Our 70s Split Redo Part II: The Family Room

{If you missed Part 1: The Living Room & Dining Room, you can check it out here.}
The lower level family room in our house started out as this part-lineoleum, part-carpet plus stage-and-fence fugly room.

The images above & below are of our realtors & my mom... wondering what in the world we were thinking... (You can see Dave tallying up the renovation projects in his head in the pic above.) BUT (and I think a lof of you are like me) I saw a HUGE kid-friendly, potentially-cozy space with a TON of light, especially considering it's the lower lever/ basement. (It's a split so it's mostly above-ground.) ...Definitely more light & space than we had in the basement we were moving from and I pictured my office in here... I was ecstatic!!! There was this strange step-up stage area with a surrounding fence (below) and a drop ceiling. Odd.



We knew that had to go, and the first day we moved in I started tearing down the drop ceiling & fence posts while Dave was at work and I was waiting for more boxes to unpack... Then he finished it. (He really is the best.) He ripped out the stage with the help of our friend Greg and also Dave's dad. Off came the paneling & a bunch of other stuff. My father-in-law recessed the vents into the ceiling, and they installed new installation, waterproofing yada yada and added some recessed lights to aim at our hutch that would be going in. (swiss cheese- I know!! But we needed the function & sometimes it trumps beauty!! :)


So bye-bye weird stage:



And hello family room/ play area!! We painted the paneling a bright & fresh aqua to lighten it up & add some energy. I wanted it to feel fun & really happy down here. We had wall-to-wall seagrass installed and its great for kids' scooters! ;)


Here's that huge comfy Restoration hardware slip-covered sofa. It's like a bed & we love it. I'm doing a hodgepodge of flea market ship paintings on the wall above the sofa. The globe finally found a home in our house. (I gave it to Dave years ago when we pictured one day having a "study")


This huge hutch (below) was a gift from my dad (found at Lucketts Design House) and is one of my favorite pieces of furniture EVER. It houses EVERYTHING!! Forgive the non-styled shelves (I'm running out of juice) but you can see how there's tons of display space and sotrage space. The TV fits in perfectly. When we had no spot for the surfboard, I remembered the one in the living room of the Giamnetti's house and thought we should give it a try. (It hides a water shut-off valve!) Thanks Brooke!! The teak lime-washed chair to the left is a Lucketts find covered in a linen damask. The rug (everyone seems to recognize it) is from Pottery Barn a few years ago.


I wasn't (and am still not) sure what to think of the wood-burning stove. (We'll try out this year but only when kids are asleep because it's hot to the touch- eek!) And I was oddly intrigued by the 70s stone surround and considered lots of painting, replastering, etc options before deciding to keep the stone. It actually matches the stone on the outside of our house and I've grown to love it.



Here is it now. (below) I took the orange from the stones and ran with it in accents throughout the space. I love sitting in the chair on the right curled up with a blanket and the ottoman. I picture a cozy fire & drinks for two when the kids are asleep. (does that ever really happen?!!)


And finally, my office is down here too.


I went with a huge work table from Ikea ($140!) which is great for spreading out and it doubles as a great movie-watching pizza-night-eating spot. My supplies, files, etc are in a large closet behind the table & also on the other side (which is not pretty yet so I didn't include pics yet) I have lots of empty baskets around for "quick" clean-up on weekends & nights so it can stop feeling like an office if I need it to.

I used a lot of what we already had in this space & then used Ikea to do the heavy-lifting: table, office chairs, arm chairs. I wanted it to feel light & fresh but also cozy down here. My dad lives near a lake and I've got lots of happy memories from there (as well as conquests from local antique-store shopping trips!) so the room has a bit of a coastal vibe, but I didn't want it to be too much, so I added in the oranges & browns from the stones to warm it up & "dirty it up" a bit more. Flea market finds, below:

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{Massive lanterns from csnlighting.com}

{My old Gustavian desk... The colors weren't planned but I think when you buy & decorate with things you love, they just sort of have a way of working out...}

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{That 70s Stone}

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{Wool rug layered over wall-to-wall seagrass}

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{Ikea chairs}

{Pillow cover pieced together from fabric remnants}

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{Ikea ottoman base with custom washable slipcover}

{Inspiration fabric for room: The slipcover in a vintage-inspired pattern has hits of orange & exact same blue that's on the walls}

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{Found this old blue lantern for $16 at Volo}

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{Ball jar blue is perfect in here}

{Weeds from the yard- one advantage to having a black thumb!}

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{My grandmother's oil painting in oranges}

(Wicker floor lamp from Palecek adds more texture & brown/ orange}

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{A huge piece of driftwood- a cypress root- found by my dad while fishing in Georgia}

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{White off-the-rack roman shades from Sears}

