photos were destroyed when our external hard drive crashed, so I’ll do my best to explain it a little here instead. First, I applied a few different coats of watered down paint to the sheet of plywood. Some white paint, some off-white paint, some French Linen paint- I just kept building up the layers until it looked like I wanted it to look. I used letter stamps (from Michaels) to create the quote, and then used a sanding block to distress everything when it was dry. Last but not least, I painted on one more coat of watered down white paint to tone down the letters a little more and sealed it with some more clear furniture wax.
For the sides, I used some more watered down French Linen paint, and then dry brushed on a little white paint here and there, too. After that, I attached the 1″x 2″s to a 2′ x 4′ sheet of 1/4″ thick plywood using a pneumatic nailer.
I think the 1″ x 2″s were cedar because they were originally sort of reddish-orange in color. It ended up working out great because the red parts still peeking through the gray paint speak to the warm hues of the pine floor.
The rug is from Pottery Barn, and the stool came from Soul Kitchen in Montgomery. It was wrapped in rope when Kathy bought it, but it ended up being a little hard to photograph because the rope just disappeared into the rug.
I wrapped a thick piece of vintage material around it for the photo shoot, but it ended up looking so cute, Kathy’s going to ask her friend Jana if she’ll make her a more permanent little slipcover out of it. (It’s just duct taped on there right now- LOL!)
The throw pillows on the sofa came from a variety of places. The one on the left was in Kathy’s living room, the one next to that was in her guest bedroom, and the two on the right came from Hobby Lobby:
The gray one with wood buttons also came from Hobby Lobby:
I grabbed one of Kathy’s throw blankets from downstairs, too:
I tucked the side table we pulled out of Neighbor Jenny’s barn down at the other end of the sofa. I painted it with Coco chalk paint and the knobs and drawer pull came from Hobby Lobby. (Here’s a link back to that post if you’d like to go back and read more about that makeover: Side Table Makeover.)
I tossed all their remotes in the basket, and hung the accordion sconce Kathy picked up at Eastbrook Flea Market above that. The moss-filled urn came up from Kathy’s living room, but that piece doesn’t necessarily have to stay there. I was just having waaaay too much fun playing with all her pretty stuff, and loved seeing a pop of green right there! 😀
Just beyond that, in the back right corner of the room, I found a place for the military trunk Kathy also got at Eastbrook Flea Market:
Obviously if Kathy needs to hang things on the rack above it, she may end up moving the stuff I set on top of the trunk. I just didn’t want to photograph it “naked”, so I had fun playing “Do You Have A _______?” with Kathy so I could photograph a few things on top of it, too. (Thanks again for letting me borrow your belt, Eddie- LOL!) 😀
The armchair in the corner came from an outlet store in North Carolina:
It’s the Chapman chair by Drexel Heritage, and I am absolutely crazy about it! From the striped fabric, to contrasting khaki piping, to the tiny upholstery nails, to the distressed wooden legs complete with antique brass caster feet- I love it all!
The blue pillow came from Pottery Barn, and the lumbar pillow came from Kathy’s living room.
My goal was to create a fun secret space in a most unlikely place, and I’m so grateful to Eddie and Kathy for allowing me the opportunity to decorate that room and share these photos of their home. They’ve become wonderful friends, and I had so much fun spending so much time with Kathy throughout this makeover.
Her friendship decorates every single one of my days!
PS- For more makeover pics between posts, join me over on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram!
I would live in this room!! Love it!
Love, love LOVE the way it turned out! I was just pinning Suzanne Kaesler’s bedroom and this makeover reminds me of that. So understated yet beautiful with rich textures! Love the wall art you made and ASCP painted tv stand is a perfect touch. Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas!
Beautiful. It’s the little details… the green décor balls in the urn, the belt around the blanket the round rug. Love it!
Where’s the couch from?!?! I love it!
That turned out great, Layla. It’s functional, pretty, and fun all at the same time!
What a great use of space! Perfect for movies. Love that extendable lamp!
Beautiful! That chair is a hottie!! It would be fun to have a friend over and get to visit in that space with a warm drink and some Christmas cookies. Merry Christmas to the Palmer family. Thanks for making our days merrier by sharing your life with us.
The room looks great! I recognize that fabric around the stool. That came from my booth at the Chapel Market! 🙂 So fun to see it there.
What a great space! Love it!!
Oh my WORD! I LOVE this room. I’m in the process of redoing our living room and I love the neutral colors with a touch of aqua. That RUG too… oh my. And totally drooling over the wall hanging you made. Am I gushing? I NEVER do that over most room makeovers… but you NAILED this one.
Totally wonderful!
Perfectly done as always Layla! I would never leave that cozy little spot if I lived there.
Another great cottage style transformation! I am equally in LOVE wirh the with every single detail of the Heritage Chair & I could see it in any room in our home! I also LOVE your quote art! The quote is just perfect & I love the washed look. You should sell those! I would totally be interested in purchasing one;). Happy Holidays!
where did she get the couch?