{White cotton curtains from ikea}

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{A huge workspace}

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{$25 wheely chairs from Ikea}

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{Organized toy storage under hutch}

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{More storage in ottoman... I prewashed & dried the fabric 3 times before giving it to my upholsterer.}

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{$4 Vintage tool box to hold office supplies}

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{That wal-mart fan for keeping cool... }

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{A laid-back style means piles of books are just fine in here}

And that's pretty much it! We're loving having all this extra space & the room really works for us. There are definitely a few "upgrades" I'd like to make (aren't there always?) but I'm going to stop for a while. ;) Little Miss Ashby enjoys it too! (below)

xoxo,

lauren

Sources:

*Paint Color* Fresh Aire Choice "Midwest Spring" - no VOC paint, carried by Home Depot- so far, so good & I've used tihs brand in a few rooms in my house. To be honest, when I see dirt on the wall, I'm more likely to grab the paint bucket and touch-up rather than wipe down. so odd, I know... So I'm not really sure about the washability, long-term of it yet.

*White Table* Ikea -- I can't find the name of it online but I think originally it's $400 and it's in the dining table section. (We got ours at the damaged items place)

*Seagrass brand* I'll have to give my store a call... I forgot the brand!! :)

*Lanterns* Mossoro Outdoor Hanging Lanterns from csnlighting ($140 and $80)

"NATURAL" RUGS: Seagrass, Sisal, Jute, Synthetic & Wool Rugs: The Low-Down

Washington Post Blogwatch October 1, 2009




I have (or have had) almost all of these rugs somewhere in my home with the exception of sisal. And there's definitely a time & place for each of them, depending upon the maintenance, kid, pet & softness factors. Here's a quick overview of my thoughts & experiences with the rugs.

1--- SEAGRASS--- In my family room/ office/hangout room, we installed wall-to-wall seagrass just like this (below) and we absolutely LOVE it:

And here's the lowdown on seagrass:

1) THE WAIVER: The company we bought it from made us sign a waiver saying that seams would be visible and that we understood it would fray and that there would be a smell. The seagrass we purchased also came with its own attached rug pad which would make for a quicker install.

2) THE SMELL: On the day of the install, the smell was SO BAD I was scared. I have a really sensitive nose & whatever glue they used when mixed with the straw-smell of the seagrass honestly smelled like animal urine. BUT a few days later, when all of the glue had dried, we were left with just the "hay smell" of segrass, which I love.

3) THE SEAMS: The seams are not visible. (we had a good installer & he did seal down the seams and all edges) But the rug is also connected so that the natural lines in the rug are in a row... It looks perfect and you can't even tell even when trying to find the seams.

4) THE FRAYING: So far, so good and we have a dog with long nails who runs all over it. I'm sure it will (and probably already has & I haven't noticed) pull up in places but it's pretty simple to just snip loose fibers with a pair of scissors. It's a natural rug & will get flaws, but they really aren't very noticeable.

5) THE CARE: A-mazing! It's recommended to vaccuum once a week (okay, okay, when things slow down I'll get to that) and you can even sweep these rugs clean! I hate to gross you all out (but want to give you the REAL scoop) --- My toddler had an accident on it last week and it all just pooled in one spot without soaking in and I was able to blot it up really easily. Then I sprayed it down with a natural cleaner (probably a no-no but I was grossed out) and wiped it up with towels. There's no mark, no smell and it looks just like the rest of the rug. Because the grass is from the water, it resists stains & water marks. You also really can't see dirt at all and when we have gotten mud on it, we just allowed it to dry and then swept up the dirt.

6) THE SOFTNESS FACTOR: Seagrass is actually pretty smooth and hard. (And for this reason can be slippery & isn't recommended on stairs.) It's actually more like a hard floor than a rug. It's just as fine for kids to crawl across as hardwood or any other hard surface but isn't ideal for play areas where they'll spend a lot of floor-time. BUT it's GORGEOUS with other rugs layered over it. In our family room in the TV/ play area, we layered an old wool rug over it, which is perfect for playing, lounging & wrestling... (I thought I'd let you see it in all its messy-primary-colored-toy-glory)

7) EXTRA INFO: Since it's natural, its color changes over time. It starts out with more of a green tinge and eventually tans. If you are layering rugs, the area under the rug will stay green longer because the moisture is being protected under there so keep that in mind of you plan on moving rugs around seasonally. (Similar to sun discoloration on hardwoods) Eventually, after being exposed for long eneough, the difference shouldn't be noticeable. Weels also work on this rug which is perfect for the wheely desk chairs in my office & also for Christian's scooter. Joni from Cote de Texas has a beautiful & information-packed post about seagrass which (if you haven't already read) you should definitely check out here.

2--- SISAL---- Sisal rugs are another gorgeous option for natural rugs. (For banding, I like colors that blend with the natural color of the rug vs. colors)

The LOWDOWN on sisal:

1) THE CARE: The maintenance is a bit higher for sisal than seagrass. Water STAINS it. For me, that's enough said & also the reason I don't have any of this gorgeous stuff in my house.

2) SOFTNESS FACTOR: It's REALLY rough & scratchy. It's not smooth like seagrass and has a rough, frayed rope-like texture. NOT good for baby & kid knees or lounging yourself.

3) USES: I wouldn't install it wall-to-wall because of the stain factor. (The only way to get water stains out is to wet the whole thing to discolor the whole thing and turn it into a giant water stain.) BUT if you're clean & don't have pets or kids & want the beautiful look, then it's an inexpensive option that would work in a living room or bedroom. It's also beautiful when layered with wool, striped or antique rugs.

** I've gotten several comment from people who have had sisal for years & have had no staining issues!!! .. But have also heard from people who have had the staining issues so it seems there's some variance! ***

3---WOOL LOOK-ALIKES----- Because I love the look of sisal (above) I chose a custom wool area rug for my living room that looks like sisal (below) and had it banded in cotton. (I wanted to go thicker & linen on the banding but the price jump was insane so I settled) You can have these made at carpet stores.

1) MAINTENANCE: Easy. Same as any other wool rug. We haven't gotten any spills other than water on it (which has been fine) but for any tough stains/ spills, I would just use some warm, slightly soapy water and a rag to blot/work out. The color & texture hides dirt too! yay!! And, because its wool, it'll last for years & wear really well.

2) SOFTNESS FACTOR: It's not super-plush or thick because it has that sisal look, but is very soft for kids & babies. My son is on it all the time and no raw knees. My husband has also taken naps on it with no complaints.

3) SEAMS: We didn't have to get any seams done but wouldn't have had to sign any waivers for this one, so I'm assuming they would be fine, especially with the striped texture. This carpet came 13 feet wide so I had to cheat a tiny bit in the entry/ book shelf area of the room. It is about 2" shorter in that one section (below on the left) than would have been perfect but isn't really noticeable in person and saved me about $1000.00 (We would have had to almost double the amount needed for those couple of inches because you have to buy the whole width and we also would have had to pay for seaming.)

3) STYLE FACTOR: Again, I love the look. It looks like a natural woven rug but is super-soft. I also love it layered with other rugs and plan on switching them in & out seasonally. Below you can see part of the hide rug I have under the coffee table right now:

And here's a (very blurry) close-up so you can see the texture. It's ribbed multi-tonal texture which is what make it look like a natural-fiber rug.

4---SYNTHETIC RUGS----- In our old townhome, we also had a wall-to-wall synthetic carpet installed that looked very much like sisal. It was by Shaw and is called "sisal touch." (Our color was "fawn" and it was just beautiful.) WE LOVED IT. Here it is below and I'm sorry there's not a close-up because it's actually ribbed & has a subtle two-tone striped pattern. (actually very similar to the rug above, but lighter colors.) This rug is the perfect alternative to the generic berber.

1) MAINENANCE: Synthetic so it cleans up amazingly well. We had some SERIOUS spills on this one- don't want to gross you out but think- getting sick, new baby, dog, ,ud, even wine. Everything came out with a mix of warm water & normal dish soap. (Read that in Real Simple & this easy mixture even gets blood out.) We also had it going up our stairs & it didn't show a thing.


2) SEAMS: We had seams & they weren't visible. The ribbed/ striped textured hid it all.


3) PETS: Like I said, all stains came up perfectly & her long toe nails didn't pull the fibrs/ loops up at all (although they told us they would.)


4) SOFTNESS: a dream. Again, not as soft as plush carpet, but like a berber. SO FAMILY-FRIENDLY.


5) STYLE: Just beautiful and had multiple people use it in their own homes after seeing it. It's gorgeous (and super-practical) going up the stairs with a NY roll (when they tuck it around the tread top instead of going straight down) too!





5--- JUTE RUGS-----

1) MAINTENANCE: laughable. I took the WORST care ever of our jute rugs & they looked fine. They kind of eat your dirt. You can just vacuum them. I've had ours in the kitchen & even spilled salsa (I know, gross!) in ours and just wiped it with a rag & then blotted it with a wet rag to get the stain out.

2)PETS: Great for pets. Like I said, these things eat your dirt so they just sort of suck up the hair & you can vacuum it off.