Oh my gosh Layla, I have been wanting to make one of these signs for ever. Sp, my big question is the stamps. I am so excited, I can’t stand it. Please tell me the brand and the size. It’s so great.
Thanks you!!!!!
Erin
I love it!!
Layla can you please tell me what are the measurements of the room. I have a little room that is 7 1/2 x 14 and I don’t know what to do with it, could be guest room , office , tv room, I am open to your suggestions. Please help!!!
Yadira.
PS. Merry Christmas to You and Kevin.
Oh, Layla, this is beautiful. Even without windows, I think I’d be up there all the time!
I dream of you coming and transforming my home. It needs a pick-me-up.
So lovely! I’m digging that lamp. Where’s it from?
Thanks, Lisa! Kathy got the lamp at Eastbrook Flea Market in Montgomery. 🙂
wow !!
What a sweet space. It looks cozy and inviting.
Just beautiful! I love how you opened the space up, just by painting it all one color! And Kathy had the most perfect accessories – the rest of her house must be lovely.
Great Job!
The space is wonderful, so inviting. Your talent is special.
beautiful job with so much attention to detail. can you please tell me where did you purchase the sofa? thanks,
kathy
Another person who would love to know where the couch came from! It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for! This room turned out amazing, Layla. Great job! What a relaxing space.
Elsworth McElington does it AGAIN!
XOXO!!!
LOL- Flower Patch!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 MAN, do I miss you!
Another beautiful room! I also would like to know where the sofa came from ?
Beautiful Layla! I get super excited waiting for your fun room reveals and a little jealous at the same time because it always makes me wish you were here in Western Montana to pull one of my awkward spaces together! Merry Christmas to you and Kevin. May 2014 bring you many blessings.
I’m so happy that everyone got to see your amazing work! I can’t even express how much I love this room. This cozy room just puts a smile on my face every time I walk in there. I just cannot bring myself to move a thing! I LOVE the fact that almost everything that you decorated with was already in my house. I will tell you that most of these things look much better in their new home! You just amaze me! I wish everyone could have seen the before of the cute blanket rolled up with the belt. In a former life, it was a red plaid Christmas blanket from Target. Who could tell??? Thank you my talented friend! Getting to know you has definitely been one of my nicest blessings of 2013!
One more thing! Two of the things that were found around the house came from The Chapel Market. I fell in love with the vintage feed sack in Miss Mustard Seed’s booth and HAD to have it. Also, the books tied with a vintage tape measure with feathers was a gift from Laura @ Findinghome.com. It is just something that I love so much!!!
I like your style and your ideas. My friend P. Hill referred me.
LOVE this. The colors are so calming, I could sit in this room ALL day. Great job.
love this! so many great ideas.
Hope you have a wonderful healthy and happy new Years 2014 – filled with lots of love and laughter and pitter patter of tiny feet! 😉
Everything in this room is so beautiful. Love all the small details- especially the military trunk, accordion sconce, and the measuring tape ribbon! Wonderful job! love this blog.
It’s ok, but for someone who sees Mother Nature’s white (snow)from late October to April-ish, I love when you have a bit more colour in your rooms. (it’s -40 today) I’ve never liked an all-white palette, until now – many of the rooms you’ve decorated, I’m left in awe of. You now have me re-thinking off-whites for decorating. However this one leaves me with a ton of questions, please….
I am loving your blog and try to study things so I can apply these bits of knowledge in my own life, so this room confuses me.
I’m curious as to why you painted the side table and the entertainment stand two different chalk paint colours?
I usually do NOT like painted furniture, but I REALLY like how those turned out. I was soooo disappointed to find out chalk paint is not available close to home for me 🙁 Back to this room, I thought with the pieces so close together in the same room, wouldn’t that have a disjointed effect?
Also with the art work, why not add a splash of colour? I expected to see some bits of green or a tidbit of blue or a splash of red… Would some colour cause the room to look ‘broken up’?
(I love the quote, by the way – I hope these don’t sound like criticisms.)
I hope you don’t mind the barrage of questions.
Curious in Manitoba, (Canada)
Maryjane
Hey Maryjane!
I’ll try to answer your questions the best I can!
The first answer is pretty straightforward: I painted the side table and TV stand the colors Kathy wanted me to paint them. 😀 I live by a “go with your grin” philosophy, and those two colors made Kathy smile the most! They’re both neutrals, and pretty close in tone, so I think they work just fine as next door neighbors. 🙂
And as for the artwork: I surprised Kathy with that, so I think I kind of just went with my gut/grin on that piece, too. I just used the palette/vibe of rest of her home as inspiration, and that’s what came out when I was done painting! 😀 That said, I don’t think some color in it would’ve caused the room to look “broken up” at all. It’s just a personal preference thing, I guess!
I love talkin’ design, so thanks for striking up the conversation with me tonight! 😀
Layla
Thanks! I’m making notes 😀 …and grinning.
I appreciate your time to respond. Happy New Year!!
Beautiful room! I’m curious about the letter stamps you used for the sign. Do you have any more info on them other than Michaels? Large alphabet stamps are difficult to find.