3) SOFTNESS FACTOR: There are a lot of jute-chenille blends that are actually very soft but full jute isn't as soft. Jute is thicker than sisal & seagrass and also softer, but still not super-soft unless it's a blend. Ours is full jute and it is more like a foot-massager (which I love to walk on) but I wouldn't recommend it for a kids' play area or somewhere that you want to hang out on the floor. All that being said, jute-chenille blends can be the perfect choice for a kid/ baby play area because they can be really soft, so just be sure to check out the specific sample & see what you think. (They vary widely)

4) STYLE FACTOR: I LOVE the look of jute. It's so chucky & warm-looking and adds so much texture to a room.

5) INTERESTING TIDBITS: The fibers in a jute rug sort of wear and underneath it (if you don't clean under your rugs often and I SO don't) you get this weird sort of dirt & fiber dust. (My poor mother-in-law was helping us clean & when she lifted the rug to sweep under it, got to see it in all its glory!) I'm not really bothered by the fiber dust under there but just thought you might want to know! ***I've also gotten some comments in about people bothered by the fibers sticking them them when they lay down on the rug--- mine didn't do this but apparently some do, so you might want to check these out in person if you plan on napping on them!

And that's all I can think of for now on these rugs... Anyway, let me know if you have any questions & I'll post answers at the end of the post! {I have to apologize also because I lost my sources for the bottom & top images in this post, so if anyone knows where they're from, let me know & I can add the sources in here!}

Also this place has some great options & prices & they deliver on-time & quickly: http://www.naturalarearugs.com/

xoxo,

lauren

Question: For either the wool-look alike or the seagrass...would you go to a carpet store to have a large rug cut? Answer- for the wool look-alike , yes, because it's not something I've seen a lot of ready-made, but for the seagrass, it would be cheaper to look around for ready-made online. Try here: http://www.naturalarearugs.com/seagrass_mountaingrass/

Question: I'm extremely anal about having fibers all over the place -- so which out of jute, jute blend and wool would have the least amount of dust generated from the rugs themselves? Answer: the jute is probably the worst for dust & fibers so I would go with the wool look-alike if I were you. Unfortunately, wool is also the most expensive. (But worth it to me!)

Question: Is Pottery Barn a good place to get the rugs, or is there a more affordable place? Answer: Check out that link above.. And also google in the rug you're looking for and see what comes up. Lots of internet stores have lower prices than Pottery Barn & I usually order from online unless I need custom. (The good thing about PB is you can check it out in the stores.)

Question: My concern is that I have a black sofa, mid-century modern medium-wood furniture, and a huge modern painting with reds and yellows and blacks. My friends say I need a black/grey/red rug - but I want to keep the floor light. Thoughts on using light natural fiber rugs with dark furnishings? Answer: I think you're fine to go with natural fiber rugs & dark furnishings. In fact, I think it's really gorgeous. I think the natural rugs give a modern room some texture & some more depth. I'm not one for thinking everything has to "match" perfectly & I'm sure a natural rug would work beautifully with your wood furniture. You can always add a fun zebra hide over it to pull in the black.

Question: I want a seagrass rug so badly. But I have new hardwood floors, and I have been told that the latex backing on the seagrass rugs interact with the chemicals in the finish on the floor, and the latex backing will stick to the hardwood and be impossible to remove, causing the floor to have to be refinished. So.......I'm looking for a seagrass rug without a latex backing. Then the rug will slip and I'll fall and bust my ***. What is a girl to do? Answer: I think you could add a rug pad (that's safe for wood floors of course) underneath of the seagrass/latex.

Halloween from Pottery Barn Kids

We get REALLY into Halloween. I mean disgustingly into it. We have a party every year and there's always a theme. (We usually start at our house with a bunch of friends & play games & then get a limo into Georgetown... but really? A bar 6 months pregnant? Just not happening.)

So this year I think we might stick to a smaller, family & kid-friendly party... (We might have to do both parties next year...)

Anyway, since I have this kid-friendly party on my mind, I checked out the Pottery Barn Kids catalog & just loved what I was seeing!!! I think (with a LOT of patience!!) you could make this chandelier (In all honesty, this is not a project for me this year... ) But how adorable is it? ($59)

Love this canopy too:

And I'm crazy over all of these cute kid costumes!!! The traditional pumpkin is always adorable. (I think both of these are $29-- not bad at all!)

As we looked through the catalogue last night, Christian said he wasnted to be this lady bug... Daddy vetoed it so I MIGHT have to try to make him a more masculine lady bug costume...

How cute is this little bear?? I love that their costumes are microfleece to keep the kids warm!

We've been into alligators lately: ;)

And finally, here's a pic of me with Christian (AKA "Superbaby") last year:

As Halloween gets closer, I'll have to post pics from our previous Halloweens... They're ridiculous! Have an awesome weekend & talk to you all soon!!!

xoxo,

lauren